Max and the Marginalized are a band and a blog.

The idea behind it is pretty simple: there is more of a need for political music than ever, but there are fewer political bands than there have ever been. Furthermore, how could a political band write a song about something happening right now and then wait months or years for their album to come out, when the story is long over?

Our solution to this has been to write and record a new song every week about something current and immediately post it here on Huffpost and at our MySpace and Facebook pages. You can go to our website to download all the songs we've done so far (34 as of this writing) for free, and there are tour dates there as well.

We are: Max Bernstein (Guitar/Vocals), Dave Watrous (Bass) + Jon Ryggy (Drums)

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Blog Entries by Max and the Marginalized

A Song for EFCA Opponents

3 Comments | Posted May 13, 2009 | 01:55 AM (EST)


We wrote "My Heart Belongs to Cleveland" as a response to Republicans in Congress who pledge support for working people but oppose the Employee Free Choice Act.

If card check is good enough to decertify a union, it should be good enough to certify one. When union employees are more...

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Date With Dynasty

Posted January 8, 2009 | 03:55 PM (EST)


For our first song of 2009, we are adding our guitars, drums and voices to the chorus of opposition to Caroline Kennedy's possible Senate appointment, which keeps seesawing to and away from inevitability.

Enjoy "Date With Dynasty."

Also: for a great take on why these appointments...

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Talk to the Invisible Hand

Posted December 3, 2008 | 10:31 AM (EST)


A song for the invisible hand of the market, currently slapping America silly.

Click the player to hear the song.


Max and the Marginalized are a band and a blog that does a weekly political song. All are available for free here.

Talk to...

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American Cars

Posted November 21, 2008 | 09:54 PM (EST)


I've heard reasonable arguments from smart people on either side of the "should we bail out the autos" debate, and I unfortunately suffer from the affliction of being heavily influenced by the last person to leave the room, so my jury's out.

That said, the way the autos are...

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Punk Rock vs. Proposition 8

Posted October 30, 2008 | 03:28 PM (EST)


We wrote "Proposition Hate" because the effort to deny same-sex couples the right to marry in our home state of California deserves a fast, loud and angry song. Enjoy.

Click the player to hear the song.


You can "buy" the song by making a contribution to defeat...

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The Hounds [Video]

Posted October 25, 2008 | 02:14 PM (EST)


We're a little late to the party on calling McCain/Palin out on all their hard work firing up the ugliest tendencies in their supporters, but this venture into dub reggae territory is our contribution.

Hounds

We're saying what...

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Inside John McCain's Old, Withered Body

Posted October 20, 2008 | 07:18 PM (EST)


Last week we posted a song here about McCain's medical records called To Your Health. Our good friend made a very silly video for it where we go inside his body a la Innerspace to find out what's really going on only to get mauled by Sarah Palin spiders....

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Release Those Medical Records, John

Posted October 9, 2008 | 11:49 PM (EST)


Is it irresponsible to speculate wildly about what diseases or medical problems John McCain might have, despite not having a hint of evidence that's any better than what Bill Frist used to diagnose Terri Schiavo? You bet, but so is running for president at 72 years old with four...

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Your Money or Your Life!

Posted October 6, 2008 | 07:02 PM (EST)


Like a cartoon convenience store robber shouting "Your money or your life!" at the clerk, McCain has staked his campaign on a last-ditch effort to make voters sufficiently afraid of Barack Obama (via Ayers, Wright, Rezko and ghosts of terror past) that they'll ignore the fact that he has no...

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The Price of Vindication

Posted September 25, 2008 | 05:55 PM (EST)


In about half of the 40 or so discussions I've had this week about the economic meltdown, someone has said, in some way or another, that this will finally close the book on the GOP brand of unbridled free marketeering. Just like how Katrina would finally close the book on...

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Still a Novelty After 8 Years?

Posted September 18, 2008 | 08:19 PM (EST)


There are outsiders and then there are outsiders. Barack Obama has run his candidacy as an outsider claiming immunity to the groupthink and cynicism that affects those who have spent years in spitting distance of Washington institutions, but with a firm respect for the institutions themselves. That's the good kind....

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Declaring the Sex Wars a Draw

Posted September 3, 2008 | 05:00 AM (EST)


Click the play button below to hear our song about the Palins and ending the silly, epic sex wars.



When you think about all the heavyweights that have taken bullets in the partisan sex wars, it's hard to imagine a peace brokered by a pouty-faced...

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If Wrong = Strong, They'll Just Keep Being Wrong

Posted August 18, 2008 | 01:58 PM (EST)


Balancing the ticket is a fine idea. Picking a veep with more international chops than Obama? Sure. Picking a woman since they are half our population and Obama very much is not one? Absolutely! Balancing out the best judgment of Obama's career (the "let's not go to war in Iraq"...

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Can Progressives Derail Bayh's VP Train via Facebook?

Posted August 13, 2008 | 03:04 PM (EST)


Sometime between now and the convention, Barack Obama will send me, and millions of other supporters a text message announcing his running mate. It is looking more and more likely that this breakthrough technology will be used to unveil a choice decidely un-breakthroughy: Evan Bayh.

From the BooMan Tribune:

...
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Antiseptic

Posted August 11, 2008 | 06:09 PM (EST)


We are on tour at the moment, but we recorded this little song in our van about the MSM's nonstop coverage to the affair of someone who doesn't hold public office and isn't currently running for one -- and their lack of attention to Ron Suskind's revelation that the Vice...

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One of the Regulars

Posted August 2, 2008 | 01:37 PM (EST)


Better prose than I can write has been written about the ridiculousness of the village narrative that heiress-marrying, $520-shoes-wearing John McCain is a regular schmo while not-heiress-marrying self-made success Barack Obama is really Elizabeth Taylor with a monocle, and the subtext of McCain's inane ad that adds a...

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Bush's wars: Afghanistan, Iraq and... Contraception?

Posted July 25, 2008 | 06:24 PM (EST)


We were all worried that with only 100 days until election day Bush would find some way to start a third war.

We thought it would be against Iran, not contraception.

Ever the surpriser, Smirky just launched what is presumably the last topping on the sundae of his legacy:...

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Not Just Hope and Change, But Justice Too

Posted July 17, 2008 | 02:45 PM (EST)


We're crossing our fingers that Obama's effort to bring the country together won't stop him from bringing to justice those who have broken a host of laws in tearing it apart.

That's the theme of our song this week -- enjoy!

Click the play button below to hear the song.

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It's Awkward When Bad People Die

Posted July 10, 2008 | 12:18 PM (EST)


It is. How can anyone manage to acknowledge that Jesse Helms was absolutely the pits, make it clear that they think death is a very serious thing, and say that their heart goes out to his family (who I'm sure are very nice people) without looking like they themselves are...

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On Fellow Disgruntled Shareholders of Obama's Campaign

Posted July 2, 2008 | 06:54 PM (EST)


Click the player below to here our song about Obama's capitulation "It Wasn't the Thing That I Bought". Lyrics below the blog.


The consensus of the blogosphere in the aftermath of Capitulation: Round 1 seems to be as follows:

Expanding the death penalty to include non-murderers and...
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