Near the Freecreditscore.com VIP lounge and just up the street from a food truck selling $17 ribeye steak, I found Billy Bragg in a Texas church.

From folk to punk and back again, Billy Bragg has long been one of our most important and popular "political" songwriters.

It's always been hard to make a fun, catchy argument for higher taxes in America. Here, then, is my taxing playlist for background music as America plays "Let's Make A Tax Deal."

The greatest minds of our times ought to be focused on making alternative energies a reality now. And while they do that, I'll use my lesser mind to make another silly but heartfelt playlist.

Bingo! re-establishes Miller as that Chicago blues-y guy, tackling ten standards that might as well be his own. George Thorogood certainly should be looking over his shoulder.

The awareness of mortality in 1980s nuke-pop was amplified by the inescapably bleak Cold War reality. With the fall of the Wall, much of the threat evaporated. The music, however, lives on.

As someone on the left who loves folk music, I understand that I'm supposed to feel mystically uplifted by the dean of activist folkies. But I never could stand Pete.