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On Tyranny: Silver Jews and Lambchop Collaborator William Tyler Takes a Fierce Stand Against Fascism

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags authoritarianism, censorship, fascism, free speech, Lambchop, Silver Jews, trump, tyranny, William Tyler on 04/08/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“The real deal” is a phrase that gets bandied about often – excessively and sloppily so when it comes to singer/songwriters. But listen to Nashville musician William Tyler say five words, and you’ll immediately identify his Achilles’ heel: bullshit. Tyler has no reason to bloviate when he’s spent so much of his decorated career recording and touring with a litany of other sacrilegiously overlooked yet irrefutably talented musicians of the indie-folk, Americana and cosmic country varities. Tyler had membership in Silver Jews and Lambchop, made a record five years ago with Marissa Anderson, and counts Bonnie “Prince” Billy as one of his multitudinous collaborators.

Over the course of his three-decade career, the immediately disarming and infectiously kind Tyler’s list of credits runs longer than one featured at the end of a Sergio Leone film. And yet occasions in which Tyler overtly tackles topical issues or shares his beliefs about politics and the like are rare. Which is why The Bad Penny took note of Tyler’s participation in a recent compilation co-produced by indie filmmaker Rick Alverson called Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers. A description accompanying the Western Vinyl release stated: “Passages is both an acknowledgement of work in progress and an invitation to do more. Our representatives need to see us. Our families need to hear from us. Our neighbors and local organizations on the front lines of this crisis are ready for us to join them.”

Curious to learn more about the collection and its participants, we reached out to some of the contributors. One of them curiously rebuffed our invitation to participate in On Tyranny, saying “I really don’t feel like any of my troubles are the real burden of this moment.” But as the days, weeks, months and years in the still-nascent fascist regime taking hold of this country are proving, none of us will be untouched by the shock, awe, pain and lament that is growing like a cancer inside our collective civic body.

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On Tyranny: Hip-Hop MC TINO Says of His New Trans-Rights Song: ‘[They] Just Want to Be Loved Too’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags authoritarianism, fascism, free speech, George Floyd, No Kings, protest, TINO, trans, trans rights, tyranny on 04/05/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

No Kings 3, which took place last week and drew an estimated 8 to 9 million participants – exceeding the turnouts of the first two protests – provided more wind in the sails of the pro-democracy movement that is barreling toward a critical juncture at the November midterm elections.

Red-hot MC TINO – who hails from Dayton, Ohio – didn’t make it to the protest. But since the early 2010s, the hip-hop high-achiever has kept his mind trained on educating and galvanizing his audience with socially conscious messages while ensuring his lips are trained on spitting transcendent rhymes.

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On Tyranny: Frank Zappa Predicts the Rise of Fascism in the US on CNN in 1986

Posted in Features, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags authoritarianism, fascism, Frank Zappa, free speech, On Tyranny, Robert Novak, tyranny on 11/14/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

(This article – originally published in July 2009 on IndiePit as a reflection of Frank Zappa’s legendary debate with CNN pundit Robert Novak in 1986 – is, sadly, even more relevant today than it was when the notions of tyranny and fascism taking hold in the U.S. were mere flights of fancy.)

As a writer who occasionally pretends to attempt to hold up a few of the traditional tenets of journalism – while in my pajamas, of course – on this Friday evening, reverence for Walter Cronkite is on the brain. It’s sad to see him go, as it seems the institution he devoted his life to – journalism – is also on the way out the door. But thankfully, his death could not have been more different than Michael Jackson’s.

Cronkite was the real most trusted name in news (not CNN). And watching cable-news talking heads recite his résumé, it’s refreshing to hear these pundits who often falsely pride themselves as “reporters” actually say words like “objectivity,” “truthfulness,” “public trust,” “journalistic standards,” etc. Hopefully those terms don’t fade from the public memory along with “Cronkite.”

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