The protest song is one of our oldest folk traditions, so it's no surprise that in the 15 years Bloodshot Records has been releasing records, its artists have been vocal participants.

To wit: The Waco Brothers' "Cowboy in Flames" is as relevant as when it was written 12 years ago: "All the rest on the bottom / oil men still on top." Graham Parker uses his rapier wit to pillory the current administration's policies on "Stick to the Plan." On "Cure for the Common Cold," Ha Ha Tonka's Brian Roberts -- a cancer survivor -- takes the US health care system to task: "Don't get sick in America." Chris Ligon is just one of the many musicians who gathered on The Executioner's Last Songs, an album that calls for a moratorium on the death penalty. Andrew Bird's contribution to the Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook collection is "I Shall Not Be Moved," a traditional hymn that was later adopted by labor union singers in the '40s. And while Andre William's "Can You Deal With It?" could broadly describe the worst-case scenario, we include it on the mix for the fun fact that Andre Williams and John McCain are the same age.