Hehe I couldn’t resist.

This week, famous Russian activist artists Pussy Riot released their latest music video. Named Chaika after Russia’s prosecutor general, the song takes aim at corruption in the country’s government. While any video clip attached to this song would convey the strong message of the lyrics, the imagery of Pussy Riot’s video emphasises these themes through symbols such as the band’s police costumes and the appearance of a golden loaf, an icon during Soviet times of grandeur and gratuitous wealth.

Pussy Riot are famous for using the music and music video mediums to convey political messages, but they aren’t the first or only artists to do so. Below are a few examples of famous music videos that convey political messages.

2. Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon

John Lennon was famous for his songs that carried messages of peace and harmony, and Give Peace a Chance is a fine example. This accompanying video was released in 1969 and is interesting in that it was produced in a time when mainstream music videos tended to be solely shots of the artists performing in a studio setting. So the choice to film Lennon’s performance in a much more informal environment and intercut it with footage of his and Yoko Ono’s famous bed-in reinforces the song’s anti-authoritarian sentiment and cry for global brotherhood.

2. By the Time I get to Arizona by Public Enemy

Public Enemy’s most famous political song is Fight the Power but for a look at their use of music video to be political it’s more interesting to look at this clip for By the Time I get to Arizona. The retro costumes, picketing and use of black and white make clear allusions to the American Civil Rights movement, which is linked to the present day (or at least the era of the song itself, circa 1991) through the shots of the artists themselves.

3. Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

This song is pretty explicit in its message – that same-sex relationships are as real and worthy of respect as any other – but the video builds a really beautiful narrative to support the song’s sweet and humble tone. The song has more of a moral message than a political one, but if you were in any doubt regarding the video’s purpose you need only skip to the closing credits which read: ‘Same Love – SUPPORT MARRIAGE EQUALITY, VOTE YES ON REF 74’

4. Dear Mr President by Pink

There’s not really a more explicitly political song I can think of than Pink’s Dear Mr President, addressed directly to George Bush Jr who appears at several points in the video. While the official video on Pink’s Vevo for this song is actually a recording of a live performance, we see projected images in the background of Bush, his family, and many representations of the issues that Pink discusses in the song.