Cass McCombs releases "Don't (Just) Vote" ft. Angel Olsen & Bob Weir
In 2009, Cass McCombs released a song on his album Catacombs called “Don’t Vote,” which had a deeper message than the title may have implied, and now as the 2020 election approaches, Cass has released an updated version of the song called “Don’t (Just) Vote.” This one’s a lot more direct and political and namedrops victims of police brutality, and it also features guest verses by Angel Olsen, backing vocals by the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, and a spoken word verse by Noam Chomsky.
“I was compelled to write something for the election and I thought of no better way than to troll myself, laying waste to a much-misunderstood song of mine from over a decade ago, ‘Don’t Vote’,” Cass says. “Most people never made it much further than the title, anyway. For this new song, ‘Don’t (Just) Vote,’ the message is clear: Vote, yes, but when you do, imagine the world you would like to see, beyond what appears on your ballot. Harness your imagination and justice becomes inevitable.”
All royalties after costs from the song will be donated to Elevate Oakland, an organization that helps fund music education in the Oakland area.