The Bush Administration's vaguely defined war on terrorism, stemming from the devastating attacks on September 11, 2001, has engaged the imagination of musicians and listeners. The larger political debates surrounding this war have bled into the distribution and reception of both old and new songs. As with other wars, music has been conscripted into fulfilling functions such as boosting morale and advancing various nationalistic, patriotic, and political ideologies. Attempts at regulating and even censoring certain types of music and ideas have become common.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, as the country found itself grieving and stunned after the hijackings and attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., over 200 members of Congress gathered on the east front steps of the Capitol Building in Washington and joined in an impromptu performance of "God Bless America," a 1918 Broadway...