The real rebels of rock are those who ignore politics — or reach out

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Rockers once proved their “rebel” credentials by trashing hotel rooms, scuffling with bandmates or having their way with as many groupies as possible. Sometimes all three.

Now, the real rebels of the music world are those who refuse to insult audiences with one-sided political rants — and who collaborate with singers who don’t share their worldview.

They are leading the backlash against left-wing performers who have turned concerts into TED talks, lecturing fans who paid through the nose for tickets.

Bruce Springsteen. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam). Roger Waters. Macklemore. Tom Morello. The Chicks. Hayley Williams. They’re all on the soapbox when they’re onstage.

The Boss built an entire tour around his “No Kings” mantra. And, since he just turned 77, he may not have many more tours left in him.

That’s why other musicians are charting a different, more radical course. No politics. No agenda. Just gratitude to fans for showing up and fattening their IRAs.

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James Hetfield of Metallica fame did just that during a show at the Las Vegas Sphere earlier this month.

“Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica … We’re grateful for that — your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us … I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bulls—, OK?”

He might as well have bitten the head off a bat, Ozzy Osbourne-style, given the tenor of the times.

Days later, a clip of Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx went viral with a similar vow to the audience.

“It does not matter to Mötley Crüe if you’re a Republican. It does not matter to Mötley Crüe if you’re a Democrat … It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or if you’re straight or if you’re going right down the f—ing center of the lane of life cause we’re all in this together. Can we agree?”

Musicians take their politics a mite too seriously today, which made some recent collaborations not just noteworthy but subversive.

Michigan’s own Eminem and Kid Rock got together for a new song, “Heal My Faith.” The track is part of Kid Rock’s new Christian album “Halfway 2 Jesus.” Impossible to attack, you say? Not quite.

Salon dubbed the teamwork problematic, saying the partnership left Eminem with “irreparable reputational damage.”

Yes, the guy who rapped “Kill You,” deployed homophobic slurs and got a Secret Service call for his Trump hate should be very worried.

“You lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas,” Salon added for good measure. The rapper must have gotten similar feedback. Eminem had to reassure fans that it’s OK to sing about God with old chums.

“Not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend. Praying for all of us.”

That may be why Cyndi Lauper tried to get ahead of any trouble recently. She previously teamed with Nicki Minaj, allowing the rapper to sample her “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” smash and, later, singing together on Minaj’s recent tour.

It’s an unlikely duo, on paper, but it became more so after Minaj subsequently went MAGA. Now, the reliably liberal Lauper feels the need to defend their previous work. She told The Guardian, “I don’t know what [Minaj is] doing now … But I still don’t think you cancel people, because otherwise there’s no room for discussion.”

Heck, Tate McRae faced heat for her 2025 duet with country superstar Morgan Wallen, “What I Want.” Why? Neither singer is considered political, but Wallen is assumed to be MAGA for not shouting “Free Palestine” and hanging with singers who are.

Neither apologized for the collaboration. Stunning and brave.

Musicians have every right to share their political views. And if you buy tickets for Rage Against the Machine, you darn well better expect a political screed from Tom Morello. It’s been his shtick for decades.

Still, bipartisanship is the new counterculture, and it’s a lot cleaner than a trashed Ritz-Carlton suite.

Christian Toto is the founder of HollywoodInToto.com.