Hard to believe it’s been almost 5 years since Grizzly Bear have released a full-length album, even harder to realize it’s been almost a decade since I first discovered them thanks to their timeless album Veckatimest. Frontman Ed Droste has done anything but shy away or “play it safe” during hard times, being a vocal activist and artist in one of the most volatile election seasons of many millennial’s lifetimes. Ed Droste of course came out in support of our guy Bernie Sanders, traveling with him, other celebrities and artists in support to get out the vote. His open letter on instagram comes in serious ‘woke-tone’ that might be too real for the day before thanksgiving for some that enjoy the familial time it offers, but it’s peeling the layer off at a time where members of the mainstream media have private meetings with a billionaire about to be president-elect.

His note is as written below:

“Who else is excited for Thanksgiving? So much yummy food! Yay! Yummmmm! Oh hai!?? What? Wait, we slaughtered millions of Native Americans and stole their land? Yayyyyyy! You know what else is cool? We are a fucked up racist country and stop with ur bullshit “but whites can be discriminated against too!”….or “just because we voted Trump doesn’t mean we’re racist!”…oh, honey, your poor white privilege. “Trump’s America” is a continuation of white supremacy. I CANNOT deal with whites that feel “marginalized”. This country is built on blood, and all y’all “make America great again” idiots are literally harkening back to a fictional idea of the past. White supremacy still lives, but ur attempt to make it “great again” is a huge step back on progress. It’s a fantasy for white people that never existed and for everyone else was a collective nightmare. Let’s make America great again? So let’s spray paint swastikas on (RIP) Beastie Boy’s Adam Yauch memorial PLAYGROUND? Somehow, I have more liberal sound minded people on here than the band does on FB….but make no mistake. You have voted for a candidate that is ENDORSED by the KKK…if that isn’t enough to take a look in the mirror, not sure you have a chance. “But the emails !!!”, let’s just pretend all that shit is TRUE. Like, ok. Let’s just say Hillary is a horrible lying warmonger….guess what? Domestically, Trump has incited so many hate crimes in just 10 days it surpasses 9/11…. The fuck were we thinking voting in a reality TV star? Wanted to shake up the system? So did I! But I didn’t choose a candidate that invited hatred and appoints literal white supremacists to their cabinet. How’s that for fucking with the country? U like it? My rights as a gay man are in jeopardy…. and millions of others are even worse off. So eat your turkey, and be grateful you aren’t under attack because if you voted for Trump you’re pretty much saying your white privilege “trumps” the millions of people that are victims of the hate he enabled and encouraged amongst “the white working class”…for the rest of us (and I’m not religious) ….God Help Us…P.S. “Alt right” is a bullshit term to normalize white supremacy.” FIGHT! -Ed

Not only is it inspiring to read and see someone stand up for the historically marginalized, Droste and band are hard at work on a much anticipated follow up to 2012’s Shields. Something to keep in mind that could likely echo the socio-political mindframe of the band and fuel the long journey ahead with a looming Trump admin hanging over on the horizon like that scene in Ghostbusters.