dJEd Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 whats everyone's stance on politics in music? personally i'm not a fan. not to say i don't listen to some bands with politically motivated lyrics. however i'm not into those bands for that reason and i find it weakens my opinion of them.i've been hunting for this Elliott Smith quote on the subject that i really like but i can't find it. possibly because i'm a big dumb jerk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 possibly because i'm a big dumb jerk.Understatement of the century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 whats everyone's stance on politics in music? personally i'm not a fan. not to say i don't listen to some bands with politically motivated lyrics. however i'm not into those bands for that reason and i find it weakens my opinion of them.Depends on how it is presented to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 The question is really how much context you need to appreciate a song, and how much the context you have affects your appreciation of the song. For example, would a song like "Ohio" by (IIRC) CSNY be as powerful to someone who didn't know what happened at Kent State? (How powerful is it to the people who were there, including the students and the guardmen?) Or someone who didn't know who "Nixon" was? Or someone who didn't understand English? Is it possible to like a song such as "Call It Democracy" by Bruce Cockburn while still thinking that the IMF is a good thing?I'd like to think so, but I realize how much context can add. (And not just lyrical context: I've got a Sisters Euclid show on right now [thanks, bouche!], and I'm reminded of what went down when they played Ottawa; I wonder if someone who didn't know what happened at set break would have the same appreciation of the opening of the second set as those who were there. I also asked a QotD a while ago about how being friends with the members of a band affected one's appreciation of the band's music.)So I really don't know. The artistic idealist in me wants to believe that the music should be first and foremost (both in the creation and the appreciation), and that when something other than the music (e.g., the message) becomes more popular, it moves into the realm of a contextual message using music as its medium. ("Is the medium more important than the message?", I hear you ask...well, others have commented on that better than I...)Aloha,Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgnor Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Public enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dJEd Posted September 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 what happened at the Euclid show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 You had to be there. (OK, what happened* was this: at set break, a pipe in the ceiling above the stage burst, and it started pretty much drizzling over the stage. Musicians went scrambling, I went outside and got the sound man and can'o'phish, and it looked like the show was pretty much over. I tore down [so did can'o'phish], and got ready to bail early, when the band started setting up again on the dance floor beside the sound booth, just using their instruments, no PA. They opened with [iIRC] "The Cousin Of Martin Scorsese" and proceeded to lay waste to everybody who was there, turning a complete washout [literally!] of a show into a masterpiece of professionalism and musicianship.) Aloha, Brad * This was at Mavericks in Ottawa on June 10, 2005. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 I agree with Esau. You say yer life's a bum deal 'N yer up against the wall . . . Well, people, you ain't even got no kinda Deal at all 'Cause what they do In Washington They just takes care of NUMBER ONE An' NUMBER ONE ain't YOU You ain't even NUMBER TWO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. J Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 I agree as well. Seems to me we listen to music for different reasons at different times. At those times, the context for both the artist and the audience does take on an importance. There are times that a politically charged message is exactly what I need to hear (in a presentation I can enjoy), and there are times when it is not. One of my favourite singer-songwriters was Phil Ochs whose politics were the heart and soul of his music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 The Clash, specifically Joe Strummer, wrote great 70's protest songs. Bob Marley had lots to say about a great many relevant socio-political issues too, and he wrote some of the best and most memorable songs. What this all means to me is that I'm all for politics in music, as long as it's honest... and good. Phil Ochs' songs and his singing voice drive me crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. J Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Phil Ochs' songs and his singing voice drive me crazy. Then you wouldn't listen to him regardless of his political message. That was the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 ummm i like songs with msg, if they're good songs. take ohio. love it. rage against the machine...hated it. if i think the music in the song sounds shitty i'm not going to take the time to listen to it. like public enemy. i can appreciate that there's a lot of political rap out there, and i can appreciate the msg they're trying to say, but most of the time i just don't understand what they're saying.femi kuti, love it. do i like when songs are used for a political msg that aren't political? nope.although...i thought the use of green day's new single september was used rather nicely in the benefit show for katrina on friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Phil Ochs' songs and his singing voice drive me crazy. Then you wouldn't listen to him regardless of his political message. That was the point. Actually, I'll still listen to his political messages because they were/are relevant and I've read his lyrics as social poetry, but his vocal delivery and some of his song structures drove me crazy back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Having already answered this question, I've been trying to think about how I can even explain when I like politics in music and when I don't.I think I can only do so by example. For instance, punk rock without a message runs the risk of being simply silly. It's easy to compare the Dead Kennedys to Maggot Sandwich or Dayglo Abortions to see the difference.I also really like when Zappa has a political message, but then again I also enjoy his instrumental music. I tend to expect Bruce Cockburn to deliver a message, but I love his tunes with or without a message.As I work this out for myself, I think I have to say I do like music with a political message, but I also like it without. I think I only dislike politics in music when I disagree with the message, and I'm aware how biased an opinion that is; so I think I must now say I DO like music and politics together.I agree with Alexis, though, that I don't like an apolitical song to be bastardized and used for politics. I also don't like people who know nothing about politics to speak publically about it, so I do expect any songwriter who goes down this road to know what she's talking about. Clear as mud? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Music is Politics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. J Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 I have no problem with political messages in music, but the following holds true: I will not listen to music I don't enjoy (regardless of the political message) and I will not listen to political messages I don't agree with (regardless of the music). Narrow-minded? I dunno. I can listen to political messages I don't agree with. I just don't want them screwing up my music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Politics is just a wrod. It represents differences in feelings people have towards one another, or certain things. So where do you draw the line, then, on dubbing something, "political"? Beats me.The guy from Cold Play once said something like this: it makes way more sense to write love songs, cuz just about everyone can relate to them, but when you touch on politics, you run the risk of alienating a prospective fan-base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boochawan Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 "HOW YOU FEELIN'?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaidy Mae Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 "HOW YOU FEELIN'?"LOL! I was waitin' for that.Alexis, I missed the Green Day ditty at the Katrina benefit, but I did hear a reworking of Boulevard of Broken Dreams on the radio. It was basically the same song with news broadcasts played on top of it. Man, did it ever suck huge. It ended with a Dubya quote. I can't see GD ending a once successful song on that fucked up note. :thumbdown: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrtrhhrtgg Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 I think music in politics has created another avenue to promote awareness. Unfortunately, there are very limited number of avenues that provide awareness to what is happening out there---political parties biggest supporter is ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 KM if you listen to their new song, and imagine it being played over video of various katrina victimish things you've got it. it's weird, it was like the song was written about it, before it ever even happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dJEd Posted September 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 green day sucks sorry, i haven't said anything sucks in a while and i felt it was due. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 you suck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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