Politics

stimpsonslostson

Where are the great political responses to the state of the world from the musical community? 

In the past there was the rise of Punk with the likes of the Clash and the Sex Pistols protesting against the "ruling classes". 

Given the state of the political landscape in the recent past. 

Brexit, Putin, Trump, Bolsonaro, Boris etc etc. 

I've not heard a similar response to modern times. 

The last great political album I can think of is Gallows- Grey Britain. A vitriolic response to the pre-Brexit UK landscape. 

Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place & this sentiment is being expressed in Grime or another genre I don't listen to. 

What are the greatest musical political statements past and present? 

stimpsonslostson

Here's a single from The King Blues to get the ball rolling. 

5 years old and still rings true, only the names have changed. 

thecolourbox

I tried writing short ditties and sharing them with friends and family, but I quickly found out that I was in a minority of one with my views and was dismissed as woke, as a corbynista whatever that is, and as a winning leftists who, "with respect", didn't know what I was talking about.

Maybe my songs were just shit, as the "anti leftist/Marxist/woke" crowd seem to give Lennon's Imagine a free pass.

So now I keep my politics to myself and just take the pee out of whoever is in number ten and eleven with passive aggressive jokes

thecolourbox

Enjoyed that video posted above though

CE1

Check out The Idles, several great albums now

GoFish

Idles have apparently had some flack recently for not lquite iving up to their feminist rhetoric with action. This concerns booking supporting acts and payment. That's the extent of my knowledge about it.

Finding a receptive audience in a fractured musical landscape is tough. They've got to like your music and agree with your politics. The young uns probably have a better chance of finding that connection. There's been a lot of false dawns and astroturfing / piggybacking on positive / protest imagery. We Didn't Start the Fire but We Built This City, alright?

These issues have also been addressed through games, TV and films. It's more "pervasive dread" now than single issue stuff. America continues to be the source and they've got their own stuff and their own protests going on. Music is consumed differently today and there is no demographic groundswell to engender new mass movements.  The Answer may be Blowin in the Wind but the Times, They have Change-ed.

Benm39

Gogol Bordello are good if you like gypsy punk.  Immigraniada is a great song and video...

GoFish

^^ I Agree

GoFish

thecolourbox said:

... So now I keep my politics to myself and just take the pee out of whoever is in number ten ...

That could be turned into a pretty good lyric IMO - maybe a new angle from which to approach it?

RocknRollDave

I believe one of Jarvis Cocker’s solo tracks is appropriate for our times.
I shall not link to it, for it contains what many consider the worst swear word.

blobb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h5_5UPali8

BillDL

I would possibly have enjoyed the songs by Vin Garbutt, but unfortunately I found it incredibly difficult to decipher his lyrics because of his lilting vocal inflections and nasal droning.  A shame, because I liked the instrumental music.

ICBM

The The - Heartland



Still astonishingly, uncomfortably accurate more than 35 years after it was written. "This is the land where nothing changes", indeed...

blobb

That's an interesting perspective. It's also the first impression I had of him, over time the more you listen to him the more you get it. His guitar sound is also sometimes harsh, aggressive even, but it's deliberate. He can really sing beautifully. Anyway the song is about the desolaton of the country - England my England - getting back to the politics: An Englishman's castle, well I'm not impressed, my castle, my home, has just been repossessed. The nasal drawl typifies the despair and hoplessness of the situation.

Redlester

They might be in a different genre, as you suggest. 

Protest commentary is probably still making its way into song, but I'd caveat that by saying that- with popular music and especially chart music no longer occupying a central position in people's lives as they once did- there isn't that natural platform for spreading the message. i.e. the charts and music generally held the attention of a lot of people in one place at the same time. It's not that way now. 

I think also that those with a mind to say something have other opportunities to spread their message- social media etc etc etc.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't try to express their views in song, or that it's invalid. But with the decline in the importance of popular music as unified/ unifying means of cultural expression, other things take its place. 

For instance, it does make me wonder if, had they been born in a different decade, those young people currently engaged in climate activism might have formed a punk band. Somehow- and chucking soup over works of art aside- I tend to think that political activism is a better bet for the long term. But just as punks used the means available to them at the time, so these younger activists are using the means available to them. In this 2022 context, the 'protest song' has far less power to capture attention and win followers than the 'act of protest' which can then go viral and be viewed online.