When looking at the role of politics in music it is important, as when studying any complex area of popular culture, to look at a variety of subject positions as well as placing key historical events into context. In order to gain a well-rounded subject position of the effectiveness of politics in pop there are a variety of opinions and historical examples to take into consideration.
To look at the role of politics in music is to study a diversity of meanings. Political music, generally speaking, aids one of two causes; either serving, or rebelling against, dominant institutions in society. For example, national anthems could be cited as music with a political sentiment, aiming to reinforce nationalism and a sense of belonging, whereas protest songs (a more overtly radical form of political music) highlight social issues and act as a form of resistance.
As John Street (1986) puts it, "The politics of music are a mixture of state policies, business practises, artistic choices and audience responses." Here, Street highlights the multi-faceted nature of politics within music, and its reliance upon contextual factors, important aspects to consider in order to cultivate a better understanding of the suitability of music as a vehicle for political discourse.
Popular music has always been an effective tool in both creating and providing a commentary on social change, and its specific mobilization within social movements. For example, West coast rock music in the 1960s was ideologically premised on the opposition to America’s war in Vietnam.
…Throughout 1966 and early 1967, the antiwar movement became an increasingly legitimate concern within the political establishment. More influential politicians voiced support for the protesters and, on the West coast, the movement was gaining momentum through the efforts of the leading musical groups, regarded as modern day prophets by the disillusioned American youth... (Frankum, 2002)
These "modern day prophets" took form in bands such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Country Joe and The Fish, who addressed their audience as members of an alternative society, with opposition to the war acting as the central articulating principle behind this counter-culture. The music both expressed the values and aspirations of the counter-culture and helped to consolidate the culture and unite those with the same, anti-Vietnam, beliefs.
There have been many instances where popular music has played a key role in identifying social problems such as alienation, racism, and other forms of oppression, acting as a powerful means of raising both awareness and funds for political or humanitarian causes. Examples of music playing this overt political role can be seen in both national campaigns, such as the civil rights movement, and 1969’s Woodstock Festival and international movements such as Live Aid and Rock Against Racism.
…The Woodstock festival of 1969 is remembered as much for its 'bringing together' of the counter-cultural generation as for the music performed. The event represented a milestone in the use of music as a medium for political expression, while simultaneously acting as a springboard for the more expressly commercial of rock and pop events which were to follow… (Bennett, 2004)
Music supplies a voice and allows for the creation of a shared experience and collected vision amongst those who desire change. It also enables the translation of extreme political radicalism into a more accessible, and often more effective, outlet.
Article comments
1 - Alex Cosper
ProRev,
Since you’ve published articles on politics and music I thought you might
Be interested in a new political song I wrote called “The Election of 2010” …
Listen at my site