Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
From Body Count’s “Cop Killer” to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” people from all sides of the political spectrum find groups or musicians that reinforce their beliefs, inspire them to take new ones, or just piss them off.
Why do so many musicians saturate their music with politics? Assistant Professor of Political Science Mark Brewer, who teaches a class called Music and Politics in the American Context, has a simple answer.
“I think it depends on how the individual feels most comfortable expressing their sentiments,” Brewer said. “All of us, if we’re interested in politics, tend to engage that interest in the way we feel most comfortable. Obviously for musicians, that means music.”
Martin Chartrand, singer-songwriter from Brewer, Maine, said:”It’s gratifying to me to say exactly how I feel in a song, to have it transformed into something more than just talking.”
Chatrand uses music as a tool to spread his message and express his reactions to the world around him. “I’m also an activist, because I wouldn’t want to just do music – its effectiveness is limited if it’s done in isolation. I wouldn’t want to just be a musician and then live in society according to the status quo otherwise. I wouldn’t be satisfied.
“Getting involved in politics, direct action, organizing and doing more clear educational activities are important, and music is one of the ways of doing this that I enjoy doing.”
Politics have been a force in music for at least as long as national anthems have existed. Most Americans are likely to know the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” They may also know “America, the Beautiful.” Songs like these have the effect of instilling certain ideals of and patriotism for a nation. On the other side of the coin, most Americans have also probably heard the tune of “We Shall Overcome,” an immensely popular protest song during the Civil Rights moment in our country. Looking across the pond, who hasn’t heard both the U.K. national anthem, “God Save the Queen,” and the Sex Pistol’s anti-monarchy punk-rock classic of the same name?
To the casual listener, it can easily seem like most modern political music expresses a political stance questioning or criticizing the status quo rather than expressing support for it.
According to Brewer, “If we look at different genres of music in the American context to see which is the most political, hip-hop is at the top of that list, and punk isn’t far behind. I think the ideological question is an interesting one, in that certainly, hip-hop tends to be sort of ‘left,’ and I think you can say that for most but not all punk. However, I don’t think the left has a monopoly on musical expression. If you want to find a more conservative viewpoint, you just have to look at country, although that’s not all conservative; there’s also populism there. You can also find a fair amount of conservative expression within certain sections of heavy metal.”
Both presidential candidates have utilized music during this campaign season, as well have their supporters. Barack Obama has used “Better Way” by Ben Harper and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder. John McCain used “Take a Chance on Me” by Abba, and “Our Country” by John Melloncamp, although Melloncamp later asked him to stop using his song in the campaign. The candidates’ choices are interesting, but this is by no means the first election year to utilize music.
“The most famous [campaign song usage] is Bill Clinton in 1992 using Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.’ That spoke to many Americans who were unhappy about the last few years,” Brewer said. “An example from this campaign is McCain using ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor in the background. In his speeches he talks a lot about ‘fighting to the end.’ A lot of attention goes into that sort of thing. It serves an important, symbolic theme for candidates.”
It’s not just the songs candidates choose to use in their campaigns – many musicians have publicly expressed support for presidential candidates, or even written songs for candidates. Examples include a reggaeton song by Amigos de Obama and will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” video, released in February, which created a tune entirely from an Obama speech and garnered an Emmy award and more than 20 million views on YouTube.
Musicians have gone so far as to perform at fundraisers for candidates. Grammy award-winning country artist Lee Greenwood sang in Bangor two weeks ago at Sarah Palin’s rally. Bruce Springsteen hosted a free three-day series of concerts in early October in support of Obama.
When asked which artists’ music might have had the greatest influence on politics in America, Brewer said Woody Guthrie, the folk singer/songwriter who penned “This Land is Your Land,” and performed with a guitar proclaiming “This Machine Kills Fascists” on a sticker.
“Woody Guthrie has got to top any sort of list like this. His political statements are still having a huge influence today, 70 years later. Someone who modeled himself after Guthrie is Bob Dylan, who – at least before his motorcycle accident – was incredibly political. In my class I ask students to choose the song they think is the most effective, and John Lennon comes up a lot for ‘Imagine.’”
Chartrand’s political message in music is emblematic of how passionately musicians can fuse the two together. “The social and economic order that has a lot of power in the world is very immoral and contradictory to freedom and to happiness. There’s creativity and positive things in every person and every living thing, and we have power if we take advantage of that. If we have the will and initiative to use [that power], we can destroy the powerful order that we have and create something better,” Chartrand said.
Music fans, patriots and anti-establishment champions alike – whether they tear up with hand over heart when “The Star Spangled Banner” is sung before a baseball game, or pump fists in the air every time “Anarchy In The U.K.” plays – are exposed to politics in the medium all the time, even if it isn’t always clear. The message is often as potent as the notes carrying it: Music has been and will continue to be a meaningful vehicle for political expression for years to come.
