Music can enrapture the deepest feelings of mankind, provide a theme tune for life’s ups and downs and an escape route from the everyday. Politics can change the individual and the whole world, for better or worse. The two together can change our outlook and our entire society, as was the dream of Bob Geldof with Live Aid. But how can music politicise us as individuals? Cube’s music reporter, Ella Thomas takes a look… In the last 40 years, popular forms of music have had a great impact on the world around us whether we are aware of it or not. Politicians have probably always followed music in order to hear the unsung voices of their public and today we see this through the likes of Gordon Brown and David Cameron trying to appeal through pop. Politicians are keen to use music to get what they wants but how has music been able to change us politically? ‘Pop music’ is thought to define the most widely appealing and catchiest music of its time and is impossible to define as one genre. Pop wouldn’t be pop without its fair share of dire and dismal songs, such as those sung by the Crazy Frog and our parent’s favourite, ‘Agadoo’. It may give us countless classics, such as Jackson’s Thriller and Madonna’s Like a Virgin, but they tend to be catchy and fun, not overflowing with revolution and rebellion. It’s clearly impossible to envisage an angry nation speaking their mind through the words of Girls Aloud or Take That. Pop lyrics may more often than not be innocent, but the stars in the lime light do have the power to highlight a different story.
Tabloid friendly George Michael is a good example of pop going political. Michael has been known to cause political ripples on more than one occasion during his long pop career and has often become a voice for the people. During his time with WHAM in the 80s, Michael publicly showed his doubtfulness towards the then Thatcher government and has since made comments on Blair and the Iraq war. Sentiments angrily shared at their times by many in the UK and beyond. In fact Michael is actually one pop artist who has dared to bring politics into his music and got away with it. His 1990 album Listen Without Prejudice, was the start of a string of well received political song writing that proved pop has the potential for change. As a way of moving away from pops superficial, eye candy image, Michael released many songs without videos and others with clearly controversial imagery.
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His 2002 hit ‘Shoot the Dog,’ mocked the ‘friendly’ relationship between the US and UK government, with Blair portrayed as Bush’s pet lapdog. Although these examples highlight the power of messages coming from high profile artists, pop music will always struggle to really make a political splash when it’s more important to remain fun, safe, commercial and of course, teen –friendly! Capturing its audience through thunderous guitars and raw vocal energy, rock music speaks to thousands of faithful fans looking for an escape from the daily grind. This highly charged music strengths across numerous sub genres and has become a varied, respected and well established slice of western music history. Although rock often finds its fuel in love, political lyrics are equally screamed down mics with ease into the ears of passionate fans and government bodies alike. Where pop most definitely feels uncomfortable, Rock finds it much easier to reflect on social and economic unrest. But, rock’s free thinking out spoken side also means it gets itself into trouble. John Lennon is one good example, both in his famous ‘Imagine’ lyrics, were he asks us to image no religion, and in his well known interview commentaries. When the Beatles were at the height of fame, Lennon told the Evening Standard, ‘We’re more popular than Jesus now’, and suggested that Christianity was on its way out. The backlash started with the burning of records, protests outside of gigs and the Ku Klux Klan, a white extremist group, threatening to make a memorable appearance. Intentionally political he may not have been but his free and in many ways truthful thinking highlighted the lack of real freedom of speech that is still strong in America today. Very political!
Then there is the music that is closest to my heart. When it comes to pushing people to fight for political change, it has to be, the one, the only, entirely dedicated to it’s cause, PUNK. Immediately after it materialised in the 1970s, punk shook young people and politicians alike. And when I say shook I mean physically; young people shook with delight and politicians shook with fear. |
The world stopped and took notice the day the Sex Pistols burst onto the scene in 1975. The pistols pioneered the idea of political stance in music and created a stir throughout the entirety of their career. In 77, Queen Lizzy II enjoyed her silver Jubilee and to ‘celebrate’ the Sex Pistols released ‘God Save the Queen.’ Not a dedication to our number one lady but a personal attack on the monarchy. From the success of the Sex Pistols other bands followed in herds, helping to change and shape the way people thought and acted, and opening a no-holes-barred door for musicians to be more political from then on.
Punk has had one of the biggest impacts on people politically because it ‘gobbed’ on one of the most defining factors of the structure of British society. CLASS. It caused a wave of devotees and debate that strongly reflected discontentment over the Conservative government at the time. The Clash, another personal favourite of mine, protested against government and aristocracy with explicit lyrics encouraging young people to become politically active over the treatment of the working class. Unlike pop and rock music, punk rarely got a number one single and it’s unlikely it would have wanted it. It was more concerned with speaking up for the ‘lost’ generation who weren’t represented in the media whilst bringing them together and empowering them as individuals. Too many people’s ears (ears with no taste in my mind), think punk is just noise but the impact it had on so many at the time and still today is extraordinary. Regardless of what some may say, punk has allowed artists like Ian Brown and Bono to speak their minds more freely today. There are so many music genres, such as Hip-Hop and reggae, that have had great social and personal impact on our thinking and actions that it would be impossible to mention them all and even to skim the surface of what they have achieved. Music has without doubt the power to change our minds and thoughts as individuals. And as individuals and better still together, we have the power to change the world. And if it wasn’t for punk, who knows how the world would be today. For all we know, we could all be listening to Cliff Richard whilst knitting a new hat for our Sunday best. Frightening. By Ella Thomas |