| Music And Politics |
Article Index for Music And |
Website Links For Music |
Information AboutMusic And Politics |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MUSIC AND POLITICS | |
| musicology | |
| political communication | |
| music | |
|
POLITICS IN DIFFERENT MUSICAL GENRES Folk Music has a tradition of political content, with songs sung to commemorate popular uprisings and Strike s, and to protest against injustice and social inequity. removed a dedication to Napoleon from his Third Symphony to protest against Napoleon's crowning himself Emperor. Popular Music since the middle of the 20th Century has increasingly featured politically-inspired lyrics. It has often been used to express Anti-war sentiments; Jimi Hendrix famously satirised the U.S national anthem, " The Star-Spangled Banner ," through the use of extreme distortion and feedback as a protest against the Vietnam War . The majority of political popular music has an anti-establishment or Left Wing perspective. Conservative and Libertarian lyrics are mainly found in Country Music and Heavy Metal . In western popular culture, it is rare except in times of War for pro-establishment music to gain a foothold in the popular consciousness. The was as a reaction to the aloofness of the bands in the Rock scene at that time, and its lyrics often espoused Anarchy or Revolution . This position was epitomised by artists such as Crass and the Dead Kennedys , who were inspired by Anarcho-syndicalism (''see'' Punk Ideology ). Music Of Black Origin has a long tradition of protest, from the Blues performers of the early 20th century, up to and including the Rap and hip-hop more recently popular. CENSORSHIP OF MUSIC See Also: Censorship of music Governments have often sought to place restrictions on the performance of certain types of music. Totalitarian regimes in particular have Censored music for the same reasons that they are prone to censoring Literature , Theatre , Cinema , Painting and other art forms. Islamic Fundamentalist governments, such as in Iran under the Ayatollah s and Afghanistan under the Taliban , have at times banned music completely, at least that of a Secular nature. Similar laws were invoked in the 17th Century in Britain under the Commonwealth Of England . In western , year of Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee , the Sex Pistols ' single '' God Save The Queen '' reached number two in the U.K. Top 40 after being banned, largely for political reasons. In the U.S.A., religiously-inspired outrage has also been known to lead to the public burning of music considered unholy: in 1966 recordings by The Beatles were destroyed by conservative Christians in the U.S.A. after John Lennon compared the band's popularity to that of Jesus . Though the Bolshevik revolution in what would become the Soviet Union briefly inspired a new cultural renaissance, through most of its existence the Soviet Union Censored all art forms, including music, during its existence. Many of its prominent Composers obviously felt restricted by this censorship, which often dictated that all pieces end in a Major Key and be uplifting. Several, such as Dmitri Shostakovich , often ran into trouble with the censors (such as after Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony) and became increasingly sarcastic and frustrated. Shostakovich himself is said to have slept by his door, ready to be deported to Siberia without waking his family. MUSIC IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS Candidates for public office often have Campaign Theme Song s which they play at appearances. These songs are usually contemporary popular songs without explicit political content, though they may have easily politicized or sloganized lyrics. In both the United States and the United Kingdom since the 1990s, all the major political parties have appropriated popular songs at election time, not always with the consent or approval of the recording artist. It has also often been the case that, while the song's chorus may be "on message", the lyrics to the verses may espouse a different viewpoint that shows the party in a less than complimentary light. See coverage of this issue in the UK ''Guardian'' newspaper . During the 1800s, particularly in the United States, political campaigners composed songs praising their favorite candidate, or criticizing their candidate's opponent. This practice gradually died out during the twentieth century. Unions have a long tradition of rousing or mournful songs, usually consisting of popular and/or folk tunes with pro-union lyrics or lyrics commemorating union organizers or events. These were often sung at events or during marches and while on picket or strike lines. (see Seeger 1985). NEW MUSICOLOGY New Musicology is the Cultural Study , analysis, and criticism of music. It is often based on the work of Theodor Adorno (and Walter Benjamin ) and Feminist , Gender Studies , or Postcolonial hypotheses. As Susan McClary says, "musicology fastidiously declares issues of musical Signification off-limits to those engaged in legitimate scholarship," including politics. SEE ALSO FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|