Recently, us bloggers were asked to expand upon the effects that music has upon politics. As such, I had decided to come up with a list of songs, both “liberal” and “conservative”.
My first list will be of ten of my favorite “liberal” songs. I will count a song as liberal if I deem it to espouse a liberal agenda or liberal values. Among other things, this could include cries against government intervention in the realm of morality, a general questioning of authority, a dovish view on war and foreign policy, concerns about equality, and an affinity for the common person. So here goes:
"The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby & the Range
Deals with class warfare, racial divisions, the oppression of the poor by the rich... So many progressive themes here, so little time.
"Rockin' In the Free World" by Neil Young
This song is about America's poor, cleverly crafted to sound like a patriotic anthem.
"War" by Edwin Starr
No war for any reason. Period. That's a winning theme among many on the left.
"Snake Oil" by Steve Earle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqk5of8LgLE
There's the link, since that one is a little less well-known than some of the others on this list. Anyway, Steve Earle is both an excellent artist and a hardcore progressive. This entire song compares Ronald Reagan to a snake oil salesman.
"Devil's Right Hand" by Steve Earle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW5E8noEbn4
Another excellent song by Earle. This one pushes hard for more stringent controls on firearms.
"Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine
I could make this entire list Rage Against the Machine, as well. I'll try and limit myself. These guys only make political music, and they are very, very good at it. “Bulls on Parade” is an attack on the excesses of capitalism.
"Guerilla Radio" by Rage Against the Machine
The music video for this one makes it a protest against sweatshops.
"Testify" by Rage Against the Machine
Again, another political song made even more political by the music video for it. The video in this case protests the choice in the 2000 Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore to be a false one.
"Imagine" & "Give Peace a Chance" by John Lennon
Frankly, I despise both these songs... but they are both excellent examples of liberal music. Both are anti-war anthems, and “Imagine” is even on the borderline of advocating some form of communism.
Overall, it is much easier to point to liberal music as being more influential than conservative music. This is mostly because of an overarching dynamic; that is, liberals generally want things to change, and conservatives like to see things stay the same. In addition, it seems that the people making the music seem to be on the leftist side of the spectrum more often than not. Therefore, there is a larger pool to choose from.
But at the end of the day, I believe that music is an indicator of popular opinions that have already been formed—it doesn't shape those ideas or values. To borrow the popular idiom: the dog wags the tail; the tail doesn't wag the dog. I will use the example of the Vietnam War. It is true that music from the era might have amplified the voices of the anti-war crowd, but I don't think it was instrumental in changing peoples' minds.
No comments:
Post a Comment