Music & Politics

It seems like a very general subject for a blog post. Perhaps too simple. But please don't click the back button on your browser.

I understand the intentions of musicians who do get political. It's usually either to raise awareness for a certain issue, raise money, represent the so-called 'united' views of a country etc. The people who will tend to believe these artists the most will be the hardcore fans. I mean, let's be honest, no 15 year old Green Day fan is going to disagree with anything that Billie Joe Armstrong says.

Let's also not forget the several music events with the same goals. These benefits range in size - from the 10,000 plus audience of the Islamic Relief-organised Sudan concert at Wembley Arena last night to Live Earth in July, which racked up way in excess of 20 million viewers worldwide - but they all have the same intentions.

But a lot of artists play the political card badly. Some of the reasons why they don't pull it off include:

Lack of knowledge - Artists not actually having a full understanding of what they believe in. One such example is Green Day during the American Idiot phase of their career. In all the interviews they did whilst the album was out, they just said the same thing in every single interview and all of their points were basic points that could have easily been counter-argued.

Sounding preachy - Artists trying to ram information down your throat. It annoys me constantly when bands decide to basically bombard their audience with opinions or propaganda.

Arse-licking world leaders - If artists are asked to talk to a world leader about the issue that irks them, you would at least expect them to really pressure them. But some just don't. The prime example is Bono of U2. If he was so dedicated about getting rid of AIDS in third world countries, then having a cup of tea and a laugh with President Bush isn't the way to achieving your goal.

But some artists can get it right, and can do so in an artistic way, without having the need to voice their opinions in countless interviews. Put simply, they let the music do the talking.

One such example is 'Year Zero' by Nine Inch Nails. It's a vision of the world in twenty years time and spells out the dire consequences that we could potentially face. Trent Reznor, the man behind Nine Inch Nails, said he did not want the album to sound preachy and wanted to express his views in a different way. The result is one of the albums of the year (not just in lyrics but in all other aspects).

It also helps to recognise that sometimes you can be hypocritical about thing. Thom Yorke has openly admitted that whenever he's spoken out about environmental issues (he's also an ambassador for environmental group Friends Of The Earth) that he reluctantly tours, even though to him it feels wrong because of the environmental consequences.

And also, some of the best music ever made has been political. 'Imagine' by John Lennon is the best example of such art. Because that is what music is - art. Art should not be restricted and anyone who performs an art should have the right to express whatever views they want in whatever way they want.

So, in short, politics in music is good. Just make sure you do it properly.

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