With the ongoing chaos that follows Kanye’s every move, Taylor Swift’s recent breaking of her apolitical stance, and an ever-increasing number of UK artists signing an open letter against Brexit, it begs the question: what place, if any, does politics have in music today?
The relationship between the two has existed for centuries, harking back to classical civilisations, when citizens would praise the achievements of their nations through song. In more recent times, though, popular artists have actively rallied the masses against the social and political injustice of the establishment using music’s emotive power. Perhaps one of the earliest examples familiar to our generation is Bob Dylan’s supposed anthem of change ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’‘ (1964), which he himself said was inspired by the allegiance that had formed between the civil rights movement and the folk music movement in the years prior. Responding to the tumult and disillusionment that World War Two left in its wake, and rejecting the ethos of conflict that had filled their childhoods, artists at this time turned towards messages of peace and progression. This era – though, of course, still massively problematic – was a time of revolution and change, and with musicians as high-profile as John Lennon getting in on the action with songs like ‘Give Peace a Chance‘ (1969) and ‘Imagine‘ (1971), it is hardly surprising that the bond between popular culture and politics grew stronger. Over the next few decades, bands and solo artists alike continued to use their music to sway the opinions of millions, having had the stage set for them by those who went before.
Image: Bob Dylan – Subterranean Homesick Blues (1965)
The punk movement of the mid- to late- 70s, and the relative creative freedom brought by the 80s, saw a huge surge in political openness across the UK, with names like Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam, The Smiths (oh, the irony!), and the Specials all becoming renowned for their musical protests and succeeding in their hopes of pissing off the establishment. In some cases, the BBC – whose word was once kosher in terms of what was “acceptable” – even banned certain songs in a bid to fight back, although in the case of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s song ‘Relax‘ (1984) this massively backfired and, instead of negatively impacting its reception, acted as a catalyst for its chart success, with their youth audience becoming intent on getting the troublesome single to No. 1. Coming at it from a different angle, many artists have used their music to make positive contributions to the lives of those less fortunate, be it financial aid or raising awareness for a cause, rather than advocating anarchy and rebellion. For example, Queen released a song in 2014 in support of an AIDS awareness campaign, the virus having been frontman Freddie Mercury’s cause of death in 1991. Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?‘ (1984) – a song I’m sure we all sing at the top of our lungs at least once a year – donated its royalties to help end famine in Ethiopia and inadvertently began the revolution of the charity record, a concept that would only become more popular as time went on. Having stood the test of time, charity singles are still released now by winners of talent contests, as part of televised fundraising events like Comic Relief, and sometimes in honour of a music legend’s passing, thus showing there is no need to be controversial to use music for change.
Bringing the relationship between music and politics into the present day, we’re arguably now faced with a different ball game entirely. It seems to me that, despite apparently living in a progressive society that embraces freedom of opinion (within reason, of course), all the hard-hitting political songs have now largely been confined to the underground music scene, and limited to certain genres. Why this might be, however, is the question I think we ought to be asking. Is it the rise in the idea of “the celebrity”, and the instant access to celebrity news, that renders music’s revolutionary potential somewhat redundant in popular culture? Whereas before we would’ve had to wait for a mind blowing song or rare interview in order to discover an artist’s political alignment, we now know instantly with the sharing of a picture or the posting of a snapstory – I’m left wondering whether the technological age trumps (completely unintentional, I promise) the power of music.
Image: the post that broke the silence
That said, there is still a relationship between music and politics: the artists we know and love still stand for what they believe is right, are still open about it, and still use their platform to inspire others to join their causes. For example, many UK artists teamed up with the Labour Party during the most recent UK General Election, primarily in order to get the young people of Britain to register to vote, and to stress the importance of the youth vote (and the importance of voting Labour too, no doubt). Along the same lines as that, Taylor Swift’s recent political endorsement of the Democrats got over two million likes on Instagram and caused thousands of people in the 18-24 age bracket to register to vote – a pattern that I’m sure we’ve seen plenty of times before, when artists such as Beyoncé, Stormzy, Wolf Alice, Clean Bandit, and Lady Gaga have revealed their alignment with specific political parties. Although Taylor Swift’s apolitical stance may have irritated some, and while it is undeniable that I love the ‘Our Song‘ era (*cough* and low-key prefer it to current Taylor, sorry not sorry *cough*), her decision to break the silence could not have come at a better time – it could very easily be argued she is verging on world domination, after all. In a world that is so quick to judge, and the music industry being one which relies almost entirely on the support of the general population, it takes some guts to bare all and risk the rejection of your fans.
After all that contemplation and to-ing and fro-ing, I think it’s fair to say that the bond between music and politics is equally as strong as ever, it’s just different now; if anything, having to adapt to the changes society throws at us and coming out the other side in one piece is simply testament to its continual strength. The ambition of political musicians throughout history has been to use their platform to attack or defend a cause, to inspire one audience and piss off another, and to evoke some kind of reaction from even the most inactive of minds and hardest of hearts – and so, all in all, I’d say artists today are still doing a bloody good job!
Note: In a bid to be impartial, and in the interest of advocating freedom of speech etc., I must say this: while the opinions of artists like Kanye, Azealia Banks and Morrissey (to name just a few) may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they are someone’s, and so on that basis I think they must be given some kind of credit for using their platform in their attempts to sway public opinion in the same way that other musicians do. Having said that, their views are, more often than not, offensive and/or uninformed so my sincerest apologies but that’s about as far as my defence goes. Also, I’m not sure even Kanye knows what’s going on in his own head, so there is really very little hope for the rest of us trying to work it out!