1. Folk music
    American folk revival  Blues and black American music  Contemporary Western folk music  Folk music around the world 

2. Rock music
    1960s–70s counterculture  Punk rock  Rock the Vote 

3. Hip hop

4. Popular music

5. Racist music

6. Country music

7. Classical music
    In the Soviet Union  Music in Nazi Germany 

8. See also

9. References

10. Further reading

11. External links

The connection between music and politics, particularly political expression in song, has been seen in many cultures. Although music influences political movements and rituals, it is not clear how or to what extent general audiences relate to music on a political level.^[1] Music can express anti-establishment or protest themes, including anti-war songs, but pro-establishment ideas are also represented, for example, in national anthems, patriotic songs, and political campaigns. Many of these types of songs could be described as topical songs.

Songs can be used to portray a specific political message. However, there may be barriers to the transmission of such messages; even overtly political songs are often shaped by and reference their contemporary political context, making an understanding of the history and events that inspired the music necessary in order to fully comprehend the message. The nature of that message can also be ambiguous because the label "political music" can be applied either to songs that merely observe political subjects, songs which offer a partisan opinion, or songs which go further and advocate for specific political action. Thus a distinction has been made, for example, between the use of music as a tool for raising awareness, and music as advocacy.^[1]

Furthermore, some forms of music may be deemed political by cultural association, irrespective of political content, as evidenced by the way Western pop/rock bands such as The Beatles were censored by the State in the Eastern Bloc in the 1960s and 1970s, while being embraced by younger people as symbolic of social change.^[2] This points to the possibilities for discrepancy between the political intentions of musicians (if any), and reception of their music by wider society. Conversely, there is the possibility of the meaning of deliberate political content being missed by its intended audience, reasons for which could include obscurity or delivery of message, or audience indifference or antipathy.

It is difficult to predict how audiences will respond to political music, in terms of aural or even visual cues.^[1] For example, Bleich and Zillmann found that "counter to expectations, highly rebellious students did not enjoy defiant rock videos more than did their less rebellious peers, nor did they consume more defiant rock music than did their peers",^[3] suggesting there may be little connection between behaviour and musical taste. Pedelty and Keefe argue that "It is not clear to what extent the political messages in and around music motivate fans, become a catalyst for discussion, [or] function aesthetically".

However, in contrast they cite research that concludes, based on interpretive readings of lyrics and performances with a strong emphasis on historical contexts and links to social groups, that "given the right historical circumstances, cultural conditions, and aesthetic qualities, popular music can help bring people together to form effective political communities".^[3]

Recent research has also suggested that in many schools around the world, including in modern democratic nations, music education has sometimes been used for the ideological purpose of instilling patriotism in children, and that particularly during wartime patriotic singing can escalate to inspire destructive jingoism.^[4]

Plato wrote: "musical innovation is full of danger to the whole state, and ought to be prohibited. When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them;"{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} although this was written as a warning this can be taken as a revolutionary statement that music is much more than just melodies and harmonies but a much more important movement in the life of all human beings.

Folk music

American folk revival

The song "We Shall Overcome" is perhaps the best-known example of political folk music, in this case a rallying-cry for the US Civil Rights Movement. Pete Seeger was involved in the popularisation of the song, as was Joan Baez.^[5] During the early part of the 20th century, poor working conditions and class struggle lead to the growth of the Labour movement and numerous songs advocating social and political reform. The most famous songwriter of the early 20th century "Wobblies" was Joe Hill. Later, from the 1940s through the 1960s, groups like the Almanac Singers and The Weavers were influential in reviving this type of socio-political music. Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" is one of the most famous American folk songs and its lyrics exemplify Guthrie's socialistic patriotism.^[6] Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", was a popular anti-war protest song.^[7] Many of these types of songs became popular during the Vietnam War era. "Blowin' in the Wind", by Bob Dylan, was a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary, and suggested that a younger generation was becoming more aware of global problems than many of the older generation.^[8] In 1964, Joan Baez had a top-ten hit in the UK^[9] with "There but for Fortune" (by Phil Ochs); it was a plea for the innocent victim of prejudice or inhumane policies.^[10] Many topical songwriters with social and political messages emerged from the folk music revival of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs,^[11] Tom Paxton, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, and others.

The folk revival can be considered as a political re-invention of traditional song, a development encouraged by Left-leaning folk record labels and magazines such as Sing Out! and Broadside. The revival began in the 1930s^[12] and continued after World War II. Folk songs of this time gained popularity by using old hymns and songs but adapting the lyrics to fit the current social and political conditions.^[13] Archivists and artists such as Alan Lomax, Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie were crucial in popularising folk music, and the latter began to be known as the Lomax singers.^[14] This was an era of folk music in which some artists and their songs expressed clear political messages with the intention of swaying public opinion and recruiting support.^[15] In the UK, Ewan MacColl^[16] and A. L. Lloyd performed similar roles, with Lloyd as folklorist^[17] and MacColl (often with Peggy Seeger) releasing dozens of albums which blended traditional songs with newer political material influenced by their Communist activism.^[18][19][20]

In the later, post-war revival, folk music found a new audience with college students, partly since universities provided the organisation necessary for sustaining music trends and an expanded, impressionable audience looking to rebel against the older generation.^[21] Nevertheless, the rhetoric of the United States government during the Cold War era was very powerful and in some ways overpowered the message of folk artists, such as in relation to public opinion regarding Communist-backed political causes. Various Gallup Polls that were conducted during this time suggest that Americans consistently saw Communism as a threat; for example, a 1954 poll shows that at the time 51% of Americans said that admitted Communists should be arrested, and in relation to music 64% of respondents said that if a radio singer is an admitted Communist he should be fired.^[22] Leading figures in the American folk revival such as Seeger, Earl Robinson and Irwin Silber were or had been members of the Communist Party, while others such as Guthrie (who had written a column for CPUSA magazine New Masses), Lee Hays and Paul Robeson were considered fellow travellers. As McCarthyism began to dominate the United States population and government, it was more difficult for folk artists to travel and perform since folk was pushed out of mainstream music.^[23] Artists were blacklisted, denounced by politicians and the media, and in the case of the 1949 Peekskill Riots, subject to mob attack.

In general, the significance of lyrics within folk music reduced as it became influenced by rock and roll.^[24] However, during the popular folk revival's last phase in the early 1960s, new folk artists such as Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs began writing their own, original topical music, as opposed to mainly adapting traditional folksong.^[25]

Blues and black American music

Blues songs have the reputation of being resigned to fate rather than fighting against misfortune, but there have been exceptions. Bessie Smith recorded protest song "Poor Man Blues" in 1928. Josh White recorded "When Am I Going to be Called a Man" in 1936 – at this time it was common for white men to address black men as "boy" – before releasing two albums of explicitly political material, 1940's Chain Gang and 1941's Southern Exposure: An Album of Jim Crow Blues.^[26] Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues" and Big Bill Broonzy's "Black, Brown and White" (aka "Get Back") protested racism. Billie Holiday recorded and popularised the song "Strange Fruit" in 1939. Written by Communist Lewis Allan, and also recorded by Josh White and Nina Simone, it addressed Southern racism, specifically the lynching of African-Americans, and was performed as a protest song in New York venues, including Madison Square Gardens. In the post-war era, J.B. Lenoir gained a reputation for political and social comment; his record label pulled the planned release of 1954 single "Eisenhower Blues" due to its title^[27] and later material protested civil rights, racism and the Vietnam War.^[28] John Lee Hooker also sang 'I Don't Wanna Go to Vietnam" on 1969 album Simply the Truth.^[29]

Paul Robeson, singer, actor, athlete, and civil rights activist, was investigated by the FBI and was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for his outspoken political views. The State Department denied Robeson a passport and issued a "stop notice" at all ports, effectively confining him to the United States. In a symbolic act of defiance against the travel ban, labour unions in the U.S. and Canada organised a concert at the International Peace Arch on the border between Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia on May 18, 1952.^[30] Robeson stood on the back of a flat bed truck on the U.S. side of the border and performed a concert for a crowd on the Canadian side, variously estimated at between 20,000 and 40,000 people. He returned to perform a second concert at the Peace Arch in 1953,^[31] and over the next two years two further concerts were scheduled.

Disco, contrary to popular opinion, originated in Black queer communities and offered these communities a form of salvation or safe haven from social turmoil during the 1970s, in the Bronx and other parts of New York. It was agreed by many members prominent in the Disco scene that the music was about love and the vitality of "absorbing the feeling", but the question regarding its political import received mixed responses. Although the songs themselves may not have explicitly made political claims, it's important to note that disco, for many, was a "form of escape" and noted a "dissolve of restrictions on black/gay people".^[32] The spirit of the 60s as well as the experience of Vietnam and black/gay liberation spurred the almost-frenzied energy pertinent in these discotheques. Not only did discos allow marginalized individuals an opportunity to express their sexuality and appreciate one another's diversity, they had the ability to influence popular music. Although once mutually exclusive, discotheques allowed for the coming together of black music and pop; this shows how disco music not only led to a social appreciation for diversity, but offered a platform on which Black artists could succeed.

The eventual commercialization of disco set in motion its decline. This new commodified disco, very different than its diverse and queer roots, idealized the white individual and favored heteronormative relations. This not only allowed for the roots of such a diverse movement to be lost, but the erasure of the liberation and escapism it offered many minorities.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

Contemporary Western folk music

Although public attention shifted to rock music from the mid 1960s, folk singers such as Joan Baez and Tom Paxton continued to address political concerns in their music and activism. Baez's 1974 Gracias a la Vida^[33] album was a response to events in Chile and included versions of songs by Nueva Canción Chilena singer-songwriters Violeta Parra and Victor Jara. Paxton albums such as Outward Bound^[34] and Morning Again^[35] continued to highlight political issues. They were joined by other activist musicians such as Holly Near,^[36] Ray Korona, Charlie King, Anne Feeney, Jim Page, Utah Phillips and more recently David Rovics.

In Ireland, the Wolfe Tones is perhaps the best known band in the folk protest/rebel music tradition, recording political material since the late 1960s including songs by Dominic Behan on albums such as Let the People Sing and Rifles of the I.R.A. Christy Moore has also recorded much political material, including on debut solo album Paddy on the Road, produced by and featuring songs by Dominic Behan, and on albums such as Ride On (including "Viva la Quinta Brigada"), Ordinary Man and various artists LP H Block to which Moore contributed "Ninety Miles from Dublin", in response to the Republican prisoners' blanket protest of the late 1970s. Earlier in the decade, The Barleycorn had held the #1 spot on the Irish charts for five weeks in 1972 with their first release "The Men Behind the Wire", about internment, with all profits going to the families of internees; Republican label R&O Records likewise released several records around this time to fundraise for the same cause, including the live album Smash Internment,^[37] recorded in Long Kesh, and The Wolfhounds' recording of Paddy McGuigan's "The Boys of the Old Brigade".^[38]

In the UK, the Ewan MacColl tradition of political folk has been continued since the 1960s by singer-songwriters such as Roy Bailey,^[39] Leon Rosselson^[40][41] and Dick Gaughan.^[42] Since the 1980s, a number of artists have blended folk protest with influences from punk and elsewhere to produce topical and political songs for a modern independent rock music audience, including Billy Bragg,^[43] Attila the Stockbroker,^[44] Robb Johnson,^[45] Alistair Hulett,^[46] The Men They Couldn't Hang,^[47] TV Smith,^[48] Chumbawamba^[49] and more recently Chris T-T^[50] and Grace Petrie.^[51]

Folk music around the world

Folk music had a strong connection with politics internationally. Hungary, for instance, experimented with a form of liberal Communism in the late Cold War era, which was reflected in much of their folk music.^[52] During the late twentieth century folk music was crucial in Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia as it allowed ethnicities to express their national identity in a time of political uncertainty and chaos.^[53]

In Communist China, exclusively national music was promoted. A flautist named Zhao Songtim – a member of the Zhejiang Song-and-Dance Troupe – attended an Arts festival in 1957 in Mexico but was punished for his international outlook by being expelled from the Troupe, and from 1966 to 1970 underwent "re-education". In 1973 he returned to the Troupe but was expelled again following accusations.^[54]

An example of folk music being used for conservative, rather than radical, political ends is shown by the cultural activities of Edward Lansdale, a CIA chief who dedicated part of his career to counter-insurgency in the Philippines and Vietnam. Lansdale believed that the government's best weapon against Communist rebellion was the support and trust of the population. In 1953 he arranged for the release of a campaign song widely credited with helping to elect Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay, an important US anti-communist ally.^[58] In 1965, intrigued by local Vietnamese customs and traditions, and the potential use of 'applied folklore' as a technique of raising consciousness, he began to record and curate tapes of folk songs for intelligence purposes. He also urged performers such as Phạm Duy to write and perform patriotic songs to raise morale in South Vietnam. Duy had written topical songs popular during the anti-French struggle but then broke with the Communist-dominated Viet Minh.^[55]

Rock music

Many rock artists, as varied as Roger Waters,^[56] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,^[57] Bruce Springsteen,^[58] Little Steven,^[59] Rage Against the Machine,^[60] Manic Street Preachers,^[61] Megadeth,^[62] Enter Shikari,^[63] Architects (British band),^[64] Muse, System of a Down^[65] and Sonic Boom Six^[66] have had openly political messages in their music. The use of political lyrics and the taking of political stances by rock musicians can be traced back to the 1960s counterculture,^[67] specifically the influence of the early career of Bob Dylan,^[8] itself shaped by the politicised folk revival.

1960s–70s counterculture

During the 1960s and early 1970s counterculture era, musicians such as John Lennon commonly expressed protest themes in their music,^[68] for example on the Plastic Ono Band's 1969 single "Give Peace a Chance". Lennon later devoted an entire album to politics and wrote the song Imagine, widely considered to be a peace anthem. Its lyrics invoke a world without religion, national borders or private property.

In 1962-63, Bob Dylan sang about the evils of war, racism and poverty on his trademark political albums "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (released in 1964), popularising the cause of the Civil Rights Movement. Dylan was influenced by the folk revival, as well as by the Beat writers, and the political beliefs of the young generation of the era.^[8] In turn, while Dylan's political phase comes under the 'folk' category, he was known as a rock artist from 1965 and remained associated with an anti-establishment stance that influenced other musicians – such as the British Invasion bands – and the rock music audience, by broadening the spectrum of subjects that could be addressed in popular song.^[67]

The MC5 (Motor City 5) came out of the Detroit, Michigan underground scene of the late 1960s,^[69] and embodied an aggressive evolution of garage rock which was often fused with socio-political and countercultural lyrics, such as in the songs "Motor City Is Burning", (a John Lee Hooker cover adapting the story of the Detroit Race Riot (1943) to the 1967 12th Street Detroit Riot), and "American Ruse" (which discusses U.S. police brutality as well as pollution, prison, materialism and rebellion). They had ties to radical leftist groups such as Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers and John Sinclair's White Panther Party. MC5 was the only band to perform a set before the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, as part of the Yippies' Festival of Life where an infamous riot subsequently broke out between police and students protesting the recent assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Vietnam War.

Other rock groups that conveyed specific political messages in the late 1960s/early 1970s – often in regard to the Vietnam War – include The Fugs, Country Joe and the Fish, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Third World War, while some bands, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Hawkwind, referenced political issues occasionally and in a more observational than engaged way, e.g. in songs like "Revolution", "Street Fighting Man", "Salt of the Earth" and "Urban Guerrilla".

Punk rock

Notable punk rock bands, such as Crass, Conflict, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Refused, American Standards, Discharge, MDC, Aus-Rotten, Anti-Flag, and Leftover Crack have used political and sometimes controversial lyrics that attack the establishment, sexism, capitalism, racism, speciesism, colonialism, and other phenomena they see as sources of social problems.

Since the late 1970s, punk rock has been associated with various left-wing or anti-establishment ideologies,^[70][71][72] including anarchism and socialism. Punk's DIY culture held an attraction for some on the Left, suggesting affinity with the ideals of workers' control, and empowerment of the powerless^[73] (though it is arguable that the punk movement's partial focus on apathy towards the establishment, combined with the fact that in many situations, punk rock music generated income for major record companies, and the notable similarities between some strains of anarchism and capitalism, meant that the punk movement ran contrary to left-wing ideologies) – and the genre as a whole came, largely through the Sex Pistols, to be associated with anarchism. The sincerity of the early punk bands has been questioned – some critics saw their referencing of revolutionary politics as a provocative pose rather than an ideology^[74][75] – but bands such as Crass^[76] and Dead Kennedys^[77] later emerged who held strong anarchist views, and over time this association strengthened, as they went on to influence other bands in the UK anarcho-punk and US hardcore subgenres, respectively.

The Sex Pistols song "God Save the Queen" was banned from broadcast by the BBC^[78] in 1977 due to its presumed anti-Royalism, partly due to its apparent equation of the monarchy with a "fascist regime". The following year, the release of debut Crass album The Feeding Of the 5000 was initially obstructed when pressing plant workers refused to produce it due to sacrilegious lyrical content.^[79] Crass later faced court charges of obscenity related to their Penis Envy album, as the Dead Kennedys later did over their Frankenchrist album artwork.^[77]

The Clash are regarded as pioneers of political punk, and were seen to represent a progressive, socialistic worldview compared to the apparently anti-social or nihilistic attack of many early punk bands.^[80][81] Partly inspired by 1960s protest music such as the MC5, their stance influenced other first and second wave punk/new wave bands such as The Jam, The Ruts, Stiff Little Fingers, Angelic Upstarts, TRB and Newtown Neurotics, and inspired a lyrical focus on subjects such as racial tension, unemployment, class resentment, urban alienation and police violence, as well as imperialism. Partially credited with aligning punk and reggae,^[82][83] The Clash's anti-racism helped to cement punk's anti-fascist politics, and they famously headlined the first joint Rock Against Racism (RAR)/Anti Nazi League (ANL) carnival in Hackney, London, in April 1978.^[84][85][86] The RAR/ANL campaign is credited with helping to destroy the UK National Front as a credible political force, aided by the support received from punk and reggae bands.

Many punk musicians, such as Vic Bondi (Articles of Faith), Joey Keithley (DOA), Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), The Crucifucks, Bad Religion, The Proletariat, Against All Authority, Dropkick Murphys and Crashdog have held and expressed left-wing views. Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, as well as T.S.O.L. frontman Jack Grisham, have run as candidates for public office under left-wing platforms. However, some punk bands have expressed more populist and conservative opinions, and an ambiguous form of patriotism, beginning in the U.S with many of the groups associated with 1980s New York hardcore,^[87] and prior to that in the UK with a small section of the Oi! movement.^[88][89]

An extremely small minority of punk rock bands, exemplified by (1980s-era) Skrewdriver and Skullhead, have held far-right and anti-communist stances, and were consequently reviled in the broader, largely Leftist punk subculture.

Rock the Vote

Hip hop

During Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Kanye West took the opportunity to support the Republican candidate by urging his fans to vote for Trump.^[92] Although West has historically been against the Republican administrations, he has been one of Donald Trumps most vocal supporters.^[92] On April 27th, 2018, Kanye West and fellow rapper, T.I., released a collaboration called "Ye vs. the People" that consisted of West and T.I.'s opposing political views.^[93] The song, a conversation between the two rappers, became popular not for its musical touch, but because of the courage West and T.I. showed by releasing a controversial song in a time high political disagreement.^[94]

Hip hop music has been associated with protest since 1982, when "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became known as the first prominent rap record to make a serious “social statement”.^[95][96] However the first political rap release has been credited to Brother D and the Collective Effort’s 1980 single “How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise?” which called the USA a “police state” and rapped about historical injustices such as slavery and ethnic cleansing.^[97]

Kanye West has been real vocal artist with politics this few years along with many people of the united states "SHORTLY AFTER DONALD Trump won the presidency, Kanye West, the successful and controversial hip-hop artist and fashion mogul, tried to start a conversation about political pluralism. On stage during a show in San Jose, California, he admitted something he knew would alarm a lot of his audience: While he hadn’t actually voted, have been for Trump. mean that I don’t think that black lives matter,” he clarified. “That don’t mean I don’t think that I’m a believer in women’s rights. That don’t mean I don’t believe in gay marriage.” Still, West told his San Jose crowd, it was time to “stop focusing on racism….We are in a racist country, period" .^[98]

Many times Kanye west has shown his soport and respect to president trump and he has not only included that on his rants in social media but maintained a balance with his music "He became active again in 2018, releasing a string of albums that he either performed on or produced in early summer. This time, it looked like his politics might not hinder his creative ventures. His solo record Ye quickly hit No. 1. A week later, a collaboration with Kid Cudi called Kids See Ghosts debuted at No. 2, while Ye held on to No. 5.

Kanye west has also used his plat form of twitter to rant about his views on polotics and he tried to agree with the movements our current president has to shift our nations and although he may not agree with all of president trumps actions he does think he does have valid points but his wording and approach may risk his musc career and fan base

"in April 2018, after being absent from Twitter for over a year and having released no music in the interim, West tweeted a photo of himself in a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat. People got mad all over again. In response, he tweeted that “the mob can’t make me not love” Trump. “We are both dragon energy,” he said. “He is my brother.” West also struck up an unlikely ideological alliance with Candace Owens of the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA. Owens, a black woman who pushes black support for the Republican Party, became a frequent public companion, including at the release event for West’s Ye album, which he issued about a month after launching himself as a born-again MAGAite."^[99]

Later in the decade hip hop band Public Enemy became "perhaps the most well-known and influential political rap group"^[100] and released a series of records whose message and success "directed hip-hop toward an explicitly self-aware, pro-black consciousness that became the culture's signature throughout the next decade,"^[101] helping to inspire a wave of politicised hip hop by artists such as X Clan,^[102] Poor Righteous Teachers,^[103] Brand Nubian,^[104] 2 Black 2 Strong^[105] and Paris.^[106]

The Hip-Hop group N.W.A has had their political take within their songs. Their most controversial song "F**k Tha Police", shined a light on police brutality who used racially biased tactics in Los Angeles during the '80s and '90s. With their memorable verse "F**k tha police, coming straight from the underground, young n***a got it bad cause I'm brown, and not the other color so the police think they have the authority to kill a minority",lead them to receive arrest threats for performing police-bashing songs. Their song "Express youself" addressed the matters on the restricitve limits of rapper in the industry. In their music video, it shows how black people are have no voice and are punished when they speak up. ^[107]

Marshall Mathers, also known as rapper Eminem released an album called "Kamikaze" and it contained many political messages, most of them revolving around his disapproval of Donald Trump being elected President of the United States. He stated he was willing to lose fans over this criticism when he “And any fan of mine/who’s a supporter of his/I’m drawing in the sand a line/you’re either for or against,”[7] Victor, Daniel (August 31, 2018). "Eminem Addresses Trump Rap in Surprise Album 'Kamikaze'". New York Times.

Popular music

Popular music found throughout the world contains political messages such as those concerning social issues and racism. For example, Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" has often been known as the international gay anthem,^[108] as it discusses homosexuality in a positive light and expresses the idea that it is natural. Furthermore, the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina received a great political response from the Hip hop music community. The content of the music changed into a response showing the complex dynamic of the community, especially the black community, while also acting a sometimes contradictory protest of how the disaster was handled in the aftermath.^[109] This topic even reached beyond the locality of New Orleans, as the issue of the disaster and racism was mentioned by other rappers from other regions of the country.^[110]

Pop music is common for its sensationalized and mass-produced uplifting beats.^[111] Many artists take advantage of their large followings to spread awareness of political issues in their music. Similar to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," Macklemore's song "Same Love" also expresses support and homage to the LGBTQ+ community.^[112] Furthermore, Beyonce's album "Lemonade" has been hailed as awe-inspiring and eye-opening with many of the songs addressing political issues such as racism, stereotyping, police brutality, and infidelity.^[113] These songs, aside from being catchy and uplifting, discusses serious issues in a lighthearted and simplified manner allowing people to understand while also commonly being influenced by the current political climate such as the violent attacks on the Bataclan Theater in Paris^[114] and the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.^[115]

Racist music

Racist music or white power music is music associated with and promoting neo-Nazism and white supremacy ideologies.^[116] Although musicologists point out that many, if not most early cultures had songs to promote themselves and denigrate any perceived enemies, the origins of Racist music is traced to the 1970s. By 2001 there were many music genres with 'white power rock' the most commonly represented band type, followed by National Socialist black metal.^[117] 'Racist country music' is mainly an American phenomena while Germany, Great Britain, and Sweden have higher concentration of white power bands.^[117] Other music genres include 'fascist experimental music' and 'racist folk music'.^[117] Contemporary white-supremacist groups include "subcultural factions that are largely organized around the promotion and distribution of racist music."^[118] According to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission "racist music is principally derived from the far-right skinhead movement and, through the internet, this music has become perhaps the most important tool of the international neo-Nazi movement to gain revenue and new recruits."^[119][120] The news documentary VH1 News Special: Inside Hate Rock (2002) noted that Racist music (also called 'Hate music' and 'Skinhead rock') is "a breeding ground for home-grown terrorists."^[121] In 2004 a neo-Nazi record company launched "Project Schoolyard" to distribute free CDs of the music into the hands of up to 100,000 teenagers throughout the U.S., their website stated, "We just don't entertain racist kids … We create them."^[122] Brian Houghton, of the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, said that Racist music was a great recruiting tool, "Through music ... to grab these kids, teach them to be racists and hook them for life."^[123]

Country music

American country music contains numerous images of "traditional" life, family life, religious life, as well as patriotic themes. Songs such as Merle Haggard's "The Fightin' Side of Me", and "Okie from Muskogee" have been perceived as patriotic songs which contain an "us versus them" mentality directed at the counterculture "hippies" and the anti-war crowd, though these were actually misconceptions by listeners who failed to understand their satirical nature.^[124]

More recent American country music songs containing political messages include Keith Urban's song "Female" which details the psychological and emotional impact that sexist sayings, slut-shaming, and lack of representation female's hold in politics have on women.^[125] Another recent American country song that concerns politics is Carrie Underwood's song "Love Wins." In this song, Underwood identifies themes of prejudice, hatred, and politics.^[126] Through this song, Underwood expresses the idea that the best way to close this divide and strengthen what she sees to be a broken world is through unity, loving each other, and working together in times of crisis.^[126] Like Urban and Underwood's songs, Kacey Musgraves' song "Follow Your Arrow" is considered to have a radical point of view towards same-sex marriage which differs from the conservative point of view that is normally found in country music.^[125]

The female country artist Kacey Musgraves integrates politics within the lyrics of her country music. Musgraves talks about gay rights and cannabis consumption in her songs. Her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Musgraves was unveiling a new song from her new album "Biscuits". The song's name is "Family Is Family." The chorus of the song is "Family is family, in church or in prison/You get what you get and you don't get to pick 'em/They might smoke like chimneys but give you their kidneys/Yeah friends come in handy but family is family".^[127]

African American country rapper Cowboy Troy, the stage name of Troy Lee Coleman III, incorporates real-life problems into his music, calling for societal change. He sheds light on concepts like class analysis, gender issues, and popular narratives about the "white" working class.^[128] One of his songs called "I Play Chicken With The Train" acknowledges conservative and progressive electoral points that tend to be brought up with Presidential elections. He said himself that he made a reference to the McCain and Obama race in 2008.^[129]{{Failed verification|date=March 2019}}

Although race is a rare topic to get portrayed by country music, some country artists have made an effort to approach this theme with their songs. On April 19{{Clarify|date=March 2019}} Brad Paisley released an album with the name "Wheelhouse". The album included the track "Accidental Racist", which later became a song that brought up many discussions. "Without a doubt, 'Accidental Racist' generated many negative reviews and most of the commotion after the release of Wheelhouse."{{Cite quote|date=March 2019}} The lyrics to "Accidental Racist" were not the best but the message it portrayed was very powerful and true. Will Hermes, a well-known American critique from Rolling Stone, commented on the song,"It's probably not going to win any awards for songcraft and rapping, but in the wake of movies like Django Unchained and Lincoln, it shows how fraught racial dialogue remains in America".^[130] Like any other genre of music, country music opens up a door to talk about topics like family issues, love, politics, or racial reconciliation in this case. Brad Paisley stated, "This song was meant to generate discussion among the people who listen to my albums."^[131]

Classical music

Beethoven's third symphony was originally called "Bonaparte". In 1804 Napoleon crowned himself emperor, whereupon Beethoven rescinded the dedication. The symphony was renamed "Heroic Symphony composed to Celebrate the Memory of a Great Man".{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

Verdi's chorus of Hebrew slaves in the opera Nabucco is a kind of rallying-cry for Italians to throw off the yoke of Austrian domination (in the north) and French domination (near Rome)—the "Risorgimento". Following unification, Verdi was awarded a seat in the national parliament.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

Richard Taruskin of the University of California accused John Adams of "romanticizing terrorists" in his opera The Death of Klinghoffer (1991).^[132]{{Clarify|date=March 2017}}

In the Soviet Union

Prokofiev wrote music to order for the Soviet Union, including Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution (1937). Khachaturian's ballet Spartacus (1954/6) concerns gladiator slaves who rebel against their former Roman masters. It was seen as a metaphor for the overthrow of the Czar.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} Similarly Prokofiev's music for the film Alexander Nevsky concerns the invasion of Teutonic knights into the Baltic States. It was seen as a metaphor for the Nazi invasion of the USSR.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} In general Soviet music was neo-romantic while Fascist music was neo-classical.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

Music in Nazi Germany

See also

• Anarcho-punk
• Civil Rights anthem
• Irish rebel music
• List of anarchist musicians
• List of anti-war songs
• List of national anthems
• List of political punk songs
• List of socialist songs
• List of songs about the September 11 attacks
• List of songs about the Vietnam War
• Music and political warfare
• Nazi punk
• New musicology
• Nonviolent resistance
• Nueva canción
• Oi!
• People's Songs
• Political song in Egypt
• Role of music in World War II
• War song

References

Further reading

• Brand, Oscar (1962). The Ballad Mongers: the Rise of Modern Folk Song, New York: Funk and Wagnalls
• {{Citation|first=Courtney|last=Brown|authorlink=Courtney Brown (researcher)|title=Politics In Music: Music and Political Transformation from Beethoven to Hip Hop|place=Atlanta: Farsight Press|year=2008|isbn= 978-0-9766762-3-2}}
• {{cite book|last=Denselow|first=Robin|title=When The Music's Over: The Story of Political Pop|year=1989|publisher=Faber and Faber|location=London|isbn=978-0-571-13906-4|authorlink=Robin Denselow}}
• {{cite book|last=Doggett|first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Doggett|title=There's A Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of '60s Counter-Culture|year=2008|publisher=Canongate|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-1-847-67114-1}}
• Dunson, Josh (1965). Freedom in the Air: Song Movements of the ‘60s, New York: International Publishers
• {{cite book|last=Fanning|first=David|title=Shostakovich studies|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-02831-8|authorlink=David Fanning (musicologist)}}
• Garofalo, R. (1992). Rockin’ the Boat: Mass music and movements, Cambridge: South End Press, 1992
• {{cite book|last=Goodyer|first=Ian|title=Crisis Music: The Cultural Politics of Rock Against Racism|year=2009|publisher= Manchester University Press|location=Manchester|isbn=978-0-719-07924-5}}
• Greenway, John (1953). American Folksongs of Protest, University of Pennsylvania Press
• {{cite journal|last=Karakayali|first=Nedim|title=Two Assemblages of Cultural Transmission: Musicians, Political Actors and Educational Techniques in the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe|journal=Journal of Historical Sociology|date=September 5, 2010|volume=23|issue=3|pages=343–371|doi=10.1111/j.1467-6443.2010.01377.x}}
• {{cite journal|last=Keller|first=Marcello Sorce|title=Why is Music So Ideological, and Why Do Totalitarian States Take It So Seriously? A Personal View from History and the Social Sciences|journal=Journal of Musicological Research|date=April 2007|volume=26|issue=2–3|pages=91–122|doi=10.1080/01411890701361086}}
• Lieberman, Robbie (1988). My Song is my Weapon: People's Songs, American Communism, and the Politics of Culture, 1930-50, Un. Of Illinois Press
• {{cite book|last=Lynskey|first=Dorian|title=33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs|year=2011|publisher=Harper Collins|location=London|isbn=978-0-062-07884-1}}
• {{Citation|first=Ian|last=Pace|title="The Best Form of Government...": Cage's Laissez-Faire Anarchism and Capitalism|magazine=Open Space Magazine|issue=8/9|date=Fall 2006 – Spring 2007|pages=91–115}}
• {{cite book|last=Peddie|first=Ian|title=The Resisting Muse: Popular Music and Social Protest|year=2006|publisher=Ashgate|location=Farnham|isbn=978-0-754-65114-7}}
• Perone, James E. (2004). Music of the Counterculture Era, Westport: Greenwood Press
• Rachel, Daniel (2016). Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge, London: Picador, {{ISBN|9781447272687}}
• Reuss, Joanne C & Reuss, Richard A. (2000). American Folk Music and Left-Wing Politics, Scarecrow Press
• Rodnitsky, Jerome (1976). Minstrels in the Dawn: The Folk-Protest Singer as a Cultural Hero, Chicago: Nelson Hall
• {{cite book|last=Roy|first=William G|title=Reds, Whites and Blues: Social Movements, Folk Music, and Race in the United States|year=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press |location=New Jersey|isbn=978-0-691-16208-9}}
• {{cite book|last=Seeger|first=Pete|title=Carry It On! A History in Song and Picture of the Working Men and Women of America|year=1985|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-671-60347-2|authorlink=Pete Seeger}}
• Serge Denisoff, R. (1971). Great Day Coming: Folk Music and the American Left. Champaign: Un. Of Illinois Press
• {{cite book|last=Street|first=John|title=Rebel Rock: The Politics of Popular Music|year=1986|publisher=Blackwell|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-631-14345-1}}
• {{cite book|last=Street|first=John|title=Politics and Popular Culture|year=1997|publisher=Temple University Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-1-566-39603-5}}
• {{cite book|last=Street|first=John|title=Music & Politics|year=2011|publisher=Polity Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-745-63544-6}}
• {{cite book|last=Strom|first=Yale|title=The Book of Klezmer: the History, the Music, the Folklore|year=2002|publisher=Chicago Review Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-1-55652-445-5|authorlink=Yale Strom}}
• {{cite book|last=Volkov|first=Solomon|title=Shostakovich and Stalin: The Extraordinary Relationship Between the Great Composer and the Brutal Dictator|year=2004|publisher=H. Holt|location=New York|isbn=978-0-375-41082-6|authorlink=Solomon Volkov}}
• {{cite book|last=Werner|first=Craig|title=A Change is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America|year=2000|publisher=Payback Press|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-1-841-95050-1}}
• {{cite journal| last=Whiteley| first=Sheila| year=2012 | title=Countercultures: Music, Theories & Scenes, n°9-1, Nantes, Éditions Mélanie Seteun| ref=harv| url=http://www.cairn.info/revue-volume-2012-1-page-5.htm}}
• {{cite journal| last=Whiteley| first=Sheila| year=2012 | title=Countercultures: Utopias, Dystopias, Anarchy, n°9-12, Nantes, Éditions Mélanie Seteun| ref=harv| url=http://www.cairn.info/revue-volume-2012-2.htm}}

External links

• Music for Democracy - Music Activism Political Action Organization
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080724181439/http://www.political-music.co.uk/ www.political-music.co.uk - non profit website promoting political music by various artists]
• Making Marx in the Music: A HyperHistory of New Music and Politics by Kyle Gann
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=892575 Parallels and Paradoxes], NPR interview with Barenboim and Edward Said, 28 December 2002
• [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E4DF1230F936A1575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Stalin Lives On in the Concert Hall, but Why?] by Richard Taruskin
• An exploration of the importance of rock music and its role in politics, written during the 2004 American Presidential election campaign.
• Music and Politics Journal at University of Michigan
• An extensive discussion in particular about modernism and Marxism between composer Gordon Downie and pianist Ian Pace.

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