Do Music & Art Influence Politics?
Published May 14, 2023, 9:20 a.m. by Violet Harris
It seems like everywhere you look, music and politics are colliding. From the Grammys to the Super Bowl, it's hard to escape the political undertones of the music industry. But does music really have the power to influence politics?
For years, musicians have used their platform to speak out about social issues. In the 1960s, Bob Dylan wrote protest songs about the Vietnam War, while in the 1980s, Bruce Springsteen spoke out against Ronald Reagan's policies. More recently, Beyoncé performed at the 2017 Super Bowl with a pro-Black Lives Matter message, and Kendrick Lamar rapped about police brutality on his album DAMN.
So, does music have the power to influence politics?
There's no doubt that music can be a powerful force for change. Songs can raise awareness about important issues and inspire people to take action. In some cases, music has even been used as a tool of protest, as was the case during the civil rights movement.
However, it's important to remember that music is just one form of expression and that it doesn't always have a direct impact on politics. For example, while many people believe that Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance was a political statement, it's also possible that she was simply using her platform to celebrate Black culture.
In the end, whether or not music can influence politics is up for debate. But one thing is for sure: it has the power to inspire, educate, and even change the world.
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Speaker 1: Let's go to the phones. You can talk to me when we take live calls via Discord at
David Pakman dot com slash discord. Let's go to Oh, I don't know. How about let's go to
Jack from Indianapolis first today, Jack, you're on the air. What's on your mind?
Jack from Indianapolis, please. Speaker 4: Hey, David. So I got a couple
of questions for you. The first one would be have you done any research at all into the way in which
music or art subcultures influence politics? Speaker 1: Not, not as a general topic. I mean,
I've read and seen documentaries about specific musical movements, for example,
or what have you and its connection to politics, but not as a general topic.
Speaker 4: Oh, okay. Yeah, I just find that whole kind of realm to be
fascinating personally, just the way in which different genres have their own kind of political
leanings, most of them are left wing. Yes, there is the occasional right leaning scene as well.
Speaker 1: When do you think country's leading to the left
country music in the U.S. tends to be more right wing, with exceptions, of course. You know,
the Dixie Chicks would be an exception, and there's others. But country music in the
U.S. certainly is has more of a right wing bent. Speaker 4: Mm hmm. Yeah. And even in recent years,
country music has kind of started leaning more left. You know, I've heard rumors that more of the
country artists in general tend to be more left leaning than people think. Interesting. It's more
like kind of private for them, I guess, though. Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it also maybe
it's private because it would be bad for their ticket sales if it was public.
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly. But also there's I mean, there's like things like black metal and,
you know, like death metal tend to have more kind of right leaning, but like libertarian
ideologies versus like, you know, punk rock has always been very hard left. But yeah,
you know, the occasional right wing strand like straight edge culture
sometimes is right wing, I don't know. Anyway, I just found that whole thing kind of interesting.
And I guess the second question would be, you know, you're a drummer, right? Yes.
Where can I listen to some of your playing? Speaker 1: Oh, I don't know that there is any.
I mean, when at one point I was in a band called Ten Fingers, not ten, but 10 like the Tin Man,
and there may be videos floating around of some of some of our shows. That's the
only thing I can think of offhand. Speaker 4: Interesting. Yeah. What
was your like style? But you guys play Speaker 1: that was like alternative,
basically modern alternative. Speaker 4: OK. Yeah, that's kind of cool. Yeah.
I'll look into that, yeah, 10 fingers. OK. Speaker 1: All right. Very good. Thank
you so much for the call. Appreciate it. Yeah, very, very powerful questions there.
