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(01-28-2003) Where Are All The Protest Songs? - Syndey Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/
Where are all the protest songs?
January 29 2003
The times are a'changing, but musos have changed too and don't seem to want to risk political songs, writes Emma Young.
While 21st-century musicians all sing and sell their albums in the same system, their motivations are somewhat varied: some sing for fame, some sing for glory, and others, such as Bono, sing for fame, glory and the relief of Third World debt. Yes, Third World debt.
And, of course, they sing for the supermodels, 'cause without them none of this would be possible.
Music and politics have often sashayed into each other's arenas. The former US president Bill Clinton wooed crowds with the sax, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, distributed photos of himself as a self-described rock'n'roller, and John Howard, well, maybe not John Howard.
Bob Dylan sang for peace in the '60s under the guise of songs like Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Marley mixed radical political content with reggae in the '70s, and Bono hob-nobs with political heavyweights and hungry people in between tours.
Now, in a time of global emergency, when there is a need for alternative political participation, their voices are few and far between.
As Noel Gallagher, Oasis band member and general recalcitrant, put it when questioned about the absence of professional melody-makers in the anti-war movement, "My opinion means nothing. The people in the White House can change this. I play guitar in a band and we're really good. Arsed about anything else."
And, as Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam explains, music with a message isn't exactly a path to financial splendour: "People primarily use music to escape. Sales have a lot to do with what gets people in the music industry excited, and that has overwhelmed any instinct to improve the content. The industry is still in a girls-just-wanna-have-fun phase."
Since when did rock music become so polite? Do their haircuts mean nothing any more? Sure, they light up in no-smoking zones and say f--- a lot, but it doesn't compare with the days when the Prodigy welcomed rioters onto the street.
While rap and hip-hop performers are faithful to the critical mood of discontent that defined them as a socially and politically important force, few musicians outside these genres dare to differentiate themselves from the mainstream.
In this culture of cool, it seems part of the problem is the decidedly un-sexy nature of politics. It is often a little too high-brow or a little too high-collared for an industry that's still all about getting laid.
As the U2 band member Edge says of Bono's extracurricular leanings: "He's done incredible work with the debt cancellation and the AIDS problem in Africa.
"It's worth it, but sometimes you realise how some people are going, 'wanker!'. Intellectually, we don't do these things thinking it's hip. We do it despite the fact that it's really unhip."
For some, no doubt, the presence of musos in politics seems an absurdity. But in this era of celebrity they have an opportunity to convey a message that few activists do.
In other words, or in Bono's words: "As a rock star, I have two instincts: I want to have fun, and I want to change the world.
"I have a chance to do both."
Emma Young is an arts student at Sydney University.
http://www.smh.com.au/
Where are all the protest songs?
January 29 2003
The times are a'changing, but musos have changed too and don't seem to want to risk political songs, writes Emma Young.
While 21st-century musicians all sing and sell their albums in the same system, their motivations are somewhat varied: some sing for fame, some sing for glory, and others, such as Bono, sing for fame, glory and the relief of Third World debt. Yes, Third World debt.
And, of course, they sing for the supermodels, 'cause without them none of this would be possible.
Music and politics have often sashayed into each other's arenas. The former US president Bill Clinton wooed crowds with the sax, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, distributed photos of himself as a self-described rock'n'roller, and John Howard, well, maybe not John Howard.
Bob Dylan sang for peace in the '60s under the guise of songs like Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Marley mixed radical political content with reggae in the '70s, and Bono hob-nobs with political heavyweights and hungry people in between tours.
Now, in a time of global emergency, when there is a need for alternative political participation, their voices are few and far between.
As Noel Gallagher, Oasis band member and general recalcitrant, put it when questioned about the absence of professional melody-makers in the anti-war movement, "My opinion means nothing. The people in the White House can change this. I play guitar in a band and we're really good. Arsed about anything else."
And, as Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam explains, music with a message isn't exactly a path to financial splendour: "People primarily use music to escape. Sales have a lot to do with what gets people in the music industry excited, and that has overwhelmed any instinct to improve the content. The industry is still in a girls-just-wanna-have-fun phase."
Since when did rock music become so polite? Do their haircuts mean nothing any more? Sure, they light up in no-smoking zones and say f--- a lot, but it doesn't compare with the days when the Prodigy welcomed rioters onto the street.
While rap and hip-hop performers are faithful to the critical mood of discontent that defined them as a socially and politically important force, few musicians outside these genres dare to differentiate themselves from the mainstream.
In this culture of cool, it seems part of the problem is the decidedly un-sexy nature of politics. It is often a little too high-brow or a little too high-collared for an industry that's still all about getting laid.
As the U2 band member Edge says of Bono's extracurricular leanings: "He's done incredible work with the debt cancellation and the AIDS problem in Africa.
"It's worth it, but sometimes you realise how some people are going, 'wanker!'. Intellectually, we don't do these things thinking it's hip. We do it despite the fact that it's really unhip."
For some, no doubt, the presence of musos in politics seems an absurdity. But in this era of celebrity they have an opportunity to convey a message that few activists do.
In other words, or in Bono's words: "As a rock star, I have two instincts: I want to have fun, and I want to change the world.
"I have a chance to do both."
Emma Young is an arts student at Sydney University.
