Sunday, February 05, 2006

Political Bands

If my blog has had any kind of theme in the past, it is the convergence of pop culture and politics. Those are the things that interest me in real life and I am constantly fascinated by the intersection of the two. With this post, I'm beginning an informal series on bands that I like that have made a political statement in their work (and sometimes with their actions). A lot of people are offended by artists that make political stands. I am not. I believe we would be robbed of some of the best culture of our past if we kept political statements out of art, music, literature. With art, people are trying to make sense of the world around them. That world certainly includes the personal, the natural, and the collective ... all of which can be political. If we forbid Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diego Rivera, etc. from incorporating the political into their music, would we be better off? Or would we have a world full of Britney Spears and Thomas Kinkade? Are we critical of bands because they have a message or because they have one that we may not agree with? Why is it that jingoistic flag-wavers like Lee Greenwood and Toby Keith are applauded while the Dixie Chicks and System of a Down are villified?



The first band that I am going to profile is R.E.M. They grew out of the ashes of the post-punk movement and really marked the start of the alternative movement. Cryptic, yet catchy, they marked the return of guitar-driven pop music with a message. When I was in college in the late 80's, R.E.M, U2, the Cure, the Smiths, etc. were the defining bands of the new alternative movement. While that "alternative" tag seems to get slapped on to any piece of commercial guitar-driven drivel now days, it meant something then. These were bands that released albums constantly and built a following through touring and deeply literate and personal lyrics.

With the body of work that R.E.M. has, I could write forever, but I'm just going to discuss those songs that I feel are the most political. :

Fall on Me (Life's Rich Pageant, 1986) - This is probably my favorite R.E.M. song. Even without the outstanding lyrics, it would still be because of the beauty of the music. This song is about air pollution.

"... There's a problem feathers iron
Bargain buildings weights and pulleys
Feathers hit the ground
Before the weight can leave the air ..."



Cuyahoga (Life's Rich Pageant, 1986) - "Let's put our heads together/And start a new country up ..." - another environmental song that chronicles the polluting of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio. But it goes beyond that to really be a metaphor for what we are doing to the environment in general and what we are giving up by doing so:

"This is where we walked, this is where we swam
Take a picture here, take a souvenir
Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone"



Exhuming McCarthy (Document, 1987) By using the era of McCarthyism, R.E.M was actually criticizing the Reagan era. The red scare of the 50's had found a parallel in the "patriotic" witch hunts of Reagan's time. This song is looking more and more relevant now with our current drive towards fascism.

" ... Enemy sighted, enemy met, I’m addressing the realpolitik
Look who bought the myth, by jingo, buy America ..."



Orange Crush (Green, 1988) Orange Crush is Agent Orange:

" ... We are agents of the free
I’ve had my fun and now its time to
Serve your conscience overseas ..."


Again, it's easy to attach relevance to this song even in our current time.


R.E.M's politics have not only been represented in their music but in their actions. They participated in the Vote for Change tour with Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam.

6 comments:

Laura said...

I like some REM and some not so much. The song Everybody Hurts and Shiny Happy People make me cringe. I think most muscicians are political, since a lot of art is really resistance against the system. It just depends on how obvious they are.

dbackdad said...

I think "Shiny Happy People" makes R.E.M cringe. They've refused to perform it on anything besides Sesame Street.

Sadie Lou said...

*laughing*
R.E.M has been around for so long. I remember being into them in highschool--totally obilivious to the messages they sing about.

greatwhitebear said...

I remember hearing them perform on Mountain Stage before they beceme well known. I was impressed with not only thier music but their message even back then. They are still one of my favorite groups.

greatwhitebear said...

I think we are critical of anybody who is famous and has a point of view different than we do.

You always hear people say "what make them an expert, they're just musicians (or actors, etc.).

Hell, what makes anyone experts, other than an interest in the subject manner and the willingness to educate themselves?

I think we would actually be better off if we had more musicians and actors running this country and fewer politicians. Of course, I have to figure out how Ronald Reagan fits into that theory......

dbackdad said...

GWB,

Very well said. Being famous doesn't make you more qualified to have an opinion (ahem ... Ted Nugent) but it also does not mean that you are not supposed to have one. I don't know how anyone could make an argument that someone like Rush Limbaugh with no real experience in public service, charitable work, etc. is more qualified to air his opinion than say Harry Belafonte who has a lifetime of promoting civil rights and human rights worldwide.