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.