Rock 'n' Roll & Politics

[Sam]

Hey folks! I'm sorta new here but trying to get more active on the Hideout. I'm also a news and politics fiend, so this seems like a good place to start a-postin'...

So what do you all think about rock 'n' roll and politics converging? Some of my favorite music as a youngster was very political - Dead Kennedys was my introduction to punk and my first live show. And there is the old line of thought about the political being personal and vice versa; given the general countercultural vibe of most of the bands around these parts, it seems to me like a natural fit.

Still, for every politically conscious group like MC5 or The Lord High Fixers in my collection, there are plenty of sex-drugs-rock-and-rollers like The Makers (when they were listenable) and The Mummies right next to them.

So, do lyrics about class warfare and injustice make you cringe, or do you appreciate a good proletariat ranting? My favorite music tends to have a little bit of both worlds; The Von Zippers' "The Crime Is Now!" is an almost-perfect blend of social awareness and bad-ass rockin'. What do ya'll think?

[kopper]

A friend of mine posted this on a local email list recently:

Rock'n'roll and politics go hand in hand. It may not be at the top of the list but it's definitely a viable topic.

1) Romance/sex (good or bad)
2) Rock and Roll (music, band, life on the road, record companies)
3) Partying/dancing
4) Social/political commentary
5) Horror/sci-fi
6) Jail/police
7) Sports/leisure (Surfing especially)
8) Cars
9) School
10) Crappy jobs/financial problems

Religion? In my opinion that should be off the list since Rock and Roll is the devil's music. Now that I think of it, the devil comes up in alot of Rock and Roll so I guess religion is a viable topic. Hail, Satan!

[Mike]

I would generally say yes, I'm OK with it, but sometimes I just want some rock n roll too. I also dug the DKs when I was young, but sometimes you'd just want Jello to shut up and sing a fucking song. I always love a more nuanced song, say something like "Fort USA" by the Weirdos. I also love a little politically incorrect rock n roll too. The best are the bands who can write something with a message but aren't too uptight to write something like "Let's Fuck" (DOA). With that said, there are other times when "Gooba Gabba Goobba Gabba" is about as deep as I want to get.

[Tim Doubledee]

Hail, Twitcher. Good to see something happening in here after so many months (I know, Kopper, my fault too).

My personal pinnacle of the confluence of politics and rock is best embodied by Rush, as in "Freewill" and "The Trees".

However, having said that, Kopper can attest to the fact that I had my own heavy DK phase years ago. I just moved away from my days of swallowing class warfare rhetoric and went in search of themes of true freedom. In other words, I realized that rich people weren't holding me down, but poor people were holding me back. I was never quite able to listen to DK's and others the same way anymore. Still love the music, though, and the energy of raw punk. Put me in the column of people who would say, "shut the fuck up and jam, already!".

[Simon]

Hehe, it's been a long time since someone has gotten on this thread, but I think it's a great subject...

I personally am okay (not great) with politics in music. Dyaln, Young, Buffalo Springfield, The MC5, hell even Edwin Starr; seem to me, to be in dialogue with their audience. Making comments on the world around them. Not assuming that the public is unaware. I like this... and if it is good music, then right on.

Though after the 60's and early 70's, I feel that bands became a little more preachy with their messages. Ian Mackaye can suck it, every bit as much as Bono in my opinion. They seem to show contempt for their fans, by enlightening them to things that they could find out for themselves by opening a newspaper. Though it is not just these two culprits, it's as if naive political stances have seeped into most forms of music. Even our beloved ass shackin' Rock 'n' Roll has had its share of pretentious assholes. Please see, The (International) Noise Conspiracy. It is easy to point the finger at post-punk and post-hardcore, but keep your mittens off of the peoples music.

Sorry, I started to drift. My thoughts are simple, politics and music go together, in concept. In Rock and Roll, the energy and ethos should speak louder than anything else, because it is talkin' about life. Life involves politics, though we should never assume that we know more than the guy sitting next to us, and even if we do, that guy probably knows something we don't. My stance is as long as the music feels good, and I don't have some kid preaching at me, I'm with it. The rest of it is just crap.

[Atomic Suplex]

Personally I like my rock and roll to be politics free, still the Dead Kennedy's were pretty good weren't they.
My favorite rock and roll songs are about rocking and rolling, with the only political sentiment being - The man says we can't rock but we are going to rock anyway (and twice as loud).

[Mike Humsgreen]

I like a bit of politics in some songs, I think Rancid strike a good balance by not getting too preachy. Give me some social commentary and politics (whether I agree or not) over constantly complaining about wrist cutting and bad breakups. Having said that, some folk lose sight of music and fun and turn into Billy Bragg and use the mic to bore me to death.

[swt]

Speaking of music in politics, Tuli Kupferberg of The Fugs just died. He was 86 (!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/arts/music/13kupferberg.html

Cool thing about The Fugs is that they could mix heavy politics with humor. Do you like boobs a lot?

Kill for peace

swt

[dave]

Hokay, I've become a real follower of politics since Bush & Obama, but I hate hardcore politics, keep 'em separate.

[Mardy]

I think that listening to a lot of politically motivated music like the Dead Kennedy's or socially aware stuff like Minor Threat made me interested in politics and when I was old enough to vote I was a bit smarter than others my age because I could see the issues as opposed to just the crap coming out of the politicians mouth.

I hardly ever listen to those bands anymore, I still think they're great bands though.

I went and saw a touring Hardcore band last year. I can't remember who they were, some god awful modern hardcore act. A friend of mine who played in one of the support acts asked me what I thought of them, I said for me it was like they were preaching to the converted but hopefully some of the young people that were there got something out of it.

I do hate those preachy bands that tell me what to eat, no-one tells me what to eat.

Oh, and I don't like Crass, I fucking hate Crass.

[The Pulsebeats]

Proles should take every soap box available, it's the only way to get heard. I guess it becomes cringeworthy when it starts to get preachy, like you're telling other how they should live and think as opposed to commenting on what you see happening around you. In terms of lyrics, you can do it in a more abstract way where those who share your political leanings will get what you're on about and those who don't care will simply take the tune as it is and belt out the chorus. Our previous incarnation, The Vipers, were pretty politically charged in terms of the lyrics, but there were only one or two reviewers who picked up on it. Most simply chose to focus on the music. There's a chance that if you're too preachy that you'll alienate some people. What you really want to do is try and get the ideas in their heads without them realising I guess.

[dave]

Hi! It's nice to find someone else who follows politics here, we tend to double down on the partyin'!

That said, the MC5 were cool, but most of what I like on vinyl is the rock part, with a very few exceptions like Houston's Really Red, who were part hardcore/part art-punk/and part smartasses. REALLY RED - "Too Political - No More Ghettoes"

Most hardcore gives me the hives.

I tend to keep the politics separated from the music, like Poison Ivy said, it's cool that people want to save the rain forests and everything, but that shouldn't get in the way of having a good time!

Incidentally, I love the Von Zippers, but Youtube doesn't have that video. Any chance of seeing that here?

[melissa scott]

I nominate Keith Olbermann for punk bad boy of the US media -- shit-canned again? That guy really knows how to piss the right people ORF!