Rock the Politic
It happens every four years, like a plague of bloviating locust. The talking heads descend on the American public, blathering on and on, begging and wheedling for your vote. And it has been going on since this country has been founded. There’s no escaping it. Whether you are heavily into politics and the process or are like a friend of mine who proudly claims to be a ‘political agnostic’, you can’t ignore it. And music has always had a place in the process. So in thinking about it, I began to wonder about protest music. Musicians have always had a way of expressing their views through songs and some of those songs have survived and flourished throughout time and still carry their message; their call to be aware and to participate in the freedoms you have. I am only listing 5 here but that barely scratches the surface. Protest songs have been around as long as music has been made. Music is a powerful medium and what a better way to lay your message down than through song?
Fortunate Son: Creedence Clearwater Revival.
This song was written by John Fogerty (he claims he wrote it in twenty minutes) on the day he received his final discharge papers from the Army. At its essence, the song rails against the fact that it is usually the poor and working class that fight the wars created by the wealthy for profit. When asked about his inspiration for the song, Fogerty said ‘Julie Nixon was hanging around with David Eisenhower, and you just had the feeling that none of these people were going to be involved in the war. In 1969, the majority of the country thought that morale was great amongst the troops, and like eighty percent of them were in favor of the war. But to some of us who were watching closely, we just knew we were headed for trouble.” The song has appeared on the soundtrack to countless films (mostly war movies) and captures the timeless raw angst and energy of youth railing against ‘the system’.
People Get Ready: The Impressions.
Written by Curtis Mayfield, the track became one of the biggest hits for The Impressions (although the song has been covered many, many times including a version from Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck that made it to number 48 on the charts as well as being a major in concert hit for the 60’s psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge). Mayfield said that the song essentially came from the church and when you listen to the original track, you can hear the gospel strains. The lyrics showcase a gospel underpinning barely masking the call for awareness to what was/is happening in the world. Despite being written in the 60’s, the song still carries its message hard into the current history.
Civil War: Guns and Roses.
Released on Use Your Illusion 2, the song originally appears on the 1990 album ‘Nobody’s Child’, a fundraising compilation for Romanian orphans. According to Duff McKagan, the song was originally “Just a riff that we would do at sound-checks. Axl came up with a couple of lines at the beginning. I went in a peace march when I was a little kid, with my Mom. I was like 4 years old. For Martin Luther King. And that’s when: ‘Did you wear the black armband when they shot the man who said ‘Peace could last forever?’ It’s just true-life experiences, really”. It’s a musical history lesson about the pointlessness of war and that a lack of communication on a global level gives credibility to the old saw that ‘those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.
Masters Of War: Bob Dylan. Written in 1963, Dylan adapted the traditional song ‘Nottamun Town’ and laced it with a pacifistic approach to, not war as many have often thought but rather against the ‘Military Industrial Complex’ that Eisenhower had warned against as he left office. Yet despite the fact that the song was written about the escalating nuclear build up during the hey day of the Cold War, it took on a particular significance as an anti-war anthem since the day it was released. Dylan once said in an interview “I’ve never written anything like that before. I don’t sing songs, which hope people will die, but I couldn’t help myself with this one. The song is a sort of striking out, a reaction to the last straw, a feeling of what can you do?” Dylan, throughout his amazingly prolific career, has gone on to write some of the most timeless pieces of music that continues to inspire and confound.
For What it’s Worth (Stop, what’s that sound?): Buffalo Springfield.
Consider by many to be one of the best, if not, the best, protest song ever written, the truth is when it was originally penned by Stephen Stills, the song was not about war or even politics necessarily. The track was written as a reflection on the LA Riots in 1967. At this time, groups of ‘long hairs’ were hanging together on the streets and sidewalks outside of popular L.A. clubs like the Whiskey A Go Go and Pandora’s Box, getting high and just generally grooving on the scene. This was a rather uncomfortable for the Los Angeles police department at the time and the riot squad was called in to ‘mollify’ (a.k.a. ‘bust heads’) the situation. According to Stills “I saw the Sunset Strip riots – the kids on one side of the street, all the cops on the other side. In Latin America, that meant we would have a new government in a week.” When the song was recorded, Stills took the track to Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Record, handed it to him and said, “I have this song here, for what it’s worth, if you want it.” Ertegun is credited with giving the song it’s sub-title of (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound?) to make the song more easily recognizable. Buffalo Springfield has already recorded their debut album but it had not been released. Ertegun dropped the song onto the disc before its release and it has gone on to become a piece of musical history and Springfield’s biggest hit.
So as we move full steam into election season, grab your guitar, your tabs or fake book and make some noise. Better to let the powers that be know you are here and paying attention than not. And even if you’re not politically minded, these songs are just fun to play.
[FONT=Tahoma]"All I can do is be me ... whoever that is". Bob Dylan [/FONT]
