Politics and Music??? NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe me, dear reader, when I say that the last thing I want to discuss in this blog about music is the unsavory topic of politics. Inevitably, someone either gets combative or hurt or embarrassed at not being able to support an opinion (and let's face it, we're all a mixture of all three reactions). Yet I am going to dabble in the dangerous briefly simply by pointing out an observation.





As I was trying to find some inspiration for my blog, I remembered that in November 2004, Rolling Stones Magazine published a list of great songs-"500 Greatest Songs of All Time," to be exact (wasn't that clever, how I snuck in the title of the article? I amaze myself sometimes).





As I was looking at the top of the list (and just in case you were wondering what was on aforementioned list, I decided to be generous and post a link to the list, with lyrics, here. No, not here, eight of words back.), I noticed something interesting: the top five on the list all discussed different political or social themes:

1. "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan--discusses hitting hard times and economic crisis (ring any bells?)
2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones--written as the British band's reaction to American commercialism
3. "Imagine" by John Lennon--Lennon commented that the song was "anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it's sugar-coated, it's accepted."
4. "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye--written in reaction to violent police action against anti-war protesters in 1970
5. "Respect" by Aretha Franklin--banner song for feminism

Now, being the smart person that you are, dear reader, I know that you're currently thinking to yourself, "Hmmmmmmmmmmm...I wonder if that says something about music in general?" Well, indeed it does, clever reader! Theoretically, music is intended to convey a person's inner feelings and beliefs. Theoretically, politics are based on people's beliefs and opinions. So, theoretically, including political stances in music is a rather natural concept. While it seems that there is an excess of theory in that little syllogism, the truth is that a substantial amount of music contains political messages in their lyrics, whether intended or not. So, dear reader, keep that in mind the next time you jam out to Hannah Montana, Lil' Wayne, Carrie Underwood, Metallica, or basically anyone else that you might feel inclined to listen to. After all, for all you know, what you listen to on the radio could influence what you choose in the polls.

Until next time,

ParallelFifths