The question of can music be political has been greatly debated over the past century, however, the works that have been debated the most are those from nazi Germany and Soviet Russia for there links with the social "cleansing" at the time in both societies.
"We are paupers. There is no paper. The workers are hungry and cold and have no clothing or shoes. The machines are worn out. The buildings are collapsing.".
Lenin wrote these lines in February 1921 following the end of the Russian revolution. Later that year Lenin introduced the "New Economic Policy" and the country seemingly began to regain control of the economy, despite the dismay of the communists. .
Soviet composers of the 1920's were confronted by many new problems. Firstly, the audiences at the time were the most diverse they had ever been, with both sophisticated intelligent listeners and the uneducated, although there was still a void where the middle class should be. Because of this diversity, composers found themselves writing for either end of the spectrum, but never both. This obtained a satisfactory effect for that particular audience, but was never completely successful as the music was composed against a set of conditions, and few works provoked any interest beyond the boundaries of Russia, unlike before the revolution.
In the early 1930's, after nearly a decade of failed compositions, a change came about in the Soviet's attitudes towards the arts. In 1932, a union was set up, "The Union of Soviet Composers" which was then split up into sections which governs the various musical genres. Composers had the moral obligation to submit their work to the USC for approval. Although it was not necessary to submit work, failure to do so would almost certainly result in national criticism and the work not being successful. Because Stalin had with the USC controlled the arts, in particularly music, it has often been argued that many composers rebelled against this by seemingly complying by the rules and even in some cases, actually praising Stalin.
But esthetic ideals were seen inevitably as tools of political ideologies. ... He had to start writing pieces that showed that he could write politically accepted music. ... And just changing one note can change the entire meaning of the piece. ... How can we go on? ... As we look around the dance floor, we can see a variety of types. ...
What I"m going to do is try and illustrate a short and accurate history of music and the influence each period has brought; weather it was political, social, psychological or physical , I"m going to try to equally show the positive and the negative sides of the "story" The Beginning "There is nothing before Elvis" this American saying is far from rite; but nevertheless you have to give it credit for one thing: Cult. ... Some talked about normal pop culture subjects like: relationships, break-ups and other common subjects; but at the same time there were artists that were discus...
Music can be a way to deliver messages, a poetic medium, a fine art, or nothing more than a source of entertainment. ... The listener can create whatever image she or he wants to when listening to music. ... Whether instrumental or lyrical, music comes from the people and can enlighten us all. ... A day in a world without music might proceed like this: One would awaken to the sound of a radio announcer speaking about politics. ... Any attempt to restrict or control music, such as is made in communist politics, is both vain and unrealistic. ...
Following this, the evidence and arguments will be presented, with the intent to determine how music and politics can be interlinked. ... Shuker argues that "there have always been attempts to harness music to social and political ends" (2001, p.217), and the use of the word 'political', in the context of music, can be used to describe a number of situations. ... However, politics in music is not exclusive to party politics, as it can also be used in the socio-political sense. Socio-political issues such as gay rights, sexuality and racism can also be explored through musi...
Trinidad outlook on music has changed in so many ways when calypso music started. ... Calypso migrated into English and in so doing it attracted more attention from the government calypso continued to play an important role in political expression and also served to document the history of Trinidad so much of the outlook on calypso music .calypso popularity went throughout the world many countries include an up tempo version of calypso music called soca and a hip hop influenced style called rap so both became popular in Trinidad and other island. ... As colonization and slavery reached its fin...
Political strategists in the National Party invented apartheid as a means of reinforcing their control over the economic and social system in South Africa. ... All political rights, including voting, held by an African were restricted to the designated homeland. ... The homeland administrations refused the so-called independence, maintaining pressure for political rights within the country as a whole. ... The penalties imposed on political protest, even non-violent protest, were severe during these times. ... Music also provided a practical purpose throughout the country. ...
For this essay I will be looking into how popular music can act as a means of resistance and analyse the conditions of how and why the potential act of resistance was plausible at the given times, and discuss the reality of these examples in terms of effect and efficiency. Throughout the essay I will touch on serious subjects such as politics, racism and sexism, and how music has altered these subjects and it's part in resisting tyranny that define our own existence and problems historically as a species on planet Earth. ... "Mainstream punk bands merely gesture at radicalism and polit...
In the music industry, there are large disputes over who obtains money and who benefits from the selling of music. ... Why, then, do artists even take this route if they all understand how bad the deal can be? ... Now that we understand this relationship, we can discuss money, royalties, and recoupables. ... These recoupments can at times exceed 100 percent and artists are often advised to pay future recoupments in advance if possible. ... In each of these situations a certain percentage is already retained by the record company because we can assume that many downloads will be illegal, s...
Popular music is ubiquitous; from shopping malls and advertising to gymnasiums/fitness classes and political campaigns, popular music is a common feature of people's everyday lives and a significant aspect of consumer culture. For fans and enthusiasts, popular music can be a leisure-time pursuit occurring on evenings or weekends; alternatively, it can constitute a lifestyle, or way of life (e.g., Deadheads-a group of fans of the American band Grateful Dead who saw the band at as many gigs and festivals as possible from the 1970s onward). ... The emergence of many popular music genres duri...
