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Music is the Weapon
Friday 21st June 2013 | James
This month the capital city was treated to a range of special low-key shows (granted, they didn't stay that way) at Tate Modern with a variety of artists performing short sets in a bid to raise poverty awareness for Agit8. “Nobody in their right minds would argue with this” Simon Neil said after his band Biffy Clyro treated onlookers to a rendition of Rage Against The Machine's staple protest song 'Killing In The Name'. Jake Bugg, who also performed, declared the cause “great” whilst other acts to feature throughout the week were Tom Jones and Tinie Tempah. The question is...should music and politics even mix at all?
On the surface it is obviously easy to suggest 'yes' and be done with it. Artists, by definition, are creating provocative and stirring bodies of work in an attempt to push their ideas forward and resonate to a greater public. Indeed, some would go as far as suggesting that without holding governments and the world to account artists are ultimately pointless. A righteous anger has inhibited itself within the glorious figures of English music's past from Lydon to Lennon and traces of anti-establishment sentiments within the arts can be traced back centuries. Famously, The Bard of Avon William Shakespeare engrossed his material in digs at the monarchy – most notably James I who during the Jacobean Era deemed acting and playwriting “supernatural” causing good ol' Billy to implement witches into his finest play Macbeth.
Since those days, not much has changed. The monarchy may not have the crux of power with the shift towards Downing Street apparent, yet performers within the realm of the arts still saturate their work with pieces of satire, damnation and an urge for rebellion. Strummer himself was a determined left-wing political advocate, urging people to take heed of his messages during his quest to eradicate political ambivalence in the public. He set a precedent which still remains over a decade after his death with artists as wide-ranging from folk rock hero Billy Bragg and his natural heir Rou Reynolds to rap upstart Akala and the electro-inspired Scroobius Pip and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly flying the flag. The most noticeable is probably Plan B – or Ben Drew – who after landing a colossal sophomore album which bagged BRIT nominations turned his back on his new-found soul voice to return to his rap roots. His third album, 2012's iLL Manors (who shares a name with Drew's first directorial feature-film) has salient strings such as social breakdown, anarchy, political incompetence and Britain's place in the 21st century (sample lyric: “We aren't broken Britain, we're just bloody broke in Britain!”).
However, there are calls for music artists to ditch the political ire and concentrate on doing what they do best: entertaining. Simon Neil himself suggests that he'd be wary of writing a protest song, claiming that he is first and foremost an entertainer rather than activist. Noel Gallagher, too, was vocal in his disdain of Bono's political position throughout his career as he stated that fans attended gigs to be enthralled and not to attend a lecture. It is a similar sentiment which is embodied by Frank Turner, the Winchester-born singer-songwriter who opened the Olympic Opening Ceremony last year at the behest of Danny Boyle, who prefers to keep his politics and music separate as to not to exclude his all-encompassing audience. That did not stop a Guardian article last year attacking the folk hero, though, with the publication bafflingly portraying him as a Nazi. “I don't consider myself right-wing, but I'm certainly not a leftist” Turner replied in a blog post before saying that he would “drink a beer with anyone”.
Thus is the problem with music and politics mixing. Music is an art form, but it is also entertainment of the highest order. The minute – the second – that Bono steps up at Wembley Stadium and says “guys, look, you have the power to stop poverty, you know that?” it becomes a pretension-induced lecture. You know what else is the problem with music and politics? The musicians who campaign for the eradication of poverty themselves. The rich only ever seem to talk about charity and this deep irony leads to huge events such as Live Aid which doesn't go as far to help famine as it does to sell the latest Jessie J album. People do not sit at home watching their TV screens thinking that they'll ring and help poverty. No, they are too busy downloading Olly Murs album and helping him get another appearance on Celebrity Juice.
Their hearts are in the right place, of course. But isn't anyone else sick of hearing musicians ban politicians from listening to their music? If it isn't Johnny Marr declaring he'd get The Smiths back together if Cameron stepped down, it's Arcade Fire banning Mitt Romney from using their music on his campaign videos. Couple these irritations with celebrity sponsor tweets (example: @KatyPerry: “I LOVE the Democrats! #voteforthemxo”) and musicians stop delivering important political messages and become, er, irrelevant. That, surely, can never be allowed to happen.
Thankfully, there are underground artists who's beliefs and ideals propel them into music in the first place. Musicians arguably have one of the biggest platforms in the world and, as such, would be foolish not to use it to campaign for positive changes. London's finest young punk band The King Blues famously made the leap from playing Clapham squats to playing the main stage at Reading & Leeds Festivals without watering down their passionate lyricism. Just last year Kate Nash made the brave move from indie pin-up to riot grrl by adopting an edgy, raw sound. The idea of politics in music is not just tied to merely one genre, with tappers such as Public Enemy and Dead Prez breaking the mainstream with overt political ideas which the public embrace.
The resounding message through this debate is that music does have the power to change the world. From Sex Pistols causing public outcry in 1977 to Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind' depicting the mourning of a nation in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death, the history of politics is littered with ties to music. It would be fair to say without one, the other would struggle to stay afloat. Challenging the political establishment has been a timeless tradition and anyone who suggests otherwise is fighting evolution. "Musicians can run the world better than politicians" once suggested American country singer Kinky Friedman. As you watch the footage below of two hundred people coming together at Tate Modern to battle for change through the power of music, you would be inclined to think he was right.
By James Rodger @jamesdrodger
