Talk:Music and politics

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Start
Made a start on this topic, which I'm sure could be expanded much further than my meagre knowledge allows. You will note it's currently quite Anglo-centric. --Lancevortex 19:03, 27 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * The last few sentences of this introduction are confusing, they should be edited and reworded to make the point a little more clear. Eileenkudera (talk) 21:26, 18 April 2016 (UTC)Eileenkudera

Name
The title of this article conflicts with Naming conventions. Hyacinth 20:22, 4 Jun 2004 (UTC)


 * It does? The title doesn't suggest a hierarchy to me. --Camembert


 * I guess not. But what about Music in politics? Hyacinth 01:27, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)


 * Having just read it for the first time, my understanding of Naming conventions is that one shouldn't create subpages, i.e. Politics/Music, and that Politics in Music is perfectly acceptable as an article title. Music in Politics is probably just as good though, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of point in changing it to that. --Lancevortex 12:19, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC)


 * Hm, I dunno, music in politics suggests something a bit different to what this article seems to be about: it suggests to me an article about the role music plays in political life. For instance, fanfares when the Queen enters, "Hail to the Chief" for the President, that sort of thing. If you really don't like this title, maybe go with political music instead? But like I say, I think the current title is OK. --Camembert


 * Good point, Camembert. --Lancevortex 14:36, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC)


 * The title doesn't really matter to me. Either one is fine, but I do think this should be merged with the article Music in Politics, and rename it or keep the name of one of them. --Knx22knx

It seems articles of this sort will start to pop up more frequently since the music article is quite large. I don't find either title acceptible for an article purportedly about both. How about "Music and politics", using an "and" instead of an "in" and listing alphabetically music then politics. Hyacinth 06:56, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * My vote would be to change the title to "Music and politics" and merging this article with "Music in politics" as they both deal with very similar subjects, and the "Music in politics" article seems a bit lacking, even though it contains information that could be merged to this page.Tomorrowsashes 00:01, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

It seems to me that the title of the article is representative of the article's larger failure to differentiate between a discussion of "politics in music" and "music in politics." Discussion of political expression in music is alongside information about Rock the Vote and the use of music in the political machine. I wonder if a Music and Politics article could be more effectively organized if it was divided by music in politics and politics in music (or another applicable title that demonstrates the same idea) and then discussed in terms of genre. I think the article could also benefit from a discussion of the popular association between young people and political music/movements. That is an interest of mine and I would consider contributing on this topic if the community feels the efforts to revive (and not delete) this article are still worthwhile.KLi 32 (talk) 03:54, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

Soviet Union
I added a bit on the Soviet Union. --YixilTesiphon

Hey man your text on music in the Soviet Union is not really very accurate at all; I suggest you read Boris Schwarz's Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia if you're interested in gaining a better understanding. Shmackhead69 (talk) 01:50, 6 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Feel free to edit it and make it better. ONEder Boy (talk) 21:35, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Needs better sourcing
This is possibly a good article topic, but we need to take care that we are not just presenting popular opinion as fact. A discussion on this subject within an encyclopedia needs to include in-line sources to support the claims being made. Currently that seems to be seriously lacking. -MrFizyx 14:41, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

I Agree. For example, I think the interpretation of Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner as being "Satirical" and "Political" is purely the author's personal opinion as Hendrix himself denies it as being a political statement on the Dick Cavett show. I would opt to delete the passage.

I think this paragraph from Wikipedia's own Jimi Hendrix entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix) is more accurate about Hendrix's Music: '"Hendrix claimed that he did not intend for his performance of the national anthem to be a political statement, that he simply intended it as a different interpretation of the anthem. When taken to task on the Dick Cavett Show regarding the "unorthodox" nature of his performance of the song at Woodstock, Hendrix replied, "I thought it was beautiful," which was greeted with applause from the audience. His later-career live favorite "Machine Gun" however, was clearly a protest song against war."--Hellokitty2399 12:37, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

New structure and intro needed
I think this is an exciting article with a lot of information in it. I have a couple of suggestions, and since I am not an expert in "music and politics" I'd like to offer them here for a general discussion.


 * I think this article needs an introductory section that traces out the theoretical framework for a discussion of music and politics. Basic questions that could be addressed include: How can music be political? What is the role of language in the relationship between music and politics?


 * I think the section on New Musicology should be deleted. As it stands there is no connection to the topic whatsoever. Of course it would be possible to write about "politics and [of?] musicology" in this section. In this case the section should stay.


 * I think the article should be restructered as follows:
 * Introduction
 * Discussion of genres
 * Folk music
 * Popular music
 * Classical music
 * Censorship of music
 * Music in the political process
 * [Politics and [of?] musicology]
 * See also
 * Further reading
 * External links

What do you think about these suggestions? Matthias Röder 14:47, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I think that the addition of popular music as a section would be helpful and important, since the genre is just as influential in politics as the other genres listed. Eileenkudera (talk) 21:27, 18 April 2016 (UTC)Eileenkudera

Fair Warning
I plan on nomininating this article for deletion, unless it's cleaned up and sources are added. Right now this is one giant piece of original research. 11:38, 30 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I support deleting this article for the same reason. Besides, music and politics is such a broad-ranging topic that there's no way it could be adequately covered in one article.Spylab 14:34, 30 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I speak as the person who created the article, and agree with the above comments. I would not argue if the article was deleted. Lancevortex (talk) 19:53, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

It's a shame to lose so much hard work. I have attempted a total re-write. The suject is too important to be ignored. Ogg 15:33, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

I had braced myself for a backlash, but the revision seems to be surviving OK, so I have added more detail. Ogg (talk) 13:47, 17 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Would this article fit better as a sub-category in the topical song article? Just wondering. Geneisner (talk) 17:29, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

Pop music
Althought pop music is known for staying away from politics, Madonna's American Life should be mentioned, as it's arguably the most political pop song there's ever been. Particulary with the original cut of the music video possibly being mentioning as well? -24.92.46.22 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 07:19, 14 September 2008 (UTC).

When initially looking at this section of the article, we noticed that there seemed to be information lacking. There was mention of only one artist who's music intertwined with politics and had not been updated with new releases. Within the edits that were made to this section, we added updated information about more recently released songs such as Macklemore's song "Same Love" which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. We also added information about Beyonce's album "Lemonade" which contains themes of controversial topics like racism, stereotyping, police brutality, and infidelity. Within the edits that were made, we also wanted to relate these new releases to the current political environment around the world and included information about a few of the recent attacks that have occurred. mdor555 20:26, 31 March 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Madisondoran1 (talk • contribs)

Punk Rock
This section could use a great deal of organization.

I think there ought to be a distinction between nihilism/anarchism (e.g. Sex Pistols) and Marxism/socialism (e.g. The Clash).

Also more needs to be said about punk rock's relationship to labor movements in the 70's and 80's, especially in the U.K.

Finally, I would suggest a more comprehensive/exclusive list of bands. I fail to see the political significance of sum 41, for example. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.70.83.34 (talk) 16:38, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

Classical music notes
Cornelius Cardew has to be included in the UK summary... John Tilbury has now written the definitive book .... Matchless 2009 Szczels (talk) 19:15, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Jazz
Much to be unearthed here but to start with Eddie Prevost in the UK. Also the drummer John Stevens (drummer) Szczels (talk) 19:20, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Rock n Roll and anti-communist dissidents
I know, shocking politically incorrect idea. But while this 'article' took great pains in pointing out how Rock music was used to showcase the evils of capitalism and racism in the United States (what wiki article doesn't??), those who actually lived under communism looked to rock in roll as a symbol of freedom of expression. Ironic, isn't it? Underground bands throughout the Soviet bloc belted out rock tunes in defiance of the state. I believe it was Václav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic, who stated that without Rock n Roll his generation would have had no hope for a better life while living under communist rule. He is one of the few world leaders who actually devoted his life to the study of rock music, that's how much of an impact it meant to him. While Arlo Guthrie was singing the praises of communism to red diaper babies throughout the United States, Václav Havel was listening to American and British rock bands in his attic so that the secret police wouldn't arrest him. Feel free to add more to this article if you wish, but I wouldn't want to hamper the drive to spread global communism. BTW, did you hear the latest? Rock n Roll actually originated in England. LOL! Why not. The Germans believe the US was the model for the Holocaust. LOL! More later, comrades. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MarioSmario (talk • contribs) 21:05, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Folk Music
I am a college student in a Music in International Relations class and our assignments are based on contributing to Wikipedia articles related to the topic. My specific focus is American political folk music during the Cold War and how it was used to challenge the United States government. I chose to contribute to this article since there are many issues with citation, organization, and clarity so I am hoping to clean up at least the Folk Music portion of the article.

I have already begun adding sources to verify some of the claims made in this section, and I may also work with reorganizing some of the sentences to give the section more clarity and to put the folk music examples in a chronological order. As for my direct contributions in regard to the Cold War, I hope to include information about the folk revival and to establish the political climate of the time that called for a rise in folk music. I will also differentiate between instances where the music itself was political rather than when the artist in question had political motives, and perhaps what affect the political folk music had on the American population and their view of the government. Most of the information comes from books and articles that focus on political folk artists such as Aaron Copland, Pete Seeger, and Woodie Guthrie, so I will examine their role in influencing the population and the responses of the U.S. government as points of case studies.

Any and all suggestions for these contributions are welcomed.

I am also currently a college student that is taking a Music in International Relations class and our current assignment is contributing to a Wikipedia article that is of our interest. All the simply plan to do is make a general addition of background information regarding folk music. There are many details explaining why it is significant in terms of the lyrics and perspective of the writer. Dates are presented that are applicable in efforts to gain an idea of when the time period was because folk music universally changed throughout history determining what was occurring during that time. But, in most instances, folk music transgressed during the period of war and people wanted to take a stand on their views. Most likely, I will initiate new paragraphs because the current paragraph is fairly large and news to have a few ideas flourished. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nordia19 (talk • contribs) 03:39, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Westfield123 (talk) 18:14, 13 April 2012 (UTC)Westfield123Westfield123 (talk) 18:14, 13 April 2012 (UTC)


 * This sounds great. One thing to watch for is too making things too US centric. See Systemic bias for an overview of the problem and Irish rebel music for one example.--Salix (talk): 19:13, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Country Section
The country section needs to be fixed. For one it doesn't mention how the political stances expressed by Merle Haggard within his music have changed over time. Secondly, it doesn't acknowledge the political music and activism of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson (all left-leaning and/or libertarian), Loretta Lynn (feminist), and Hank Williams, Jr. (conservative).

The country music section of this Wikipedia page does not talk about the depth of the influence it has made on politics. In my edit, I talked about the country artist rapper Cowboy Troy and how he influenced the way people saw politics in their minds. He influenced progressive ideas such as gender equality, white people being the “working” class, and the analysis over social classes. He also makes references to Barack Obama going against John McCain in the 2008 presidential race. I added two citations within my edit for where I found my information from, one being “Hidden in the Mix” and the other being “Playing Chicken with The Train”. Cowboy Troy wanted his audience to know how he felt about these ideas and relying them within his music gave others the opportunity to understand how he felt about certain issues, and this impacted conversations on political ideas. Sharmingaziani (talk) 00:00, 30 March 2019 (UTC)Sharmingaziani

As I read this section of the article, I realized that it was very broad and did not give details on artists that have contributed to music and politics. I decided to add some information on Brad Paisley and his song "Accidental Racist". Brad Paisley uses his lyrics to emphasize that racial dialogue still exists in this country. He also claims that his song was created to bring up discussions about this topic throughout his fan base and other listeners. His lyrics were not the best, but it did get its message through. I added three quotes from the same source "Brad Paisley- a Different Kind of Cowboy Before 'Accidental Racist'?". I chose this source because it gave lots of feedback from different critiques and the very own composer of "Accidental Racist". This song created conversation and possibly changed the political views of some of the listeners of this album. Ramirezgalilea

The music and politics have a lot of music genres and in the country section, there was not as much information as in the other sections. The edits I made in the country section was talking about a female country artist known as Kacey Musgraves. She had lyrics in some of her songs that involved politics and some were not that happy about what she said in the lyrics. She talks about gay rights and cannabis consumptions like in her song "Family is family" from her album "Biscuits" the chorus of the song talks about gay right and cannabis consumptions. Musgraves wanted people to know how she felt about gay rights and also about cannabis consumptions and she did by making songs and singing it in her music. The other edits I made were fixing my citations and just revising the information that I wrote and making sure it was all good and there were no mistakes in my part of editing the article. Davidcarranco11 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidcarranco11 (talk • contribs) 02:21, 30 March 2019 (UTC)

When looking through this article initially, I noticed that there was information lacking in this section. I also noticed that the information had not been updated with recently released songs, so I decided that I would focus my edits on adding information that would provide more thorough and updated information to this section. Within my edits, I chose to include information about Keith Urban's song, "Female." This song brings light to the many important roles that females hold within society and the negative impacts that sexism, slut-shaming, and the lack of representation in government can have on women. Next, I chose to add information concerning Carrie Underwood's song, "Love Wins," which sends the message that unity is important during this divided state of government that the United States is experiencing with there being many controversies involving racism, sexism, and terrorist attacks as well as internal attacks on specific groups. Lastly, I chose to discuss Kacey Musgraves' song, "Follow Your Arrow," which contains content on a variety of controversial topics, but contains a radical point of view for the country genre towards same-sex marriage. These three songs all have some sort of political message attached to them or are written about controversial topics in current day American politics. mdor555 22:36, 30 March 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Madisondoran1 (talk • contribs)

Reggae section
Could somebody please add a Reggae section as reggae can be very politically driven at times (e.g. Tanya Stephens). Thanks, K. (talk) 13:28, 8 September 2012 (UTC) Yes please, or add a link and reference the entry on Protest Music. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.154.206.74 (talk) 23:29, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

RfC
An RfC: Which descriptor, if any, can be added in front of Southern Poverty Law Center when referenced in other articles? has been posted at the Southern Poverty Law Center talk page. Your participation is welcomed. – MrX 17:03, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

Hip Hop
A good portion of the Hip Hop segment needs a rewrite. It seems the writers were trying too hard to find political meaning in songs that were apolitical. It is noted that these songs may also just be boasts, so why they continue to stay as examples is beyond me. There are pro-RTKBA hip hop songs (Sir Mix-A-Lot has done a few that come to mind) and those would perhaps be a better example.

50.53.191.122 (talk) 23:38, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

When we initially looked at this page, we noticed that the information in the hip hop section had not been recently updated. We also noticed that there was significantly less information in this section than some of the other sections. We decided to add information about Kanye West's involvement during the 2016 Presidential elections. During this Presidential election, West showed support towards the Republican administration and encouraged his fans to vote for Trump. Kanye West has also shown how he has used his music to talk about his political beliefs through his collaboration with T.I.. We added information about this collaboration such as how the two rappers shared their opposing political views through the lyrics. Through our edits we also wanted to give a specific example of a hip hop artist who used their platform and songs to send a political message and share their political beliefs with their fans. mdor555 20:20, 31 March 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Madisondoran1 (talk • contribs)

This section should also include more recognition of modern rap and its influence on politics. This may need its own category, but I think it can be a subcategory of hip hop.Sejava (talk) 20:42, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

External links modified (February 2018)
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Review
All of the information that has been edited does have a citation which makes the information reliable. The language in the edits made are neutral. She makes her edits based on facts that she has found from other resources. The language written contain facts and things that the artists have stated on done without any input from my classmate's opinion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Red2212 (talk • contribs) 21:09, 30 March 2019 (UTC)

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