musicians and politics
There are several different approaches people in the music industry have about using their voice to speak about issues in politics.
The first does not use their privilege and voice to speak up for others. This could occur because they are scared about losing the support of their fans over politics, or they feel its not their place to speak out because they are not informed. This may be a smart move if it is the latter, but then maybe they should get informed. Popular musicians are in the public eye, so, wild thought here, they should know about the public. They were given the opportunity of fame, and people should do something with it.
The next approach is a musician who doesn’t make music about politics, but posts on social media about an issue. This can certainly lead to results, like Taylor Swift’s post supporting a gubernatorial candidate leading to a spike in voter registration. This is perhaps the most practical approach to fame and politics combining, however I feel it would be more effective if a person were to give a speech at a show, rather than type out a few characters. But who am I to judge?
The final approach is making music about a current political situation. This ranges from songs about being to scared to speak up, like the first approach, but they actually end up doing something, like AJR’s “Burn the House Down,”
to songs like MisterWives’ “Oh Love”, with outright outrage over the 2016 election results.
This MisterWives example is a great one of the potential of someone with a voice, even if it’s relatively small. The lead singer and lyricist, Mandy Lee, has said that she is not a political person, and that this song was more about the social issues, meaning she couldn’t stand by while she believed a person could hurt other people. It shows one does not have to be a polysci major to do something. Going back to AJR example, in addition to the song describing being scared, it also explains how their list of grievances hit a point where they had to revolt. Politics are not always boring nowadays because of all the shit that is happening. This is why musicians not only are able to speak out in the realm of politics, but why I would encourage them to do so.
