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Politics and Music

The Trumpets of Jericho

Beethoven and Napoleon 

Wagner and the Nazis

"Ohio" and the Vietnam War

"Imagine" and consumerism 

The Dixie Chicks 

Countless examples illustrate the intersection of Music and Politics. Jerry Garcia referenced his group as "just a dance band." Always pondered how we react to our choices of music. Divorce it entirely from the controversies of the day and merely enjoy the artistry or allow it to change the way in which we view the world. Transformative, escapism, nostalgia, intellectual profundity, cultural discovery. Large questions. Your thoughts?

jpwarren58

Showing 2 responses by frogman

frogman
7,497 posts
 

**** I just don’t consider him or most musicians, actors, talk show hosts, and audio enthusiasts a reliable source of information to base my views upon.****
 

Bingo!

frogman
7,497 posts
 

As expected, this topic has opened the door to self serving expressions of personal political biases. So, back to the OP:

The answer is, you can have both suggestions.  Acknowledge the political message in the music (any art) and remember that the message is an expression of the composer’s world view; no one else’s.

To ignore that fact is to have an incomplete view of the music. We, as listeners, can be educated; or, we can disagree with the message and still appreciate the artistic merit of the music. Seems inconceivable, for instance, to refuse to listen to Wagner and ignore its musical greatness, because we disagree with his twisted political views.

 

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