Essay On Popular Music And Politics

“Politics can be strengthened by music, but music also has a potency that defies politics.” This quote by Nelson Mandela summarizes the relationship between music and politics, and how important and unique their connection is. “This relationship is important because music has the power to enforce and the power to challenge politics”. Music has this power because it contains the potential to influence individuals, which can result in political movements, and even cause cultural change. The influence of music genre, Rock ‘n’ Roll, has heavily impacted the culture and society of America in several different ways. One of the most influential effects Rock ‘n’ Roll music has on America is its power to unite and divide individuals during troublesome periods. The unison and division of American citizens has been displayed several times throughout history, but perhaps the most important is shown in the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.

Each decade is different; it’s either a breakthrough or a disappointment. Booming and freewheeling, the 1960s were a big time of change. Sometimes change is annihilative, and other times it’s rewarding. Compared to present day, the 1960s was clearly very different. Music, social norms, and politics are a few changes seen across the decades.

The 1960s was a tumultuous decade for the United States. Along with the escalation of the Vietnam War, this decade was rocked by the Civil Rights movement and the second wave of the Feminist movements, creating an immense amount of social tension. As a result, people turned to politically-charged music, predominantly Rock n’ Roll, to release their frustrations. However, an equally important musical genre, Soul, was left in the background. Despite the fact that Soul music was not as popular in the United States, artists such as Aretha Franklin released many politically-charged songs that advocated for social justice.

The music of the 1960s and 1970s definitely had an impact on culture and society in the United States. Protest music, specifically, brought ideas, as well as problems, to the attention of many Americans. Radio stations across the nation were a big part of the spread of protest music. Radio experienced a boom after World War II. Stations started appearing all over, which meant more people could be reached. The messages written in popularized protest songs were heard over the radio by people who otherwise may not have gotten the chance to hear the artists.

There is a clear through-line in our nation’s history of blackface. As a detrimental tradition, the practice reflects a collectively low opinion of African-Americans, so much so that it became feasible to reduce an entire group of people to caricatures. When Rondrich describes minstrelsy as the “first truly American band” based on its origin within and its reflection of our past beliefs, I found it a sickeningly accurate statement. It is rather astonishing how music has been used to disseminate racially charged imagery—in this situation, Adorno’s fears of music perpetuating group-thought was startlingly supported.

"And in the end it 's not the years in your life that count. It 's the life in your years."(Abraham Lincoln) The words of Abraham Lincoln describe the accomplishments by the Baby Boomers perfectly and implies that it’s the accomplishments in life that matter the most. The Baby Boom drastically changed Canadian society forever. The Baby Boom was an epoch after World War 2 where there was a massive increase in birth rate. Canada had social reforms, new music genres, and a changed economy. As the multitude of the Boomers are retiring, their contributions have not been forgotten.

En Masse, Rock and Roll has influenced various areas of the youth culture amid the 1960’s, dominating many areas of the world. The popularity and international outlook for rock music resulted in a compelling impact on society as Rock and Roll influenced everyday fashions, attitudes, and behaviors. Drawing on many different styles, this genre of music excited a worldwide generation of young listeners, while, at the same time, distressing musical, cultural, and social authorities. Presently, it is tough to fully understand the bitter criticism the new music generated in its entirety. Rock music gave shape to many different counter-cultural movements which engulfed the world. Without Rock and Roll, many genres of music would never have emerged, such as: garage rock, pop rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock. Although rock no longer rules popular music, the styles of the 1960’s still appeal to the ears of those born long after. The utopian frenzy of rock defined the music of that era, and to this day continues to structure the music we call Rock and Roll

Since the founding of the United States of America, culture, religion, and race have always been interlaced. If one of these changed, the others struggled to adapt. There was never a time in America’s short history that these three matters collided more brutally or ferociously than during the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll. It is quite obvious that not one single event, action, or phenomenon caused the turmoil during this era, but rather a perfect storm of cultural and racial revolutions that collided head on with tremendous religious backlash.

History, but is was longest. Prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Reverend T.J. Jemison lead a bus boycott in Baton Rouge, but it lasted only two weeks. In addition to the boycott in Baton Rouge, there were more bus boycotts, but they did not last long enough to make an impact. Many people had an impact on the movement before the Boycott 1955 such as Jackie Robinson, Emmett Till, and Harry Truman, who all either supported the Civil Rights Movement or were victimized by the harsh ways of racists. Also, leading up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, many things sparked anger and frustration in African Americans such as widespread inequality, and extreme

Montgomery Bus Boycott- In Montgomery, 1955, blacks were forced to sit in the back of the bus. One day Rosa Parks, a true hero, said no when asked to move to the back of the bus. She was arrested and that is when the boycott started. African American Men and Women didn’t ride the bus for more than a year. They started a boycott team which was led by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and many other people joined. The Supreme Court had to ratify the law because African Americans rode the bus a lot which made the bus business fail when they stopped riding. Everyday blacks rode bikes or walked.

The music industry has played a large role in shaping the society in which people live in today. Music has the ability to not only impact an individual’s life but society as a whole. One genre/subgenre in particular that was able to cause dramatic change within the US itself was punk rock. Punk rock, which could be consider a subgenre of rock n roll or a genre of its own, came into the popular music scene in the 1960s and 70s and played a huge role in shaping the lives of many Americans especially those whose voices were not heard in the mainstream. Throughout history and still in today’s society many groups of people go unheard and are not respected as they should be under the constitution. The genre/subgenre of punk rock has brought

As previously mentioned protests and civil disobedience, consisted of Bus Boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama. Lunch Counters and Diner Sit-Ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Tennessee; and the (1965) “Bloody Sunday” March to Selma, Alabama, which Martin Luther King deliberately picked due to its Alabama over the top racist Citizens and Police chief.

In this extremely controversial work, Glenn C. Altschuler takes aim on the government’s accusations, the prejudice from the police, and the affect that rock ’n’ roll made in America through the late forties and fifties. Glenn makes many accusations of his own through the way he shifts the momentum of the story from time to time. Through the years back then and now, music has caused many racial and gender controversies. In this book, Glenn explains all these problems and what rock did to start or get of them.

Popular music was a medium that was able to provide a widespread unified voice of protest. Political and social messages within popular music were seen prominently through genres that caused controversy and opposition. This essay will focus on punk rock which was a musical genre that emerged as a huge opposing force to both social and political aspects of the 1970s. In particular, the focus will be on British punk rock which was highly influential for British youth due to the dire economical circumstances of London at the time. British punk music grew largely out of the London-based pub rock scene of the early 1970s (Bennett, 12). Punk was a counterculture movement inspiring youth to rebel against the government, society and fashion. (CITE) This promoted the attitudes of creating original music, undictated by the corporate giants of the music industry. Punk rock rebelled

Hail the human race, but I never knew a person can gyrate their body part of their body with such vigor and dedication such as I see today. I doubt if whether Elvis Presley were to wake up today he would do a gig with Justin Bieber or Shakira and go home celebrating how they fired up the place. Or would he go home complaining how the song lacked harmony, or they were too synthetic or lacked a particular instrument? I don’t for a second doubt whether The Beatles and Lady Gaga would find common ground when it comes to rebellion and controversy, but would share the same platform. Disappointingly, this new crop of musician will always find a way to get inspired by a Diana Ross, a Michael Jackson, or an Elvis Presley. These are some of the woes I go through when I look at today’s popular music, and they are the reason why I mourn for the good old and gone times of Thriller, and Billie Jean. Almost every decade that passes always comes with a new style of music, but the 1980’s was a period of exponential evolution in the pop industry that has remained unmatched to date.