2. music
  3. 1244926021

Music and politics

A post yesterday about U2 prompted me to listen to them today. And one comment from yesterday got me to thinking. The author wrote dismissively that they should "keep their politics to themselves." (Those may or may not have been the exact words, but that gets to the point.) As I've been listening this afternoon, I've thought: I'm neither a born-again Christian nor a political leftie, but I do love this band. And then I thought further: If I listened only to bands or singer-songwriters whose politics were like mine, I surely wouldn't spin a whole lot of recordings. (For the record, I consider myself a radically pragmatic centrist with occasional libertarian leanings. Got any bands who'd fill that bill?) I care about the music, and not about what the people making that music happen to believe. Am I alone in this? Do others dismiss certain artists because of their politics -- or religion or the kind of car they drive or whatever else?
hodu

Showing 2 responses by audiofeil

audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
Shut up and sing.

Thank you very much.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I don't believe most posters here advocate censorship.

IMO, most folks attend concerts to hear music based, loosely or otherwise, on the artists' recordings. Much of that music contains political and/or sociological inferences which is not new. One can go back to the slavery era and find songs laden with oppression, protestation, and discrimination.

Those concepts are what draw many of us to the music and the concerts. I go to hear the music not the artist rant and rave about his/her latest cause many of which are totally hypocritical. Case in point are the artists supporting greeen this and green that while flying from city to city in private jets. Or the animal rights activists with their steak dinners and/or fur coats.

Not a right wing nut or liberal weenie, just a casual observation.

Then again, I could be wrong.
More to discover