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?

jpwarren5806-11-2022 7:52pm

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yoyoyaya Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 646 posts 06-12-2022 at 12:17pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Al Stewart is outstanding when it comes to writing about politics/history. Personally, I prefer when the issue is approached more from an observational/narrative perspective than a didactic one.
mahgister Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 12,961 posts 06-12-2022 at 12:28pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete music and song can be powerful ....
fbgbill Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 294 posts 06-12-2022 at 12:30pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @scott22 😂
waytoomuchstuff Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 1,023 posts 06-12-2022 at 01:01pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @emrofsemanon “the greatest music is multi-level in its meaning. some diatribes are danceable”. You win.
mahler123 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 3,101 posts 06-12-2022 at 01:07pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Politics can be the inspiration for a lot of great music. The Popular music realm—-a.k.a the Sixties—are well known to most forumites. In Classical the High Romantic era and the rise of Nationalism gave rise to works such as Smetena Ma Vlast, Dvorak Slavonic Dances, many works by Tchaikovsky and the Russian Mighty Handful. French, Mexicanand American Composers have had their Patrriotic outings. All of this in addition to examples given by the OP and other posters here. Tchaikovsky was held to be in bad odor in Wales at the outbreak of the Russian incursion into Ukraine. An orchestra in Wales canceled an evening of Slavonic Marche, Little Russian Symphony, and the 1812 Overture. (“Little Russia” is term that many Russians used to refer to Ukraine, and the Symphony is basically a riff on Ukrainian Folk Songs). Piotr died around 1895, so I am not sure how he was supposed to anticipate Political Sensibilities 130 years in the Future, but there you have it