Musing No. 3 - Enough with the Politics in the Music

So I am more than a little annoyed by political music. Both sides. Seriously. Now I lean more to the right than to the left, but whether it be some country hack writing a McCain song, or Green Day or Smashing Pumpkins making anti-bush songs, or Lynrd Skynrd writing anti-healthcare songs - it ruins the listening experience for me.

I want you to stop making political music.

You have political views. I get it. You are very excited about those feelings. I get it. But don't write a stupid song about your political beliefs. That's dumb. Political debate is not art. Despite what is currently being considered art by people today - the 'Obama Hope' posters is just creative advertisement - much like this:

Really captures the teenage angst...

One reason not to do it is it makes your music dated very quickly. Do you think people care about Green Day's 'American Idiot' anymore? Once Bush was out of office, it doesn't matter anymore! There are songs that are written for and against Reagan, Kennedy, and even Clinton - by some pretty famous bands in the past. But do you know of these songs? The answer is probably not. Why is that? Because they became quickly irrelevant, and therefore faded away. Do you care about what someone's political views of Kennedy or Reagan was however many years ago? Of course you don't, it has no bearing on your life as of right now, and the music public has a very small attention span for things that aren't relevant to them - right now.

I believe this is the real 'American Idiot' hahaha...ok my puns suck.

I don't care if people hold personal political views, I would actually rather they did. I don't even care the position, if they pay attention to politics that means that they care about things outside of their own little realm. I don't even care if they give interviews saying what those views are - have at it. Just don't put it into your music, man. It ruins it for me.

Now of course, anti-war, anti-poverty, other transcending political topics are always going to be around, I don't have a problem with those. Just getting so specific ruins the poetry. There's alot of political songs that most people don't know are political, because they were written poetically or about general social injustice even if the artist was thinking something specific, it was open to interpretation.

" A King James I by any other name would still have dissolved Parliament..."

The beauty of music is that it connects with many audiences, in many different situations. I have many times listened to a song in a particular time in my life that helped me through that time and that I really connected with. Later on I have found out that the song was written about something different altogether, but I was able to connect with it because it was written in a way that was open to what I was feeling at the time.

Another reason it's not a great idea to make political music is because it instantly alienates a great part of your audience. This is not the days of Pink Floyd anymore - the average listening audience for a rock album or a rap album ranges to all difference races, religions, walks of life and political views. You are instantly alienating a portion without reprive when you blatantly state your political views in the contents of a song. The whole point of poetry is to create some mystery of what you are saying so the listener or reader can come to their own conclusions. Don't just state what are saying plain and out there. That makes for very little listening quality.

I'm sorry, I become deaf when people sing stupid.

On behalf of musicians and music listeners everywhere - please don't make any more songs for or against presidents, congressmen or city councilmen - I'm tired of skipping your songs on my iPod. Don't make songs for or against government policies or things you should be government policies, although I suppose people will never stop making songs about weed...what are you going to do? lol. Those are dumb things to make music about, don't make for great musical poetry, and frankly are getting pretty boring and repetitive.

End of Musing No. 3
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