Spate of Occupy Music Videos on Youtube. Bandwagon or Music Movement?

Mentalists

Personally I like music with social commentary - example songs like "which side are you on?" "power in the union" "Every home a prison", anything by Gil Scott- Heron, Woodie Guthrie and Dylan when he's being political. I am not a fan of the music of capitalism - music by numbers designed by marketeers, music just for fun, kiddie R n B rhythm first and foremost with lyrics as an addon. I am also not a fan of the whole music edgeless stylised Killers nonsense or the egotistical me music stuff of Metalica and Nirvana (granted nirvana did do it well). Basically though I come across as a music fascist I believe music is something more than just a bit of fun or leisure time relaxation. I am vaguely aware of the concept called the public sphere where the space of the public's everyday world is ideally their space where they have a certain freedom to engage in debate about their society. Sadly that is an ideal. The space is colonised by so much else - corporate rampant advertising = example. Music too fits into this space but this is all tepid nonsense these days. Rarely is there anything out there to make people think about their society - so the minds grow duller. Anyway I came across a spate of occupy songs on youtube - along with a bunch of occupy music networks on facebook. To many they are all too obviously trying to jump on the occupy bandwagon. However is that really much worse than jumping on the superficial xfactor bandwagon and everything it represents. For me this is a good bandwagon worth latching onto. Music like politics and civic society, like the public sphere needs to be reoccupied by the public. So is this one way of doing it. ANyway here are some links I found relating to this post. I look forward to hearing what you think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKHZ0FgMfN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZArit1iwLZo&list=PLED93E91BD04D4F3F&index=6&feature=plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY5QEETaUEM&feature=related

http://www.facebook.com/OccupyMusic99

Technocentral

This is a forum for lovers of alt/indie music not political bores and I say that as a committed lefty, no real music lover can dismiss great music just because it doesn't suit their narrow definition of what is "worthy", we are al going to die some day having some fun along the way and listening to some non preachy tunes isn't a crime.

seachto7

as boring as bands who weren't even American, writing songs about George Bu$h 10 years ago.....:rolleyes:

Technocentral

seachto7 wrote: »

as boring as bands who weren't even American, writing songs about George Bu$h 10 years ago.....:rolleyes:

Nothing wrong with writing songs about Bush if your really good and its just part of your repertoire, there are great political songs and bands that I listen too but just as part of my overall love of music, I'm just as happy listening to electronic music with no lyrics as Rage Against The Machine who I also love, but to decide not to listen to "capitalist" music (whatever that means) denotes that your a political dogmatist not a music fan. I'll use the following analogy:

Bill Hicks - amazing comedian first, political commentator - second = fantastic

Mark Thomas - dogmatic political commentator first, comedian (if at all) second = bloody awful.

Edit: had a listen to (as much as I could take) of one of op's suggested songs, blurb said "Political song by TheAgreeables.com led by former journalist Rick Cipes (L.A. Times, L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, Playboy)" Piss poor, wimpy nonsense ripping off the East Coast 60s sound, people with zero musical talent like him should stick to writing.

viadah

I always thought writing political songs made you something of an attention whore. I'd liken it to an ugly guy writing a song about all the 'lovely girls' in the world and playing it loudly, strumming on the aul banjo just within earshot of the MAC counter in Brown Thomas, singing about how he could be the best guy in the world for them if they only knew how he felt about the situation, where they go out with fancy guys with jobs and cars and such but he's solid and dependable and all that, but they just go on about their business without listening while some homeless person inevitably asks for something he can sing along to.

Mentalists

By music of capitalism I mean music that is industrially designed. Take for example that Kylie Golden hotpants song La La La. I believe it had a heap of writers working together to create the catchiest tune. I know commercial music would have accounted for it better.

Admittedly I am more of a lyrics fan than a music fan, that is true. But a political dogmatist? . I love lots of songs that are not outright political and by the way political is a lot broader than the definition afforded to it in this discussion i.e., Overt Rage Against the Machine Politics. The Smiths for example are very political and they were not always singing about protest marches and overthrowing the system.

Anyway whatever you views on music etiquette, or what is the correct way to appreciate music I strongly believe the airwaves could do with a little more of politics proper, a bit more of social responsibility and a little less of music escapism. Although I am not saying that we should be done with the latter but the world could be better served with a change in the balance.

Regarding the song by the Agreeables - it does sound tepid but that is purposely so. It's a parody of rebellion, it's a comment on apathy - they are called the Agreeables after all.

InTheTrees

It would be a dull world if musicians didnt comment on social unrest happening around them.

But hopefully none of them are "jumping on a bandwagon" but feel passionatly about what they're writing.

Thats probably the key really, those musicians who are genuinely passionate about it will produce the best work but those who are just trying to make a fast buck by tapping into a market hopefully wont.

Life isnt fair though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1rsPwd8GE8

Mentalists

Thanks for that link InTheTrees. Thievery Corporation were always political so it's not disingenuous to see them singing about the occupy movement. Somewhat less so would be JayZ's clothing line launching the "occupy all Streets" t-shirt. Although he has had a mild political past the fact that he is in the top 1% and sought to make a few more millions out of the movement with the t-shirt clearly discredited him.

I am looking forward to the online occupation records release of Massive Attack and Thom Yorke's gig at Occupy London.

cranks

InTheTrees wrote: »

It would be a dull world if musicians didnt comment on social unrest happening around them.

But hopefully none of them are "jumping on a bandwagon" but feel passionatly about what they're writing.

Thats probably the key really, those musicians who are genuinely passionate about it will produce the best work but those who are just trying to make a fast buck by tapping into a market hopefully wont.

Life isnt fair though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1rsPwd8GE8

Thanks for this ITTrees.
Thievery Corporation (and Mr Lif, whom I've never heard of) demonstrating that protest/social comentary does not have to be dull:)