All We are Saying, Is Give Peace Promoting Songs A Chance |
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| Written by Christine Seabrook |
| Monday, 31 March 2008 19:00 |
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It is generally acknowledged that political visionaries such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were able to change the world in significant ways, but what about musicians such as John Lennon, Neil Young and Melanie? In addition to their chart-topping singles and successful careers as artists, these individuals also attempted to change the world via one of the most profound mediums possible: music. They were dream weavers of sound, projecting all their hopes and desires for a more peaceful world. In recent years, it seems that the desire to promote social change through music has dissipated. Popular artists are no longer willing to sing for a cause.
During this period, many artists forged conscious connections between their music and specific social causes. In doing so, they were able to rally together citizens to help in the fight for peace. Bands like Ten Years After, Buffalo Springfield and solo artists including John Lennon, Bob Marley and Melanie dedicated their musical brawn to broadcasting desires and ambitions for a more peaceful future. Ten Years After released a commanding number, “I Want to Change the World,” which not only discussed contemporary cultural issues, but also tried to provoke the thoughts and efforts of its listeners by stating, “I want to change the world, but I don’t know what to do, so I’ll leave it up to you.” Neil Young consistently encouraged awareness and action through Melanie and Bob Marley were both activist musicians who included calls to action in many of their songs, such as Melanie’s ”Lay Down (Candles in the rain)” and ”Get up, stand up,” one of Bob Marley’s biggest hits.
It is now 2008, and the Woodstock nation no longer exists. Bob and Popular music has had a change of heart. Mainstream artists have forgotten that they have the ability to express themselves in a purposefully political and socially meaningful way. Perhaps if we, as listeners and consumers, engage in dialogue with popular culture and express our own pleas for peace and equality, the artists will follow our lead. All we are saying is give dynamically creative individuals an opportunity to express themselves in a socially meaningful way. All we are saying is allow their passion to be revealed. All we are saying is give peace a chance…again.
© 2008 Christine Seabrook; licensee (Cult)ure Magazine.
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In the 1960s and ‘70s, a desire for peace, love and happiness pervaded much of popular culture. Through the hippy and social rights movements, North American society experienced drastic changes, and witnessed often defiant behaviour from its citizens. Political and artistic endeavours such as psychedelic art, organic binges and love-ins encouraged the contemplation of social dilemmas and promoted change through unity and love. Music was an undeniably powerful part of this movement; it was the fuel that fired the flower-children.
his musical endeavours. When Crosby, Stills and Nash became a foursome, with Young by their side, their combined talents were able to influence the world around them. In songs such as “Find a Dream,” they told their listeners to hold true to their dreams and not let go. The lyrics to “For What it’s Worth,” by Young’s former band, Buffalo Springfield, argued that listeners needed to stop, listen and “look what’s going down”. (As a solo artist much later in his career, Young dedicated an entire album to the heartbreaks and needlessness of war, 2006’s Living With War.)
While each of these artists made their dreams known, perhaps none of them was able to equal the cultural presence of the ex-Beatle, John Lennon. Lennon was one of the most profound musical dreamers of all time. Not only did almost every song he ever wrote encompass a desire for unity and love, but he dedicated his life to promoting peace. One famous and well known political event involved him staying in bed with wife Yoko Ono for days, during their honeymoon, as a method of peaceful protest. Lennon’s “War is Over” campaign led to the recording of a congregation of citizens singing the well remembered “Give Peace a Chance.” Lennon’s enthusiasm and charisma touched many people’s lives, and his devotion to peace remains an influential example.
John are dead. Artists today rarely take any risks to promote social justice. Modern songs are not directed at any cause or action, and even those that do manage to touch on social issues become buried beneath the hype of the modern corporate pop production machine. Once in a while, there will be a track that will attempt to spread the good word, such as The Black Eyed Peas’ “Where is the love?”, but, in the end, after the song gets over-played on the radio (or ends up in a television ad), it’s forgotten and the group goes on to release songs that have no ambition-value whatsoever, e.g., “Shut Up,” and “Don’t Phunk With My Heart.” Artists today seem lost in the glamour of the limelight; any sense of social ambition quickly succumbs to corporate agendas. There are some groups that still hold true to their desire for change, such as U2, but mainstream pop culture has little or no interest in their politics. Rather than support people like Bono, mainstream media tends to mock socially engaged celebrities and works to diminish their broadcast capacities.
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