politics in music

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
Talk about overrating.

Dylan is no God. He's good but he's one of those artists that people are too scared to comment on. They're fearful to say he's anything other than amazing.

Like The Beatles, if anyone dares question their "best band ever" status, they know "nothing" of music.

-AC

You just reminded me of the time Tpt and myself got blasted on here for disagreeing with everyone else who were saying that the Beatles were the best band ever. Far from, IMO.

Me too. I still remember the blasting I took for merely suggesting that Tool may be a better band than The Beatles were.

I do agree that the earlier beatles stuff was a bit simple and sure, they were very poppy, but their later stuff like the Sgt.Peppers/Strawberry fields era was superb and occasionally quite dark/trippy with that mad orchestral stuff going psychotic on a couple of tracks....

Going back to the political stuff though, and RATM, "Know your enemy"
is especially relevent right now and Im stunned by Zach's seeming foresight in like 1991... Goes to show that certain issues with foreign and domestic policy never change huh....? Sounds like it could be applied to a variety of issues right now, The patriot act, war and the need to people to beware who the real pariah is in their lives....
Also... Damn those riffs are so cool.....

Originally posted by Deathblow
Me too. I still remember the blasting I took for merely suggesting that Tool may be a better band than The Beatles were.

I think that was in the same thread, because I remember Tpt and myself agreeing. Sorry, Beatles doesn't do anything for me, while Tool does.

Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
I do agree that the earlier beatles stuff was a bit simple and sure, they were very poppy, but their later stuff like the Sgt.Peppers/Strawberry fields era was superb and occasionally quite dark/trippy with that mad orchestral stuff going psychotic on a couple of tracks....

Going back to the political stuff though, and RATM, "Know your enemy"
is especially relevent right now and Im stunned by Zach's seeming foresight in like 1991... Goes to show that certain issues with foreign and domestic policy never change huh....? Sounds like it could be applied to a variety of issues right now, The patriot act, war and the need to people to beware who the real pariah is in their lives....
Also... Damn those riffs are so cool.....

Know Your Enemy is one of my all-time favorite songs....

Originally posted by Deathblow
Me too. I still remember the blasting I took for merely suggesting that Tool may be a better band than The Beatles were.

It wasn't just you 😉

And they do yes, but for good reason. I think it's safe to say that they are technically the best band on the planet at the moment, going by individual musicianship...but yeah whole other issue, I'll shut up now.

It's true. Tool is excellent, although I actually prefer APC. But your musical tastes all depend on how you're brought up, I think. I love The Beatles. I think they're simply amazing, regardless of their easy riffs and whatnot. John Lennon was a great lyricist. It's the same with Dylan. While not necessarily being the greatest guitarist, he was brilliant with words. But I wouldn't consider either of them to be an influence. It all depends on yourself, ultimately.

I think there's more to Dylan and the Beatles than just their lyrics.. they may not being amazing with their instruments but the music they wrote is great too. Besides.. I think Harrison and Paul were pretty talented with their instruments.

But honestly when it comes to political shit I prefer newer shit like RATM, Public Enemy, KRS-one, and even SOAD. Lennon's and Dylan's political songs may have been revolutionary back in the day, but they are really subtle and tame by today's standards.

Yeah agreed, plus modern political lyrics are always going to have more effect, as they are obviously going to be more relevant.

Very true. It all depends on the times.

its kind of unfortunate though how political music has become such the "thing to do" thanks to so many people hating Bush. every man and his dog are making songs about how much of a dick bush is, but only a handfull of them are doing it good

another classic political song that i had totally forgot about until i listened to it again today

zombie by the cranberries

I still think Bob Marley was much more of a political activist then he is given credit for. The main people he was speaking to didnt have any idea of the corruption that was going on in their country (im talking about Jamaica here) and he told them in a language they could understand and relate to. He also walked the walk, i dont know if you know that he did a concert the day after being shot in the arm after an assassination attempt. He still had fragments of the bullet still in his arm but he did the concert anyway because he wanted the people to hear his message. It makes the try hard gangstas who employ bodyguards and wear bullet proof vests even more amusing to me.

I like Marley but don't really know much about his music except for his hits.. reggae has never really been my thing to be honest, but I do like most Bob Marley songs I've heard.

I was raised on Marley from a young age, he is a once in a life time musician no doubt. But he was also a champion for his countrymen, as famous as he was he never compromised his music or stopped trying to uplift his people.

I've got alot of respect for Bob Marley.

-AC

i think political music if done well is a good idea because its a good way to get a view across powerfully. Bands with a big fan base have a big head start at this. A problem arises when the odd band try to be really political just so people think theyve got this bad attitude thingg and they wanna be rebels.
But i think r.a.t.m are ok and theyre very political.they put it across well though. theyre talented

I think politcal music can be good if the artist really believes in it and they do it tastefully.
Have any of you heard Civil War by Guns N' Roses? One of the most powerful Anti-war songs I`ve heard. It was made in '91. Axl sounds like he really cares about it.

My hands are tied
The billions shift for side to side
And the war goes on with brain-washed pride
For the love of God and our human rights
And all these these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can`t deny
Who are washed away by your genoside
And history hides the lies of our civil wars

If you want to hear it, just PM me 🙂

you know your worth when your enemies
praise your architecture of aggression