Insert Political Statment __________
Summary: To be concise, both articles presented the argument that there is a direct relationship between politics and music. After supporting their claim by providing multiple examples of historical movements in politics and specific music examples, it was concluded in both articles that music does have a varying degree of influence on politics, and vice versa.
Article #1: This article emphasizes on the how the style of rap developed, due to its high influence in politics. It was the Trinidadan Carnival style that introduced modrenday rap battles to society. According to the article, “If they encountered rival groups, they would throw down a challenge in song, known as a ‘clinda.'” With that said, it was also mentioned that the Trinidadan Carnival style had a great influence on the Calypso style of music, which introduced the rhythms and beats that now make up the sound quality of today’s rap songs. The article also emphasized on the political fights that often broke out, due to the participation in this music style.
Article#2: This article emphasized how political issues influenced/inspired music. Although this may seem like a positive effect, the music was actually designed for society to realize the flaws within their political system. Additionally, the author of this article used some of his own musical creations to support his claim. “Many of my own political works take this approach as well, including: “Soldier Songs,” about what war does to the people who fight it; “and the sky was still there,” about a close friends difficult struggle with “don’t ask don’t tell;” and “Haunt of Last Nightfall,” which revisits the U.S.-funded (and subsequently covered-up) 1981 massacre at El Mozote, El Salvador.”
My Bite of the Cupcake: I guess that my instant response regarding politics and music is that there is non, unless if you’re referring to the politics found within the music industry…But after at least thinking about the possibility for a short amount of time, I have come to realize that much of today’s and yesterday’s most successful songs do, in fact, hold hands with politics. Let us not forget of Michael Jackson’s venomous hit “Billy Jean” or of Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go.” Below I have shared a song of which I believe attacks the issue of war by tugging at the heart strings of its audience. However, please note that the same song is also being used in the second video, yet it portrays a completely different meaning as it hopes to hit home for global warming.