Music and politics are intrinsically entwined. Making music is an act of revolution. Using sounds and lyrics to share your thoughts, your feelings, and your perspectives on the world is a way of inspiring, mobilising others. Artists shouldn’t be afraid and fear what is thought of them, or to be disliked. Music and art should make people think and feel, be that about love, loss, or politics.
The world is on fire, she is burning because of us. We should be angry and up in arms to take back the reigns and show them how to lead compassionately. Our world leaders, they depend on us. Our multinationals, they need our hard-earned money to survive. When you decide to spend differently, their pockets will eventually start to empty. I have written before about part-time punks, and this is an extension of that point of view. What we need is more full-time punks, those truly living and breathing their music, their art. We suffer for our art and passions, because they are what makes us human.
Sadly I recently spoke to a well-known Dutch music journalist who found that artists shouldn’t bring their live show to a stand still to talk about politics. I was rather surprised to hear this from someone who is a fan of bands such as IDLES and Fontaines D.C., very much political acts. Artists have a stage, a platform, to share their views and to educate those that would not have been educated if it wasn’t for their favourite artists, a song they liked, a sound they were able to relax to. Artists, musicians, they decide to share their views, in their lyrics, their ethos, and on their stage. Frankly, I don’t think that anyone has anything to say about what an artist decides to do on stage as it is their show, their programme.
I am a fan of the bands I listen to and enjoy because of what they stand for. Their music, and their views are undeniably connected, and I don’t think they should be seen as separate. It is a privilege to be able to say that you would rather not hear about war, ethnic cleansing, and death. Most importantly, it is a privilege to be able to express yourself artistically, to share your thoughts and emotions into a language we all speak; music. We need your music, we need your thoughts, we need your art.
LLIVELY Music 