Sad as it is, I think that is part of it. Haha.

Thanks for the input so far. It's important for me to see/hear others' perspective & opinion. It can (hopefully) help to back up my arguement/statement. I believe music has been a medium for political expression for DECADES. Like during that telethon after that NAFTA thing, when Kanyae said "George Bush doesn't like black people" on air. I just wonder how many people got interested in the situation based on his making that statement. Or when whats-her-face from the Dixie Chicks made her comments about Bush. These things affect our society. They create awareness because they have a voice thats being paid (not always) to be heard. Bands, song writers, they create work that sounds and speaks for a whole generation of voices. Music brings people together in a huge way, especially in terms of concerts. K, m done 4 now...

I'd have to think and write for quite a long time to say my mind on this topic, so I won't do it right now.

This sentence.
Is ****ing brilliant. If it isn't a quote from elsewhere then you HAVE to include it in your essay, as it pretty much blows away the initial argument that musicians don't have any real political/social impact within a few seconds.

I like this chick, she smart and got a Ninja Turtle avatar! Looks to me like you're doin' alright without us!

I wish i had a paper to do like this at school....

right well politics in music....i'd suggest looking at the lyrics of rage against the machine.

they wrote about all kinds of stuff including the government & the general nanny state!

but wake up, bullet in your head, guerilla radio, sleep now in the fire & killing in the name of.......they would be dead certs to find some wicked quotes and stuff,

anyway good luck.

I'm not sure if anyone else has made similar remarks, but that quote came straight from my brain as I was typing it in here. So I'm truly flattered and humbly accept that as a huge compliment (and also thanks 2 tha doc, Turtle Power!!)(sry, couldn't help myself).The only flaw with this essay, is I only have 2 months to work on it, which seems totally unrealisitic considering the subject matter. Of couse I'll cover RATM, and SOAD, but also more classical examples of politically based music (Dylan ex.). The basis for my thesis is "Do music and politics influence each other in the same capacity?" (proving that no they do not). I'll keep y'all "posted" on the progress.

You might want to read this.

It`s about how Tony Blair used Britpop to go for the youth vote & basically shit on it as soon as he got into power...

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/05...,65750,22.html

i think certain bands use politics to boost failing careers - it makes sense to start singing about something people want to hear in order to boost record sales. with this in mind i have the cynical view that bands often are not actually sincere about what they sing about.

To add a bit of personal opinion now, I think that music and politics don't influence each other in the same capacity. Music does have an effect on politics, but the reverse effect is much greater. Politics regularly affects every aspect of music, from giving lyrical inspiration for songwriters to affecting whether schoolchildren (who may become musicians) have access to free music lessons. Laws relating to live performance, laws governing distribution of recorded music, strength of economies and the amount of expendable income each person has... money which can be directed into playing or listening to music...all of these issues - even the importing of instruments or of appropriate materials for making the instrument - are dependent on politics.

Music does affect politics, as it can provide rallying calls, create awareness of political issues and can be a great propoganda tool (e.g. RATM don't tend to give the pro-authority side of the argument). I don't think that this effect is anywhere near as great, though.

Cover Immortal Technique too. He actually does political music well, unlike SOAD and RATM.