The Yale Free Press

In a time of hot issue politics Having such a death-grip on the attention of our society, it is no wonder that current political events have made their way into the lyrics and videos of the media-gods themselves. Big name musicians and bands have been hopping onto the political bandwagon to promote messages of freedom and discontent. While catchy riffs accompanying lyrics such as “Leaders are guilty of nothing, They’re perfectly insane, But if they’d point the finger at themselves, Who would be left to blame?” (Mudvayne, “Choices”) can be a great way to involve an increasingly apathetic generation. But one has to ask when mixing politics and music is indeed helpful and when it is merely another herding tool.

A great case can be made that supports the political musician’s cause if one considers collaborative events such as the Live 8 concerts (http://www.live8live.com) in early July which coordinated performances in six major cities in six different nations. This short series of concerts pre-empted the much anticipated G8 meeting of powerful world leaders and promoted the pressing issue of debt in Africa. The dire issue of the continent’s needs was raised to populations in various countries in an effort to pressure leaders to act towards this cause. U2’s Bono was, of course, present, and the concerts claimed some big names including a Pink Floyd reunion. While politically one-sided, the Live8 concerts at the very least provided a demand for specific action, which is more than one could say of political attempts in music currently hogging the airwaves.

While the constant chants of “Defeat Bush” did not keep him out of a second term of office, it did manage to incite a slew of bands to pretend they too had unique insight into the situation. Much like the Hollywood celebrities portrayed in “Team America: World Police” who were trying to have a significant political impact without having much of a clue what political cause would actually be best to support, today’s media is exploding with many less than helpful battle cries. A recent A Perfect Circle video, for example, portrayed a nation of sheep being led by television and a Roman emperor-like “dictator”. If the irony of a music video calling against the use of media and television for political influence doesn’t strike you right away like a wall of steel-enhanced concrete, don’t bother reading the rest of this article. “Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums”, a recycled track from their previous CD, was one of two originals on a disk of mostly covers of old semipolitical songs.

That is not to say that recycling political songs from an era far gone is not effective. Recently, Queensryche performed their 1988 release “Operation: Mindcrime” in its entirety. Screened images were used as backdrop in an attempt to take lyrics that previously dealt with the Reagan administration and make them relevant to George W. Bush’s administration. Lyrics such as “I used to trust the media to tell me the truth, tell us the truth. But now I’ve seen the payoffs Everywhere I look/ Who do you trust when everyone’s a crook?” (Queenryche, “Revolution Calling”) While this attacks a similar issue as the previously mentioned APC video, the message turns from an unhelpful “You’re all sheep” which may or may not be true of their audience, to a preventive “Question what you’re told, the media is, after all, a business enterprise.”

The confusion does not stop at merely unhelpful lyrics, but carries on further to confuse liberal audiences into not really knowing what they are promoting. System of a Down’s song “BYOB” has become the poster song for anti-war politics, but at the same time once one takes a look at their lyrics, the song is promoting exactly what fans do not want. “Why don’t presidents fight the war, why do they always send the poor?” is the main chant throughout the song. While the riffs are killer and I personally love the song musically, it is clear that SOAD is promoting something a little more complex than most listeners seem to catch onto. While there is an issue of exactly what kind of Americans are fighting the war, this song only leaves options such as a draft open as a solution. If people do not want us to send the poor, we will have to take the military jobs away from those who need it and we’ll make sure everyone is forced to serve. While this may make some people happier, I doubt this is exactly what most liberals are looking for.

Indeed, it seems that all mainstream liberal bands can do is point fingers and be enraged that politicians make money. While a few politically savvy musicians out there understand that whining is not going to get them anywhere and that they need to suggest actual and realistic actions to cause change, it seems that the current level of political discourse in society is still set at a all too low standard and audiences are too eager to jump on political bandwagons that don’t have their wheels screwed on properly.

Angie Chamberland is a junior in Trumbull College.