With politics and the elections at the forefront of public debate, several articles have come out in recent days on political music. I thought these two, that include thoughts on Green Day’s American Idiot, were especially good.
The Star points out how much the climate has changed in recent years for music with a political message. When American Idiot came out, it was a controversial, touchy time for political music. Just a year earlier, the Dixie Chicks had been publicly scorned for making an offhand remark about Bush, and “there was almost a conspiracy of silence amongst musicians against speaking out about the shoddy state of American politics.“
Though I disagree that Green Day was “a totally unlikely source,” since they have always been aware of political issues and outspoken about them in songs like “Minority,” they did indeed prove to be “the most prescient early harbinger of the shifting tide of U.S. public opinion” with the release of AI. And certainly “it paved the way for much of the populist anti-government sentiment that flared up later.”
But the best thought of all from the article is that “if George W. has little to brag about after eight years in office, at least he can take credit for inspiring Green Day to record a rock opera.”
The Hurst Review has a beautifully written item on American Idiot in a piece about the 10 great protest albums of the 21st century. He writes, in part: “American Idiot was one of the first and most successful albums to rail against the divisive politics and misappropriation of religious and patriotic zeal that characterized the better part of the Bush years. It sheer anger masks how complex and artful the album really is.”
November 4, 2008 at 6:25 am [ Category: Articles, Political ]
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