Senior Capstone ℅ 2018

5-24-2018

The History & Connection of Politics & Music: An Autoethnography

Eric G. Duran
Los Angeles Leadership Academy HS, [email protected]
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Senior Capstone ℅ 2018

Are Politics the Driving Agent to the Evolution of Music: An Autoethnography

Abstract

This autoethnographic essay speaks of the connection of politics and music and how politics

influenced the uprise of three genres. The three genres are early 20th century American folk

music, Civil Rights Movement American Blues music, and the music of American and English

Punk movement in the late 70s. This paper Draws from a variety of sources, an analysis of the

following genres and the origin of them. Additionally, an analysis of lyrics of notable songs of

that genre will be provided and connected to the overall claim along with the thesis.

Keywords: ​Politics, Music, Blues, Folk, Punk

Acknowledgement: ​I wanted to thank Ms. Estrada, Jose Ortiz, Matias Stocker, Carlos Arellano,

and Raul Arteaga for the peer review and suggestions.

The History & Connection of Politics & Music: An

Eric G. Duran
Los Angeles Leadership Academy HS, Los Angeles, California

This autoethnographic essay speaks of the connection of politics and music and how politics
influenced the uprise of three genres. The three genres are early 20th century American folk
music, Civil Rights Movement American Blues music, and the music of American and English
Punk movement in the late 70s. Fixed from a variety of sources, an analysis of the following
genres and the origin of them. Additionally, an analysis of lyrics of notable songs of that genre
will be provided and connected to the overall claim along with the thesis.

The Incident
On a cold night riddled with the November breeze, my father came home after an

exhausting day of hard work. My dad changed into more comfortable clothing and went to his pc

to log into his Facebook account. My dad, being a political activist for his country of origin, El

Salvador, did the typical and engaged in political discussion and debate online. As he was

scrolling through his feed, he opens up Youtube and searches the ballad named “Wind of

Change” by Scorpion. I was sitting on the burgundy couch behind him attentively. He selects the

music video and the song begins. The song starts with a soft whistling melody with reverb while

my father mimics the same whistling melody. The song reached the chorus, “Take me to the

magic of the moment, On a glory night, Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream

away), In the wind of change.” My dad explains to me how the Salvadoran government was

corrupt and how the socialist party of FMLN (​Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) was

going to improve the lives of the people. That chorus is the revolution put into words.
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The song finished and he started speaking to me about how in the 1980s, El Salvador had

a great civil war. The government was corrupt; the people had enough and a revolution broke

out. He was just a young boy when this all occurred. According to my father in his own words,

“Yo recuerdo de una familia que vivían acerca de nosotros y el gobierno descubrieron que un

guerrillero soldado vivía con ellos. Soldados del gobierno llegaron a su casa y asesinaron a

todos, hasta los niños, con sus rifles y bombas.”(​I remember a family that lived near me and the

government discovered that a guerilla revolutionary soldier lived with them. Their soldiers

appeared at their house and murdered everyone, including the children, with their rifles and

bombs​.) he said to me. Then he played a song called “Imagine” by John Lennon. My father

explained to me how John Lennon was murdered by the government for writing a song that had

so much weight to it. It was that evening when I had the epiphany that one of the greatest

platforms people have used to whistle-blow and spread the message of injustice has been music

for many generations.

Analysis

Introduction

Art, throughout the continuum of human history, has been the foundation of creative

individual human expression or a tool to spread a message. Music has been used as a conduit by

politically active musicians to rebel and spread awareness against authorities and political

injustices in the 20th century. In western culture, there was a tidal wave of politically conscious

songwriters and musicians who preached against the causes and effects of unethical politics. In

his article, “Music and the Politics of Resistance”, the author, Barrett Martin, states “Music also
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happens to be one of the greatest tools for social evolution”(Martin, 2014, para. 2). Musicians

use the medium of music to convey political wrongs in society and spread awareness.

Focus of Study

This essay will argue that politics directly influences western musical artists. This

research will focus on three specific genres of music: American Folk music, American blues

music, and the rise of American and English punk music:

American folk music as defined by Leon Litwack, Ph.D and an award-winning historian,

was a genre of music made by whites of European in the early 20th century and spoke of the

lives of everyday people (Liwack, N.A).

American blues music originated and has its roots in American soil and originated from

African-American culture, According to Ed Kopp, author of “A Brief History of the Blues”, “​It's

generally accepted that the music evolved from African spirituals, African chants, work songs,

field hollers, rural fife and drum music, revivalist hymns, and country dance music” (Kopp,

2005, para. 3).

American and English Punk music defined by John Savage, author of the article “Punk”

goes by the following:

Punk​, also known as ​punk rock​, aggressive form of ​rock music that coalesced

into an international (though predominantly Anglo-American) movement in 1975–80.

Often politicized and full of vital energy beneath a sarcastic, hostile facade, punk spread

as an ​ideology and an ​aesthetic approach, becoming an ​archetype of teen rebellion and

alienation. (Savage, 2018, para. 1)

These forms of music broke out with many politically motivated songwriters who

preached left-wing ideologies throughout the 20th century. From examining the lyrics in Blues,

Punk, and Folk music and the major political events behind these music genres, it is clear that

politics are the driving agent that caused these forms to hit their peak in Western culture.

Political injustice caused a rise in left-wing ideologies through western folk music.

American left-wing folk music rose from the ashes of political and economical disaster.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression hit the United States immensely and left the people in

financial ruin. Protest music, in the form of folk music, channeled the frustrations of citizens and

spread messages concerning left-wing politics. Ronald D. Cohen, author of the book, ​Depression

Folk: Grassroots Music and Left-Wing Politics in

1930s America, states, “The role of folk music,

broadly defined, during the trying years of the Great

Depression in the United States, 1929–40, with a

particular focus on the role of left-wing political

groups and individuals” (Cohen, 2016, para. 1).

Additionally, folk music was the staple format for

politically conscious musicians to express themselves and their political opinions throughout the

WWII era up to the Vietnam war in the 1960s. Furthermore, younger Americans were opposed

to the war and were protesting. Pete Seeger (see image to the top left: Marshall, 2014), one of the

most iconic folk singer-songwriters of the folk revival, wrote the iconic song “Bring ‘Em Home”

protesting the Vietnam War:

If you love your Uncle Sam

Bring them home, bring them home

Support our boys in Vietnam

Bring them home, bring them home

It'll make our generals sad, I know

Bring them home, bring them home

They want to tangle with the foe

Bring them home, bring them home

(Pete Seeger, “Bring Em Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam)”, 1966)

The title and the lyrics of the song pretty much speaks for itself but, Seeger’s constant use of

repetition of, “Bring them home”, is an effective technique to spread an easy message. Anyone

listening comprehends that Seeger wants the American troops to be brought back to their

homeland. As simplistic as this song is, it carries a message that calls the actions of the United

States government into question; moreover, putting them on a pedestal and makes it the

adversary. The song’s controversial message went against Protest music like contemporary folk

music ballooned to the mainstream, which dominated radios, through the span of the 1940s to the

60s and early 70s (Bridgett, 2017). American protest folk music was a fundamentally necessary

movement to kick off an enlightening of the average Americans in the 20th century giving light

to political injustices brought upon them.

Rise of Afro-american Blues in 1960s

Blues and blues-rooted music had a great uprising in popularity at the rise of the Civil

Rights Movement in the 1960s. According to the author of “How the Blues Changed America”,
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Mary Shrank, “The blues music became a driving force in helping the Civil Rights Movement to

become successful. It led to the break down the psychological barriers of segregation, after the

public barriers of segregation were already abolished” (Schrank, 2012, para. 1). During the civil

rights movement, blues music was the genre of protest music and it was a driving force of the

civil rights movement. Songs spoke of segregation, racism, and needless cruelty of which

African-Americans were fighting

against. Blues music channeled the

strong melancholy yet hopeful emotions

of many of the activists such as Rosa

Parks or Dr. Martin Luther King, and

the blues musicians themselves.

Musicians such as Sam Cooke. One of

the most influential of blues songs of the

Civil Rights Movement was “A Change

Is Gonna Come” by American

singer-songwriter Sam Cooke (see image above: RCA Victor, 1964). This is a rhythm and blues

song that lyrically is very simplistic but carries a very revolutionary message of social change

and equality among those with different amounts of melanin. According to Christopher Triggs, it

was released after the events of the Birmingham march and after the bombings that took place in

the same place (Schrank, 2012).

I was born by the river in a little tent

Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since
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It's been a long time, a long time coming

But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

(Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come”, ​Ain't That Good News, ​1964)

The lyrics is Cooke speaking through his point of view about the place of birth that was by a

river. He states, like the river, he has to run in a country that is dominated by whites, however,

he’s sure that change is coming. This kind of language being spread really encouraged

African-Americans to persevere through the hardships and to continue fighting for their human

rights.

Rise of Punk Music

In the late 1970s, an underground movement was brewing in the heart of New York and

London. This movement was known as the Punk Movement. In his article, “What Riot? Punk

Rock Politics, Fascism, and Rock against Racism”, Alessandro G. Moliterno states “It has often

been accepted that the political orientation of the movement and its outcomes are decidedly

located on the left wing, including, in particular, a strong anti-racist agenda.”(Moliterno, 2012)

With the movement came the music that was raw and unfiltered but with great passion and soul.

Punk music developed from the youth who were tired of the social classes and the government.

The people in this movement made music expressing their political frustrations and spoke

against authoritarianism, and racism and were very left-wing. It was a movement that also

promoted civil disobedience and unrest. Moliterno argues, the punk movement was a left-wing,

progressive, anti-racial movement possessed with significant political influence” (Moliterno,

2012). The punk movement had established itself as a force against the established order uniting

many adolescents on a new wave of political ideology. Furthermore, a London punk band, The
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Clash (​London Calling ​album cover to the bottom left: CBS, 1979), was one of the most

successful punk bands that came out of the London punk movement in the late 1970s. Their most

successful album and track, “London Calling” which speaks of the downward slope that London

was heading down. The song criticizes the police and speaks of the riots that England was

experiencing.

London calling, see we ain't got no swing

Except for the ring of that truncheon thing

The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in

Meltdown expected, the wheat is growin' thin

Engines stop running, but I have no fear

'Cause London is drowning, and I, I live by the river

(The Clash, “London Calling”, ​London Calling,

1979)

“Truncheon” is one of the names that are given to a police baton. These lyrics speak of a city that

isn’t thriving (swing) but just the baton of the policeman. The chorus uses imagery to convey

that the city is going into ruins and anarchy because of the government. Without politics, the

Punk Movement would have never came to be. The youth wanted change, and they were going

to bring that change via counter culture. Punk music has its roots in a lot of the present day

music. It has left its mark on history and punk is still much alive today even in today’s youth.

Opinion
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It is clear that the rise of these three genres of music reached their peak because of

politics. Folk, blues, and punk are the foundation of a lot of music created in the late 20th to 21st

century. Whether it being the style of the song, or the message in these classic hits influenced the

music of recent decades. Popular genres like metal or hip-hop derives from the rise of these

music genres.

Conclusion

Politics is the driving agent in music evolution in western culture. Because of political

injustices, music expression evolved and gave way to the formation of new genres of music. The

rise of folk, blues, and punk are the foundations for the music and artistic expression of the

present day. They showed of everyone is willing to speak out about the same struggles when in

wretched situations.
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