I'm not really sure where to post this, it's more of a thought or observation than anything. Remember the 60's and 70's? Bands like The Who, The Beatles, Buffalo Springfield and many others thought it was their responsibility as musical artists to give a voice for political messages.
Is it me, or is that completely gone now? I can only think of a handful of songs from the past couple of decades with much a message. During the Vietnam war, so many musicians wrote songs in protest. That didn't happen with the war in Iraq.
My thought is, that if you are good enough to be a music star, you have to play ball with the corporate execs and they probably all got together and decided to ban such music and not allow it. The musicians today just want to make money, for the most part of course.
But am I crazy, has this been discussed? It just seems odd that now, musicians don't use their voice to send messages to the world like they used to.
view the rest of the comments →
BigBangFuzzy ago
There are plenty of musicians and bands that exist today who are spreading an excellent message, you just need to look. These bands/musicians certainly aren't showcased on mainstream radio, and if they are, they're slotted into a very late night timeslot. Like a heavy metal dedicated night (Triple J in Australia for example will play more controversial songs).
I also find that most music with a message attached to it comes through in alternative music such as metal/hardcore/post hardcore/underground hip hop etc.
Off the top of my head I can think of
These Artists and bands may not be on the same scale as 'The Who', 'The Beatles' and the like, but they are at least raising similar issues. Mathas (an Australian hip hop artist) in particular has an album which was released late 2015 where every track is essentially calling out the bullshit that society has turned into recently and other noteworthy issues. So there is a voice out there somewhere which is influencing young minds to some degree.
Anyway, that's just my two cents.