Politics and music. As with politics and religion, politics
and sex, politics and successfully making it through a family dinner, politics,
as it poisons its other bedfellows, arguably colors and distorts the purity of
the art of song. Though great anthems have been tied to major social changes
and progressive movements, during this divisive political season, aside
from a few wisecracks in Kanye West and
Nicki Minaj lyrics, the relationship between music and politics has appeared a
bit superfluous. Without Conor Oberst chronicling Bush's failings in folksy verse on Jay Leno or The
National simultaneously gorgeously and awkwardly lending its song “Fake Empire”
to an Obama campaign ad, the indie music industry's input into next month's
presidential elections has been seemingly quiet.
Quietness, however, is not the end of the tale. While Mitt
Romney has received backing from Kid Rock and Toby Keith, he has also admitted
to being a fan of The Killers and has featured the Silversun Pickups song
“Panic Switch” during some of his rallies. The Killers merely shrugged at
Romney's enthusiasm and the Silversun Pickups sent the Romney campaign a “cease
and desist” letter. Nonetheless, the Republican party has not fully estranged
itself from the alternative scene despite its dearth of conservatives.
Obama, always culturally savvy and achingly hip (the iconic
image most associated with his previous campaign was made famous by street
artist Shephard Fairey), released a list of 29 songs representative of his
mission. This list includes tracks by Arcade Fire, Florence + the Machine,
Wilco, and Ray Lamontagne. Though Arcade Fire has long aligned itself with
Obama, the campaign's selection of “We Used to Wait” nonetheless seems less
than inspired given the tune's desperate tone. Obama can count on support from
most of the music industry, from Bruce Springsteen to Jay-Z, so the song's
presence does not seem merely a matter of mutual back rubbing. Perhaps his
staff were attempting to be appeal to a certain demographic by being ironic?
(They did, after all, use indie music.)
Bands have every right to express themselves by making
political statements and lending their work to those they support and
politicians are just as free to like and perceive their platforms to be
reflected in certain songs. Great music though, as when used in commercials,
generally seems cheapened when associated with a particular political party.
(That is, unless one really loves the car or candidate on display.) An informed
electorate should be capable enough to make their own judgments without a
gimmicky play at hipness having any genuine influence on them.
Politically motivated music more than has its place. The
sixties cries of Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Buffalo Springfield, and Marvin Gaye
remain relevant. The wrathful declarations of Johnny Rotten and Zack de La
Rocha still electrify. Plugging irrelevant songs like “Panic Switch” and “We
Used to Wait” into political preening, however, seems manipulative and false.
Love this song! You should check out The Invisible's cover of "The Suburbs", equally as awesome as the original http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z45rP-8q96g