Music Power

“Music is Power – Popular Songs, Social Justice and the Will to Change,” by Brad Schreiber, 2020

I once made a tape of political songs as something new to be played before a political forum in the 1980s.  Some of the songs: Sic’ Em Pigs by Canned Heat; Nelson Mandela by Special AKA; King Harvest by the Band; Chicano by Doug Sahm; Pie in the Sky When You Die by Woody Guthrie; The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott Heron, Still In Saigon by Charlie Daniels; The Message by Grandmaster Flash; Bourgeois Blues by Leadbelly, The Internationale by Billy Bragg and so on.  Only a few of these are covered by Schrieber, which tells you how many songs there are to choose from.

This book will leave you with the realization that political music is quite common, though it is pigeon-holed as ‘protest’ music by the corporate media and labels.  Phil Ochs coined the term ‘topical songs’ which I also think doesn’t quite work.  In this book Schreiber expands the reach to include any ‘socially conscious’ or socio-political song – about being personally alienated, abused or fucked-up in various ways.  Political songs themselves are not considered ‘quite right,’ as they aren’t about love, lust or heartbreak, don’t tell a simple story, sometimes last too long, are undanceable, are too negative or are accused of being ‘propaganda.’  As if constant love songs are not a form of emotional and cultural propaganda.

Schreiber researched this enjoyable history centered around groups of the usual suspects, as well as unknown musicians that he thinks are most representative of political music.  He digs up background facts on them, so this is not just a description of single songs.  He has chapters on collections of left-wing folkies, psychedelic and roots R&B’ers, popular TV protest songsters, political rockers, heavy-metal proletarians, hard-edge punks and post-punks, early rappers and hip-hop, all the way to Zappa, from the 1950s to the 2000s.

Schreiber mostly ignores political jazz, blues; hard left folk, anarchist, communist and union music; many rock bands and country and world musicians, following his own muse.  Bob Marley and the Dixie Chicks are the exceptions for those latter categories. A book collecting all the stories around political songs would be massive - like an encyclopedia.  Which tells you that “somethin’ is happinen’ here.”  What it is seems very clear. 

Goodbye Earl!

Politically Schreiber seems to be a left-liberal and misunderstands certain terms like ‘direct action.’ The more leftist a song, the more he can label it ‘strident.’  He implies repeatedly that the choice is a weird either/or one between ‘peace and love’ or violent revolution.  He does mention a Black Panther band, the Lumpen, who advocated the latter, along with Thunderclap Newman’s pro-revolution song, Something in the Air.  He has a section on John Lennon that calls his post-Beatles work “psychological exploration” which misrepresents Lennon’s solo work.  Perhaps Women is the Nigger of the World or Attica State passed him by.

Schreiber reflects most musicians.  Most are not theorists, activists, organizers or involved in political groups outside their own musical sub-culture.  Class-wise many come from the proletariat.  Economically they are not just romantics.  Becoming a full-time musician means first moving up to a penurious form of self-exploiting ‘self-employment.’ If successful, they can move on to become petit-bourgeois sole proprietors and ‘entrepreneurs.’  If they become the dreaded monied ‘super-stars,’ they can get almost full bourgeois status, with their own brand and intellectual property.  See recent Bob Dylan on this.

While these stories, musicians and songs may be familiar to some, they might not be to you.  Worth getting in the time of Covid when music is a balm.

Prior blog reviews on music, use the blog search box, upper left:  “If it Sounds Good, It is Good,” “In Search of the Blues,” “Cool Town,” Kids”(Patti Smith); “Zappa,” “Laurel Canyon,” “Grateful Dead,” “Mississippi Delta,” “Life”(Keith Richards); “Janis Joplin,” “We Have Fed You All a Thousand Years,” "33 Revolutions Per Minute," "Searching for Sugarman," "Marie and Rosetta,” “The Blues – A Visual History,” “How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin,” “Echo in the Canyon,” “The Music Sell-Outs,” “Palmer’s Bar,” “Treme,” “Subculture,” “The Long Strange Trip.”

And I bought it at May Day’s excellent music section!

Kulture Kommissar

December 12, 2020