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Music used in protest
Protest songs and their influence
Protest songs and the civil rights movement
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When looking at songs that are considered protest songs, we must look at the topical issue or the broad movements that they are discussing in their song or how they portray society since it contributes toward the image that audiences envision when listening to the songs. Protest songs are an important historical feature that can show the impact of a movement or counterculture in a certain era and the lyrics, when examined can show the opinion of the artist and what they wanted audiences to take from their song. These types of songs can become important to the movement they are talking about or simply display the changes toward mainstream cultural practices. When the Dixie Chicks fell out of favor in the United States due to their comments …show more content…
By 2006 the band was able to work together and write a new album with a new rock influence that told fans that the Dixie Chicks were no longer going to take the hate from both fans and the media over the situation, and would fight back. In the song “Not Ready to Make Nice,” the band led by Natalie Maines, sings about being unapologetic about their previous actions now, that they were still angry and no longer be meek and apologetic but say that they would not forget about it and how it effected them. This is a protest song about their treatment, about remaining angry over the situation and no longer being sorry for what happened and they’re moving past it. Though this song is not publically calling out anyone or talks about anything specifically it does elude to the situation more in the music video for the song, as well as when the song is taken in the context of their history as a group. The song shows one of the more present ways that bands are making protests songs, that by looking at the history of the band and current events, the controversy over their joke about President Bush, and the song meaning and its reception, songs can have power over audiences to help educate them and lead them to protest
I have listened to country music since I was a little, as did my husband. For him, it's a reminder of a simpler time, helping his father farm, plowing fields into the night. For me, it's a reminiscence of sunning myself in my backyard over summer vacation. The twangy sounds of the guitars and the fiddles always seemed to make me feel at home. For me, country music is a way of life, therefore the reasons I will use in an attempt to persuade you that country music is better than other music include its deep history in America, the quality and content of the music and its relatability.
At the end of the day, racism and prejudice will always exist in some form for whatever reason is most convenient. Additionally, it’s not as if fans of country music are all raging bigots who dream of segregation and a return to slavery-driven southern values. After all, there are plenty of ‘southern pride’ songs that don’t feature race, nativism, and are beloved by most without an ulterior message that is appreciated by Stormfront. After all, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama features anti-segregation lyrics. Charlie Daniels Band wrote and performed The Devil Went Down to Georgia, lyrically referencing the south as far as Georgia by name alone. Yet both of these are hailed as quintessentially southern pride songs, meaning that southern pride isn’t the same as white pride. The reason the comparison matters, then, is because there is a significant overlap between the two. It is certainly possible to enjoy country music without wishing for a return to Aryan values, and the majority of country music doesn’t advocate it. But enough popular songs feature nativism as a theme to the point that it shouldn’t be ignored. There is a tangible connection between Southern Pride and nativism through music, and a definite connection between nativism and the White Pride movement. Music connects people and spreads ideas; culturally relevant music tends to stay around for a lifetime. Music has power, and the power of hate music is not one that should be
The people that do not support the Dixie Chicks think that they had no right to criticize the government, but they had every right to. Because of the first amendment they are allowed to say exactly what they want to say. One common thing that the protestors would say is shut up & sing, this was also the title of their documentary, which explains their point of view from the comment. This is ironic because the protesters were taking away the Dixie Chick’s freedom of speak, saying that they aren’t allowed to do say things like that, but by doing this they were expressing their freedom of speech. They are saying that Dixie Chick’s that the can’t express their freedom of speech, while expressing theirs. Another important factor that lead to the downfall of the Dixie Chicks is the deregulation of the radio. This deregulation resulted in large corporations taking over almost all of the radio channel. An example is a radio corporation called Clear Channel. This radio went from having 65 radio stations to over 1,000 across the United States. Clear channel owned most of the radios located in the south which was a major factor in the Dixie Chicks issue. The south is known for its high amounts of patriotism making what the Dixie Chicks even more offensive to them. Clear Channel took a lot of offense, being from the south, from what the Dixie Chicks said and gave the fans no choice if they wanted to hear them, so they
Growing up, my dad controlled the radio almost always, and his choice was the local country station. This lead to hearing my fair share of Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Martina McBride. They often sung about beer, front porches and Jesus, and none of that really resonated with me.I never truly hated the music, it was absolutely inoffensive listening, but very few songs struck a chord with me. That is until I heard the Dixie Chicks. They made beautiful use of harmony, melody, instrumentation, emotion and storytelling that worked together beautifully.
Each of the singers wanted everyone to be able to live life in Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. Also to be able to be safe in their own country to be able to have to freedom to say what they wanted “freedom of Speech”.
The major ways in which these two articles, “I 'm Dying Here," in Jefferson Cowie 's Stayin ' Alive and Southern Rock Musicians ' Construction of White Trash, address the development of “Redneck” culture is through how the media and other social classes portray them and secondly how they as in poor white men in the south embrace and glorify the meaning of redneck and of their culture. These men are labeled as stupid and lazy drunks who are not educated very well, who are unemployed, violent, and racists. They get labeled hillbilly, white trash, and redneck but these men this group of people glorify themselves. Through music they embrace what they are called and even do what everyone is perpetually mocking them for being like. They use propaganda to help them glorify this culture, the use of the confederate flag is the most important and most prominent piece of propaganda used by this culture. This flag symbolizes more than a past way of life but man
If the Dixie Chicks were around during the time of the Woman’s Rights Movement, their Grammy Award winning record “Not Read to Make Nice” would have been one of the theme songs played at rally’s during the duration of the fight. The backlash that transpired from comments made by the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks was noted as the inspiration behind why the song came to fruition during an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Country stations across the United States pulled the Dixie Chicks from playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a concert in London that she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." At the time that Natalie’s comments were made, The Dixie Chicks had the number one country
...klisted from the world of country music for daring to make an anti-war statement and questioning the president’s decision-making. The reaction to lead singer Maines’s statement and uncovered a misogynistic mentality that had been laying somewhat dormant in the country music culture. The swift and devastating reaction to the statement revealed the ugly consequences when one does not follow the stereotypical country music brand of womanhood. Verbal slurs and death threats, CD destruction, and removal of their music from the country station airwaves. However, the Dixie Chicks did not back down. They remained true to their convictions. Their song “Not Ready to Make Nice” made a clear statement. They had no regrets. The Dixie Chicks still remain a symbol for strong women in music as well as brought the problem with the status of women in the United States to a forefront.
As it opens with imagery reminiscent of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, an event that devastated the black communities in the areas affected. The delayed assistance in New Orleans by the U.S. government stirred some controversy that led many to question how much America really cares about its black communities. Nonetheless, Beyoncé’s video is full of imagery that is associated with black culture, including historical references to black communities in the south. But what is really important about “Formation” are the lyrics. With lyrics like “My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana, You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas Bama” and “I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros, I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils,” Beyoncé is undoubtedly declaring her pride for her blackness as well as defending her child Blue Ivy who has always been scrutinized for the way her hair looked. Thus, this song is obviously geared toward the Black community which is obvious due to the lyrics and the imagery in the music video. To put it plainly, this song is a proclamation of Black pride and shouldn’t be thought of in any other way. However, after performing it at the Super Bowl people of other ethnicities became aware of the song and became offended by her performance as well as the lyrics. Controversy arose as people pointed out her backup dancers were dressed similarly to the Black Panther
Percival Everett’s “The Appropriation of Cultures” (2004), demonstrates the power of a symbol and the meanings that it can carry. In the story, Daniel Barkley is a highly accomplished African American man who graduated from Brown and frequently plays guitar near the campus of The University of South Carolina. From the beginning of the story, Barkley exposes a distinct independent personality that isn’t afraid to break stereotypes or labels. The first scene describes an instance in a bar where white fraternity boys were challenging Barkley to play ‘Dixie’ for them. Instead of refusing, like most would have done, he instead begins to play and take ownership of the song. Later in the story, Barkley decides to purchase a truck with a giant confederate flag decal in the back. Despite the strange stares and confusion
The declaration of independence (July 4th, 1776) asserts “that we are equal.” It means no matter what race, gender, sexuality, religion, or color, we a human being are created the same with equal benefits and opportunities. The declaration was one of the most powerful and leading statements ever occurred in history created by Thomas Jefferson. Everybody should have the privilege that allows them to do whatever they want if no crime is committed. They should live life without fear and be happy who you are. Both authors are expressing their feeling and emotions towards these debating issues. Supporters of these groups write, sing, and protest. Some people will even get arrested because of how they have so much bitterness to this to show their hold up.
Music has been around for thousands of years. Music has progressed since that time and has slowly become what it is today. Though music has been around for such a long time, protest music just started to develop in the Vietnam Era, the year 1954. The war started the era of protest which, in turn, created a new form of music which incorporated a specific type of lyric that was a way of expressing protest through the song. Since music in this era was already a big thing, artists thought it would be a good idea to get their political viewpoints out there. They did it through something that affected everybody in that time and space. The artists view spread quickly through the country because of the catchy tune and the viewpoints that are listed. In the United States of America, it is a very common thing to conform to others in a group (Conformity…). Since conformity is such a common occurrence in a large group, all the artist has to do is find a couple of people in the group, group being an audience, who agree with the artist and the rest will unfold on its own. The artist will keep on performing while the word of him and his music will spread from person to person. Conformity will ultimately bring people together on the same viewpoint until eventually, there are thousands of people there with the artist to protest. These artists have grown over time along with the style of music that they bring along with them. Protest music still exists today and is one of the most effective forms of protest that we have.
As with any other Sunday of the year, it was time to mow the grass yet again. Me, my brother and my father are the men for the job on these nice hot days. We all plug into our headphones into our ears as if to escape from the labor that is mowing. This day however, is very different from all the rest. My father, instead of listening to his calming house music while on our riding lawn mower, decides to listen to heavy metal. Next thing you know, our lawn mower has a bent wheel and blade from him crashing into things. This is just one real life example of how music can take you from calm, cool, and collected to angry and destructive. From seeing how one person can react to angry music how would a whole society react to music as a whole group?
Such as, how Tupac used his song “Changes” to refer to the institutionalized racism in America in regards to law enforcement and so forth. On example from his lyrics states, “Cops give a damn about a negro/ Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.” Another commonly known song that makes ties with Hill’s is Kanye’s song “When It All Falls Down.” Kanye wanted the ties of her lyrics incorporated into his song so much that after his failed attempted to get Lauryn Hills sample cleared he got a replacement singer to perform it on his song alternatively. However, his concept for this song was different as its purpose was more of a self-contemplation of his individualized battle with consumerism. Today society is affected by artists like Lauryn Hill and her lyrics and often quote lyrics like that of hers as references for equality and moral rights in modern society. Today more than ever the incarceration rates are raising extremely. Not to mention, in the past year we have seen some of the biggest out cries for our African American communities with people using the power of social media to come together on a common ground in regards to law enforcement unjustly killing African Americans and other minorities while in the attempt of arresting them. With that being said as Lauryn Hills lyrics state “Ya'll can't handle the truth in a courtroom of lies. Representing security/Holding the word of God
Not many people would mind having the title of a poet, except maybe one of the most influential artists of all time. (Kennedy and Gioia, 599) Bob Dylan was a remarkable protest singer and songwriter during the Vietnam Era with many well-remembered songs about war and many other significant topics concerning the era. He has influenced many modern day songwriters and many other famous bands such as the Beatles. (Marinucci, Steve)