Charting music’s masters of war.
Popular music is defined by the culture that produces it. From jazz in the Roaring ’20s to Gangsta Rap in the materialistic ’90s, music draws from cultural norms, politics, and social structures to stay relevant.
As a result, music that is produced in times of great social or political turmoil has the potential to directly reach people and reframe complex political issues in a way that is easy to understand. Who could forget Edwin Starr’s rallying cry of “War, what is it good for? (absolutely nothing)” or John Lennon’s “Imagine”? Wartime in particular tends to elicit strong responses in musicians, whether patriotic anthems like George Cohan’s “Over There” or scathing criticisms like Phil Och’s “I Ain’t Marching Anymore.”
But while patriotic songs tend to be uniformly optimistic, boisterous, and simple, successful anti-war protest songs must carefully balance convincing and often somber lyrics with memorable melodies that can allow their songs to reach a wide audience. As a result, creating a powerful protest song is difficult. It is easy for artists to fall into the trap of hokey “Why can’t we just get along?” songs like the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” (brilliant pop song, unconvincing anti-war anthem) or the Black Eyed Peas’ popular but ultimately ineffective “Where is the Love?”
Other songs have powerful lyrics that become obscured by the music. For example, I bet you never knew that the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” is actually an anti-war song. I certainly didn’t, and it’s my all-time favorite song.
Rather, effective protest songs must have clear and powerful messages that can be easily understood and remembered. For this reason, the most effective songwriter of anti-war songs is, of course, Bob Dylan. Dylan’s lyrics are forceful, insightful, poetic, and clear. Whether pointing out hypocrisy in “With God on Our Side,” condemning political hawks in “Masters of War,” or petitioning for peace in “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Dylan crafted the most intelligent anti-war lyrics ever written. At the same time, he complimented his lyrics with memorably simple melodies that direct the listener’s attention to the song’s ultimate message.
However, as effective as Dylan’s songs are, they are musically austere and often harsh. One would not absent-mindedly find oneself singing a line from “Masters of War” such as “I hope that you die, and your death’ll come soon.” On the other hand, songs like Marvin Gaye’s genius “What’s Going On” are lyrically forceful as well as catchy and musically interesting. By tempering his message of “War is not the answer” with a call for love and peace, Gaye was able to escape the usual angry protest song paradigm and create an actual hit. Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” is another upbeat rock song with a strong message.
Another way to present a palatable anti-war song is to make it funny. Country Joe and The Fish’s “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” is a classic example of this. With sarcastic lines like “You can be the first ones on your block to have your boy come home in a box” and a sing-along friendly chorus (“Whoopee we’re all gonna die”), this song was at the forefront of the anti-Vietnam War movement. Even Bob Dylan gets in on the act with his apocalyptic yet oddly hilarious “Talkin’ World War III Blues.”
Not surprisingly, most of these protest songs came out in the ’60s. While contemporary popular music is largely apolitical, not all music groups have remained agnostic in the face of disastrous foreign policy. Rage Against the Machine is probably the most aggressively political rock band since The Clash, and they have created many songs with anti-war messages, such as “Bullet in the Head.” While I personally believe that Rage does a remarkable job of integrating a progressive political message with top-notch hard rock, their message has often been ignored by fans only interested in their fierce vibe and searing guitar licks.
System of a Down has also put forward songs with an aggressively anti-war message, such as “B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)” and “Boom.” At the same time, System of a Down’s music is just as violent and unsettling as their lyrics, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on one’s musical tastes.
As a result, we have not seen a pervasive anti-war anthem in quite a long time. But if contemporary artists decide to address the catastrophic consequences of the Bush administration (and they should), they need to do so in a way that is intelligent, clear, and forceful while ultimately musically appealing. After all, a protest song that no one listens to is as useless as a documentary that no one sees or a book no one reads. In the meantime, though, I’ll be listening to “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”
Alana Mendelsohn ’09 (amendels@fas) knows the next big anti-war song is blowing in the wind — or floating around on YouTube.