Wanted to put this question out there because I'm planning on writing a piece on it! But I wanted to hear others' opinions and thoughts on the matter first. Share as much as you're comfortable with!
I think it depends on how you look at it. A lot of music isn't meant to convey any particular deep message, but is merely an attempt to express a particular feeling or aesthetic sensibility. Sometimes a red wheelbarrow is just a red wheelbarrow.
But, on the other hand, like all forms of media, music is a product of the culture in which it's made. Even if the creator isn't intending to comment on politics, their work can't help but reflect the society they live in and their perspective on it (even if that perspective is that it doesn't matter, "why care about politics?", etc). And I think a lot of music does express ideology, even if the popular discourse is averse to analyzing pop culture in this way. Just because most mainstream music reflects the dominant ideologies and perspectives of our capitalist, imperialist, patriarchal, white supremacist, and heteronormative society does not mean it is apolitical any more than Creedence Clearwater Revival is apolitical.
So I believe it's useful to engage with music critically and consider the different political/sociological lenses through which it can be viewed, the same way we'd engage with any text or cultural artifact.
I do not think music is inherently political. I think if you strip everything else away, music is inherently about expression. Expression of messages, emotions, worship, and even creativity that can't just be compartmentalized into some category. But in a broken world with imperfect people who have different beliefs, viewpoints, attitudes, and preferences, I see two main problems contributing to the "politicizing" of music: (1) people using music for the expression of unwholesome messages, and (2) people responding antagonistically to genres of music they don't like. Then comes the question of who is giving the right messages about music, what's the best style, and even who is the better musician. Now we're competing for followers and achievement. I think this is common for those of us who were classically trained, but so much attention is given to the perfection of technique that true expression ends up neglected. Don't get me wrong, technique is absolutely essential to musical expression, but it shouldn't ever be the end goal. So music, which is otherwise a language that transcends other differences, is tragically used in a way that causes division. But just because it's used in a political way doesn't mean it's inherently political. (Wearing masks during a pandemic has become a political issue, but I think we can agree that it's not an inherently political issue.) So many bad things in this world are really the result of the misusing inherently good things.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jianting! I really appreciate it, and will definitely ruminate on this tonight. We can and should definitely talk about this more sometime if you are interested!
Wanted to put this question out there because I'm planning on writing a piece on it! But I wanted to hear others' opinions and thoughts on the matter first. Share as much as you're comfortable with!
I think it depends on how you look at it. A lot of music isn't meant to convey any particular deep message, but is merely an attempt to express a particular feeling or aesthetic sensibility. Sometimes a red wheelbarrow is just a red wheelbarrow.
But, on the other hand, like all forms of media, music is a product of the culture in which it's made. Even if the creator isn't intending to comment on politics, their work can't help but reflect the society they live in and their perspective on it (even if that perspective is that it doesn't matter, "why care about politics?", etc). And I think a lot of music does express ideology, even if the popular discourse is averse to analyzing pop culture in this way. Just because most mainstream music reflects the dominant ideologies and perspectives of our capitalist, imperialist, patriarchal, white supremacist, and heteronormative society does not mean it is apolitical any more than Creedence Clearwater Revival is apolitical.
So I believe it's useful to engage with music critically and consider the different political/sociological lenses through which it can be viewed, the same way we'd engage with any text or cultural artifact.
Completely agreed! And that's what I intend to do more here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!
I do not think music is inherently political. I think if you strip everything else away, music is inherently about expression. Expression of messages, emotions, worship, and even creativity that can't just be compartmentalized into some category. But in a broken world with imperfect people who have different beliefs, viewpoints, attitudes, and preferences, I see two main problems contributing to the "politicizing" of music: (1) people using music for the expression of unwholesome messages, and (2) people responding antagonistically to genres of music they don't like. Then comes the question of who is giving the right messages about music, what's the best style, and even who is the better musician. Now we're competing for followers and achievement. I think this is common for those of us who were classically trained, but so much attention is given to the perfection of technique that true expression ends up neglected. Don't get me wrong, technique is absolutely essential to musical expression, but it shouldn't ever be the end goal. So music, which is otherwise a language that transcends other differences, is tragically used in a way that causes division. But just because it's used in a political way doesn't mean it's inherently political. (Wearing masks during a pandemic has become a political issue, but I think we can agree that it's not an inherently political issue.) So many bad things in this world are really the result of the misusing inherently good things.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jianting! I really appreciate it, and will definitely ruminate on this tonight. We can and should definitely talk about this more sometime if you are interested!
Definitely would love to discuss! There was no way I could get all my thoughts in that one comment!
Haha definitely, it's a big topic with many ways of approaching it!