Is it acceptable to mix music and politics?

Answer 1

It all depends on how you view politics and how music affects you.

I personally don't think that politics and music should mix because fans that support a band and the band decides to support someone in politics then the fans most likely wil go along with the band they like and not look through the arguments that the politician is having. they might vote for the wrong person just because they like the band.

A little more...Just to confuse the issue some more, I need to point out that one style of music or at least singing focuses on political issues within the lyrics. "John Brown's Body" comes to mind, as does "Where have all the flowers gone" as examples of this venue.

And even more:

A great deal of music contains political and social commentary or review, especially the genre we term as "Folk" music. It is the way we pass information and opinion on, especially in a culture with little or no literacy for the poorer classes. Think of simple nursery rhyme songs, such as "Ring around the rosy", "London Bridge is Falling Down", etc., or from the early part of the last century, the story of the Titanic disaster with the Chorus that went "it was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the - Husbands and wives, little children lost their lives. It was sad when the great ship went down." It describes how the poor in the lower decks were trapped and suggests that it was because they were poor that they died.

Most of our patriotic songs contain a lot of political material. Read the lyrics of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" that came from Ireland before they got "cleaned up" here in America. Instead of a rousing marching song, it was a protest song with verses that ended "Johnny we hardly knew ye". Even the Star Spangled Banner contains some pretty inflammatory words regarding England - which is probably outdated by now, but there it is, bearing testament to the sentiments of the times.

While it's true that some people use their fame to promote their political views, it is also true that this causes people who agree and disagree to respond to the music and discuss it. It is sad that some people are political sheep and will follow their "idols" to the polls, and I hate to see them being taken advantage of, but it is our responsibility as citizens to think for ourselves.