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Impact of music in society
Impact of music in society
Music and its impacts on society
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Music will always have a great impact the world, despite the century it is written in. Not only does music influence the world, but it also has a great cultural impact. Music is an expression of people from diverse cultures around the world and it will always be unique in that sense. Music is an immensely significant learning tool because of how powerful it can be. Music and songwriting has been present ever since the dawn of man, and as society alters throughout time, so will music. Artists of the 21st Century put their emotions into their music. When an artist comes out with song about a historic, political, or cultural change, the song will usually influence society and it will be one that many people can relate to. Music definitely has …show more content…
He released his first album in 1968 and since then has become very successful and well-known. In 2006, Young came out with the “Living With War” Album, featuring the song “Let’s Impeach the President.” Through this song, Young describes the way he feels about Bush’s presidency. “Let's impeach the President for lying/ And misleading our country into war/ Abusing all the power that we gave him/ And shipping all our money out the door.” He was tired of waiting for someone to write about America’s troubles, so he took it upon himself. In this song, he simply lists a bunch of reasons as to why the president at the time, George W. Bush should be impeached. He wanted everyone to see exactly what he was doing to our country and he felt as though this song would bring the issues to their attention. It definitely did, considering the fact that the song was Grammy Award- …show more content…
Music can influence many people in different ways, which it what makes it such a powerful tool. As I examined legendary songs from the 21st century, such as “Waiting On The World To Change,” “Let’s Impeach The President,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” it was very clear to see that artists in this century definitely do place contemporary issues into their lyrics. The lyrics to the three songs that I have discussed are both powerful as well as educational. They touch on subjects that most people are too afraid to discuss, which is why most people gravitate towards these specific types of songs. The three songs that I used as examples today, which are John Mayer’s "Waiting On The World To Change”, Neil Young’s “Let’s Impeach The President”, and Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” proved that there definitely are social, political and cultural issues in 21st century
The human race is an incredible group that expresses their feelings in numerous ways! Singers and rappers express their feelings through song; poets express their feelings through their poetry, and artist express their feelings through their art. Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is a 33-year-old American hip hop recording artist from New Orleans, Louisiana, he produced a political and controversial rap song entitled “Georgia …Bush” An incredible seven and a half minutes of music as a tribute to New Orleans, and to criticize the way president George bush handled hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, and the way he was governing the country. The setting for this song takes place in New Orleans; right after Hurricane, Katrina destroyed most of the city. The music video featured a large pool of water, destroyed communities, as well as human remains. This song was a massive controversy. Did Lil Wayne go too far when he published this song? Did he let his feeling get the best of him?
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
Music is regarded as a method of passing a message. Though some songs do not intend to do that, the message in them is still perceived. The song, “Get up, ...
In 1970, famous singer-songwriter Neil Young wrote the song “Ohio” about the massacre of American college students by American soldiers at Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970. The National Guard was called in to stop a peaceful protest on the university’s campus, but it ended in tragedy with four students dead and twelve wounded. All of a sudden, the lyrics to Neil Young’s song, “What if you knew her and/ Found her dead on the ground/ How can you run when you know,” made sense to every American who had heard the news of the incident. Preceding the events that occurred on May 4, 1970, students all over the country were protesting and, in some cases, rioting against Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia.
Prior to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, Atlanta rapper Jadakiss expressed his discontent in his 2004, chart topping single “Why?” This song, filled with skepticism, questioned President George Bush, the Republican administration, the 2000 national election and the events of September 11, 2001. For these reasons, “Why?” received
While the songs written for the American Revolutionary war were somewhat speculative, and depending on the song, poked fun at their enemies. The songs written and sung about the war in Iraq were anything but. They outlined the issues and say everything that they feel is true regarding the situation the United States is in. For example in the song written by Neil Young "Lets Impeach the President." The lyrics in this song are deep and correlate directly with the feelings of many American citizens. For example “Let 's impeach the President for lying and misleading our country into war” (YouTube) these lyrics as well as the video depict a propaganda style. Following life changing events, such as a new life experience or a national crisis, songs are written to show and demonstrate its impact. Whether it is in the 18th century or the 21st century the premise is still the same and can be seen throughout the
Artists write about what they know; they pull feelings from their heart and their songs relay what the artists’ emotions, whether it be of their hometown, their high school crush, or their experiences. Many artists that came to fame during the twentieth century have a fair share of experiences they share with us in the form of their songs. The twentieth century is comprised of the institution of slavery and its effects, war, gender norms, discrimination based on nationality, sex, race, etc., and countless events that sparked protests and uproars in the United States. Music at this time was a phenomenon, and artists could use it to their advantage. Artists used their music to spread awareness about their cause, influence their listeners, and
It has allowed us to go to another place, expressing the emotion and social issues of a particular decade. As our societies morals and beliefs change, music will continue to change with it. With the help of new advancements, music will always be a way for us to speak the language of generations to come and bring a variety of new music, messages, styles, and social expectations.
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular protest music, which has reached out to the youthful generations everywhere demanding for a revolutionary change. The protest music took the children of the 1960’s to a completely new different level. Musicians of this generation were not going to sit and do nothing while the government lied to the people about what was going on in Vietnam. Instead, they took their guitar-strumming troubadours from the coffee houses, plugged them in, and sent the music and the message into the college dorm rooms and the homes of the youth of America. However, as decades went by, protest music does not have much of an impact as it use to because of the way things have changed over the years. Through the analysis of the music during the 1960’s, there shall be an understanding on how the different genres of protest music has affected social protesters based on how musicians have become the collective conscience of that generation through their lyrics and music and the main factors that contributed to the lack of popula...
The year is1965, 8 years into the Vietnam war and 2 years in the shadow of a presidential assassination, marked the inception of an artistic vision, cut to Vinyl. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 revisited is a testament to the state of America in the 1960s, using poetic devices, and engaging rock and roll music to capture the imagination of a breadth of people, unwittingly, it would seem, brought change to the minds of Americans. Opening their eyes to what was happening and inflicting a sense of new found justice in their hearts, Living vicariously through Bob Dylan’s intense imagery, due to the events unfolding in that period, People latched on to Dylan’s lyrics and imposed their own expression and feeling onto his songs.
Political issues such as the war on terrorism is evoked as an issue throughout the song. American was divided “All across the alien nation” when troops were sent to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction. Metaphorical language was used to explore the issue. Audience positioning from techniques indorse concerns with a country divided and positions them to feel the need to cooperate and sort things out other than civil unrest and debate.
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.
Throughout the 2000s most mainstream music that was heard on the radio was pop, rap, and/or R&B with the subject of the songs being of common thoughts nothing to make a stir about. One artist that developed during this time was Pink counteracting some notions about war, gay rights, and the general state of America with her song “Dear Mr. President”. I believe that “Dear Mr. President” should be included in MUSC2019 because this song brings together pop and folk influences while using different techniques such as repetition, metaphors and dynamics to enhance the effect of the song has on the audience.
“Music is uniquely wonderful. It is incapable of being touched yet it touches everyone who is capable of hear sounds. It can seemingly evoke any emotion; we instinctively respond to happy tunes, mournful songs, beautiful melodies, inspiring anthems, stirring hymns, and majestic orchestrations.” (Doolan, Robert. 1985) There is no question that music is great part of society; it has been at civilization’s side whether it be the lyres and flutes of the ancient Greeks or how it calms or excites emotions and keeps armies in order during battle. Within society, there has also been social unrest and the desire for change. Protesting is the expression of a society’s concerns on current events of which they feel affected by whether it be through public rallies, picketing, riots or even bombings. Protest through music is one powerful medium for engaging people. Amidst what life throws at individuals, music has comforted the soul, provoked individualistic thought and opinion, and music draws people together through groups alike who have the same attachment or concerns with their surroundings. Whether it be rock, jazz, blues, rap, hip hop, dance, spiritual, or world, music has inspired artists to spill out their expression and views of society. Music is a universally effective tool of protest in generating social change and unrest as it continues to unite those with like ideas.
The song that I choose to do this assignment on is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Fight the Power was written in 1989 and quickly became a street anthem for millions of youths. It reflects with issues dealing with both the Civil Rights Movement and to remind everyone that they too have Constitutional Rights. This particular song is about empowerment but also fighting the abuse of power that is given to the law enforcement agencies. It gave citizens of the U.S a more modern outlook on the many struggles that not only the African American community is up against but the other minority groups as well. The song’s message was eventually supposed to bring people together and make the world a better place, even though some teens saw it as a way