The Kolog

Music and/or Politics?

What does music mean to you?

Seriously.

Do you listen passively or actively?

For the passed decade, I have thought about the influence that songs, be them played on an iPod or a car-cassette or the radio, have on the ideological makeup of a human being.

To speak specifically, how does the fan of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” vote come election time?  Or how about you fans of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street?

I am afraid that there are those who listen to music to be “cool,” but when push comes to shove, the same individuals abandon the very same muses and vote against their musical interests.

If so, why?

Perhaps I’m talking nonsense, but the songwriters who have dominated my playlists for the passed twenty years or more have also influenced the way I view and act upon the world.

Seriously, I find it difficult to distinguish my personal politics from that of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Tweedy, et al.  Am I misguided?

How about you?  Do you listen for mere aesthetic purposes or do you believe in the music?

1 Comment so far
Leave a comment