“Music is one of those things that brings great joy to people, singing is a sort of unifier of people, no matter what political place or original place you come from.” PeopleMatterPoliticalJoyMusic IsSingingOriginalsNo Matter WhatGreat Joy Author:Brian Viglione
“Because one of the properties of music is to entertain and to, I don't mean this lightly, distract us from the things that pull us down. Music should be not only a source for political ideas but also a source of hope.” ShouldMeanIdeasPoliticalSourceMusic IsProperty Author:Dave Matthews
“I believe the history of American music is just as important as anything political because it's changed generations of people.” PeopleBelieveImportantPoliticalI BelieveGenerationsChangedMusic IsAmerican Music Author:Dave Grohl
“If my music is political in a way, and it might be, it's in the way of generating a sensitivity in people, a deeper awareness of the world around them. That's my goal, at least.” PeopleIfsWorldWayMightPoliticalGoalAwarenessMusic IsDeeperSensitivity Author:Phil Elvrum
“Avant-garde, jazz, pop, classical, country and western, rock, free, straight-ahead, etc. are ultimately meaningless terms in the face of the music being discussed at best - at worst, those terms often serve as code words for what is in fact a cultural / political discussion more than a musical one.” CountryFactsFacesPoliticalTermWorstRocksMusic IsJazzWesternMusicalPopsCodeDiscussionEtcMeaninglessAvant Garde Author:Pat Metheny
“[Music] is the one thing that connects the dots in all kinds of ways. No matter how you were brought up, no matter what your religious background or political beliefs, people still love to sing along with somebody.” PeopleWayKindStillsMatterPoliticalBeliefReligiousOne ThingMusic IsNo Matter WhatBackgroundsAll KindsDotsPolitical Beliefs Author:Kenny Chesney
“Sometimes I'm trying to communicate a feeling. Sometimes I can't piece it together into any kind of coherant thesis. I'm just trying to evoke some kind of mood, and put some kind of idea in somebody's head. If Marshall McLuhan or Harold Innis were looking at it, they would tell you that the genre of rock music isn't the best way to deliver a political message because it distorts it, it makes it into entertainment. Perhaps the best political message is just to speak it to somebody. I think that's something I'm always writing about in songs, just how to mediate, how to present something.” ThinkingWritingTryingKindSometimesFeelingsTogetherPoliticalSongSpeakMusic IsCommunicateMoodRock MusicThesis Author:A.C. Newman
“I like a lot of hardcore, but it's just a genre about which I don't have much to say. It's kind of a thing where, unless you're active in the hardcore community, what could you have to say of value about it? It resists criticism because it's not just a style but an entrance into several different worlds of ideas- political, philosophical, societal. The music is really only part of the whole scene. In that sense, the music doesn't change much because it shouldn't: It needs to be there as a signal that you're entering into a certain discursive mode, maybe.” WorldKindDifferentPoliticalValuesCommunityStyleSceneMusic IsCriticismPhilosophicalHardcore Author:John Darnielle