5 Songs / Overtly Political Songs That You Might Not Know Were Overtly Political
5 Songs is a weekly series where we point out the strange, the grand, and the unique connections between our favorite songs. Let’s get weird.
Words by Chris
There’s a fine line between bashing you over the head and cradling your imagination. There’s also a blend of seething irony that can make or break a whole vision. I’m thinking of the Obama Administration using “Fake Empire” by The National as a song for their campaign. That’s teetering on the edge for sure. It gets hard too when the things politically-minded bands illustrate are obvious to any able-minded individual with a debit card and a high school education. Let’s look at some recent songs that submerge their politics in favor of something more complete.
“Little Faith” / The National
Okay, The National, actually one of the more political bands you’ll find (they are quite sneaky about it). But the lyric in this song does what good songs do…it defies your interpretation just a bit, keeping the song personal while also keeping a possible expansion at hand. Case in point: “Leave our red Southern soils, head for the coast”. “Red” could be “Red State” or um, soil that is red. There is also a sense of melodrama in the music that The National is so good at keeping cool that keeps lines like, “We’ll play nuns vs. priests until somebody wins/cries” from blowing out of proportion.
“Backdrifts” / Radiohead
Hail to the Thief is the dark horse in Radiohead’s catalog because of its politics, but Radiohead’s haunting sound always seems to submerge whatever the lyric is saying in favor of their dense and fascinating compositions. “Backdrifts” is a magnet for your ears, its heavy-dance pulse and whir lure you through its paranoia, which makes you experience the message, not just think about it. The song is about weak leadership (I think), and ultimately what grabs you is the concept and romantic gesture of, “You fell into our arms! We tried but there was nothing we could do!”
“The Merry Barracks” / Deerhoof
This song reminds me of Dr. Strangelove: the deadpan delivery of, “Hello? Atomic bombs are going to explode. Warning to you,” seems highly satirical. It’s a Deerhoof song, so the musical figures leap between varying styles and melodies, keeping the atmosphere light, crossing punk energy with sound collage and pure bubblegum pop. The fun of the experience throws you around, not thinking of the lyric. The song also poignantly comments on how multimedia affects our concept of war, Satomi Matsuzaki sings, “Wind up your cameras vs. evil, vs. good, the barracks—Hollywood.”
“Society Is My Friend” / Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile / Society Is My Friend
Really amazing song here. It’s not only interesting the way this song showcases one’s relationship with society as being a part of an oppressive, illusory love triangle, it also has this frantic sound that seems to burst at every note, reminding me of some of the deceptively-upbeat songs on Born in the U.S.A. Vile’s lyrics are killer, and his vocal technique makes each line feel lived-in but at the same time tossed-off and lazy: “Hey how you doing, kids? My hand is not for you to hold, so kiss me with your mouth without closing it all that much.” Wow.
“Haiti” / Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire has a passionate worldview, and they utilize this energy to achieve a sense of spiritual transcendence, especially in their live performance. The sound of the water in the beginning of this song, as well as the luxurious melody and Régine Chassagne’s feathery singing, place the song into a mild expression of joy. But the song is a promise to reclaim the land for the oppressed, and with some of these verses sung in French, the song even uses a colonizer’s language to claim, “Guns can’t kill what soldiers can’t see.”
Do you have any other examples? Were you hip to these political jives long before we were? Leave some comments and let us know.
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