Why Music Should Be Political

Quick disclaimer: If you’ve been on my Instagram page for much time now you probably know that basically I hate both parties but Trump and the GOP more. However, this is not a partisan article, it is simply an argument for keeping politics and music intertwined. If you disagree with me on this argument, or my personal political views, I challenge you to read on and respond thoughtfully in the comments. I would like this to be a place of ideas, discussion, and friendliness, so let’s all try to foster that.

As I’m sure most of you reading this know, as it’s likely where you came from, I run a modest (and mostly Billy Strings themed) jamband meme page, @billy.winning. In the run up to the 2024 election, and the days around it, I posted a few political memes. Some were intended to make people laugh, some were intended to make people think a bit more about their voting choice. I tried extremely hard to reason with people in what I thought was a logical manner – showing tangible ways, for instance, of how Trump’s tariffs would decimate the music technology industry and his antitrust stance will mean Live Nation and Ticketmaster will have free rein to continue to price out the average fan (not saying the Dems were much better about Ticketmaster, but still)¹. This approach didn’t really work, as people just kind of told me I was wrong, or lying, or sent the most common message: “Hey man, we like the usual content. But keep politics out of music.”

At first I didn’t get it. A lot of my favorite songs are protest songs. Some arguments made more sense than others. One person basically said something like, ‘we are so divided right now, music is the one place where we can unite and come together.’ Honestly, that person was right. Music does bring huge diverse groups of people together in ways I’ve never really experienced elsewhere. Especially our music, the sense of community it fosters² – it’s a truly beautiful and unifying force. But that is exactly why it should be political.

Looking at the great Western musicians of our recent times (let’s say starting post WWII), there’s an interesting trend. Basically everyone is a goddamn hippie! And I’m not just talking about the Dead or Neil Young but also the great musicians of today (hint: one’s name is William)³. Most of these musicians who we all revere wrote political songs that critiqued the government at the time. A lot of it was about Vietnam at the beginning, but the tradition lasted beyond that. To the point that today, we have Billy Strings creating “Wargasm,” which I think is probably the most powerful protest song about the conflict in the Middle East I’ve ever heard. I want to take a second and look at some of the lyrics:

Same shit different century
Here we go again
It’s no parade seeing tanks on your street
What’s the mission, when’s it gonna end
How many stones do we have to line up before we understand
We’re caught up drawing lines on paper, at the price of the blood in the sand

So what’s the reason for this again?
Right back where we’ve always been
these excuses are wearing thin
What’s the reason for this again?
So what’s the reason for this again?
You can’t decide but you’ve got to win
We’re all the same but you’re not my friend
So what’s the reason for this again?

So step into the grinder with your brother tomorrow
And kiss your mother goodbye
She’ll wipe her tears with your ribbons and then they’ll replace you in the blink of an eye
So bite the bullet and boots on the ground these ain’t sticks and stones
Flicking matches at a powderkeg while you’re standing on a pile of bones

I mean, Jesus. I get goosebumps just reading it. I can hear those banjo rolls in the breakdown. Hear the thumping bass. Hear Billy shredding everyone’s faces off. Picture the woman who lost her son to a pointless war. This song moves people. It has become a fan favorite, everyone shouts the chorus and dances their ass off during the jam. So I ask you, how in the world could you want politics and music separated? There is no “Wargasm,” no “Watch it Fall,” no “Fortunate Son,” no “Throwin’ Stones” or “Liberty,” no “For What It’s Worth,” no “Born in the U.S.A.” – and for the conservatives, no “Courtesy of the Red, White And Blue,” no “Try That in a Small Town,” no “Okie from Muskogee,” none of it. There wouldn’t even be “Turtles All the Way Down” (an excellent critique of religion and drug policy) which might be my favorite country song of all time. Almost all of these songs have become anthems of some kind, and it’s not despite their political messages, it’s because of them. Politics are emotional. Especially in today’s day and age, where we mostly debate cultural and social issues instead of fiscal and geopolitical ones. For whatever reason, whether it’s religion, identity, nationality, race, whatever, people feel very strongly about these issues. So, when a song hooks into those fears, or passions, or whatever it is that drives you politically, it amplifies them, because that’s what good music does, it makes you feel things. And when those things are already something you feel really passionate about, that song can put you into an emotional state that other music can’t. And when a lot of people feel passionate about those things, an anthem is born.

But why should we care about this, beyond political music (that we agree with) making us feel really jacked up? Well, I think this idea of an “anthem” is important for political change, and furthermore, I think that music, in all its beauty and all its sadness, has the power to change people’s minds. Let’s talk about the anthem thing first. Look at any protest on either end of the political spectrum, there’s one thing you can count on. That is chanting, clapping, stomping, call and response, playing songs, etc. By getting everyone in a protest involved in a musical activity – even if that’s just listening – it brings them together, makes them stronger, more cohesive. If it’s a sort of group chant, there is an added sense of belonging, a “we are all doing this together” feeling that also makes the protesters more effective. Political anthems are basically the same thing. Since they are usually popular with at least one side, people sing along, they dance, they feel close to those around them who share the same beliefs. Someone who maybe doesn’t hold a strong stance on a particular issue could maybe be swayed by a song that resonates strongly and makes them feel close to those around them.

This right here is why I think music can be such a powerful tool for change. Both politics and music get people so emotional – combining them in a meaningful way supercharges everything. It gives people a way to rally around a cause they care about. And it makes for dope fuckin songs, let’s not forget that (check out this Wargasm from 2023). Change goes in both directions, but the nice thing about music is that it’s democratic (not in the party sense, in the people sense). Anyone can write songs. Anyone can make music. And thus anyone can try and make change with their music. And I think they should! Stand up for what you believe in! If you have a platform that you worked for (i.e. weren’t just thrust into the spotlight), you have a responsibility to try and make the world a better place with the way you use that platform.

I would be remiss to write this article and not mention Jason Isbell, who I think has set the standard very high for musical political commentary, and is one of my personal heroes. He is extremely open and passionate about his progressive beliefs, helps musicians from marginalized groups break into the country scene, and seems like overall a genuinely kind and thoughtful human being⁴. He also writes beautiful, compelling songs about really fucked up shit like opiate addiction (“King of Oklahoma”), suicide and drug overdose (sadly there’s a few), school shootings (“Save the World”), racism (“White Man’s World”, “Cast Iron Skillet”), abortion (“White Beretta), mental health (“Anxiety”, “St. Peter’s Autograph”), I could go on. He encapsulates all the anger, the fear, the despair that the rest of us feel about these issues – some being topics that other artists wouldn’t touch with a 10 yard pole – into songs with lyrics that send shivers down your spine. I can firmly say that nothing makes me really feel like a good Jason Isbell song.

I lost a good friend
Christmas time when folks go off the deep end
His woman took the kids and he took Klonopin
Enough to kill a man of twice his size

Not for me to understand
Remember him when he was still a proud man
A vandals smile a baseball in his right hand
Nothing but the blue sky in his eye

– Jason Isbell, “Relatively Easy“

Not really a political song, but a hauntingly human one, which is how I want to leave this article. Today is weird. I think no matter your political stance, we can all agree on that. Trump is going to be president again, and whether you think that is a good thing or a bad thing, it’s definitely weird, as is the road we have taken to get to this point. But I hope in the coming months we can remember that we are all humans, with complicated upbringings and backgrounds and baggage that mold our beliefs. So let’s be nice to each other. If you are a Jesus person, “Love thy neighbor.” If you’re not, “Don’t be a dick.” If you’re scared, I am too, but try to remember the chorus:

You should know compared
To people on a global scale
Our kind has had it relatively easy
And here with you there’s always
Something to look forward to
Our angry heart beats relatively easy

Check in on the ones you love. Let your angry hearts beat together. Take care of yourself. Maybe listen to “Watch It Fall” and be moved by the words, but turn off the news if you need. Perhaps the next 4 years will turn out relatively easy.

Footnotes

1. Here are the posts that caused so much drama if you want to learn more about what I’m talking about here with tariffs and such. Also highly recommend checking out the comments on those posts if you are bored and want to read some wild takes from all over the political spectrum. ↩︎
2. I wrote about how jambands build unique communities in my last article, check it out here. ↩︎
3. It shouldn’t suprise people that musicians tend to lean left and have passionate political views. It takes passion to make music, and artistic communities are almost always going to be more left, since they tend to attract members of more marginalized ones. I think this plays a big part in why it tends to be conservatives that tell others to “leave music out of politics”, since, well, the music is calling them out. ↩︎
4. Longer article about Isbell and his musical genuis coming soon. ↩︎