The 1960’s and 70’s brought us great protest songs. The Vietnam War was a dominant musical theme in the ’60s and ’70s. Antiwar songs was the centerpiece at the Woodstock festival in 1969. Music can change the world and it did. Music was the most powerful means of voicing opposition. Artists were protesting against a war and rallied for international peace.
But with all the divisiness today, where are the protest songs? Today, a protest more or less looks like a cringeworthy rant on social media from laymen.
In 60’s and 70’s there was a red line between the artist class and the ruling class. Today, the creative community have aligned themselves with the political class which also includes the big tech billionaires who run Facebook, Google, Twitter and Youtube.
Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins notes, “I mean, there’s friction against one political party, but there doesn’t really seem to be a counterculture, which is kind of strange.”
Where is the friction and the divide? Nobody is raging against the machine. Has the machine become too powerful to rage against? I don’t know, but let it face the music – a proven enemy!