(The Lack Of) Activism In The Music Industry

From Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, activism in the music industry has rung through the ears of the public for decades-- if only in very small doses and on very limited platforms. Byrd McDaniel, a writer for The Boston Review, puts it simply: “We should recognize popular music for the ways it crafts communities of mutually invested participants, fostering activism far beyond the physical spaces where protests take place.”

On the first track of David Bowie’s 1971 album “Hunky Dory”, the artist delivers the lyrics “And these children that you spit on / As they try to change their worlds / Are immune to your consultations / They’re quite aware of what they’re going through.” 

The song “Changes” is a rendition of the way young people have continuously rebelled against older, out-of-date ideas.  Children will surpass their parents and new generations will learn from the previous generation’s mistakes. Time is always meant to be going forwards, and no amount of implorations to “bring back the good old days” can derail it.

Bowie encourages his listeners to become aware of the everlasting consistency of change in the world. It feels comfortable to believe that, as we are constantly aging, we are simultaneously on an endless track towards inevitable improvement. This, however, is not necessarily the case. 

Matty Healy from The 1975 is a perfect example of a recent songwriter who is no stranger to the consciousness and concept of perpetual change, although he does take a considerably different approach from Bowie’s. The line “Modernity has failed us” from his song “Love it if we made it”, off of the band’s 2018 album “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships”, symbolizes how we, as the next generation of people to populate this earth, are still a work in progress, and should not credit ourselves too quickly for the small amount of amelioration which we have been capable of making so far. 

There is a big difference between the song “Changes” and the song “Love it if we made it”, in the sense that “Changes” uplifts us and encourages us to continue to try and change the way in which things are being done, whilst “Love it if we made it” insists that we are still not doing enough. In some ways, Bowie's song is the thesis, whilst Healy’s song is the antithesis; we are simply in need of a synthesis. 

In an interview with Genius, Matty Healy explains that the line “Modernity has failed us” is actually the basis of the theme of this song. The idea behind the fifth track of the album is to shock the listeners and to capture their attention to the lyrics Healy preaches in his verses. This is likely why the first lyrics of the song are “We’re fucking in a car, shooting heroine / Saying controversial things just for the hell of it,” and why these are so closely followed by the line “Selling melanin and then suffocate the black man,” which is, in part, a reference to how black culture is too often appropriated and sold as something that is trendy by people who aren’t black. 

The second part of the line, “suffocate the black man”, is specifically a reference to the disturbing murder of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was suffocated and killed by NYPD officers in Staten Island, N.Y., on July 17, 2014. Similarly to George Floyd—who’s tragic murder on May 25 sparked protests all across the United States and certain parts of Canada—Eric Garner’s final sentence was composed of the devestating three words “I can’t breathe.” 

The ways in which we utilize music is fascinating. Music can inspire us, and it can motivate us. An artist acquires a great deal of responsibility when they attain a great level of success, whether they realize this or not. By becoming the voices that carry through our radios, they additionally become bound to shaping the messages that we will carry with us throughout our days. 

There are many different ways to inspire progress through art. Bowie’s validation of young people’s often overshadowed points of views might be comparable to Harry Styles’s song “Treat People With Kindness”, which transposes a crucial message, whilst simultaneously never failing to get us up on our feet and dancing. However, these last two examples might not be capable of leading protests in the same way “This is America” by Childish Gamino did when it became the background music to any TikTok video that exhibited resistance towards the manner in which black lives have been treated thus far.

Creativity stems from passion. In this case, it might be too much to ask all popular artists to include the causes and movements that are in such desperate need of attention these days into their songs, if said causes and movements don’t inspire said popular artists. However, there are different ways to utilize a platform. With this in mind, it is very difficult for those of us who are trying to make a change in the world—and who aren’t rich celebrities—to idolize those who could make such an impact with such little effort, but never bother to. 

The blame for the lack of productive political productions in the popular music industry cannot, of course, rest solely on the shoulders of the artists. The radio stations which act as platforms for these musicians, as well as each individual listener (among multiple other factors), also play large roles in this vicious cycle of underrepresentation. In situations like these, it is important to implement two crucial steps into our lives as often as it is possible. First, we must check our privileges. And second, we must continue to ask ourselves “Am I  doing enough?”