Slyngstad | Bluesky
Transcript
A three-panel political comic by Slyngstad highlighting the long history of political activism in music. In the foreground of all three panels, two audience members are seen talking in profile.
Panel 1:
On Stage: A modern musician holding a microphone calls out, “FREE PALESTINE!”
Foreground: One audience member complains, “UGH, WHEN DID MUSICIANS START TO BE SO POLITICAL?”
Panel 2:
On Stage: Freddie Mercury performing at the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert, with the “Live Aid” global logo in the background.
Foreground: The second audience member replies, “START?”
Panel 3:
On Stage: Folk singer Woody Guthrie playing an acoustic guitar with his iconic slogan written across it: “THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS”.
Foreground: The second audience member continues, “MAYBE YOU JUST WEREN’T LISTENING.”
Queen played in apartheid south africa, chumbawumba referenced in a song called Slag Aid
Someone else who knows Chumbawamba music beyond Tubthumping!?
Hooray! Friends!
Who thinks this? Even The Beatles were political.
Not that I’ve ever changed a political position because of a musician; I’d rather they not do so, as I don’t go to concerts for politics, but musicians don’t follow my preferences for some reason.
I’d also rather that they’d not “fade” the end of their song, but they won’t listen to me.
Not looking to start a debate. But genuinely what would you have them make songs about, if not something they believe in?
Edit: I guess you could listen to only acoustic tracks.
Love songs?
No one who’s ever heard music before asks this in good faith. It’s a physical impossibility.
👀
Such a great album too
Who in the hell down votes this?
Personally I didn’t but I can definitely see how people get fed up hearing about it.
People think lots of things started while they were alive. They remember something from their past and assume it was a first without bothering to research it. Golden Age of Information - go figure.
Arlo Guthrie patiently smiling down from ~~ the hereafter~~ his house, gently shaking his head, furious as fuck.
Arlo’s still around, man
Oh shit! I totally thought he kicked it years ago!
If something happens to him within the next month I’m blaming you.
Fair
I’m just kidding, superstition belongs inthe bronze age.
But what if I hire a bunch of Etsy witches to curse him?
How much do they cost and what services do they offer?
They say that people came there to listen to his music not his politics, I’m thinking, so if he had just strummed a guitar while he said it, they would have been all for it?
the ones that pretend to, like swift and shareen
You’d have to be some kind of American Idiot to miss the messages.
The Message must have been lost on these people Born in the USA it’s a shame that The Revolution Will not be Televised because it might make it more obvious, but That’s Just the Way it is.
It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate son…
We won’t be fooled again
Maybe they’ve just never listened to Gorilla Radio, or Taken the Power Back. Nevermind the Bollox, though. They’re probably being being dishonest. I Want it That Way. Wait…no that’s not right…
DAE SONG TITLES LOLOL
When you’re a Bull on Parade, you don’t care to look for them.
Yeah. Welcome to Paradise, right? Taking the Longview, only a Basketcase would be down with this Dookie.
Buncha Nimrods.
Well, I certainly don’t want to be one of those.
Rage Against the Machine but not like in a political way or anything, just like, noises and anger and centrism
I’m pretty sure “The Machine” they’re raging against is like an annoying office printer or copy machine or something.
/s
I wonder if RATM might have a claim as the most political band of all time. The only song of theirs I can think of that isn’t political is Born of a Broken Man. Even the songs they covered were political.
It’s the entire reason they exist. They are a protest band. It’s their genre.
I wonder if RATM might have a claim as the most political band of all time.
You need to listen to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Kennedys_discography
Songs from Paul Ryan’s workout playlist
He’s singing along,
“Some of those that work forces, are the same that wear crosses”
You can imagine his thoughts on “chosen whites”
You won’t believe the amount of right wingers who believe RATM are right wing. I assume because they sound angry?
“Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” is kind of universal, but you’d think “Some of those who work forces are the same who burn crosses” would have been a hint towards which side they lean towards.
Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.
You overestimate the rightoid mindset. “Police support the KKK? Well surely the KKK are respectable company.”
what you’ve described is AI generated music
Nah, that’s rage BY and probably FOR the machine
This is not even a strawman. I seen people on reddit argue “art is supposed to just be fun, not push any ideologies.”
Those people are embarrassing. They’re probably the same people that say like “Dracula is just a story about a guy who bites people shut up about all this politics and feminism”.
Education is difficult and, in the US are least, under funded.
It’s a conservative identifier for me. I haven’t seen an example that was’t complaining about progressive political stances in some medium.
Ironic, the idea that art should just be for fun is its own ideology
I think what often gets missed is that art should be engaging. And that engagement - even negative engagement - can be fun.
But also, politics is very engaging and often very fun (especially when you’re winning).
So, what I’m seeing isn’t “Art shouldn’t be political” but “Art shouldn’t make me feel like I’m losing.”
It’s also “art shouldn’t leave me stuck thinking”
Idk about that.
People who didn’t want to think about it wouldn’t be so obsessed with catastrophizing it.
Yeah, ask Leni Riefenstahl about it! She knows everything about unpolitical art.
Jesus, somebody slept through art class for literally all of school. Several somebodies, apparently.
I seen people on reddit argue “art is supposed to just be fun, not push any ideologies.”
Right before they blow a gasket because they were forced, against their wills, to play as a Lady Jedi.
Oh so you saw one of the hundreds of thousands of bots?
Laughs in System of a Down
Prison song, BYOB (bring your own bombs), BOOM, Deer Dance, PLUCK, Holy Mountains, Protect the Land … a few of which were used to directly raise funds to support victims of an Armenian genocide …
Brueh. Laughs in literally any band in history.
System of a Down was instrumental in forming my political views.
Me too. 10 years old telling people about the prison system and how fucked it is.
The best part is literally all of them are still relevant. Maybe that’s the worst part. Sad Statue we are more divided than ever, Cigaro our environmental regulators are removing safeguards for the environment, BYOB we still send poor people to die out in meaningless conflicts by bribing them with education, Prison Song incarceration rates are even higher, etc.
Also RFK still has a tapeworm brainworm telling him what to do. Needs to pull it out of his ass.
i was listening to BOOM this morning and i was…they’re talking about now…this is happening now too! “The bottom line is money, nobody gives a fuck!”
Umm like EVERY 60s song. What do they think fortunate son is about?!!! Fucking dense boomers.
Born in the USA…
That is the best example of a “patriot” song.
According to the demented fool, Fortunate son is about him, he is the: Millionaires son, born with silver spoon in hand, waiving the flag while the band is playing “Hail to the chief”.
![People act like musicians standing up for what they believe in is anything new. #FreePalestine [Slyngstad]](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/229b1cbc-f82b-471f-a5b1-7aae0efb6aec.png){kind=link}