The (Hopefully) Eternal Return Of Protest Music
The shuffle button on my phone’s music app seems to have very strong opinions. Once in a while, it will bring up the same tune over and over, seemingly sticking it under my nose like a snippy digital “Ahem!” No, I don’t believe there are magical fairies in my devices, sending me messages, nor do I think my musical tastes are being tracked by the powers that be (if this is the case, they need to re-evaluate their priorities. I’m boring). At best, it’s the work of an algorithm that noticed there are some songs I don’t click by as often. I do put a lot of stock in symbolism and metaphors as ways to think through things, so when a song gets suggested, I take a minute to listen and ponder its significance. If I have time, I’ll let myself fall down a rabbit hole, and look up other songs from the same era, in the same style, or some with the same theme. All of this helps me think.
Lately, it’s been “Riki Tiki Tavi”, a fun, quirky piece put out by Donovan in 1970, using the Kipling short story as a launching point for social commentary. If you aren’t familiar with the song, here’s a little sampling of the lyrics:
Better get into what you gotta get into
Better get into it now, no slacking please
United Nations ain't really united
And the organisations ain't really organised.
And there’s this too:
Everybody who read the Jungle Book
Will know that Riki Tiki Tavi's a mongoose who kills snakes
When I was a young man I was led to believe there were organisations
To kill my snakes for me
I.E. the church, I.E. the government, I.E. school
But when I got a little older I learned I had to kill them myself.
Gulp. It still hits pretty hard, right?
So, what else could I do but go on a mini feast of Bob Dylan’s “The Times, They Are A Changin’”, Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock”, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and the like? I guess I needed to sit with music from an era in which things were very much up in the air, institutions and assumptions were being questioned, and grassroots movements were sprouting. I grew up in a generation that enjoyed dressing up as hippies for Halloween, so I think it’s important to remind myself of the principles behind the movement itself. It wasn’t just cute and quirky, it was an attempt to disrupt and re-evaluate.
I also think it’s important to remind myself that I came of age in the midst of grunge, and we had our own bouts of social upheaval, and our own music to go with them. Some days, I follow this thread to Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows”, Alanis Morisette’s “Hand in My Pocket”, “What’s Up” by 4 Non-Blondes, and Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” (I have eclectic taste). It all sounds very different than anything created with flower power, but I think Gen X had our fair share of artists who questioned the status quo in the midst of some serious stuff happening.
I’m pretty grateful to have this wellspring from which to draw, both the music from my youth, and from the generation before. Being in the arts myself, making my living with words, it’s really not a surprise that I put so much stock in creative work as a source as a source of understanding and healing, and an inspiration for action. I love art for art’s sake, stuff that’s just fun and interesting (like I said, I have eclectic taste), but in times of distress, I lean pretty heavily on the stuff with a message, the think pieces.
Even amidst the blips and bleeps of modern media and pop culture, this kind of music is still out there, in tracks like “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and “Resolution/Revolution” by the Linda Lindas. Social media platforms have their flaws, but they do at least present the opportunity for independent artists to sing out (ex. Corook’s “If I Were a Fish”).
I hope that there’s so much more of this out there than my aged self is aware of, so many more artists pushing boundaries and questioning injustice. I hope that, if I’m not aware of them, it’s because I’m old and out of touch, and not because they aren’t making this kind of music anymore. I also hope young minds will forgive fossils like me when we play them the stuff with which we bolstered ourselves in turbulent times. I want this so badly for the next batch of kids, who have seen upheaval and uncertainty beyond what their parents have.
I remember how cathartic it felt to put on headphones, to hit play and to have the angry blob in the pit of my stomach be so succinctly captured by someone’s lyrics. It was so empowering, so grounding to be able to sing my teenage angst, to be able to put it on a tape and pass it along for others to share. It still is.