Political pop that could actually change the world

[imomus]

Eminem Mosh. He says 'Fuck Bush'. He says 'No more blood for oil'. He says 'Kerry on, give me hope'. He says 'Vote on November 2nd'. And the imagery in the video says a lot more. A message like this, from a star as big as Eminem, could actually change the outcome of the US election. Who says pop music is all neutered, spayed and tame? Who says that nothing anyone says makes a blind bit of difference? As brilliantly political as anything Bob Dylan did at the height of the 60s protest boom. Positively Brechtian.

Comments

[xiuhcoatl.livejournal.com]

I think perhaps the difference is 'watching' it versus listening. The music and lyrics are lackluster, a couple of catchy lines at best, but as pointed out, this actually seems purposeful. After a listen or two, you will not remember the melody, but will walk away with "the message" and a couple of key phrases ["No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil"].

The video by the guys at GNN is brilliant, though. What I find "most frightening" is that the expectation for censorship is such that most people didn't believe this would be allowed to be aired). Honestly, I never believed it would make it onto MTV and wide-bandwidth sites like Yahoo.

And really, you could read those comments and feel disheartened, but I don't think it truly reflects the reaction, but rather than handful of people who wanted to stir the shit. Truth is, many Americans *are* just looking for someone to tell them who to vote for -- whether that "someone" is their peer group, coworker, minister, favorite talk show host or musician... why does it matter? Is MTV's attempt to influence young Americans to vote for Kerry any worse than the 700 Club influencing the religious right to vote for Bush?

When it comes down to it, an artist with the pop appeal of Eminem has one voice that can be sounded through his work to greater impact than leagues of unknown supporters and campaigners are able. This isn't merely a promotional tactic to sell music -- without a doubt, he is getting exposure for this video, but he's also losing a portion of his audience due to the vocalization of his political beliefs. I can respect that, regardless of whether or not I enjoy his music.