Interview with Dorian Lynskey re: protest music

1/18/2018

This week, you read your first selections from Dorian Lynskey’s 2011 book, 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs. I mentioned this class would cross paths with current events, right? The Atlantic just this week published an interview with Lynskey — a Q&A that deals with many questions relevant not only to your reading of her work but to the overall arc of the course. (Pay particular attention to a question midway through about the history of culture wars, which is our topic for next week!)

The general question being considered in this interview is whether or not the increased activism of the Trump presidency thus far has revived the spirit of protest music. Have you heard new protest songs? Tell us, and include links!

2 Comments

Edward Han

2/22/2018 10:18:04 pm

Arcade Fire's "I Give You Power" is a relatively recent protest song in response to Trump's presidency.
Although the lyrics do not directly refer to Trump by name or the presidency, the timed release of the song is significant as it was released a day before Trump's inauguration. The song was released with the press release "It's never been more important that we stick together and take care of each other."

The line "I give you power, over me" is repeated throughout the song. However, the line changes leading into the chorus that "I can take it away, watch me take it away."

These lyrics refer to Trump's presidency and the reluctance of some Americans to accept Trump as the new President. "I give you power, over me" is thus an acceptance that Trump has taken the presidency. The retort "I can take it away, watch me take it away" would refer to the power that protesting citizens have to oppose the presidency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6jma9VQEls

Evon Hung

3/23/2018 01:14:00 pm

"Seriously" by Sara Bareilles

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI8TCA3fJcs

A song that emerged from Trump's 2016 election, this song was a prompt for Bareilles to create a song in the perspective of Obama's viewpoint of that election. It makes references to social justice issues concerning the black community that have been left in the dust in the wake of Trump's inauguration and she states his election as creating "United divided States". She questions the entire ordeal as a means of calling attention to how this corruption came to be and perhaps plant a seed into the listener's mind to take these things "seriously".

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