Every few years, discourse surrounding politics in music gets brought back up...
It's a healthy debate and conversation because it brings out the best (and worst) in the music scene - where opinions are shared like wildfire and the masses are either left more informed - or stuck in their ways.
The alternative music scene is full of bands who have been speaking their minds for years and the older they get, the more important their stances become, especially when they've amassed a notable following whose opinions align with their beliefs.
One band that has been making statements throughout their 30 year long career is Garbage - who know a thing or two about education through music and using their platforms for empowering the masses. On top of releasing ‘There's No Future In Optimism’ - which was inspired by the murder of George Floyd and the resulting worldwide protests in response to the horrific event - the band just put out the album Let All That We Imagine Be The Light which houses the politically driven single.
During our recent interview with drummer Butch Vig, he spoke about the balance of releasing music with a message - aimed to make fans think, and then act on their own accord.
"I understand that fans get upset sometimes if a artist says, 'we want you to think this way or vote for this person or don't vote for that person'. So in Garbage... we want people to think. We're not necessarily telling people what to do, but at least to, if they hear a song, maybe they'll think a little bit about the choices they make in their life."
While most bands use the week after a release to promote their album, Garbage's social media has been highlighting the atrocities happening right now in Gaza; when most of the industry has either been turning a blind eye or steering clear of the war completely. A far cry from virtue signalling - they've been actively using their platforms to raise awareness for a variety of issues throughout their three decade long career.
Many musicians in this day and age walk a thin line between raising awareness for political or societal issues and dictating how their listeners and fanbase should think and react to the subject matter.
Others straight up don't give a fuck.
What's The Controversy with Kneecap?
One act that seems to be in the crosshairs on a global scale is Irish punk/rap group Kneecap - who have been making news for their own stance on the Gaza situation - resulting in Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (stage name Mo Chara) from the trio receiving a terror charge for allegedly waving a Hezbollah [a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group] flag at a recent London show.
Many faces from the music industry have kept quiet about the group's activism, except Sharon Osbourne, who spoke out following their Coachella protest where they displayed the message "Fuck Israel, Free Palestine" in front of tens of thousands of attendees at the festival, and millions more watching via the live stream. Osbourne called for their working visas to be revoked and banned from appearing at Glastonbury Festival.
Since Sharon's calls went viral, the band has continually faced off against opposers and doubled down on their political stance online. They recently had their appearance at Glasgow festival TRNSMT cancelled over 'police safety concerns'. Despite this, other festival sets such as Gloucestershire's 2000trees are set to go ahead with the outfit headlining the Thursday night slot.
Wall Of Sound's Duane James and guest interviewer Paulie Surridge (of Higher Ground Kurrajong Tattoo & Records) spoke with Butch about the news surrounding Kneecap and his stance on politics in music and whether both should remain separate, to which the legendary producer divulged.
“I fucking love Kneecap. I've seen their film three times and I have not seen them live yet. But I know some friends of mine have seen [them] and they fucking go off. It's fucking great.”
Butch pondered whether the band should have their visas and festival appearances cancelled before continuing, “I have mixed feelings on that because I will say this, I've seen music and heard music since punk, since the late seventies. And some of the most powerful and cathartic records I've heard, like by The Clash are social, political, and they make you think."
He goes on to say art (not just music) reflects the world we live in and "the world is pretty crazy right now," before touching on how modern artists in the industry are afraid to speak their minds.
There’s a lot of bands and artists who don't want to call attention to themselves now. They’re scared because your career could get effed up if you piss off the wrong person.
"So you just kind of have to have big balls if you're gonna go out there and really lay a statement out. But I think you can do it."
Many alternative and heavy music fans have pointed out that Sharon should stop living in her glass house and relisten to husband Ozzy's song 'War Pigs' which he released on Black Sabbath's Paranoid album wayyyyy back in 1970.
Political Acts Avoiding Criticisms
Since the 70s, heavy and alternative musicians have stood strong making political statements in their music and fans have lapped it all up in appreciation, or as a way to further educate themselves outside of the social norm. Notably non-cancelled bands like System Of A Down, Green Day, Jinjer, Body Count, Sex Pistols, Public Enemy, Pussy Riot, Prophets Of Rage, Stray From The Path, Enter Shikari, Bad Religion, Nine Inch Nails, NOFX, Anti-Flag, Fever 333, Rise Against, Soulfly, Machine Head, Molotov Solution and even Sum 41 have all been leading the charge in some capacity since the musical hiatus of Rage Against The Machine - who introduced many of us to political activism in music back in the mid-90s.
On home soil, Australian acts like Midnight Oil, Wildheart, Goanna, Chasing Ghosts, Outright, A.B. Original, Reliqa, Thy Art Is Murder, Redhook and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have also followed suit at a local level. Australian hardcore band SPEED, along with Pest Control, Scowl and Zulu withdrew from Download Festival UK in 2024 due to its connections with Barclays Bank [campaigners accused the bank of increasing its investment in arms companies that trade with Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza].
In recent times, UK pop punk outfit Neck Deep have used their live shows as a way to speak out against governing bodies and encouraged proactivity for change in younger audiences with songs like 'Don't Wait' and 'We Need More Bricks'. Environmental activism has also been thrust into the spotlight with In Hearts Wake, Gojira, Architects, Ocean Grove and We Lost The Sea highlighting the importance of climate change, while To The Grave is abrasively taking a stand against animal cruelty and liberation "by any means necessary" with their brutal approach to heavy music.
But not everyone escapes without a slap on the wrist.
Emo king Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) landed himself on the FBI watchlist because of a "threatening" song he released in 2009 about George W. Bush with his hardcore-punk side-project, Leathermouth. The US rocker received a visit from the Secret Service and his wife was interrogated for hours following the release of the band's first (and only) album XØ.
The Influence of Political Music
Whether you're aware or not, there's a good chance some of the changes you've made in your life have stemmed from being directly (or subliminally) influenced by your favourite bands, musicians, songs or genres, and it's not just an overnight movement.
Back in 2021, I spoke with Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath about how he first got into political activism and he stated it all stemmed from the local punk scene in the mid-90s.
"The first time I learned about environmental issues like global warming was at a punk show. The first time I really heard about the plight of indigenous cultures was at a punk show. The punk show became my secondary education."
I knew that if I ever had the microphone, like if someone ever gave me the opportunity to be on that stage, I wanted to pass that torch to whoever the next version of me was.
And that's exactly what he, and many others have been doing with their platforms since their bands broke out into the big leagues.
Also in 2021, Wall Of Sound's Ricky Aarons spoke with Serj Tankian (of System Of A Down) about his socio-political solo EP Elasticity - the soundtrack to his feature film Truth To Power - which he shared was to inform fans about, "what it means to be an activist artist, the repercussions of it, the fruits of that labour and and how this small voice suddenly becomes pronounced with the success of your music and audience."
To anyone still questioning the significance of discussing political issues in music, Serj further highlighted the impact System Of A Down's first new music in sixteen years had when they released ‘Protect The Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’ in 2020.
The singles were released with limited edition merch which not only raised worldwide awareness, but hundreds of thousands of dollars in humanitarian funds for Armenian people affected by the Artsakh war; where combined forces of Turkey with Syrian mercenaries attacked the Republic of Artsakh.
“It made a huge difference that we would measure and see ourselves, and we wanted people to know the truth that the underdog here is Armenia and that we're being bullied.”
Were calls for cancellation raised for SOAD speaking out? Nope!
The band stood their ground and together made a difference simply because of their music, influence and social platforms. The entire process even helped Serj see the band in a different light afterwards.
“I'm extremely proud of the band for doing so and I actually started looking at System Of A Down in even more of a positive light than before because of it.”
Despite being a somewhat new act- with only eight years under their belts and two full-length albums to their name - Kneecap now appears to have the entire world's eyes on their every move; and they hold the power to lead their own charge into the future, dodging opposing views every which way they turn... and that's punk as fuck!
But, they also have support from a growing number prominent voices and peers who too have been chastised for expressing opinions throughout their careers... and lived to tell the tale.
It seems the duration of a band or musical act's time within the industry dictates whether or not they'll be looking down the barrel of cancellation, but something tells me we won't see Kneecap succumbing to their namesake anytime soon!
So the question remains - "Can politics still exist in music?"
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Words by Paul 'Browny' Brown @brownypaul
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