Music has the power to stop, exhilarate, heal, hurt, bring back memories and most important it has the power to connect. It started with a small, sweet acoustic guitar and some incredibly inclusive lyrics that shifted dynamics of America in 1960s "Come gather 'round people wherever you roam / And admit that the waters around you have grown," Bob Dylan's folk anthem "The Times They Are A-Changin'" became the ultimate and rebellious song of that time. It is when people realized the power of music. How it could connect and speak for everyone on the same time.
It was the beginning of a new era, era that as marked by legendary singers and bands such as Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and other iconic folk and rock artists in 60's whose lyrics and songs.
were popularly used in protests, in support of the social-change-to-come of the decade.
The protest songs though were not limited to a single topic and era. It was in 1990's, feminist D.I.Y. musician Kathleen Hanna led punk band Bikini Kill and the Riot Grrrl movement against the patriarchy. The leading leading, Hanna worked closely with D.C. hardcore legend Ian MacKaye, who was better known to have fronted a threat with his egendary band Fugazi in the '80s and '90s against capitalism.
Their music influenced people and a commonality of thoughts prevailed giving people a sense of society. Soul spoken-word poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron's single "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," as well as his record of the same name, honestly spoke of the racial divide in America in the '70s.
And while labeling these diverse songs under "protest" may seem reductive, it highlights the ability of music to connect artists, listeners and ideas to discuss and drive the issues in — or not in — society's consciousness. Long live the spirit of producing revolutionizing Music!
