A Story of Music & Revolution...

The Morning News has a very good daily feature today, discussing the political implications of rock 'n' roll as a form of protest music (specifically in South America). The article, entitled "Revolution Rock" and written by Patrick Ambrose, is definitely worth a look. Noted,

While music during the 1960s and early ‘70s was a pronounced voice for political reform, possibly nowhere was it more evident than in the other America—South America. In the heyday of militarism and dictatorship, musicians literally had no place to hide, and their music wasn’t simply a byproduct of the political landscape, but a force for social change. Brazil’s Tropicália movement, which originated as a musical genre, quickly became a full-fledged artistic phenomenon after the country’s economic collapse and military coup of 1964. The Tropicálistas not only expressed their opposition to government oppression, but sought to protect their art from the cultural hegemony of the U.S. and Europe, combining music, theater, film, and visual art into a political voice for the New Left.

It's an excellent piece, and I'd love to see it become a series of two or three more overviews of protest music elsewhere.

Certainly Africa would be an excellent place to start, as even a survey of said musical styles on the continent would encompass at least a dozen separate, independent movements, from South Africa to Senegal and back again. The role of music in anti-apartheid activism in South Africa is probably most apparent to Americans generally because it's one of the few international solidarity efforts I can recall that became fairly mainstream. I haven't seen Amandla, which is about protest music in South Africa during that period, but it looks excellent. And obviously, last year's exhibition, Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, at The New Museum of Contemporary Art, testifies to the enduring influence of the Nigerian recording legend. The Red Hot + Riot tribute album to his work is particularly relevant to the topic of protest music, as proceeds from the popular series of eclectic covers and styles are used to make a political statement about the need for AIDS awareness and activism.

Yesterday a friend and I checked out the small but powerful exhibit of William Kentridge's work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I found myself transfixed by his short animated film exploring the oblivious nature of a frequent character in Kentridge's work, industrialist Soho Eckstein, who is self-aware but powerless to react meaningfully to the massive change taking place all around him. The gorgeous, moving, piece, entitled Tide Table, was perfectly accompanied by the music of Congolese supergroup, Franco et le TP OK Jazz.

I should note that the title of this post alludes to the sub-title of Caetano Veloso's memoir, Tropical Truth, which I read a few months ago and would recommend to anyone looking for an intense, in-depth look at Tropicalia and Veloso's trajectory as a rising pop star during a period of intense political upheaval in Brazil.

Comments

[Marco]

Lauren,
You are one of the few true internationalistas that I've encountered, albeit webwise. You're all over the planet. Keep making the world round and whole.