Post by Karen on Sept 25, 2006 3:17:22 GMT 10
Reflections on political song writing
Author: Jason Hogan
Date: November 2002
Along with making music just because it’s beautiful and I love it, the political songwriting process, for me, is an attempt to teach and provoke thought and discussion using lyrics and music as the tool. After protesting (e.g.- in Quebec city against the Free Trade Area of the Americas) and canvassing (for the Federation of Ontario Naturalists) I felt that everything I was doing was ineffectual. There was nothing left to do but stand on a stage and scream my brains out in frustration.
Two key figures that played a role in my decision to do this are Bob Geldof and Bono. It’s impossible to measure it statistically but those two men may have done more to raise awareness about political issues than any Non-Governmental Organization. With the political songs my goal is similar; to capture an idea as succinctly and poetically as possible so that it may raise awareness, inspire solutions, and lead others to organize for change. Lofty, I know.
The songwriting process itself is usually inspired by an event- the good songs being written in one or two sittings with a minimal amount of revision. So for example, Hold On was written immediately after a protest rally in Toronto over the murder of Carlos Giuliani (in Genoa, 2002). One Solution was written after a lack lustre night of door to door canvassing on environmental issues. On the drive home we went past a Krispy Kreme donut store in Mississauga, the first in Canada. Four days after it had opened there were 50 people queued up in the rain, the temperature near freezing, waiting for a donut. These were middle class suburbanites who were given all the choice in the world and decided to line up in the cold rain for donuts?!?! And people in capitalist countries ridicule communist countries for having people line up for bread and vegetables?!? I was depressed and confused for a week. Now, almost a year later, I’m just confused.
The actions of certain leaders (e.g.- US president George W Bush, former premier of Ontario Mike Harris, premier of Alberta Ralph Klein, etc.) have inspired a verse or two and could easily lead to an anthology of angst ridden material. But I resist the temptation by writing instead about other things that I think about on a regular basis like sex, death, maturing, relationships, travelling, love, etc. It helps keep me sane(ish).
J Hogan is the principle lyricist for the Toronto based rock band Red Velvet Revolution.
www.redvelvetrevolution.com
Author: Jason Hogan
Date: November 2002
Along with making music just because it’s beautiful and I love it, the political songwriting process, for me, is an attempt to teach and provoke thought and discussion using lyrics and music as the tool. After protesting (e.g.- in Quebec city against the Free Trade Area of the Americas) and canvassing (for the Federation of Ontario Naturalists) I felt that everything I was doing was ineffectual. There was nothing left to do but stand on a stage and scream my brains out in frustration.
Two key figures that played a role in my decision to do this are Bob Geldof and Bono. It’s impossible to measure it statistically but those two men may have done more to raise awareness about political issues than any Non-Governmental Organization. With the political songs my goal is similar; to capture an idea as succinctly and poetically as possible so that it may raise awareness, inspire solutions, and lead others to organize for change. Lofty, I know.
The songwriting process itself is usually inspired by an event- the good songs being written in one or two sittings with a minimal amount of revision. So for example, Hold On was written immediately after a protest rally in Toronto over the murder of Carlos Giuliani (in Genoa, 2002). One Solution was written after a lack lustre night of door to door canvassing on environmental issues. On the drive home we went past a Krispy Kreme donut store in Mississauga, the first in Canada. Four days after it had opened there were 50 people queued up in the rain, the temperature near freezing, waiting for a donut. These were middle class suburbanites who were given all the choice in the world and decided to line up in the cold rain for donuts?!?! And people in capitalist countries ridicule communist countries for having people line up for bread and vegetables?!? I was depressed and confused for a week. Now, almost a year later, I’m just confused.
The actions of certain leaders (e.g.- US president George W Bush, former premier of Ontario Mike Harris, premier of Alberta Ralph Klein, etc.) have inspired a verse or two and could easily lead to an anthology of angst ridden material. But I resist the temptation by writing instead about other things that I think about on a regular basis like sex, death, maturing, relationships, travelling, love, etc. It helps keep me sane(ish).
J Hogan is the principle lyricist for the Toronto based rock band Red Velvet Revolution.
www.redvelvetrevolution.com