With everything happening so fast around us, it seems to become a valid question: 'Can musicians sit on the fence? Can you really stay clear of the debate and keep your opinions to yourself?
Whereas some music A-listers make their allegiances clear (Springsteen, Neil Young, Taylor Swift, Kid Rock, Kanye West and others) , others seem happy to avoid the debate almost completely. Paul McCartney springs to mind. He clearly doesn't want to anger any of his fans so he won't publically take position on many things. Probably a consequence of previous attempts that backfired seriously ( Wings 1972 first single 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish' comes to mind). Do I blame him? I'm not sure I do. At the end of the day it's his music, his life, his decisions.
Can you enjoy someone's art regardless of their opinions? I think you can, at least on an aesthetic level. Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda films are undoubtedly beautiful. The Devil's beauty, one could argue but captivating nevertheless. I can enjoy her films without sharing the Nazi ideology.
But Can you use someone's art regardless of their opinion? That's where the limit is, I believe. Using a band's music during a political meeting when that band's politics are clearly defined as opposed to yours, is definitely not on. It seems obvious but you just have to look at how often artists have to ask for their work not to be used by certain parties to see it isn't.
So does that mean artists need to make their political views known in order to control who uses their work? Not necessarily. Not expressing your views in the media doesn't mean you haven't got any. Not being politically active doesn't mean you are apolitical. A lot of artists express their views within their art, without feeling the need to explain those.
So does music need to be political is not a real question. Whatever musicians do, they are political in every idea they offer. Even when they claim to be apolitical, they take a stand and so they are political.
Politics is about ideas. Music is about ideas. Music is political. The only choice is in how you deal with it.
David Goffin 02 Feb 2025
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