Music

An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. How can you be an artist and not reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist.

Nina Simone

Tuesday, 26 April 2016 10:05

What is the task of Marxist musicology?

Written by Mark Abel

in Music

In the first of a series of articles, Mark Abel discusses music and Marxism. We hope they will stimulate further contributions on this topic. Part 1: Explanation or critique? This website welcomes discussions of how Marxism relates to art and culture. But what does Marxist inquiry look like? This might seem…

marxism and music Adorno Lukacs struggle for socialism

Saturday, 19 March 2016 20:00

Cold old fire

Written by Lynched

in Music

'Cold Old Fire' by Lynched, a Dublin-based folk group, was written after the financial crisis in Ireland that would end up sending 80,000 people a year overseas. 'The Button Factory' refers to the main Dublin dole office. See also Poets, Presidents and Politics. We always sing, even when were losing'Cos…

Financial crash

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Saturday, 12 March 2016 19:35

Snarky Puppy: a temporary utopia of deeply humanist music

in Music

Written by Nick Grant

Music can have political meanings without being directly about political issues, says Nick Grant, reviewing the 'deeply humanist vision' of Snarky Puppy's latest album, Family Dinner: Volume Two. When my son tipped me off in 2012 about a band he thought I might like, I ignored him. I mean how on…

live creativity collective performance common humanity

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 09 March 2016 21:01

The Music of Imperialism: Berlioz's The Trojans

in Music

Written by Haydn Greenway

Haydn Greenway analyses the hidden meanings of Berlioz's great opera,'The Trojans'. Classical music can arouse extreme emotional responses. It also requires an intellectual engagement in order to decipher the language hidden within the complexity of sonic patterns. This can require repeated listenings, say, of a Beethoven symphony, to fully understand…

Imperialism pop culture

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 07 March 2016 21:23

Jerusalem: A Hymn To Women's Suffrage

in Music

Written by Jeremy Dibble

Jeremy Dibble marks International Womens Day, and the centenary of Hubert Parry's setting of 'Jerusalem', with a discussion of the famous choral song and its links to the Womens' Suffrage Movement. 10 March 2016 marks the centenary of the completion of Hubert Parry's immutable setting of William Blake's words and…

Womens suffrage democratic vision equality

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Sunday, 06 March 2016 21:22

IWD 2016: Women of the World

in Music

Written by Linda Hirst

Linda Hirst sings an Ivor Cutler song.......

women of the world

Sunday, 06 March 2016 18:17

Wearing their politics on their sleeves: Civil Rights and the art of the jazz album cover

Written by Phil Brett

in Music

The cultural struggle takes many forms, says Phil Brett, and shows us the aesthetically beautiful and politically challenging art to be found on the sleeves of albums made by black jazz musicians.. A journalist from the New Yorker, who was writing a piece on Duke Ellington, heard a white New…

civil rights cultural struggle black music

Monday, 01 February 2016 21:32

Book Review: Ronnie Gilbert, A Radical Life in Song

Written by Steve Johnson

in Music

Steve Johnson reviews Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life in Song, by Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert. Those interested in the idea of music acting as an instrument for social change suffered a sad loss last year with the death of Ronnie Gilbert at the age of 88. As the woman…

Robeson radical songs

Wednesday, 27 January 2016 18:34

Rock 'n Roll Royalty

Written by Ross Bradshaw

in Music

Ross Bradshaw reviews M Train and finds out he's been wearing the same headgear as Patti Smith. For some people in Aberdeen sometime in the 70s, their introduction to Patti Smith was a large graffito saying “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine”, painted up on the back wall…

Patti Smith rock 'n roll

Wednesday, 27 January 2016 14:34

Long Live Palestine! Long Live Scotland!

Written by Chris Bartter

in Music

After a long night at a Celtic Connections concert in Glasgow, Chris Barrter introduces us to Burns the internationalist. Robert Burns’ birthday (25 January) always falls during the period of Glasgow’s Celtic Connections (CC) Festival. As the major Scottish folk song festival, it is really incumbent on them to mark that…

celtic connections Burns