{"id":329,"date":"2011-04-21T09:53:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-21T12:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alexsings.ca\/welcome\/music-and-politics\/"},"modified":"2011-04-21T09:53:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-21T12:53:00","slug":"music-and-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alexsings.ca\/music\/music-and-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Music and Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Earth Day Eve, Canada is in the midst of yet another federal election campaign and I’m thinking about the role of songwriters in a democracy.<\/p>\n

Last fall, I had the good fortune to hear Canadian singer-songwriter, Jon Brooks<\/a>, perform at a music industry conference. At one point during his set, he said* that while he didn’t feel it was his job to tell people how<\/span> they should vote, he did feel that it was part of his job to tell people<\/span> to <\/span>vote<\/span>. To me, that felt like a rare oasis of meaningfulness in the midst of a desert of three days of music people talking “business” (which apparently has something to do with making money \u2013 I’m not sure, I kept tuning out during those parts). <\/p>\n

I’m also thinking of something Michael Franti<\/a> said* at a concert several years ago in Toronto. He told a compelling story about a fan who asked him not to go perform at a prison because the people there (in particular, a man who had harmed a member of the fan’s family) did not deserve to hear such wonderful music. Michael Franti said he thought long and hard about that request and came up with this response: I don’t play my music to reward or punish anyone, I do it in the hope that they might <\/span>feel<\/span> something<\/span>.<\/p>\n

I believe that this is the role of songwriters in a democracy \u2013 to write songs and perform them with the intention of engaging people’s hearts and minds: to present different points of view, to stir up questions and emotions like hope, outrage, curiosity, longing, pain and joy. I believe that the more we feel and the more we think about the issues facing us, the more likely we are to take action: at the polls, in our communities, in our hearts and in our daily lives.<\/p>\n

So, for what it’s worth, I urge you to vote \u2013 every chance you get. And if you’re a songwriter, (or a photographer, an artist, a poet, a novelist, a blogger, a dancer, an actor, a playwright, a designer, a comedian), I urge you to use your creative gifts and put them out into the world in the hope that someone who experiences your work will feel<\/span> something<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Inspiration is contagious. I caught it from Jon Brooks and Michael Franti**. I hope you’ll catch it from me. And I’d love to know how many people you<\/span> inspire.<\/p>\n

Here’s a song from me about voting and hope:<\/p>\n