Politics and Music: Class Meetings

Professor Courtney Brown

Meeting #18: Nonmovement Social and Political Protest Music, Part I
SELECTIONS played in class:
Video Selections: (All from "The Concert For Bangladesh")
George Harrison: My Sweet Lord, Awaiting On You All, Beware of Darkness

QUESTIONS and DISCUSSION: We began with a brief historical overview of the war of independence for Bangladesh, including a discussion of how George Harrison was asked by Ravi Shankar if there was some way they could all help with the human trajedy that accompanied this brutal conflict. "The Concert for Bangladesh" was the result of this request. Can you see how all of the talents that were generated by the political protest period relating to the Vietnam War were re-directed in this monumental event toward a new cause? Remember, the war of independence for Bangladesh was not associated with a major social or political movement in the United States. But this concert could not have happened in the absence of the American politics that were associated with the Vietnam War. Thus, there is a spillover effect from one area of politics to another. This is an example of how music can act in contagion and diffusion processes to transform national politics outside of existing contextual boundaries. Why is the spiritualism of Harrison's songs relevant to the social and political climate of the time, and why was it such an interesting accent to the Bangladesh concert? Can you perceive correlations between Bob Marley's notion of "Babylon" and Harrison's characterization of the human condition as he describes it in some of his lyrics? By the way, this concert became the model for future pop-political concerts and performances, such as "We are the World," "Live Aid," and "Farm Aid."

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