Neil Young says that "the time for music to change the world has passed." He told reporters at the Berlin film festival that "the world is a different place" and that it would be "naive" to think that music could make a difference. This seems like an odd statement from one of the most politically active artists of our time, from someone who has just released and anti-war album and created a documentary of his "Freedom of Speech Tour". In one sense he is right, though. Obviously none of this work has had the sort of singular impact that the song "Tin Soldiers" had nearly four decades ago. Music, nor anything else for that matter, is no longer a rallying cry for the nation, a signal to take to the streets. Young certainly understands the relative impotence of protest songs and outdoor festivals at this time.
Yet, in another sense he's completely full of shit. No one would put this much effort into a campaign that they did not believe would have some effect. Young says his goal was not to change the world but to "stimulate debate". Todays political discourse is no longer happening through protests and marches, but instead through the media. Now "the issues" are being worked out on blogs and news shows and in newspaper columns. In this sense, I disagree with Young. In this media-driven political climate, I think musicians can definitely make a difference and help to bring about change.
My complaint with political discourse in this country is not with the fact that it occurs within the media, but instead, with the general public's consumption of that media. We tend to absorb information like sponges, without filtering opinion from fact or exploring views that may differ from our own. We choose only to pay attention to the television channels, blogs and authors who will continue to affirm our own beliefs. In this sense, there is never any true discussion or debate. We all draw lines in the sand, signifying our party alignment or ideas about choice and marriage, and leave others to either agree or disagree.
Alternative media sources give us a place to break out of this system and begin analyzing information for ourselves. The History Channel website collects text blog and media posts from soldiers in Iraq. The information is more real and factual than anything found on news television; the opinions given are from the men and women who are most qualified to give opinions. People visiting the site are able to take information directly from the ground in Iraq without the filter of mainstream media. Neil Young has provided a similar service on his own website, Living With War Today. The site features poetry and writings from soldiers and an extensive database of user-submitted anti-war songs. Sites like these give us information in vastly different formats than the usual television and news media. We are forced to analyze the information on our own and come to our own conclusion. The sites encourage discussion, both on the internet and in our lives. It is this sort of personal analysis and discussion that can create real change in the political climate.
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