Given the president's new role in artistic programming, we're going to have to get used to ignoring the most straightforward interpretations of songs and instead viewing them in the lens of "Born in the USA as conservative anthem" slash "Trump just likes this song." - ThreadSky

musicologyduck.bsky.social • 1 day ago

Given the president's new role in artistic programming, we're going to have to get used to ignoring the most straightforward interpretations of songs and instead viewing them in the lens of "Born in the USA as conservative anthem" slash "Trump just likes this song."

Reposted from Erin K. Maher

I'm obligated to Complicate This A Little by mentioning that Trump used "Do You Hear the People Sing?" as campaign music once and @whatsoperadoc.bsky.social wrote an article about it. Republicans think they're the true Les Mis understanders and Trump loves megamusicals! www.jstor.org/stable/10.54...

Comments

someofthejuice.bsky.social•1 day ago

I'm being increasingly convinced that trump deserves the Louis XVI treatment. Maybe then he'll actually understand Do You Hear the People Sing and what it's *actually* about.

rjritzel.bsky.social•1 day ago

Opening the inauguration with a choral arrangement of The Wailin' Jenny's 2003 song "One Voice"--without the trio's knowledge or approval--is another great example. A pretty basic peace-and-harmony message was recast as fascist anthem.

sarahpcphd.bsky.social•10 hours ago

Wait WHAT!? I didn’t watch any part of the inauguration, and so this is the first I’ve heard of this. Disgusting

rjritzel.bsky.social•10 hours ago

It's on all the Jennys' socials. I've been pitching the story around but haven't found a taker. If Ruth Moody can document copyright violations, full videos of the inauguration have to come off the internet.

sarahpcphd.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Ugghhhh the absolute audacity and dickishness of violating IP law is both small in comparison to the human rights stuff but also pisses me right the fuck off. It’s like a little tiny demonstration of how the administration feels entitled to take anything, regardless of meaning or legality

musicologyduck.bsky.social•8 hours ago

I’ll be interested to see how this turns out bc I’d be honestly pretty surprised if military music librarians let this go without licensing buttoned down but idk

rjritzel.bsky.social•8 hours ago

An Air Force musician licensed three choral versions through Tresóna, which does most of its business via music rights for weddings and funerals, but also runs a choral music arrangement racket. One composer told me about a recent arranging gig that included posting his score to Tresóna.

musicologyduck.bsky.social•1 day ago

as i was saying in a previous thread a few weeks ago: we cannot program our way to safety in an environment like this. And this is why! the regime can claim any song and imbue any meaning they want into it for a significant number of powerful people. It does not matter what the original context was.

bagofmoons.bsky.social•1 day ago

The morning after the 2016 election I watched a woman in head-to-toe MAGA gear enthusiastically sing "this land is your land" as an expression of victory and I've honestly never been quite the same since.

musicologyduck.bsky.social•1 day ago

she's going to be haunted by Pete Seeger's ghost til the end of time

bagofmoons.bsky.social•1 day ago

I certainly hope she's haunted by *something*. (Woody's ghost would obviously be a real irascible trickster, right?)

sarahmjoncas.bsky.social•1 day ago

I already saw the video with the Bernstein quote about making music more beautifully on Facebook 🙃

musicologyduck.bsky.social•1 day ago

of course. 🤦‍♀️

musicologyduck.bsky.social•1 day ago

YMCA is a good example. It's not that the fact that it became a maga campaign anthem and that there's a Village Person behind this erases what it has meant in the past--but it sure overrides it in some situations

musicologyduck.bsky.social•1 day ago

we're going to have to treat any "this is a secret musical resistance" narratives with the utmost skepticism for awhile

levnekov.bsky.social•1 day ago

recuperation in real-time

juddgreenstein.bsky.social•1 day ago

I don’t even understand what the perceived value of these hidden gestures is supposed to be.

OTOH if Bob Dylan wants to sing It’s All Over Now Baby Blue to Trump like he’s Donovan in Don’t Look Back, I’m all for it

thisisbenphelps.bsky.social•1 day ago

Well they were going to do 8 Songs for a Mad King but the percussionist got sick

garrt.bsky.social•1 day ago

The complexity you talk about here is what I cover in my "Music & Meaning In Our Lives" class and, although you don't need me to affirm this, you are spot on

cunningcoreyham.bsky.social•1 day ago

What if we took “Why did Rage Against the Machine have to get political?” and made the whole administration out of it?

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