Music with message can still threaten status quo

DISCRIMINATION: Huddie Ledbetter - known as "Lead Belly" - sang of his everyday experiences.

I have, at times, lamented in my column the lack of contemporary politically aware music, but the Herbs concert last week was a reminder that, as well as providing some of the most memorable melodies in NZ music, their songs often made political statements.

Nuclear testing in the Pacific, valuing children, identity and standing strong were all voiced by Herbs over the years in resonating harmonies.

Watching them perform a stunning show laden with melodies and choruses restored my faith in the power of music to move people and carry social messages.

The other great performer on the night was the Whanganui Opera House. The sound was well balanced, not too loud but clear and crisp, the staff courteous and welcoming.

The building, itself, added to the sense of occasion. It is a grand and elegant civic asset, acoustically superb. It is possible to speak on stage without amplification and be easily heard right to the back row - perhaps we need to shout a bit louder so the world hears about this glorious Whanganui venue?

In the world of popular music, taking a political stance is regarded as fraught and financially risky. The plethora of talent shows never go near anyone with an agenda, featuring only formulaic performers who fit a certain profile.

On the plus side, the recent stoush prompted by Darren Watson's song about John Key has provided renewed proof that sonically tilting at political windmills still resonates.

The legal reaction and media coverage to the song and accompanying video clip managed to do two contradictory things at the same time; it was challenged as a serious campaign artefact that must follow the election rules and simultaneously dismissed by those it was aimed at as "just a song". Both responses prove music can still threaten the status quo.

The fact the song was done in a blues style added strength to its message, as the history of blues music and performers has marked the map of social change with many songs.

When Huddie Ledbetter sang about having the Bourgeois Blues in 1930s America, he was voicing the everyday discrimination lived by him and his black peers.

The song pulls no lyrical punches and is blunt in its description of bigotry and racism. It would never get played on radio or TV today as it would be considered too provocative.

Woody Guthrie's ode to America, This Land is Your Land, is often performed without a couple of the original verses because they pointed out the disparity between wealth and poverty in the US.

Today, sexualised songs abound but anything that could be construed as "political" or confronting social injustice is muffled by corporate censorship.

Readers will recall that last week I wrote about the risks of fallout following the Australian Government's politically motivated fingering of Muslims as the source of terrorism and my concern for colleagues living in Sydney.

They told me in an email of an attack by an armed person on an Islamic school and that, for many Muslims, especially women, it was best to avoid going out in public right now unless it was really necessary because of the harassment and hostility. This is appalling.

Why should some of Australia's talented and skilled citizens and their families feel the need to retreat from public life in their own country?

Prime Minister Tony Abbott continues to wind up the rhetoric, using the classic tactic of trading on fear and bigotry to gain a lift in the polls with little thought or regard for the consequences.

Terry Sarten is a Wanganui-based writer, musician and social worker - feedback: tgs@inspire.net.nz or www.telsarten.com