The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a new exhibit examining the interweaving of music and politics, just in time for the Republican National Convention.
"There has never been a successful movement for social progress that hasn鈥檛 had a great soundtrack."
Those words from TomMorelloof Rage Against the Machine are part of the new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looking at music鈥檚 sometimes contentious relationship with social issues and elected officials.
&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;鈥溾�� features photos, video clips, handwritten lyrics and news coverage of everything from the payola scandals of the 1950s right through to earlier this year, when several over the state鈥檚 LGBT bathroom law.
In between, there鈥檚 a variety of pieces ranging from the guitar John Lennon played on 鈥溾�� to the censored, racially charged video for Michael Jackson鈥檚 鈥�.鈥� Karen Herman curated the exhibit.
I'm a Man
鈥淲e had a few areas on subjects and topics that we color-coded to give people a little bit of a sense if they just wanted to see certain pieces,." says Herman. One of them is social justice and racial equality, we have war and peace, gender and LGBT equality.鈥�
Herman goes on. 鈥淩ock and roll and gay rights converged in 1969 during the Stonewall riots. But there鈥檚 a really cool rock and roll connection: while the raids were going on at the bar, the DJ was playing 鈥樷�� by Chicago. And they kept playing it until the power was cut.鈥�
I Have a Dream
The1960sare well-represented in the exhibit, and not just by rock and roll artists. Herman says Gospel legendMahaliaJackson was involved in a key moment of the Civil Rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.
鈥淲hen he actually wrote that speech, the 鈥樷�� was not part of that speech. He had said it in other speeches, but he was not going to say in the March on Washington. On the dais, at some point, he was speaking and she yelled out, 鈥榯ell them about the dream, Martin.鈥� And that鈥檚 where he then put the 鈥業 Have a Dream鈥� into that speech right then and there.鈥�
Protest songs are just one part of the exhibit. Herman points out that much of 鈥淟ouder Than Words鈥� also looks at music as a mirror of a changing society.
鈥淵ou have Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and they鈥檙e all very specific," according to Herman. "They have their own voices. And they also had a lot of people pushing against them saying that they were way too sexually explicit. But actually what they were doing was using their voices in music, which is something 鈥� a lot of times 鈥� you didn鈥檛 see.鈥�
Both Madonna and Chrissie Hynde are Rock Hall inductees, as are the majority of artists in the exhibit.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 very conscious, like 鈥極h, I鈥檓 a big star now.鈥� But I think they understand that they have a power now, that they didn鈥檛 have before," says Herman. "That gives them a responsibility.
鈥淥ne of the things that I did notice as we were doing this is, we went out to a lot of artists to ask for their political voice. And a lot of them didn鈥檛 want to do these interviews. And I think part of it is that they want the music to stand on its own. Their political message is in their songs, and that鈥檚 enough.鈥�
Fortunate Son
The songs, though, are the core of 鈥淟ouder Than Words,鈥� and Barry and Betty Clifford fromPainesvillenoticed that the1960s鈥� when they were growing up -- are heavily represented.
鈥淚 think it really just evoked a certain intensity to the situation. I think the music was all different in the 鈥�60s. I think that there was such a variety. It wasn鈥檛 like the 鈥�50s: the 鈥�40s went to the 鈥�50s with a very nice transition. [With] the 鈥�60s came everything: folk, rock and roll, blues, everything became alive then.鈥�
The Cliffords say artists today do not seem as politically engaged, but Maria Asher from Parma says it鈥檚 just taken on a different form.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much with social media and there鈥檚 so many other motivations, I think, for being politically active. I think [it鈥檚] different than when it was in the 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s. [A] little bit more organic then.鈥�
Curator Karen Herman agrees that artists are still politically active today, and she points to the rise of hip-hop as a new way for artists to make a political statement.
鈥淚f you look at some of the earlier civil rights voices, a lot of it is coded language. You may not even know they鈥檙e talking about how bad something is or how much discrimination they鈥檙e feeling. But then when you finally get up to rap, it鈥檚 in your face: these artists are not holding back. famously said, 鈥榠t鈥檚 CNN for black people.鈥欌��
The 鈥淟ouder Than Words鈥� exhibit will be on-view at the Rock Hall through November 27. It will then re-open at the just before the Presidential inauguration in January.
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