The great thing about being a music professional is I can really sink my teeth into metaphors both musical and lyrical. There have been many songs that have forced me to examine my beliefs, my perspectives or the songwriter’s perspective, the audience they are performing to, and even the message’s context from the artist. I find these examinations and analyses to be good exercises for empathy.

People are People – Depeche Mode My teenage years encompassed one of the greatest eras of popular music. The 1980’s were incredibly diverse. There were so many songs that became hits across multiple genre lists. Depeche Mode was a rising British Synth-Pop band. I was fascinated by the layers of electronic synthesis. New timbres and textures. The song People are People gave me pause as the lyrics are far deeper than the superficial industrial groove that the song contains.

So, we’re different colors and we’re different creeds
And different people have different needs
It’s obvious you hate me, though, I’ve done nothing wrong
I’ve never even met you, so, what could I have done?

I didn’t quite understand the context when I was 15 or 16. It made me ponder more deeply why certain countries hated the United States and Great Britain so deeply. The hostage crisis in Iran and the Falklands War were both heavily televised in my formative elementary and middle school years. People are People resonated within my naivety. I had no grief with any one of a different culture or race. It wasn’t until government class a year or so later I learned about imperialism, both British and American brands of it. This track from Depeche Mode hit differently and many of these questions posed within the song were answered. One could conclude a lost innocence. One may also conclude a cultural awakening from a privilege I had accepted as something natural.

Russians – Sting During the Reagan administration I really worried about dying from a nuclear attack. It seemed the fear of Russia was all around us. This fear was used as a tool for uniting the country in this new fervor of conservative nationalism. It wasn’t patriotism. It was too aggressive for that. I fell victim of this conservative ethos. It was the calling card of my entire family (Reagan conservatism.) I was indoctrinated deeply by it.

In Europe and America there’s a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mister Krushchev said, “We will bury you”
I don’t subscribe to this point of view
It’d be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too
How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy?
There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

I was already a fan of the rock group The Police thanks to the albums Synchronicity and Ghost in the Machine. I slowly made my way through their full catalog during high school. Sting’s first solo album Dream of the Blue Turtles was the first jazz-pop record I had heard since first hearing Steely Dan’s Aja in middle school. There were several great songs on this record, but Russians reframed everything for me. Sting humanized our opponent. The fact that Sting mentions Reagan, Krushchev, and Oppenheimer all within the same tome haunted me. Hearing a different perspective through music I loved and listened to, shook me to the core. I was also impressed that Sting used Serge Prokofiev’s Lt. Kite’s Suite melody and harmony for the structure of the song. At the age of 16, I could feel my conservative bias falling apart at the seams. Musical Artists were growing my empathy in a home, run by a narcissist. I’m glad I had earphones.

Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine Early in my teaching career Rage Against the Machine arrived on MTV. They shook me to the core. I found their music intimidating, caustic, and soul-rattling. I was not a fan initially. Their music was too much rap, not enough melody, and I really could not understand what was happening lyrically. Yet, I could not look away… The guitar, bass, and drums rocked harder than heavier bands I listened to. Then one day, a student brought me his Rage Against the Machine self-titled compact disc to listen to. I poured over the liner notes. Then Zack de la Rocha made sense to me.

Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses
Huh!

Killing in the name of
Killing in the name of

Since de la Rocha had the microphone buried in his hand and his mouth was so close to the membrane that picked up his voice most of the lyrics came off as mumbled and incoherent. I could hear vowels and the ends of phrases where there was a clear consonant. When I read the lyrics, everything came into focus. I was already lying on the left side of the political fence as I started my teaching career. I had studied enough political history and policy in college to see how Reaganism had really screwed up the country and it was just getting worse. Rage Against the Machine summed up the racial divide that shook my African American students perfectly. I felt that privilege of my life hit me hard… the guilt never really goes away…

I read some Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin around this time as well. I became a huge fan of Rage during my 20’s. I kept it to myself largely as most of my friend group were not fans… go figure… I stopped hiding it when my oldest son found Rage surfing through Spotify. He came to me at the ripe old age of 11 and said, “Dad these guys see the world like you.” I gave him a hug, and told him that they had taught me how to see oppression all around us. We have jammed together with Rage ever since. He has an affinity for the Deftones, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and many other hard rock groups of the 2000’s and 2010’s. I’m glad Tom Morello is still playing with the fire of Rage. I wish Rage could still be together, but like with all things… It is hard to embrace anger and a protest long term. It can eat your soul.

This Land is My Land – Woody Guthrie The first time I sang this song was in elementary music class. I was in fourth or fifth grade and it was featured in the patriotic section of our Silver Burdett music book. I had no idea who Woody Guthrie was. I did not realize how much of a socialist he was. I did not know the struggles he felt during the Great Depression. Woody Guthrie was like the musical embodiment of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I imagine if I ever drive Route 66, I will hear this song in my head on repeat…

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
Saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
All around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

When the sun comes shining, then I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

As a kid this word painting within the verses sparked my imagination. I never traveled with my family much. We couldn’t afford it. I had only visited seven states prior to my 18th birthday. Every time I travel out West I am reminded of this song. I see the inclusiveness of Guthrie’s socialism. This land is for everyone. We need to be stewards for it. It belongs to no one, yet everyone in this duality of perceptions. The patriotism of this song was embraced by nationalists, but it doesn’t work for them if their goal is fascism… …was made for you and me… that doesn’t work for the anti-immigrant crowd…

This song has stuck with me the longest. I was never a big folk music fan, but I could never shake this one. Whether I was 12, 25, 35, or 55 I still appreciate the history and metaphor of this song. I truly believe this land is all of ours to share. To appreciate. To care for…

There you have it four pieces of music that made me think. There are far more, but these all came to mind as I try to cleanse my brain from the never-ending contextual issues with political advertising. All four still occupy my head from moment to moment. Today I felt I needed to “Testify” their importance.

Happy Listening…

…so it goes…