“The revolution will not be televised
Will not be televised
The revolution will be no re-run, brothers
The revolution will be live.”The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1971) by Gil Scott-Heron, an American poet and musicianMusic transcends borders, genres, languages and whatnot to bring people together. You must have heard statements like these everywhere. Music brings people from different countries, walks of life and economic situations together one chord at a time. If you look back in history, this unity has helped in bringing revolutionary changes in society in the form of protest songs pointing out the socio-cultural and economic issues around us. Have you heard yet?‘In the Ghetto’ by Elvis Presley, ‘ They Don’t Care About Us’ and ‘Earth Song’ by Michael Jackson were quite the revolutionary numbers of the day.On this music day, let us explore the art of political and protest music — a point of intersection between art and activism, where dissent takes the most melodious form it has ever had.Musical artivismArt can be quite a creative political medium to voice dissent, views and opinions at authoritative figures, executives, legislatures, judiciaries and even hierarchical systems around us. In many times of oppression, music and art have emerged as a key medium of protest. While often, the repercussions of rebelling and protesting are quite risky in India, there are still dozens of artists expressing their views against many injustices happening around us.
