> I know of only one song that is political in non-political contexts
> (because it makes any context political): La Marseillaise.
Not the Internationale? A rather good song by any standard. I played it on my carillon on May Day. Doubt that anybody even recognized it -- well, maybe the two or three grizzled old CPers left in Harlem. Who no doubt felt convinced they were hallucinating, and toddled off to consult their neurologists:
"Doctor! I heard bells -- playing the Internationale..."
"Hmm. It may be time to increase your dosage."
> If a crowd in a political context responds favorably to a song, whether
> by signing it or listening to it, then it is as good as a political song
> can be.
But crowds don't necessarily respond as one, do they? Even in a political crowd, there may well be people who have some taste in music, and they're going to respond better to a good song (in the extra-political sense) than a dull one.
Would Carrol's hero and mine -- John Milton -- have endorsed the Coxian teaching here?
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Michael J. Smith mjs at smithbowen.net
http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org http://www.cars-suck.org http://fakesprogress.blogspot.com