Political Music

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sandrodream
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Re: Political Music

Postby sandrodream » 2017-06-05, 6:54

this song is about the American ex president Obama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6hJzaSfZ7k

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Re: Political Music

Postby md0 » 2017-10-05, 13:03

Recent discovery:

For Chronis, by Social Waste

Code: Select all

Chronis Missios, an important Greek author, was also a major left-wing activist, imprisoned and tortured for the most part of his life, due to his political beliefs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkL-jPuHBMw


The stars, they say, can only be caught with the “pyrofani” technique (light fishing)
And the key will always be under the geranium*
The revolution is only worth it, for as long as it last before it becomes power
And you, that left early, where may you be wandering
In what neighborhoods, in what seas
And whenever the cops ask for a smile
You tell them “there also exists the zeibekiko dance you ruffian”

In Kavala, in the neighborhood of potamoudia*, the tiles are dripping* again
And the ladies in the neighborhoods, are preparing the fireplace
Against the time, they got together again
Outside it’s raining and it’s cold, but they are around the brazier
And they have started a fine conversation and they are talking about the past
About the young lads of the neighborhood and somewhere there they also remembered you
Fourteen-year old child, not even a lint had he grown
And he became a guerilla in the mountain, says one and the other agrees
And then they also remembered the tobacco workers from Thassos
Well you were killed early but how can I forget
The era of clandestinity and the strike, the isolation and even
Those simple words of Nikolas then we joined the Party
That there’s the rich on one side and us the poor on the other
And let’s distribute everything equally so that there cease to exist poor and rich
And some years later Chronis went to Saloniki
He joined the Republican Army but the victory was long gone
He was captured in ’47, say the neighbors in tears,
by some fascist military sold-out governments
And he was thrown in the cell by violence and power
And then the winners started to write the history.

The stars, they say, can only be caught with the “pyrofani” technique (light fishing)
And the key will always be under the geranium
The revolution is only worth it, for as long as it last before it becomes power
And you, that left early, where may you be wandering
In what neighborhoods, in what seas
And whenever the cops ask for a smile
You tell them “there also exists the zeibekiko dance you ruffian”

History is nothing but your traces on time’s soil
Somescribblings as Subcomandante Marcos says
It is written in the end by the winners and the ignorants believe it
But it comes to life thanks to the illiterate and to those without voice
Those who have experienced prison, torture and exile
In Makronisi, Anafi and Yaros, Agios Efstratios and Ikaria
Those who watched the torturer in the eyes and said “hit” ‘
And were shining in front of the executers with something from the stubbornness of Guevarra
And everytime I am drinking in the taverna, I drip a mug of wine on the soil
For our dead fighters for “our lads”
Sometimes I write them songs, in order not to forget them and to be left alone
Some lyrics, verses and choruses, one for Aris and one for Chronis
What can you say to me ,and me to you, you left early and I still here
The Left is now in power, and the Party is hierarchical
Bureaucrats are leading us, and they are feeding us with propaganda
But they do not know that the key will always be under the geranium …

The stars, they say, can only be caught with the “pyrofani” technique (light fishing)
And the key will always be under the geranium
The revolution is only worth it, for as long as it last before it becomes power
And you, that left early, where may you be wandering
In what neighborhoods, in what seas
And whenever the cops ask for a smile
You tell them “there also exists the zeibekiko dance you ruffian”

*Potamoudia, the key under the geranium, the dripping tiles, and several other verses in this song are references to Chronis Missios’ books.
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Re: Political Music

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-11-14, 22:36

As I understand it, both of these videos are from Chad with songs praising General Idriss Déby Itno, who has been the president of Chad since 1990. AFAICT they are in both Chadian Arabic and French, and the video footage in both videos is essentially the same though the songs themselves are different. There is a French part in the first song that begins at 5:16. The second song sounds more like just Chadian Arabic with some French thrown in at certain parts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXOYrdVA0Io
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc5Lw8KE_Nk

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Re: Political Music

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-04-15, 23:07

If you search YouTube for "haoussa tchad" (Hausa is spoken in Chad as well as Nigeria, Niger, and a few other nearby countries), the first result you get is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLjSsgPn3l8
In fact, what's in the video has nothing to do with Chad at all but is rather gospel songs in Hausa from Nigeria, apparently by an artist named Yinami Markus Tambo, all with subtitles in English. However, the first and fourth (I think) ones are also basically anti-Boko Haram songs. (The others are not necessarily political, but I can't seem to find any other clips of these two songs atm). The first is called "Zaben Goodluck" and, IIUC, is about Boko Haram attacking voting centers during the 2015 election. The fourth is called "No Going Back."


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Re: Political Music

Postby linguoboy » 2018-05-10, 16:52

I can't remember the last time I saw a music video spark so many impassioned conversations. There's already a host of articles out there attempting to unpack all of the references and themes in this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY
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Re: Political Music

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-05-20, 16:09

"Oy, Ir Narishe Tsionistn/Oh, You Foolish Little Zionists/Глупенькие сионисты," a (Soviet?) anti-Zionist song in Yiddish, English, and Russian (with lyrics in the subtitles), I think maybe sung by Daniel Kahn, an American singer of Ashkenazi Jewish background
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQMRwk8WDd4

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Re: Political Music

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-11-09, 4:24

Gurejele is a band from the island of Maré in New Caledonia, but their music is apparently very popular all over Melanesia. Some of their songs at least are about the French colonization of New Caledonia. The first one of their songs I ever encountered is called "Watolea." It's in Nengoné, the Austronesian language indigenous to Maré Island, and the title of the song means 'flag' (IIRC it's about how the French claimed ownership of New Caledonia by planting their flag on it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh_WXuRMTdg
Another song of theirs, this time in French, is called "C'est qui qui paye ?" and is apparently about how political meetings in New Caledonia have little to do with the affairs of people from New Caledonia itself and everything to do with France:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTgw71oPHbo
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Re: Political Music

Postby Yasna » 2021-10-25, 3:48

The fragile people being satirized here are the Little Pink.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rp7UPbhErE
Last edited by Yasna on 2021-11-12, 18:49, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Political Music

Postby Yasna » 2021-11-12, 18:47

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Re: Political Music

Postby Yasna » 2021-12-11, 21:37

China has eliminated the Covid-19 virus!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_dQeAZcbLI
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azhong

Re: Political Music

Postby azhong » 2021-12-19, 4:25

Yasna wrote:The wall being referred to here is the Great Firewall of China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCLlFA9SiDI

The Malaysian singer Namewee (黃明志) is indeed very creative; he turns a tenser issue, the politics, into a softer theme, the love, with a beautiful melody added. This seems to be his latest style in his creation.

I don't agree, however, the metaphor of the wall in the song refers precisely to the Great Firewall of the Communist China. I would personally interpret it more generally as its lock-in policy(鎖國政策).

(As having been noted in the beginning of the MV, the song is used for the 金門's government to solicit visitors, and the potential market is the people in Mainland China. 金門 is an island governed by my country Taiwan, the democratic China, but 金門 locates very, very near to mainland China in geography.)

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Re: Political Music

Postby Yasna » 2021-12-19, 20:53

azhong wrote:I don't agree, however, the metaphor of the wall in the song refers precisely to the Great Firewall of the Communist China. I would personally interpret it more generally as its lock-in policy(鎖國政策).

Ah, okay. Thanks for the correction.

Since Namewee is having so much success with his new style, it will be interesting to see if other Chinese-language entertainers follow in his foot steps and stop tip-toeing around CCP sensitivities.

*鎖國 is commonly translated as "isolationist".
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Re: Political Music

Postby azhong » 2021-12-20, 0:19

Yasna wrote:Since Namewee is having so much success with his new style, it will be interesting to see if other Chinese-language entertainers follow in his foot steps and stop tip-toeing around CCP sensitivities.

*鎖國 is commonly translated as "isolationist".

Thanks for "isolationist". How if China is compared to North Korea? Their steps of openness are different. BTW I'm just asking the language. In Chinese there is another term 封閉政策. The two mean almost the same to me.
Or maybe 半封閉政策/半鎖國政策,
the policy of being a half-isolationist?

And one more question: what does the bolded clause mean? Are you implying other singers should also be braver, just like Namewee, to show their attitudes against CCP, instead of just keeping their quieter, more ambiguous attitudes toward CCP so that they can make money in China?

China was, is, and will be never not a threat to my place Taiwan. It obstructs Taiwan building relationships with other countries. What more, its rising is impacting the leading position of USA. I think these two fishers are spreading their nets trying to weaken or conquer each other. What's your opinion about this as an American, which I suppose you are? Or at least a person living in America? I guess you'll have much to say when talking about politics. May I ask your personal, objective opinions about the rising of China? Any opinions. Basically I am little involved in politics, and that's why I'd like to listen to your opinions. Thank you in advance.

Again, I have no position. Back to the songs, I do also admire Namewee's creativity and thank you for your introduction. Not getting off-topic, I also post one: 美麗島.(I decided not to strike the youtube tag for I've found a lot of YouTube tags are slowing down the speed of a music thread.)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bb2jXvj9CAc

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Re: Political Music

Postby Yasna » 2021-12-20, 6:58

azhong wrote:Thanks for "isolationist". How if China is compared to North Korea? Their steps of openness are different. BTW I'm just asking the language. In Chinese there is another term 封閉政策. The two mean almost the same to me.
Or maybe 半封閉政策/半鎖國政策,
the policy of being a half-isolationist?

I would describe North Korea as hermetic and the PRC as partially isolationist (obviously they have massive global trade connections).

And one more question: what does the bolded clause mean? Are you implying other singers should also be braver, just like Namewee, to show their attitudes against CCP, instead of just keeping their quieter, more ambiguous attitudes toward CCP so that they can make money in China?

It's not my place to say what singers and other entertainers should do, but I think it would be interesting and helpful if more of them did move in that direction.

China was, is, and will be never not a threat to my place Taiwan. It obstructs Taiwan building relationships with other countries. What more, its rising is impacting the leading position of USA. I think these two fishers are spreading their nets trying to weaken or conquer each other. What's your opinion about this as an American, which I suppose you are? Or at least a person living in America? I guess you'll have much to say when talking about politics. May I ask your personal, objective opinions about the rising of China? Any opinions. Basically I am little involved in politics, and that's why I'd like to listen to your opinions. Thank you in advance.

I was pretty optimistic about the PRC until recently. I thought that since Deng Xiaoping's era it had generally been moving in the right direction, and hundreds of millions of Chinese lifting themselves out of poverty was one of the greatest developments in human history. But Xi Jinping has taken the PRC in a decidedly different direction. My hope is that the PRC will find its way back to the path of liberalization, and that the Taiwanese people can choose their own destiny.
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Re: Political Music

Postby Yasna » 2022-01-18, 20:55

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Re: Political Music

Postby vijayjohn » 2022-02-25, 14:38

This is a patriotic song in Pashto by a singer known as Bakht Zamina performed in Soviet-controlled Afghanistan when it was at war with Pakistan. I posted another video of this song in the Pashto songs thread, but this version has the lyrics in Pashto script and subtitles in English. All videos from this channel include video footage from the Soviet era (apparently, in this case, from Afghanistan during that time period) and deliberately parody Soviet TV (hence the 'end of film' notice in Russian at the end of the video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYY7mgYo4s
Watching it now, I wonder whether the spelling of the Pashto lyrics is actually correct.

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Re: Political Music

Postby md0 » 2023-08-16, 14:49

A while ago I wanted to entertain myself, and asked ChatGTP to write me some social-democratic and centrist punk songs under the assumption that this is an obviously ridiculous concept.

A bit later, I came across not one, but two centrist punk songs and it's as funny as I expected

This one is for the social-democratic youth conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWAGH90f2Dk

And this is for the both-sides Redditor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNEgqT33hRs
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Re: Political Music

Postby mōdgethanc » 2023-08-27, 16:56

Idk, I've heard of punk music that's way more incompatible with punk ideals than social democracy is.

(Nazi punk. I'm talking about that.)
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