introduction to protest music

what are magnetic songs?

songs used to recruit and mobilise people, attracts attention of people who are part of the cause, or sympathetic with it. Clear political message, creates unity. Tied to particular movement

what are rhetorical songs?

songs to educate, provoke, and convert listeners outside the movement. Doesn’t offer solution, but aims to show disconent. Designed to influence public opinion. More passive, a call to action

what movement implemented the song ‘happy birthday’ as a symbol of protest?

the Umbrella movement - a pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong

what is Mouleitau?

a slapstick comedy style in Hong Kong culture, characterised by absurd humour and nonsensical dialogue

Winnie Lai - “mouleitau, a cultural…

“mouleitau, a cultural phenomenon that appears in Hong Kong films and other media platforms to represent a sense of localism” Lai, Winnie. 2018. ‘Happy Birthday to You: Music as Nonviolent Weapon in the Umbrella Movement

In Bowman’s words, Adorno believes that…

that “truly great music has a fundamental social obligation to advance human consciousness and thereby social progress”

Bowman, Wayne D. Philosophical Perspectives on Music

“The agentive nature of the musical acts serves to actuate thoughts and discourses about local protests through performance”

“This actuation draws individuals from a state of subjective expression to one of collective engagement and social legitimacy, provoking a “musical and sonic public” that nonetheless buttresses or transforms individuals’ identities and actions”

Born, Georgina 2013 “Introduction: Music, Sound and Space: Transformations of Public and Private Experience.”

what term does Tausig propose, instead of protest music? - what is this composed of?

sonic vernacular (or vernacular of sonic dissent) as an analytic that might aid the recognition of the diverse ways that political dissent is made audible”

“Sonic vernaculars are composed of locally trenchant sonic and aural practices and the symbolic meanings that they transduce and mediate”.

what does Tausig’s term actually mean?

the ‘sonic vernacular’ is the locally meaningful ways sound works in a specific social and political setting - not just explicit lyrics, but listening practices which are meaningful for the people in that context. Tausig explains that these sounds are NOT universal and may lose their meaning outside of the local context. (HOWEVER these meanings can shift and change)

what is it called when sound is used to claim, control, or mark a space?

sonic territorialisation

example of country using sound to control, and how

The People’s Republic of China (under Moa) - loudspeakers placed all around the country used to spread Mao’s slogans, as well ad dictate lifestlye, eg. when people is rural areas should start/stop work

the use of music is one of the ways social movements “gain…

“gain a hearing to serve as vehicles of cultural change’” (Taylor and Van Dyke, 2004. ‘Get up, Stand up’)