Discussion Recap: Approaches of Protest Music

A summary of our discussion of approaches that artists have used in protest music:

• Lament, mourning, despair
• Positivity / inclusion -- rallying new people to the cause
• Alternative realities / imagining different futures
• Aggression, calling out individual bad actors
• Irony / juxtaposition
• Illustration / metaphor
• Subtlety, inviting exploration
• Storytelling; using personal experiences or stories as emblematic of a wider population
• Using simple or familiar musical forms to invite participation
• Targeting a specific audience
• Emotional resonances
• Using recordings of voices of heroes, victims, opponents...