Kate's Politics (or Lack of Same)

[nrc@cbema.att.com (Neal R Caldwell, Ii)]

Since rec.music.gaffa is not an appropriate forum for long discussions of
Sinead O'Conner's politics, jingoism, or anti-americanism I'll leave those
topics for the pundits of rec.music.misc.

The political aspects of Kate's songs, or rather their lack of same,
are fair game here, however.

Some folks here still fail to grasp that Kate specifically declines to
write "political" music.  Perhaps if they read the words of the lady
herself they'll be convinced.  In Karen Swayne's _Kerrang!_ interview, 
fall 1982 we find:

|      Do you hope to change people's opinions by what you write?
|      "No. Because I don't think a song can ever do that.
| If people have strong opinions, then they're so deep-rooted
| that you'll never be able to do much. Even if you can change
| the way a few people think, you'll never be able to change the
| situation anyway.
|      "I don't ever write politically, because I know
| nothing about politics. To me they seem more destructive than
| helpful. I think I write from an emotional point of view, because
| even though a situation may be political, there's
| always some emotional element, and that's what gets to me."

The problem is that that because a song mourns the tragedy of a 
soldier's death as in _Army Dreamers_ or says that nuclear war would 
be a terrible as in _Breathing_ some people presume these to be 
political statements.  They are arrogant enough to believe that there 
is only one way to prevent these disasters - theirs.  Therefore
any music expressing the unpleasantness of these things can only be an
expression of support for their political views.

What Kate is doing with these songs, and what some people are
failing to appreciate because they are so blinkered with political
dogma, is approaching issues that are too often seen only politically
from an emotional point of view.  Kate doesn't care how that affects
your political views she just wants to touch an emotional chord.  How
that emotion moves you to act is for you to decide.

I agree with Jeffrey C. Burka <jburka@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> when he
says:

> Breathing seems to me just to say "Nuclear war would _not_ be a groovy thing.
> In fact, it'd be pretty unpleasant."  There's nothing particularly political
> about the song.

But I disagree when he says:

> It would be difficult to take Army Dreamers seriously if it were preceded
> by a song that encourages, to some degree, a blind devotion to a country--
> I feel that the anthem encourages people to think that it's a special thing
> to die for one's country--not for the things that make the country special
> to begin with.

I fail to see any portion of the National Anthem, or at least the
first verse, that encourages blind devotion to a country or dieing for
one's country.  I see the National Anthem as a simple song that
pays tribute to the American will to persevere in a just cause in
spite of tremendous adversity.  Yes, it could be called overly
romantic but that leads us to a discussion of another Kate song -
_Lionheart_.

Duncan Smith points out that _Lionheart_ promotes a rather misty-eyed,
romantic view of England, something Kate entirely intended according
to a _Melody Maker_ interview of November 1978.

|      Kate's reasons for writing the song are simple enough. She had
| always liked _Jerusalem_, and thought that a contemporary song
| proclaiming the romantic beauty of England should be written.
|      "A lot of people could easily say that the song is sloppy.  It's
| very classically done. It's only got acoustic instruments on it and
| it's done...almost madrigally, you know.  I daresay a lot of people
| will think that it's just a load of old slush, but it's just an area
| that I think it's good to cover. Everything I do is very English, and
| I think that's one reason I've broken through to a lot of countries.
| The English vibe is very appealing."

In conjuring romantic images of England, Kate calls upon militaristic
symbols of the English will to persevere, Spitfires and bomb shelters.
She apparently has no problem with such references if they suit the
purpose of the song.  

"Don't drive too slowly."                 Richard Caldwell
                                          att!cbnews!nrc
                                          nrc@cbnews.att.com