Task 2

You are going to listen to another example which underlines the idea of music as a voice for expression.
    
“You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have got something to say.”

F Scott Fitzgerald (American writer)

1. Compare the music and lyrics of the1960s Bob Dylan protest song  ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ and The Sex Pistols’ "Anarchy In The UK" from the 1970s.

    

2. Compare and contrast the musical styles, and in particular the lyrics.

• Compare the instrumentation – what kinds of instruments are played, how are they used in the music? What about the ‘backing’/accompaniment – what do they tell us about the context of the music?

• Comment on the treatment of the lyrics – are there similarities or are they quite different?

• Compare the structures/musical shapes of the pieces.

• How would you describe the two pieces? How do they contrast?

• What does each song tell you about the context of when it was written, or about the kind of society that produced it?

   

3. Make notes as you did before.

    

4. Now look at the BBC ‘Sold on Song’ site for background information on the songs.

    

5. For a further contemporary example of the song as a form of ‘protest’ look at Youth Music’s ‘Build a Band’ competition, an initiative designed to encourage young musicmakers to engage in politics and debate. It was launched in 2007, encouraging talented teenage musicians from across the country to come together and form a band specifically to play at Glastonbury on the Left Field Stage, the home of contemporary protest songs. The winning band, Revolt, wrote their protest song ‘Call It What You Want’ during the five days they were at the festival and performed it live to 4,000 people on the last night. They have since been signed by the record label Left of Field. [Youth Music]