Musical Propaganda
Swabians
19-09-2005, 04:17
I've found that when (in America atleast) patriotic music plays, it makes people either sick or compassionate(likely to go buy bonds or donate to the red cross or something). I know that Hitler and Goebbles hit upon this subject on a way to inspire soldiers to fight harder and I know musicians played at the front lines in Italy and North Africa for the Allies. Do you think that governments still use music alot for propaganda(however you want to interpret that). One example (if you want to take it that way) is in America last Wednesday; bands all over the country played the the star spangled banner to celebrate the song.
If somebody writes a patriotic song and plays it, it isn’t government-sponsored propaganda. Nobody tells the sports leagues they have to play the anthem, they just do. It isn’t the government, most of the time.
In Republic there was a music festival action. That was a cool game. I wonder who else here likes it. I'd bet it would be pretty popular with NS people.
Avast ye matey
19-09-2005, 04:35
Apart from the national anthem at public events, the occasional military band pulling out the old classics at formal government events, and various heartstring-tugging music used during advertisments in election campaigns, America and most other western gummints don't really go in for pushing patriotic music. Unlike nazi Germany or soviet Russia, western democracies don't control media content, so even if they _had_ an arsenal of patriotic songs designed to inspire jingoistic flag-waving fury in the listeners, they don't really have any means of broadcasting them.
Not that music designed to inspire patriotic fervour isn't widely used or anything, it's just that it's usually at the hands of private companies or lobby groups trying to associate their product/cause with the nation's virtues.
Andaluciae
19-09-2005, 05:06
Well, of course music is used to convey a message. Sometimes it's a message one way, sometimes another. It can be used for all sorts of things.
For example, I cringe whenever I hear the Michigan fight song (Hail to the Victors, what a joke) but enjoy the Ohio State fight song.
And military bands have been playing for hundreds of years with armies on the fields. British troops were often accompanied by bagpipers, fifers and drummers, often time taking place at the front of the line, while other armies fielded other sorts of military musicians in different formats.
The South Islands
19-09-2005, 05:28
Well, of course music is used to convey a message. Sometimes it's a message one way, sometimes another. It can be used for all sorts of things.
For example, I cringe whenever I hear the Michigan fight song (Hail to the Victors, what a joke) but enjoy the Ohio State fight song.
And military bands have been playing for hundreds of years with armies on the fields. British troops were often accompanied by bagpipers, fifers and drummers, often time taking place at the front of the line, while other armies fielded other sorts of military musicians in different formats.
How about...
On the banks of the Red Cedar, Is a school that's known to all,
Its specialty is winning, And those Spartans play good ball,
Spartan Teams are never beaten, All thru the game they fight,
Fight for the only colors, Green and White,
Go right thru for M S U, Watch the points keep growing,
Spartan teams are bound to win, they're fighting with a vim, Rah! Rah! Rah!
See their team is weakening, We're going to win the game,
Fight! Fight! Rah! Team Fight! Victory for M S U,
Up with the colors, Unfurl them on high! Fight! Rah! Team Fight!
:D
The communist nations had plenty of wonderful patriotic songs...
Mitigation
19-09-2005, 06:26
Republic rocked, I just saw the CD the other day. Perhaps I'll re-install....
Republic rocked, I just saw the CD the other day. Perhaps I'll re-install....
You said it. And Evil Genius was even better.
I remeber hearing a while back that in Afgahnistan some United States militants were using disturbing music (System of a Down, Korn, ect.) to drive enemies out of their hiding places and it was said to have great effect....I wonder why that happens. Can anybody explain? I really want to know. I think it had something to do with listening to it for 24hrs straight but i did that and it had no effect.
Avast ye matey
19-09-2005, 07:20
I remeber hearing a while back that in Afgahnistan some United States militants were using disturbing music (System of a Down, Korn, ect.) to drive enemies out of their hiding places and it was said to have great effect....I wonder why that happens. Can anybody explain? I really want to know. I think it had something to do with listening to it for 24hrs straight but i did that and it had no effect.
it's a fairly old trick that's been used a lot over the years, especially in situations where terrorists, wiggy cults, or other armed lunatics have settled in for a long siege. If you make conditions crappy for them, they'll be more likely to consider surrendering outright or at least offering some concessions in exchange for an improvement in conditions. And one easy way to make the conditions crappy without actually harming anyone is to crank up music that's either discordant or bound to get really really irritating if it's played on repeat all day, and blast that at them.
Although I think the reason they generally seem to use metal isn't because it's inherently worse than other music (for all we know, the terrorists could all have the bad taste to be System of a Down fans), it's just that most metal doesn't make for good background music. If it's playing, you notice it, and it doesn't just fade away into something you can ignore. Which probably goes a long way towards explaining why they don't use Muzak to flush out armed gunment even though nobody likes Muzak :)
. Which probably goes a long way towards explaining why they don't use Muzak to flush out armed gunment even though nobody likes Muzak :)Are you kidding, Muzak would be cruel and unusual, when they pipe Muzak into factoriess they have to leave 15 mins out of every hour with nothing on because otherwise people would go crazy. Muzak would cross the line into a crime against humanity, how many times can you hear 1001 Strings Does The Beetles Greatest Hits before you want to run away screaming?