Conservative Politics & Rock Music

I don't know why the Hollies are not in the Hall. They should be. Politically I would describe "Bus Stop" as a working class oriented song. People taking the bus to work, very proletariat.

"You Can't Be Too Strong" - not at all clear why it's political let alone conservative leaning. To me it's not clear that it's pro or anti abortion. Very good song by a strong artist, but not sure if he's Hall worthy. But then there's what I call the "Blondie Rule". If Blondie is in the Hall, then a whole pack of other artist should also be inducted.

My original comment about race is entirely appropriate. Rock was originally call "race music" because it was created by and catered to colored (non-white) people. I believe the the Rock Hall of Fame roster is a fair reflection of the contribution of non-whites to the history and development of the music. There's also no reason to presuppose that non-whites as a group have a distinct political leaning. They could just as well be conservative as they could be non-conservative. Hence I am suspect of any list of rock's greatest that doesn't reflect some of rock's diversity. When someone writes "how many non-white rock groups can you name?" I interpret it as a comment by someone who is ignorant of rock's history and blind to its current manifestation. But then again, may be the problem is how one defines rock music. I take the approach that it encompasses everything from Chuck Berry, the Four Seasons, Motown, the British Invasion, psychedelia, disco, New Wave, Punk, Grunge, Rap, Electronica etc. I'm a big tent sort of guy when it comes to rock. Others may have much narrower definitions and like their musically categories well segregated. How else could someone seriously question whether James Brown belongs in the Rock Hall of Fame?

OK, you don't know how often I've thought of posting this exact thread, but I've valued the apolitical tone of Audiogon too much to risk it. Let's face it, different genres of music do attract different types. Country and Christian are mostly conservative. Classical, jazz, folk, and electronica are mostly liberal. But rock? I would certainly hope that rock is the one genre that has no political stigma. Case in point: I saw Santana live last summer. During a break, he made a point to promote world peace by highlighting the weaknesses of the current U.S. administration. Half the crowd stood up and cheered wildly, and half remained seated. Let's not spoil the beauty of good rock songs by attempting to tag them with a political ideology.

Tvad, I take exception to your characterization of Christmas
as having become "shallow and nihilistic." It is people who are shallow and nihilistic, and that is as old as time. Some of us turn to God for release from these conditions and find it.

What could be more "shallow and nihilistic" than rock music?

I really don't get some of the comments above that move from the premise that rock and roll has strong anti-establishment roots to the assertion that someone with a political viewpoint defined as conservative in today's political vernacular can't legitimately understand certain songs in a way that resonates with their beliefs.

Rock and Roll is the province of one American political party or ideology? Please, this is ludicrous. Conservative political ideology is the synonymous with the establishment or "the man"? Also ludicrously simplistic: American society is diverse, with the establishment comprised of people with all sorts of political leanings. (Indeed, the New York Times is far more part of the establishment than the comparatively obscure National Review.)

If a self-described conservative wants to find meaning in a song, more power to him. If a liberal is so inclined, likewise. It just seems way over the top to me that some with a certain political leaning are trying to exclusively claim an entire genre of music.

Ah, politics and audio, what a swell thread. Where's Mrtennis when we need him most?