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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
Music has been an integral element of human culture as far as it can be traced. Through the ages it has figured prominently in a wide range of human
activities: in rituals, religions, ceremonies, and entertainment. Music is not essential for life, but yet life without music is unimaginable. Dallin, 1993, p. 1
The function of music is not only as art and entertainment, but it can be a medium for self expression and emotional release. According to Landauer 2001,
music, which is composed of seven distinct tunes, is a powerful medium to express emotion. Furthermore, studies believe that music can reduce stress, increase
optimism, and help to socialize. Chaudari, 2010, para. 9 The functions of music are applied really well by musicians on their works
for making protest music. They believe that through music, people will reduce their stress, gain self optimism, and help them to socialize with other people who
have the same feeling. Music offers less sarcastic words to speak up and is able easily to deliver message for wider society, because at the same time music gives
entertainment and leisure. In other words, music is able to be a medium to share feelings, to reduce disappointment, and to send message to the listener.
America has so many musicians who write protest song to express their dissatisfaction of their surroundings. These musicians come from any races and
gender; from the minority groups like Black and Hispanic, female, to the majority
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group, or white American, who wants to express their disappointment. The best example has ever happened in 60s decade, the decade of turbulence for America.
The decade welcomed many protest music as the reaction of protest movement protesting issues of the day: civil rights movement of minority group, unnecessary
Vietnam war, women rights movement, and the awareness of environment. At the same decade, post-war baby grew up as teenagers and adult. With their young
spirit and ideology, they dominated the nation and held changes in every aspect of culture. Goodwin and Bradley once stated:
The sixties were the age of youth. As 70
th
million children from post- war boom became teenagers and young adults. The movement away
from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in cultural fabric of
American life… young people wanted change, and the changes affected education, values, lifestyles, laws, and entertainment.
Goodwin, 1999, para. 1
Youngster use music as the protest media considering that music is familiar to them. They wrote song and played it in a concert, festival, or along with marching
protester on the street in order to attract people attention. Protest music became daily soundtrack of protest movement.
Protest music was boundless to any genre, from rock n roll, to black American jazz, however the notable and legendary protest music at the 60s decade
came from folk music genre. This genre thrived prosperously and vocalized the social issue of the day. This occurrence was also known as folk music revival, in
which folk music was revived by young folk artists. Young folk artist wrote and played songs about the theme of civil rights movement, peace, war, female rights,
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and environmental consciousness. Some of the greatest songs to emerge from the 60s folk revival were songs commenting on the issues of the day. Ruehl, n.d.,
para. 12 Some folk artists were also become iconic protest and civil rights
movement figures of the 60s decade. Some of them were Bob Dylan with his poetic and story-telling like folk music, and Joan Baez with her captivating vocal
and minority struggling theme folk music. “with the emergence, in the 1960s, of the civil rights movement in the
U.S., Folk music was there. The raw and rasping of Bob Dylan singing out a need to find answers in the wind, for all to have the right to
freedom, cannot be forgotten …. Joan Baez, representing her Mexican heritage, sang of the plight of minority groups. In fact, there was a
burst of folk singers at this time crying out for social justice.” Wiseman, 2007, para. 3
These folk artists wrote and shaped American history through their music. It showed that folk music as protest music has a great power, role, and impact toward
the country and society. The emergence of folk artists kept moving on the decades afterward. The
decade of seventies was noted by the wave of folk-pop singer-songwriters, such as James Taylor, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell with their introspective, personal,
and confessional songs. The eighties and Nineties was dominated by female folk musicians, such as Suzanne Vega, Ani Difranco, and Tracy Chapman, with their
feminism themes songs It cannot be avoided that folk music becomes an integral part of American
history, since it is not only daily consumable music for American but it is the symbol of American protest and rights movement. Rather than offering shallow
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and soapy lyrics, this music gives ideological and political theme to evoke awareness of listeners about certain issues happening on their nation.
Folk music as protest music is no longer popular on the music scene of 2000s. It is because there are other genres that take its position as protest music.
Some genre like rap and hip hop from Black American, punk with its Anarchism which emerged in the 70s, Metal, and alternative rock are more dominating rather
than folk. “these days, bands from most genres like punk Propagandhi, NOFX,
metal Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, hip-op Spearhead, KRS-One, and turtablism DJ Shadow, Cut Chemistry
combine politics with music. but for the first part of the twentieth century political music, music with a message, was pretty much limited
to the folk music scene.” Gibson, 2004, para. 2
All of these genres get more attention by society and media. The young generation is also more familiar to this music rather than folk.
However the remnants of folk music as protest music are still existed and preserved. The revival and spirit of folk music still lives on though folk music is
under the radar, less aired by the media, and its popularity declines. Some folk artists are still writing and playing protest songs commenting and pointing out the
certain issues of the day. One of the folk musicians is Conor Oberst, a Nebraska born singer-
songwriter and the frontman of indie folkrock band, Bright Eyes. He modifies protest music aimed to the government of George W. Bush presidency. He also
modifies the old and typical folk music into the new one, so young generation will get, enjoy, and accept the genre easily. He mixes his music with emo genre, a
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popular genre in 2000s that is closely related to hard guitar distortion, screaming voice, and themes such as lamentation and desperation. Vendawish, n.d. para. 1
With his own musical style, he convinces that folk music as protest music still exists in the year 2000s. He captures the important moment and illustrates it
into songs. Although his protest music is unable to invite massive protester to march on the street like the decade of 60s, but his works has strong lyric that
provoke the listeners and criticize the government. Because of what he does, he is also labeled by Rolling Stones magazines as the next Bob Dylan of 2000s. It gives
an important role toward him, since the label is not easily attained by every folk musician.
It is interesting to know more about the protest songs written by Conor Oberst. It is because, although folk music itself is no longer popular, but there is
still musician who writes folk music as the medium to protest. Moreover, as an Indie artist, his musical works are not commodified by the major labels or the
mainstream media. It gives a positive role toward him since his music and lyric are not “decided” by the market, but it is purely written and composed based on his
thought. Thus understanding the music from Conor Oberst will give a chance to know the current issues from the perspective of non-commercial music. In this
thesis, I would like to know more how folk music as protest music is played and preserved by Conor Oberst as the folk musician in 21
st
century. What kind of elements he puts onto the songs, so his music is still relevant to be called as protest
music. Therefore in this thesis, I will have a research about folk music brought by young generation singer-songwriter, Conor Oberst.
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B. Scope of Study
Kategori