Music for Objectivists?

Posted by davidmcnab 9 years, 8 months ago to Culture
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One of the greatest bonding and energising agents for a culture is its music. However, I'm scratching my head to think of music in the 20-21st centure popular repertoire that promotes Objectivist identity, at an intellectual, emotional or spiritual level.

So much of the pop repertoire is taken up by X wants to mate with Y, X is overjoyed at being with Y, X is pissed off an leaving Y, X got left by Y and is feeling blue, X feels ripped off by Y, etc. How many songs are there which glorify the individual human spirit?

One very vague possbility I can think of is Bob Marley's classic Get Up, Stand Up, whose lyrics exort people to give up their afterworldly dreams and focus on bettering themselves here on Earth.

Can anyone suggest any songs? Yeah, there's a ton of great classical music which promotes the good feeling, but what about the contemporary genres? Surely there's gotta be some good folk, pop, metal, reggae, techno etc pieces which put across those beautiful lifted liberated feelings.


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  • Posted by freedomforall 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes, let's forget anything that has no melody, no harmony, and instead just repeats mindlessly screaming the same notes.
    C'mon, the call is for music, not poetry with a anti-establishment message and a clashing dissonant background.
    Inspire me, dammit. Make me want to make it better than it is and to live up to the ideals.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUjr8EV...
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  • Posted by DaveM49 9 years, 8 months ago
    A fair amount of the music from "Les Miserables" suits me nicely--"Can You Hear The People Sing" could almost be a strikers' anthem, and since the core of the story is that of an honest upright individual versus "the law".... There are some delightfully trenchant songs about looters as well.

    Inspector Javert would be a great Cuffy Meigs.
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  • Posted by Robbie53024 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yeah, that's pretty good - and she's nice to look at while she's "shakin' it off." Just a bit older, so generally take to other tunes ('though Shake it Off, is catchy).
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  • Posted by Flootus5 9 years, 8 months ago
    This particular topic is one where the merits can be definitely in the eye of the beholder. But as odd as it sounds I am inspired by Widespread Panic's "Surprise Valley" song.

    It is in turn inspired by hang gliding over a valley in Colorado. Simple lyrics:

    Oh, kiss the mountain air we breathe
    Good-bye it's time to fly.
    Sparrow climb, the air is thinner,
    Open wings cast this valley in the shade.

    The real inspiration in the song is Mikey Houser's lead guitar - from an amazing performer who left us too young back in 2002. And not as one of these self inflicted types.
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  • Posted by dsalkindc13 9 years, 8 months ago
    Did you watch the Oscars? There was a song from the film "Selma" that won. I think you may find that song interesting.
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  • Posted by 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    As I said, I don't care about the genre. Bubblegum pop, gangsta rap, techno, metal, MoR, folk, jazz, R&B, reggae, soul, country, ballad - all fine with me. What matters is the message these songs deliver :)
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  • Posted by BradA 9 years, 8 months ago
    OK, I'm going to get a lot of blow back from this suggestion, but here goes. One of TSwift's current pop hits, Shake It Off, is about not giving a crap about what other people think or say about you. It's about rising above the jealousy and hate and following your own path regardless of the consequences. Seems highly Objectivist to me. OK then, you're all welcome to start hating me now.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 8 months ago
    The formula is x + y = 0 with very little since MTV turned music from an audio to mind experience to a mindless visual experience.

    Not all...still some good music out there

    In Classical I would look for anything that matched the ability of Sibelius' Finlandia.

    Listening to music like reading has nought to with Y the X Generation ends sentences with a question mark and makes zero impact.

    For your quest go to the beginning, the roots and follow them through the changes. Folk, Blues, the originals and the trend setters like Alan Lomax, Leadbelly, and Dylan. At some point they all were people individuallyl struggling for an emotional, spiritual and intellectual expression. And it's generational. My Dad always asked why I listened to rock'n'roll'even though my classical, folk, and blues collections were equally as large. One day i sang to him a song from his generation Oop Oop Diddim Daddum Waddum Chew... three fish swimming over a dam.

    I started to say the same thing to my daughter then bit my tongue. Of course that was before MTV and when a singer became an instrument not a voice.










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  • Posted by ohiocrossroads 9 years, 8 months ago
    Rush: Anthem off of Fly By Night. The title describes the influence of Rand.
    "2112" and "Something for Nothing" from 2112. "With acknowledgment to the genius of Ayn Rand" appearing at the top of the lyrics lets everybody know where he's coming from. 2112 is Anthem set to music. I think this is why critics always hated them.
    "The Trees" off of Hemispheres.
    "Free Will" and "The Spirit of Radio" from Permanent Waves.
    "The Camera Eye" from Moving Pictures.
    "Losing It" and "Countdown" from Signals.
    Neal Peart was very much influenced by Ayn Rand's ideas and linguistic style up through Signals. Less so in all that follows, but their music and lyrics remain intelligent at all times.
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  • Posted by Robbie53024 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The great allosaur, always the optimist.

    I'm guessing that that rubber tree plant wouldn't be much of a challenge ;-)
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  • Posted by Rex_Little 9 years, 8 months ago
    "Sunshine", by Jonathan Edwards, was mostly nonsense, but it had one great line: "He can't even run his own life, I'll be damned if he'll run mine."
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  • Posted by elstonc 9 years, 8 months ago
    2112 by Rush... Free Will by Rush... So great to be amongst so many who appreciate Ayn Rand and Rush.
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  • Posted by xthinker88 9 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    "Where my heart will lead me" from Star Trek Enterprise series

    'Cause I've got faith of the heart
    I'm going where my heart will take me
    I've got faith to believe
    I can do anything
    I've got strength of the soul
    No one's going to bend nor break me
    I can reach any star
    I've got faith
    I've got faith
    Faith of the heart

    Even though it uses the word "faith", which might prickle some objectivists, in context it is talking about faith in yourself.
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