Song Writing

Occupy Wall Street is now global, and the world is watching eagerly to see what unfolds. Commentators project their own biases, beliefs, and hopes onto the spectacle and judge it accordingly. It's like a Rorschach. Some berate the protest as ineffective and hypocritical; others praise it as a beacon of hope.

An idealistic part of me would like to believe that this gathering — whatever it is — will magically sprout a new Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan. I'm not alone in this; commentators are actively looking for some kind of bold guitar-toting folk hero to emerge from the demonstrations - someone to help frame the narrative and contribute sound bites.

But we still haven't found that magic voice, that protest singer we pine for. And I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but historically speaking... protests don't create artists.

The Wall Street spectacle itself is a bit like a piece of instrumental music: emotionally charged, but abstract. The problems and challenges we face as a nation are deeply felt, but they're also complex and poorly understood. An important question is whether even the most intelligent, well-written songs would be able to attract the attention of demonstrators in The Age of Distraction.

Because after all, Occupy Wall Street is an Internet-age protest. iPhones abound. The spectacle is supported by social media and word-of-mouth. It's viral. So far, the music of Occupy Wall Street is not viral.

Sure, we've seen several jongleurs perform at the protest — Tom Morello, for example — but so far no musician has earned widespread attention from either mainstream or online media. Why should they? What have they given to Wall Street Occupants that can't be gotten from an iPod? What have they done to inspire widespread courage, thought, dialogue, pride, or meaningful action? Have they managed to capture the spirit of this very strange, complex economic and social atmosphere?

There is a scenario where the old and new guard come together and musically unite the generations, distinguishing the occupy movement from the '60s protests which were divided by age. Witness Pete Seeger, at 92 years old, performing on the streets of New York City with the Iraqi-American agitator for justice, Stephan Said. Old and young seem to agree on this cause, and while it's focused on Wall Street, there is support around the globe. Those who have been through this in the past provide a template for the next wave of change. As Said told us, it isn't always the big names that shake things up on a global level - it's the Woody Guthrie types that operate on the fringes. Says Stephen, "One song that speaks the truth to one child who hears it is worth more than a song that represents something less than the truth but reaches 50 million."

If a great protest singer emerges over the next few years, it's not going to be a Wall Street promo performance launching her to fame, or a single available for purchase on iTunes, or a shout-out anthem mentioning the protests by name. Songs that are actually about protesting don't generally go down in history. Those songs don't spread into the mainstream.

"Brother, Can You Spare A Dime" doesn't mention the Depression even once. "The Times They Are A Changin'" doesn't give a cheesy shout-out to the Summer of Love. Yet these are some of the most enduring songs we have from their respective eras.

A great protest singer's work has to be very carefully balanced: emotionally moving without being histrionic; weighty without being grave; insightful and bold without being preachy. Historically the long-lived songs haven't been pandering cheerleader chants - "Blowin' In The Wind" made it long past "Volunteers."

Enduring sociopolitical songs that touch on universal themes are very, very hard to write. It's nothing like writing a jingle, where you just set the name of the product or event to a catchy melody. I think we can agree that "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" is not a jingle. Hit songs these days fall into these lyrical categories: Relationships, Hooking Up, Party/Clubbing, Inspiration. Social, political and economic injustice don't play to the masses, although every now and then a song like "I Need A Dollar" bubbles under.

While certain clichés and catchphrases dropped into songs might elicit cheap applause for now, it remains to be seen whether any living songwriters are capable of — and interested in — being the conscience of this troubled time.

What I'm absolutely certain of, though, is that the present demonstrations aren't going to magically deliver us a Dylan or Guthrie. Both of those figures worked hard, wrote prolifically and thoughtfully, and toured extensively. If the next great American protest singer is out there somewhere, she's got a lot of work to do and even more noise to cut through.

~Nicholas Tozier