Music and politics

Folk music has a tradition of political discontent, with songs sung to commemorate popular uprisings and strikes, and to protest against injustice and social inequity.
Classical music has often been used to glorify political leaders, largely because the patronage of the rich or powerful was the main source of income for composers in previous centuries; see for example Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, French overture. In recent times this has become less prevalent; the Master of the Queen's Music in the U.K., for example, is no longer required to compose hagiographies to Elizabeth II. Even in the past classical composers registered dissent: Beethoven removed a dedication to Napoleon from his Third Symphony to protest against Napoleon's crowning himself Emperor.
Popular music since the middle of the 20th century has increasingly featured politically-inspired lyrics. It has often been used to express anti-war sentiments; Jimi Hendrix famously satirised the U.S national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," through the use of extreme distortion and feedback as a protest against the Vietnam War. The majority of political popular music has an anti-establishment or left wing perspective. Conservative and libertarian lyrics are mainly found in country music. In western popular culture, it is rare except in times of war for pro-establishment music to gain a foothold in the popular consciousness. The punk rock genre was overtly political: its genesis in the mid-1970s was as a reaction to the aloofness of the bands in the rock scene at that time, and its lyrics often espoused anarchy or revolution. This position was epitomised by artists such as Crass and the Dead Kennedys, who were inspired by anarcho-syndicalism (see Punk ideology). Today, working class and leftwing political themes, commentary and beliefs are still common with many popular and underground modern day street punk, hardcore punk and oi! bands; such as the Dropkick Murphys, Leftover Crack, Rancid, Oi Polloi, The Bruisers and The Business to name but a few. Music of black origin has a long tradition of protest, from the blues performers of the early 20th century, up to and including the rap and hip-hop more recently popular.