The Power of Music

2011-04-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

Take a moment to face the facts: music is a powerful influence and can change our mindset without us even knowing it. But is it really the music or is it the celebrities involved with that music that influences a mindset among young people?

Will.I.Am, a strong supporter of Obama

Let's look at the 2008 presidential election. There was already a lot of interest generated by the two candidates running. One, Barack Obama, was running to become the first African American President of the United States; the other, John McCain, was running with Sarah Palin who would have been the first female Vice President of the United States. More and more college students and first time voters were drawn in because of this interest.
Naturally, the music industry became involved as well. Well known singers and songwriters such as Pete Wentz of Fallout Boy, Will.I.Am, and Hank Williams Jr. took to stomping for their candidates of choice. Live concerts and rallies were held across the nation. College students and first time voters could not get enough.

Students excited to vote

According to the Tartan, Carnegie Mellon's school newspaper, the 2008 election was the second largest voter turn out of young people in U.S. history. It's estimated that between 22 and 24 million young individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 voted. Of those that voted, 66 percent voted for Barack Obama.
This brings about the question: did the live music have a large impact on these students and their way of voting?

Hank Williams Jr. for McCain

Dawn Greaney, an employee at Twist and Shout records, comments on it. " Live music does [translate into emotion], especially when feeding off of an emotionally connected crowd. That's why most political rallies involve some type of live music. Music definitely holds the ability to unite people emotionally and even mentally."

If that's the case, one can only wonder what the future possibilities hold. If the uniting and influencing power of live music could be developed, imagine where we could go as a society. Schools could use it to educate their students better and to help them retain information better. The military could use it to help with the recruiting process and to keep their troops motivated. Workplace productivity could possibly go up.

The list goes on and on.

But until then, there is one thing we all know for sure: music is the one way to bring people together.

Birdie's Music

The Power of Music