Two groups I like a lot, U2 and Simple Minds, both have a number of songs that are political in nature. Sometimes this is obvious, and other times I don’t realize that the songs I am listening to are political until I read the lyrics or hear a commentary on them. One recent example of this phenomonen from U2 is a song from their latest album called Crumbs From Your Table. It seems, too, that this song is politically slanted against the United States, which immediately makes me like it less.

Some other U2 songs are political, but I don’t mind it because the subject matter is something I agree with: Sunday Bloody Sunday, for example, and of course, Pride (in the name of love).

The last Simple Minds album I bought has at least three songs in this category: Mandela Day which is, unsurprisingly, about Nelson Mandela, Biko about a man who protested against apartheid in South Africa in the 70s and was murdered for it, and the Simple Minds classic Belfast Child about the bloodshed in Northern Ireland. (Note that this album is over 15 years old).

Music is a powerful way for artists to raise awareness about important events and evils in the world, but it can also be used to promote evil ideologies, so like all media, it is a double-edged sword, and depending on how it is used, can be either good or bad.