Deconstructing with Della: Careful with that music!
March 27, 2017 |
| "To the left, to the left" - Beyoncé's Irreplaceable |
Using music to communicate and connect to audiences has been part of political and business life for a long time. The Skittles ad in the Super Bowl last year using Aerosmith's Dream On is a classic example of corporations working to resonate via popular music. Since Steven Tyler appeared in the ad, we can expect it was bought and paid for.
Where people seem to mess up using music is when they don't understand the song lyrics or the sensitivities associated with it. It is not hard to rile artists, fans or interest groups.
One of the most recent cases involved Niki Ashton, the Manitoba Member of Parliament who is hoping to take over the leadership of the NDP. Ms. Ashton used lyrics from Beyoncé's song Irreplaceable on social media to make her point about taking the party more to the left. Black Lives Matter out of Vancouver said it was cultural appropriation, complained and Ms. Ashton took it down. This is still creating controversy online.
A more famous case involves Bruce Springsteen's song Born in the USA. How many of us have sung along to Springsteen's tune blissfully unaware of the lyrics and meaning of the song? I expect most of us only sing along to the Born in the USA part, not the deeper lyrics such as:
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
It has to be one of the most unpatriotic songs ever written. Politicians like Ronald Reagan asked to use it in 1984 before realizing what the ultra-liberal, Mr. Springsteen had intended. Others like Bob Dole and Pat Buchanan used the song in their campaign events until Springsteen objected. Even the BSTREETBAND, a tribute band for Springsteen pulled out of Trump's inauguration event in New Jersey out of respect for the Boss, who is definitely anti-Trump.
To deconstruct, music and music lyrics can be a powerful way to reach out and communicate a feeling or inspire people. One of my clients always played Tina Turner's Simply the Best at his internal motivational meetings. It often brought people to tears. We have used favourite songs of attendees at our two-day planning sessions as mini breaks. Having participants guess the favourite songs of their colleagues can be quite entertaining and illuminating.
However, like everything else in good communication, use of quotes, music or lyrics should be carefully researched. I was planning to use a popular R&B soul song at one of our sessions when my astute associate said we should use the radio version. I did not know the other profanity-laden version. Now, that would have been embarrassing.
Be careful out there.
Be careful out there.
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