I don't think it's down to lack of talent, or even lack of outrage over political events. I just think that the whole socio-political climate of the last 20 years has mitigated against the production of genuinely meaningful political music.
For me, there were two key events that helped reduce "alternative" music to mere entertainment:
1. The miner's strike. When the NUM got the shit kicked out of it in the mid-80s it more or less ended the notion of organised labour as a serious political force in Britain. With it went the last fond hope of some kind of genuine Socialist future for the country. But perhaps even worse was:
2. The collapse of the Soviet Union. NOT because people were praying that some day we too would enjoy the delightful benefits of Soviet-style Communism (ahem). Far from it. But the mere existence of the USSR held out the hope that a serious alternative to the status quo was possible. "If Russia can have a different system, maybe we can find our own alternative."
And I think this possibility gave a radical edge to all alternative music - not just overtly political music. Obviously the likes of Crass and Billy Bragg benefited enormously: they weren't just posing (it was possible to believe), they were engaged in a struggle that might actually be winnable.
Today it is increasingly hard to take that idea seriously. The appalling injustices and alienation of Capitalism remain, but a creditable alternative - or even the possibility of one - seems remote at best. So when (for example) students protest over fees that's all they're doing - even if they win (which they won't), they're not engaged in any larger or more radical struggle. Compare that to the student riots of 1968.
Belief in the value of political music always took a certain amount of blind faith, and the possibility of change was probably always more remote than it seemed. But today it seems so remote that it's little wonder songs calling for radical change lack the power to stir people. "Anarchy in the UK" caused genuine uproar and fear when it was released. Today it would just be greeted with polite applause and/or condescending shakes of the head.
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Reason and rationality may be pursuing us, but we are faster.
Wittgenstein Blog:
http://lwpi.blogspot.com/
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