Danny Schechter: Do you actually believe that music can have real political impact?

.

Polar Levine: History shows that pop music has huge impact. George M. Cohan's song "Over There" gave inspiration to Americans during World War I, for better or worse. Pop musicians were enlisted by the government to maintain morale during World War II which came right in the middle of The Great Depression. And it probably worked. We all know how music helped spread awareness of the insanity of the Viet Nam war and was instrumental in changing the course of public opinion. It charged the labor movement in the 1930's, moved women to fight for equal rights and it helped drive the civil rights movement.

.

DS: How did your song "SEVENTY VIRGINS" come about?

.

PL: I was thinking about the fantasies that people inhabit and compel them toward violent action. The terrorists that blow themselves up in discos or fly planes into buildings are no different from the Israeli settlers who believe that by stealing people's homes they're inspiring the messiah to come to earth sooner rather than later. So many Americans are so used to power and shiny stuff and believe that we're god's very favorite little pebble in the universe. So guys like Bush and Cheney are confident we can blow off the rest of the world and pick our fights based on who's got the oil we need.

.

DS: Can dissent really have an impact now that the mainstream media is totally ruled megacorporations? How can today's public apathy be breached?

.

PL: When culture is disseminated for the purpose of generating cash flow -- an apathetic public is the natural result, and probably intended, result. The only positive thing about war is that people suddenly are visited by reality and Michael Jackson's nose becomes less consequential. If people have been trained to crave lite entertainment 24/7 it's hard to break through that. Maybe it takes their friends coming home in body bags to get them to shut down the Nintendo for a while and pick up a newspaper.

.

DS: Considering the massive amount of disinformation that the Bush administration delivers every day through a compliant press and the grip that bottom line values have on the arts -- do you feel pessimistic about your role as a politically conscious artist?

.

PL: Pissed, yeah. But pessimistic? Not at all. Polarity/1 plays for multi-cultural and multi-generational audiences. We rip the place up. Along with the clear political stance, we're a big groove machine. Our groove science takes in funk, hip hop, soukous, zouk, samba, you name it. The whole rhythm section has studied this stuff and has worked with guys like Salif Keita, Vernon Reid, De La Soul, Trilok Gurtu, Junoon, salsa bands, samba bands. And I don't mean just that we have a conga player. When you study rhythm like studying science or law, it changes the way you hear music and view the world you live in. If you don't know the difference between a Rio samba and a Bahian samba or a guanguanco from a mambo, you can't cut it in our band. People from all over the world and all ages know a groove when they hear one. They don't have to know where it came from. But their bodies know the difference between a groove and a loud pulse. That's the sugar pill we offer that holds the political messages.
.
My friends, the Pakistani rock band, JUNOON, were invited to perform at the UN General Assembly because they're known for putting their careers on the line spreading a message of peace. In Pakistan and in India they're multi-platinum superstars but in America they're not well known yet. But every place they play in America is packed full... mainly with South Asians and increasingly more Americans. That doesn't sound so impressive. But consider this: those South Asians are both Pakistanis and Indians. Back home they're ready to incinerate each other with nukes. But at the concerts here and in Europe they dance together singing along with Junoon's songs in Urdu and Punjabi. How could I be pessimistic when I see that?

.

DS: So many political songs are basically bumperstickers with musical accompaniment. Even Paul McCartney sounded lame when he tried. Too often they sound preachy and naive. Are artists just timid or is the topical song no longer relevant in today's media world?

.

PL: Good songwriters write good songs. Trite songwriters write trite songs. McCartney has written classic songs. Brilliant songs. But his name is not John Lennon or Chuck D or Bob Dylan. Politics is not his big interest so he hasn't developed a skill in that type of song. I, frankly, think I write great topical songs but I couldn't write a decent romantic ballad if you threatened me with a hot lead enema. And I'm a real romantic guy. I just don't do songs with "baby" in them. Someday I'll try and it'll probably be as good as McCartney's "Freedom." I'm not gonna sit here and put down McCartney, for crissakes, but..."Freedom" was a really shitty song; what can I say.
.
We write well about what we know about. Most political songs are trite because the writer is not really informed in a deep and nuanced way about the issues. So the songs are not much more than slogans or some generalized "let's all just love each other, we are the world" type thing. You just can't write a decent topical song without a deep understanding of the topic and an intellectual background in history and politics; and some compelling sense that you can bring some light to an issue shrouded in political double-talk and superstition. Bono can distill a lot of information in one line like "one more in the name of love" to describe the sacrifices certain individuals were called to make. Springsteen wrote a gigantic book in his "My Hometown." Dylan's "With God On Our Side" threw a monkey wrench into the whole insane nationalistic testosterone rush that pushes creeps like Bush into warmongering. Talib Kweli, Michael Franti, Steve Earle. There are really great artists out there that will make a difference. Jonatha Brooke had a great song called "War" where she nails the lethal American mindset that's driving this Iraq thing. The chorus goes, "Because I want, because I will, because I can. So I will kill." Shit, I wish I wrote that.