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Manifesto for the New, Political Pop Song

2017; Intellect; Volume: 28; Issue: 55 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1386/public.28.55.15_7

2048-6928

Catherine Ryan,

Music History and Culture

Abstract In order to address the political melancholia and negativity that beset the left, a new type of political pop song must be devised. This manifesto proposes a form of dance-pop that is conceived as a new sort of therapy, designed to combat the atomized, individualized way in which suffering is encountered under neoliberal capitalism. The description of political melancholy and neoliberal subjectivity is drawn from the work of Wendy Brown, Lauren Berlant, Nina Power and Alenka Zupančič. The new, political pop song will have five key characteristics: it will be tragic; it will be affirmative, rather than a song of protest; it will be anthemic and upbeat; it will be in a lyric mode but it will be about collective experiences; and it will spread online virally, via new media.