within the music

Thank you Missy and Tim

Music is powerful. Has the ability to take you somewhere or stab you right in the feels. Music can be a very influential tool for story telling and can help get a message across that needs to be heard. Musicians for many years, have used music to show the wider community about social and political issues, from the 'Blues' speaking about life under slavery to 'Folk' standing up to injustices and violence. No one can escape a great song with a powerful message. Whilst most pop songs played on the radio these days are about sex, partying and getting rich. I feel in this last week we have been graced with two songs that broke the mould and spoke truth, giving the artist a chance to speak directly to their fan base about an issue that is so important to them.

I think it's a great change to see protest songs and songs with real issues being discussed being made in this day and age, especially with how easy it is to get a lot of backlash on social media. It's a risk and I think if you have the right message, it's a risk willing to take. Many of us sometimes avoid the News, as it can be very distressing with all the hate and death, but when your favourite artist speaks to you through song, it's harder to avoid.

I want you to listen to the two tracks below and focus on their message. Both speak about different issues but both very important.  

Beloved singer/songwriter Missy Higgins just released a power and sad track named 'Oh Canada' . The track tells the story of Alan Kurdi, his brother, mother and father escaping their dangerous war torn county by boat for a better life in Canada. The overcrowded boat capsized, killing many on board including Alan, his brother and mother. The touching and horrible photograph of three year old Alan washed up on the Greek beach, touched many when it was shown on the News. Higgins tells the story from the view of Adbullah, Alan's father who survived the cold waters. This song humanises the global Asylum Seeker crisis.  

Comedian and musician Tim Minchin also released a charity single called 'Come Home ( Cardinal Pell) asking Cardinal George Pell to come back to Australia to give evidence to the ongoing Royal Commission's investigation on Institutionalresponses to child sexual abuse. Minchin has a strong opinion that the truth needs to come out and that Pell has the responsibility to be present for the investigation. Pell has lodged that he is too sick to travel from Europe to Australia. The song has been making a huge impact in our media, as Minchin doesn't hold back with his words. The song has even made it to number one on the Aussie iTune's chart.  

I just want to say, we need artists like this in our music scene. Thank you Missy and Tim for being brave and standing up for what you believe in. Hopefully this blog post will expose your message to just a few more people.