Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and author/historian Howard Zinn talk about the artist’s role in politics. Yorke: “This goes back to what should be causing extreme alarm. If there are political programs on TV, yet it takes an artist to actually energize political debate, that tells you something really quite frightening about the level of the political debate happening on mainstream channels – right-wing-biased mothers. One of the interesting things here is that the people who should be shaping the future are politicians. But the political framework itself is so dead and closed that people look to other sources, like artists, because art and music allow people a certain freedom. Obviously, the duty of artists is there, but it’s more an indictment of the political system that someone like Zinn views artists as the seers, idealizing them as the people responsible for inspiring change. I think that would be great, but the reason people think like that is because there is no other element of participation anywhere.”
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“Radioheadís Thom Yorke is spearheading a growing chorus of protest aimed at US President GEORGE BUSHís visit to the UK ñ branding him and TONY BLAIR ‘liars’.” “When asked why heíd chosen to speak out, Thom told NME: “To make Blair squirm over his decision to take us into a illegitimate war (In Iraq) and follow this religious lunatic (Bush) toward a dangerous future for the whole planet.” Full story at NME.com Thom and Radiohead have been anti-Bush since the “War on Terror” began. It is evident in their newest album “Hail to the Thief” where attacks against the Bush administration and Blair are pleasantly hidden amongst the feedback and orchestrated noise.
#136666 | Author: Knol Aust | Date: Nov 25 2003
