Popular Music in Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Popular Music in Society - Essay Example This paper focuses on how effectively music was used by Leonard Cohen to advance his political ideologies. Leonard Cohen is a Canadian musician who was born in 1934. After establishing himself as a rock, he became a reputable song writer and singer whose influences have been greatly felt not only in Canada, but in many other countries across the world including Israel and USA. Due to his expansive work, he composed and performed some of the greatest albums including Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967); Dear Heather (2004); New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974); Recent Songs (1979); Old Ideas (2012);Various Positions (1984); The Future (1992); Ten New Songs (2001); Death of a Ladies Man (1977); Im Your Man (1988) and Popular Problems (2014). Here, he used his talent to entertain his fans as well as advance his religious and political ideologies. Since he started singing, he has demonstrated that rock music can be made to be a popular brand that discusses a wide range of topics touching on religion and politics. Given the popularity of rock, he could therefore not just sing to entertain, but had to bean active activist who used his music to condemn all sorts of societal evils and also appreciate the good work done by the administration. At one point, he said, â€Å"from the wars against disorder/ from the sirens night and day/ from the fires of the homeless/ Democracy is coming to USA† to express his satisfaction with the changes and optimism for a better future (Studwell & Lonergan, 2010). Since he joined music, Cohen has been active in advancing his political ideologies. Although himself not a politician, the musician has been using his songs to advance political philosophies that, in his opinion, are fruitful to the Canadian and global community. Having been born of Jewish parents, Cohen knows very well that the society has not been a peaceful one. Since the out break of the Israeli War, tension between his people the Israelites and the Palestinians is far from