Why Every Playlist is Political
Life is about bad contracts.
And music? The loudest one.
Think about national anthems. They’re basically compulsory ringtones for nationalism. Jana Gana Mana, The Star-Spangled Banner, God Save the King you don’t just sing them, you perform obedience. Stand up or get cancelled. Sit down too soon and suddenly you’re “anti-national” trending on prime-time TV.
Even the Founding Fathers in the U.S. weren’t just writing law; they were dropping freedom mixtapes. “All men are created equal” was track one. The Bill of Rights? Track two. But centuries later Barbara Jordan reminded everyone: “We the People… I wasn’t included.” That’s the remix no one asked for but everyone needed.
Protest songs? They’re the OG diss tracks. MLK said the great glory of democracy is the right to protest. In India, students sing “Hum Dekhenge” and the government instantly cries “sentiments hurt.” Basically, if your music makes power uncomfortable, congratulations, you’ve found real art.
Even Benjamin Franklin had bars: “If you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you.” Tell me that’s not straight-up rap lyric material. Meanwhile, anthems and lullabies of nations are proof that every society has always known: music is political currency.
Fast-forward to today and Spotify is just Parliament with a bassline. Algorithms decide what voices you hear the same way governments decide what protests get airtime. Your playlist is already political. Sorry, no amount of Arijit Singh is going to save you from that.
Music is never just music. It’s contracts, protests, propaganda, all with a beat drop. You can close your eyes in a democracy. But you can’t close your ears.
Honestly, Every Democracy is a DJ type beat, you don’t get to pick the song, but you’re still expected to dance! 😉