Staff Playlists: Vote, Baby, Vote!
Staff Playlists is a music feature that allows our contributors to curate a playlist of their choosing. Up this week is music contributor Simone Gabrielli!
“One generation got old / One generation got soul / This generation got no destination to hold”
Listen up! We’re young, and we get to choose who governs us. We get to be powerful, have a voice, and change the course of history. Our generation is often said to be overcome with apathy, but I don’t think so. I think we just need a bit of a power boost, so I’ve chosen songs that start a revolution. Each song is a political cry, a show of “sticking it to the man” — topical songs that remind us that art and ideas can change the world. No matter the outcome of the election, people will be angry, but we have a weapon: music. Political movements and revolutions have happened before, and now we’re in one. These songs led the fire in the past; today, I hope they inspire you to vote, to remind yourself of your power and voice. Most of these songs are from Vietnam Era 1960s, when students rose up against the draft and the Vietnam War. Students who created the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), who changed history through sit-ins while chanting these very songs. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to start a revolution between the Beatles and T. Rex, peacefully, thanks to Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, and by the time you reach “This Land is Your Land,” you should remember that America, beautiful despite corrupt politics, belongs to you. You get to choose who governs this country. Finally, Billy Joel will remind you that we didn’t start this fire, we didn’t ask for it, but now it’s our turn to pass the torch and leave our mark for years to come.
Simone Gabrielli
Straight from New York City, Simone studies Public Relations and Advertising at Chapman University. While she’s not always sure what decade she lives in, she does speak three languages.
