Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

When we think of political songs, we think folk music. And when we think of folk music, we think of hippies. You know, cascading locks of hair, peace, love, Phish, flowers; usually a mental image of Bob Dylan strummin’ away with his fake-poor clothes. For the longest time, I had always associated political songs with folk music and the whole scene behind it. And for that same reason, had always avoided it. It just felt that too much was put into image, with no actual substance in songs.

All that changed one afternoon. I remember it vividly, just like yesterday. The sun was out; the leaves were rustling along to the soothing wind. Kids ran amok, crunching on fallen leaves as birds collectively chirped a singsong chorus. Flowers blossomed and the scent was of magnificent pines. The long and short of it is, a friend referred me to Fela Kuti.

“Dude, he has 27 wives.”