Now that Trump is going to be president again, what will this mean for music?
Global News
Music has traditionally reflected what's going on in society, specifically with youth. What does a second Trump administration mean for the future of music?
The first thing I thought when I awoke Wednesday morning was that there’s now an SNL Curse. Any female U.S. presidential candidate — even one who appears to be cruising to the White House — will ultimately lose the election if she appears on Saturday Night Live. First Hillary Clinton in 2016 and now Kamala Harris in 2024.
I’m curious how music will react to the new Trump administration. Culture is always just downstream from what’s happening in society. Historically, things shift depending on whether the White House (and 10 Downing Street, for that matter) is occupied by a right- or left-wing administration. This correlation between politics and music fits in nicely with my theory of the 13-year pop vs. rock cycle.
When Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, took over for two terms in the 1950s, American music became a lot more rebellious, manifesting, at least partly in the birth and growth of rock ‘n’ roll. And let’s not forget about the folk movement with its many left-leaning artists finding purchase with progressives.
The next two terms — John F. Kennedy’s shortened presidency followed by Lyndon B. Johnson — were Democrat. Massive social change ensued, thanks to the demands of the boomers, the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and the fight for women’s rights. It was a chaotic time. Boomers, emboldened by the promise of progress and angry about Vietnam, began to make music that reflected their wants, needs, dreams and fears.
By the time Republican Richard Nixon took over in 1968, rock had grown very loud, and in some cases, very angry. It was during his first term that metal (Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf et al) was born, and garage rock, a precursor to punk, began to spread (think Stooges, MC5, and The New York Dolls). It was also a golden era of protest music in rock.
When Nixon resigned in disgrace in 1974, his Republican successor tried to keep the Republican lights on but ultimately lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter — but not before punk sprouted in NYC (Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie) and then spread to London (Sex Pistols, The Clash). In many ways, punk was a reaction to the right-wing ways of government since 1968. It burned very hot and very bright with righteous anger.
The Carter years had their issues, but for the most part, people felt good enough after the Watergate nightmare to get out and party. Disco exploded. New Wave was fun and quirky. Radio was dominated by feel-good pop and rock.
That all ended with the Reagan and Thatcher years as right-leaning governments took office on both sides of the Atlantic along with a recession that pushed interest rates beyond 20 per cent. Feel-good music began to ebb while new hard and heavy genres — hardcore punk, goth, industrial, hair-and-spandex bands and crushing levels of metal — took root and began to spread. And while pop did have a moment in the latter half of the ’80s, it would not last.
