Environmentalism in music
Encyclopedia
Environmentalism has occasionally become a topic in music since the 1960s.
As well as a topic of the songs themselves the artists and industry have become more environmentally aware. Some CDs are packaged in cardboard
rather than plastic
to reduce the environmental impact.
Environmentalism means the support of working toward protecting the natural environment from destruction or pollution. This topic started appearing in music since the 60’s and has continually progressed. There are many artists here in America and across the world that advocate environmentalism such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, and many others.
Back in the early 19th century, technology had started to boom and so did the creation of other things like factories and mills. America was at the start of a new world, but with the good things come bad things, too. America was later building railroads and steel factories, with that came pollution and destruction of the environment. These railroads and factories had to be made somewhere. At this time, things like this were not a major issue to people, all that mattered was the rise of the nation.
Another bad effect of this industrial revolution was child labor laws. By 1842, a Mine Act was passed allowing woman of any age and males under thirteen to work underground. Conditions were difficult for families in these rapidly growing cities. Conditions like these made life unbearable in America which led to many other problems.
As technology developed, so did weapons for war. In 1914, World War 1, scientist started making weapons that would change warfare forever. Tanks, bombs, and mustard gas, not only killed their targets, but the land around them also. With the continuation of making bigger and stronger weapons came the atomic bomb. In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing millions of innocent people. The entire world was shocked to see something so appalling.
Now in the 1960s, came music that was dark and filled with emotion. The minds behind this music believed in peace and all things against war. This was a time when America wanted to stop being conservative and just wanted change for a better future. This way of thinking went into music and into the minds of young Americans. This was the dawn of caring for the environment and the earth. That is how environmentalism has spread throughout music, from changing what we listen to, into how we think. Many musicians that we have heard of today started around the sixties like, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath. The artists of this era influenced many of the artists and musicians we have today. Black Sabbath’s song titled “War Pigs” is an anti-war song that was extremely influential to young Americans across the nation. This wave of environmentalism was practically the foundation of metal music in the world. A song titled “Blackened” by Metallica is another song that is for environmentalism as is said in the lyrics “Blackened is the end, winter it will send, throwing all you see, into obscurity.” This song says that if war and rampage continue, the earth around us will die. Environmentalism is still in music today and it continues to shape our way of life and forms of music.
As well as a topic of the songs themselves the artists and industry have become more environmentally aware. Some CDs are packaged in cardboard
Paperboard
Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...
rather than plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
to reduce the environmental impact.
Environmentalism means the support of working toward protecting the natural environment from destruction or pollution. This topic started appearing in music since the 60’s and has continually progressed. There are many artists here in America and across the world that advocate environmentalism such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, and many others.
Back in the early 19th century, technology had started to boom and so did the creation of other things like factories and mills. America was at the start of a new world, but with the good things come bad things, too. America was later building railroads and steel factories, with that came pollution and destruction of the environment. These railroads and factories had to be made somewhere. At this time, things like this were not a major issue to people, all that mattered was the rise of the nation.
Another bad effect of this industrial revolution was child labor laws. By 1842, a Mine Act was passed allowing woman of any age and males under thirteen to work underground. Conditions were difficult for families in these rapidly growing cities. Conditions like these made life unbearable in America which led to many other problems.
As technology developed, so did weapons for war. In 1914, World War 1, scientist started making weapons that would change warfare forever. Tanks, bombs, and mustard gas, not only killed their targets, but the land around them also. With the continuation of making bigger and stronger weapons came the atomic bomb. In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing millions of innocent people. The entire world was shocked to see something so appalling.
Now in the 1960s, came music that was dark and filled with emotion. The minds behind this music believed in peace and all things against war. This was a time when America wanted to stop being conservative and just wanted change for a better future. This way of thinking went into music and into the minds of young Americans. This was the dawn of caring for the environment and the earth. That is how environmentalism has spread throughout music, from changing what we listen to, into how we think. Many musicians that we have heard of today started around the sixties like, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath. The artists of this era influenced many of the artists and musicians we have today. Black Sabbath’s song titled “War Pigs” is an anti-war song that was extremely influential to young Americans across the nation. This wave of environmentalism was practically the foundation of metal music in the world. A song titled “Blackened” by Metallica is another song that is for environmentalism as is said in the lyrics “Blackened is the end, winter it will send, throwing all you see, into obscurity.” This song says that if war and rampage continue, the earth around us will die. Environmentalism is still in music today and it continues to shape our way of life and forms of music.
See also
- Protest songProtest songA protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...