Mosh Vs. Voice of the Voiceless
Shamrocks can't very well be a synthesis of politics and music if it doesn't take a look at "Mosh" a little more carefully, can it?

I think from the right (and I do not disassociate myself from these people--Churchill), there has been a bit of 'well, I like the song, but I hate the politics'-which refers almost certainly to the fact that Mr. Matthers has been laying on the hate for Bush. Fairplay.

Although, the song goes a little further than that. Eminem not only expresses a dislike of Bush, he expresses the outright rage of a silent group of millions and is trying to rally them to action:

Come along, follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark, that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength,
Come with me, and I won't stear you wrong
Put your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fog
Till the light, at the end, of the tunnel, we gonna fight,
We gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna march through the swamp
We gonna mosh through the marsh, take us right through the doors

This is a call to action, and not necessarily a call to be a 'democrat', which I cannot believe Em is--Can you imagine him on stage with Kerry? Yikes.

In the same vein, I've heard that some commentators dismiss Eminem as a 'hollywood liberal' which is about as absurd a term for him as possible. He has been far more an effective anti-hollywood spokesman in being Celebrity Enemy #1 ....And his #1 recruit and protege, 50 Cent, has the same MO. Before 50 was signed, his original breakthrough underground song from 2000, was "How to Rob" which goes like this:

Heavy tried to hide his shit, ***** try to stall ya
He said "Why you robbin me I got _Nuttin But Love_ for ya!"
Caught Juvenile for his Cash Money piece
Told him I want it all he said, "Even my gold teeth?"
I caught Blackstreet on a back street in a black jeep
One at a time get out and take off your shine
Did you ever think that you would be this rich?
Did you ever think that you would have these hits?
Did you ever think that I'd flash the nine?
And walk off with your **** like it's mine?

To sum up, this is not the work of people involved in the consensus-style 'groupthink' of Hollywood. This is punk rock converted to beats: He's talking about robbing every R&B and Rap star in the business. In fact, this song convinced many artists to dissuade Columbia Records from signing 50.

But getting back to the subject, Em is more concerned at this point with mobilization of the youth...and not necessarily for his own personal uses, but for their own interests. In a way, it harkens back to Rage's "Voice of the Voiceless."

You be tha spark
That set tha prairie fires on
Make tha masses a mastodon path
To trample tha fascists on
At fifteen exposed Philly's finest killing machine
With boots and mad guns
They tried to pacify you young
Cause and effect
Smell tha smoke and tha breeze
My panther my brother
We are at war until you're free

You'll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless

While Em talks about representing the masses (well, rage did too), Rage is talking about representing Mumia (no, I don't believe Mumia should be free)...and in fact brought a lot of publicity to his case (yes, I know Mumia shot a cop). This is a just a little comparison..The idea is similar: the artists sympathize with a cause that is compelling but largely unknown and has no 'voice' in the wider public sphere.

In this way, both songs harken back to an age of musical activism, when Dylan spoke out for Hurricane Rubin Carter:

Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

In fact, this is closer to Rage's cause and case (Mumia vs. Carter), where the cause was specific, rather than a wider, macro issue like a presidential election.

The effect of all these songs (minus 50's) is that they want people to take an interest in what is happening around them--Even if you disagree...as long as there is an awareness, a discussion. Artists have played a key role in getting youth and others to vote and take an interest in the political system, which can only be a good thing in the long run. Where U2, Dylan, the Beastie Boys, the Clash, (yes even the) Sex Pistols and Rage Against the Machine have shown a light on particular issues, Eminem carries on this tradition.