lets mosh

This is the link to the lyrics

This is the link to the music video for MOSH

This is one of my favorite songs of all time. I think it also does an amazing job of showing what a powerful combination politics and art can be and how much of an impact something as simple as a song or another form of art can have on our country and people in it.

The song starts with the voices of kids beginning the Pledge of Allegiance together, and as they go on to finish the first line, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America..." the sound of a plane roaring overheard and then crashing comes in. Immediately after, the beat comes on and the song begins. From the moment the song starts, the listener becomes aware of the political and anti war undertones (which become overt) of the song. I think the use of children's voices and the background sound of the plane crashing was a very effective way to begin because not only does it grab attention, it also causes the listener to consciously or unconsciously think of what happened on 9/11 and the questions that arose about our government after. By putting that picture in the listener's mind from the very beginning, the song makes you think as you listen to the lyrics. In the video especially, the opening scene depicting a cartoon Eminem reading to a class of children from an upside down book clearly parallels what was shown of our President reacting to the news on 9/11. Coincidence? Definitely not.

 This song is such a good example of how politics and art can be intertwined to promote awareness and inspire others to come together and work for a better country together. The video of Mosh shows tons of people following Eminem in black sweatshirts to storm the White house (obviously against the President and current cabinet) but more than that to show that people can all come together and make a difference. Eminem is seen as an outspoken, rebel artist, yet he has millions of fans who are influenced by his music everyday. Throughout the song there are obvious jabs at president Bush and other political figures, showing bias, but despite that, the goal is to motivate people to think for themselves and make a difference, no matter what.  The video encourages people to vote at the end, showing the goal to get more people to "speak out and be heard" as phrased in the song. This song and it's video clearly demonstrates how much influence celebrities can have through the media and art, and how powerful their messages can really come across. This song was set to release before the election date of November 2, but was pushed back until November 12 perhaps because of the influence he could have had over potential voters.

In looking at this song I saw the combination of politics, government, art and media all combined and because of previous assignments in this class I thought it was a perfect example of how this deadly combination influences all different people to try and bring our country together for one cause, and how it is possible to be the change we hope to see in the world.