Does music influence our ethics?

Kanye West - Jesus walks The song is essentially a spiritual one (an image of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro appears on the single's cover), in which West discusses how Jesus "walks" with all manner of people, from the law- abiding to the criminal. It also explains West's views on how the media seems to shy away from songs talking about God, while embracing songs discussing violence, sex, and illegal drugs. This is shown in the lyrics "They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes/But if I talk about God my record won't get played?" The song was co-written with rapper (and close friend of West's) Rhyme fest and Mark Ronson.

Bob Marley - Redemption Song When Marley wrote "Redemption Song" he had already been diagnosed with the cancer that was to later take his life, and he was already secretly in a lot of pain and dealing with his own mortality. Marley was a pioneer in spreading the reggae music of Jamaica throughout the world. The song urges listeners to "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery," because "None but ourselves can free our minds". These memorable lines appear to have been taken from a speech given by Marcus Garvey in Nova Scotia during October 1937 and published in his Black Man magazine: “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind....” In 2004, Rolling Stone placed the song at number 66 among ‘The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time’.

Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love? "Where Is the Love?" is the first single from the Black Eyed Peas' third album, Elephunk. Released in 2003, the single (which features an uncredited vocal from Justin Timberlake) peaked at number 8 in the USA becoming The Black Eyed Peas' first Top 10 hit; the single also peaked at number 1 in Australia and the UK. The song is an anti-war pacifist anthem, in which The Black Eyed Peas lament on various worldwide problems. Many issues are discussed, which include but are not limited to terrorism, U.S. government hypocrisy, racism, war, intolerance and greed. Some view this song as an anthem against the War on terror and the 2003 invasion of Iraq since it was released shortly after the invasion began.

John Lennon - Imagine John Lennon wrote "Imagine," early in His wife, Yoko Ono, watched as Lennon sat at the white grand piano virtually completed the song. Looking back at that morning thirty years later, Ono said, "It's not like he thought, 'Oh, this can be an anthem, Imagine was just what John believed -- that we are all one country, one world, one people. He wanted to get that idea out." Lennon commented that the song was "an anti-religious, anti- nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it's sugar-coated, it's accepted.“ He also described it as "virtually the Communist Manifesto". In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine voted "Imagine" the third greatest song of all time. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said, "In many countries around the world — my wife and I have visited about 125 countries — you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems."

TASKS Create your own ‘ethical music’ (this could reflect your own views on an ethical issue, or those of an ethical theory we have studied so far this term, e.g. Utilitarianism.) OR ‘Changing Tracks’ write an ethical dilemma, in which someone hears a piece of music, which then helps them to decide on the right way to behave.

Final discussion… How big an influence is music on our ethics? Do recording artists have a moral obligation to promote ‘ethical living’ through their music?