For the Record: Musicians Get Political

By Yumna Yousry On Jul 20, 2014

Your favorite celebrities are just like you – they’ve also been Tweeting and Instagramming and Facebooking about Gaza, but unlike you, they also get praised and criticized publicly. On Tuesday, Rihanna famously tweeted ‘#FreePalestine’, only to delete it and follow it up with the less controversial “Let’s pray for peace and a swift end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! Is there any hope?”

Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder was also attacked after his anti-war statement during a concert in England last week, which was labeled as anti-Israeli. “I swear to fucking God, there are people out there who are looking for a reason to kill,” he said onstage. “They’re looking for a reason to go across borders and take over land that doesn’t belong to them. They should get the fuck out, and mind their own fucking business.” He replied to critics with a letter on the band’s official website in which he quotes John Lennon‘s “Imagine” and calls for peace.

Meanwhile, Neil Young and Crazy Horse had canceled a live show in Tel Aviv that was due to take place this week, and to which 30,000 people had already bought tickets, because of safety concerns. The band’s official statement stated that they “look forward to playing in Israel and Palestine in peace”. Young had received a plea from Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters urging him to cancel the concert, saying “your songs have always been redolent of love and humanity and compassion for your fellow man and woman. I find it hard to believe that you would turn your back on the indigenous people of Palestine.”

And yesterday Selena Gomez posted a photo with “It’s About Humanity – Pray for Gaza” on her Instagram account, followed by a statement that she was not picking sides and “praying for peace and humanity for all”. Needless to say, the photo has attracted many an impassioned commentator.

And in lighter news… Weird Al Yankovic is back and it’s everything you’ve hoped for. Starting Monday, he has released a new video each day, and so far they’ve included parodies of Lorde, Pharrell and Iggy Azalea, as well as this amazing spoof of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”, all off his new album Mandatory Fun:

I was just getting over Coldplay‘s “Magic”, and then Brandy did a cover and now I’m hooked again:

And here’s another chilled out track from R&B up-and-comer Jhene Aiko, off her debut album Souled Out, which is due next month:

After a few (too) slow singles, Lykke Li has sped up the beat but kept the depression going with new one “Gunshot”, in which she compares her breakup to… you know, a gunshot:

WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss this incredibly powerful piece by Farah Osman, “I Will Not Write About Gaza“.