Climate is a common inspiration for music in the past and present. Numerous examples of such music pieces and projects and their connections to climate are explored are highlighted in this learning resource.
The drop-down menus below contain links to in-site webpages developed by the Smith College Climate in Arts and History team. The display above features selected images from these pages. The Exploration (In Progress) menu lists additional topics that are in development to become full-length entries.
Projects
Songs and Albums
- A Passion for the Planet by Geoffrey Hudson
- “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell
- Eight Seasons by Kalevi Aho
- “Elegy for the Arctic” by Ludovico Einaudi
- “Feels Like Summer” by Childish Gambino
- “Idioteque” by Radiohead
- “Liberated Carbon” by Andy Revkin
- “Making Do” by Lake Street Dive
- “(Nothing But) Flowers” by Talking Heads
- Retribution by Tanya Tagaq
- “The 1975″ (Notes on a Conditional Form) by the 1975
- “Wake Up America” by Miley Cyrus
Climate Themes in Music
Projects
- ClimateMusic
- Climate Stories Project
- Earthsound
- Music4ClimateJustice
Songs and Albums
- “4 Degrees” by ANOHNI
- “Catastrophe” by Matador
- “Changes” by Joy Oladokun
- Climate by Erik Ian
- “Climate Voices Suite” by Jason Davis
- Global Warming by Sonny Rollins
- Handfuls of Night by Penguin Cafe
- “I Had a Dream I Was Falling Through a Hole in the Ozone Layer” by Deee-Lite
- “King Tide and the Sunny Day Flood” by Billy Bragg
- Le Monde est Chaud by Tiken Jah Fakoly
- “Liberated Carbon” by Andy Revkin
- Live at City Winery by Pathway to Paris
- “Love Song to the Earth” by Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, John Rzeznik, Q’orianka Kilcher, Victoria Justice, Christina Grimmie, Nicole Scherzinger, Kelsea Ballerini, Angelique Kidjo, Krewella, Sean Paul, Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield and Colbie Caillat
- Many a Thousand by Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith
- “Melt!” by Kelly Lee Owens
- New Beginnings by Tracy Chapman
- “(Nothing But Flowers)” by the Talking Heads
- Old Wow by Sam Lee
- Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood
- “Up from the Skies” by Jimi Hendrix
- “Wake Up America” by Miley Cyrus
Climate Themes in Music
- Iñupiaq Drumming and Global Warming
- Rain Dances (Ceremonies/Prayers for Rain)
- Hopi Snake-Antelope Dance
Indigenous Perspectives
- Iñupiaq Drumming and Global Warming
- Rain Dances (Ceremonies/Prayers for Rain)
- Hopi Snake-Antelope Dance
Artists/Musicians
- Jason Davis
- Judy Twedt
Articles
- Ambre, K. “Local Artists Band Together for Climate Action.” Music in Minnesota. n.d. https://www.musicinminnesota.com/local-artists-band-together-for-climate-action.
- Amsen, E. “What Does Climate Change Sound Like As Music?” Forbes. 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaamsen/2019/04/18/what-does-climate-change-sound-like-as-music/?sh=204cbfaf3250.
- Currin, G. H. “Music for Our Emergency.” NPR. 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/784818349/songs-our-emergency-how-music-approaching-climate-change-crisis.
- Sheikh, K. “This is What Climate Change Sounds Like.” The New York Times. 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/science/climate-change-music-sound.html.
- Harrison, K. (2020). Indigenous music sustainability during climate change. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 43, 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.01.003
Books
- Cooley, T. J. Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy. University of Illinois Press, 2019.
- Pedelty, M. Ecomusicology: Rock, Folk and the Environment. Temple University Press, 2011.
Websites