Music

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. 

Photograph of a Small Island Big Song performer taken at the 2023 Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) in Taipei (from Small Island Big Song, 2023).
Small Island Big Song
Image of a vinyl record cover of “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell (from Genius, 2010).
"Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell
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"Feels Like Summer" by Childish Gambino
Acclaimed Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi performs one of his own compositions on a floating platform in the Arctic Ocean, in front of the Wahlenbergbreen glacier (in Svalbard, Norway). The composition, Elegy for the Arctic, was inspired by eight million voices from around the world calling for Arctic protection. The Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise carried Einaudi, the grand piano and eight million voices to Svalbard. Greenpeace is urging the OSPAR Commission that meets this week (20-24 June, 2016) in Tenerife, not to miss the opportunity to protect international Arctic waters under its mandate. El prestigioso compositor y pianista italiano Ludovico Einaudi ha unido su voz, a traves de la mœsica, a la de los ocho millones de personas de todo el mundo que piden la protecci—n del çrtico, con la interpretacion de una pieza creada especialmente para la ocasi—n sobre una plataforma flotante en mitad de ese oceano, frente al glaciar Wahlenbergbreen (en Svalbard, Noruega). Einaudi ha viajado al çrtico a bordo del barco de Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise, coincidiendo con el comienzo en Tenerife de una importante cita para el futuro del çrtico: la reunion esta semana de la comision OSPAR, que podr’a asegurar la creaci—n de la primera zona protegida en aguas internacionales del oceano çrtico.
"Elegy for the Arctic" by Ludovico Einaudi
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Tempo: Music for Climate Action
A Stradivarius violin made in 1684 (from Capon, 2017).
Stradivarius Violins
Composer Geoffrey Hudson (right) with conductor Tony Thornton (left) during a rehearsal for the premiere of A Passion for the Planet in June 2019 (from Hybrid Vigor Music, n.d.).
A Passion for the Planet by Geoffrey Hudson
Album cover for Kid A by British rock band Radiohead, released in 2000 (from Genius, 2010). It features illustrations of barren glaciers, some of which are burning, to demonstrate the apocalyptic content referenced in some of the songs.
"Idioteque" by Radiohead
The album cover for Retribution by Tanya Tagaq, an Indigenous Canadian artist and vocalist (from Presley, 2016). Retribution is Tagaq’s fourth full-length album, released in 2016.
Retribution by Tanya Tagaq
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"The 1975" by The 1975
The album cover of Eight Seasons (from Eyck and Grabic of carolinaeyck.com, 2022).
Eight Seasons by Kalevi Aho
Single cover for American band Lake Street Dive’s 2020 song “Making Do” (from Genius, 2020).
"Making Do" by Lake Street Dive
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Iñupiaq Drumming and Global Warming
Image of record cover for “Love Song to the Earth” by various artists (from Genius, 2015).
"Love Song to the Earth" by various artists
EP (Extended play) cover for English musician and singer Billy Bragg’s 2017 release of album Bridges Not Walls (from Genius, 2017).
"King Tide and the Sunny Day Flood" by Billy Bragg
Album cover for Titantic Rising, a 2019 album by American artist Natalie Mering, also known as Weyes Blood (from Genius, 2019).
Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood

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
Projects
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
  • Le Monde est Chaud by Tiken Jah Fakoly
  • Live at City Winery by Pathway to Paris
  • Many a Thousand by Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith
  • “Melt!” by Kelly Lee Owens 
  • New Beginnings by Tracy Chapman
  • Old Wow by Sam Lee
  • “Up from the Skies” by Jimi Hendrix
Climate Themes in Music
  • Rain Dances (Ceremonies/Prayers for Rain)
    • Hopi Snake-Antelope Dance
Indigenous Perspectives
  • Rain Dances (Ceremonies/Prayers for Rain)
    • Hopi Snake-Antelope Dance
Artists/Musicians
Articles
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
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