To musicians, the goal of making music is to get a message across to listeners and affect them, whether by brightening their day with a joke or changing their views on the United States' two-party system.

Making people think about politics is what artists like Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Eminem and U2 do every day. But does music with political overtones face more obstacles than music without?

Y-Press interviewed disc jockeys from Carmel High School radio station WHJE-FM (91.3) to see if the messages in music determined airtime that songs get. We also interviewed Clark Giles, vocalist for The Dream is Dead, to see why a musical act would add politics to its songs.

Political messages in music vary. The Dream is Dead not only puts a pro-youth slant into its music, but it writes about real political events, such as the killing of pro-democracy demonstrators in China's Tiananmen Square.

Giles sees his band's lyrics as a way to improve lives. "We have a pretty strong anti-drug and anti-racism and anti-sexism message," he said.

Brianna Jacobson, who graduated from Carmel in June, says music and messages fit together. "Musicians are in a really good place, they're in the public eye, and if they believe strongly in something, they can get it out to a whole lot of people through their music," she said.

Shawn Gwyn, a Carmel senior, thinks artists understand their power. "They're in a position that they can help the situation if they want to. They can say, 'Oh yeah, the rain forest, it's having a problem,' and a lot of people will listen."

But Natalie Walker, also a recent Carmel graduate, says their motivation is often more selfless. "Some actually, like, want to get messages out; they don't want to just be popular," she said.

Giles said artists with political messages share a special relationship with fans. "I think the kids listen to the message in our music because they know that we're a political band, and the lyrics are pretty important," he said.

Shawn agrees, explaining that he likes to listen to Rage Against the Machine "mostly for their music, their lyrics, the words they say because it's pretty powerful. Like if you read it as poetry, it even sounds good."

But Giles doesn't think that view is typical. "In general, I don't think your average listener on the radio probably listens to the lyrics that much." And, Giles said, politically driven bands often receive less airtime and support from their record companies.

"Any time you're gonna talk religion or politics, you're gonna alienate somebody," he said, adding that alienated listeners don't buy records, which cuts into record company profits, "and record companies in general . . . they're only really concerned about the bottom line, and that's just not good business to talk about that."

The disc jockeys agreed their station's general manager has at times asked them not to play certain songs. Especially after the Sept. 11 attacks, some songs received wider circulation, and others were not played at all.

"There were a lot of songs stripped from the radio," said Shawn, naming "Bodies" by Drowning Pool in particular.

But Natalie points out that a band with "a real radical view" sometimes has an advantage: "You get a lot of attention from the press and from people just because you are controversial."

But can a political song enhance or change a person's view on an issue?

Not for Brianna. "Usually when I listen to a song with a political message, I don't really think about it so much. It just kind of goes into my brain and maybe a couple minutes later I'll be like, 'Oh wait. So that's what they were talking about.' I don't really dwell on it."

On the other hand, Shawn named several artists who helped shape his opinions. "John Mellencamp really changed my viewpoint on the United States of America, 'cause every time I listen to a lot of his songs, I get a real sense of patriotic pride. And Eminem really changed a lot of my viewpoints on things because he says it like it is. He doesn't say anything nicely; he just says it straightforward," he said.

Natalie says she was reluctantly moved by "Youth of a Nation" by P.O.D. last year. "I guess I'm really sick of that song now, but back when it came out, it kind of made me think of like what happened at Columbine," she said.

Giles, too, believes in the power of music. "Music and art in general has pretty much been the catalyst for a lot of political events that have occurred, you know, throughout history," he said.

Giles said his favorite political tune is "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2, because "I just grew up with that song, and it was like one of the first political songs that I heard," he said.

While not everyone agrees that lyrics can influence listeners, no one disputes the power of music over teens.

"I think it affects teenagers extremely because right here recently, rap's been getting really popular. If you look around at my school or any school in the nation right now . . . they're wearing gangland apparel, urban stuff even if they live out in rural areas," Shawn said.

"Music is really what defines youth," Brianna added. "Go into a school and you'll see the gangsters, who listen to their rap. You'll see the teeny-boppers, who listen to their teeny-bopper music, and you'll see the skaters who listen to their punk. And you'll see the Goth kids, who listen to their other stuff.

"Music is what defines kids when they're young 'cause they don't know what they are yet, so they listen to music to help them shape their persona," she continued. "Even though it's such a small thing, it causes such a huge impact in the world. I don't know how, but it does."

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Emma Hulse, 15; Gabrielle Bibeau, 14.

REPORTER: Katie Bolinger, 12.