3 posts tagged “protest”
I don't often listen to so-called "Indie Rock," because when I do I usually find it boring, precious, excessively wordy, and lacking any rock'n'roll gusto, and then I remember why I don't listen to Indie Rock. Sasha Frere-Jones ignited a big debate last fall (if music geeks arguing amongst themselves can be termed a "debate") with his New Yorker article "A Paler Shade of White," in which he argues that indie rock sucks because it's all made by middle-class white college students (and graduates) with little to no influence from Authentic Black Music. (I remember hearing virtually the same argument nearly thirty years ago, explaining why Led Zeppelin was great and Def Leppard sucked.) I think it probably explains why I can't get interested in indie rock. But complaining about it is like complaining that Chick-Fil-A doesn't serve enough hamburgers. If it's a hamburger you want, don't go to Chick-Fil-A! Yesterday, however, I took a trip to the musical Chick-Fil-A, as Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were playing at Cornell's end-of-classes Slope Day celebration. I'd heard good things about Ted Leo from phantom blogger Jeff, and it was free, so I decided to check it out. Well...for the most part it didn't change my opinion of indie rock, but they did unleash the angriest, most passionate anti-war song I've heard in years, the best protest rock since Rage Against the Machine broke up. Here's the video for "Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.", which doesn't begin to capture the power of the live performance (a second guitarist really adds to the punch of the chorus):
Protest music can come from the unlikeliest places. German DJ and recording artist Malente came up with the supremely catchy "Open Secret" last year, which turns out to be quite a relevant protest song as well. The lyrics are clever, offering ironic support for government's lust for ever-increasing search and surveillance powers (all for our "security," of course) and culminating in the chorus of
All the things I do, the things I say
Are an open secret, that's okay
Tell me how to funk, and I'll obey
'Cause I'm an open secret anyway
That's right, if you've got nothing to hide you've got nothing to worry about. That's the theory. It's refreshing to find incisive political commentary in a music genre (electronic breaks) littered with lyrics like "Breakbeat suckers, we're the real motherfuckers" (Cirrus) and the like. So "big ups" to Malente, or whatever we're supposed to give people these days to show appreciation. (Kudos? Props? Two snaps up in a circle? High-five? Chest thump? "Yee-ha!"? Any ideas?) (Not that I don't like Cirrus, in spite of the idiotic lyrics. That's guilty pleasure #422 or thereabouts.)
I've been meaning to start a "crooners" thread, but it just hasn't worked out yet; maybe soon. In the meantime I've been listening to The Pop Group's catalog, and wishing I hadn't missed it all by a few years. Through the 80s I was a fan of all the groups borne of the late Pop Group: Mark Stewart + Maffia, Rip Rig & Panic, Maximum Joy, Pigbag, Float Up C.P., and possibly more, but I never got around to tracking down the source of it all. Thanks to the Internet, though, I can do that now, and it's been a revelation. In trying to find one song that encapsulates all the aspects of The Pop Group, I've decided on "We Are All Prostitutes":
Listening to this song from 1980, I think, "This is the blueprint for Rage Against the Machine!" Mark Stewart is even more hysterical than Zach de la Rocha (ranting hysterical, not funny hysterical) (not intentionally funny, at least) , the guitarist (John Waddington or Gareth Sager, or both?) takes cues from Sonny Sharrock instead of Ron Asheton, and everything is a bit sloppy and anarchic, but wedding shouted, social-justice-themed lyrics over a funky rock beat is something both bands have in common. The Pop Group had disintegrated by 1981, before I even heard of them, but Mark Stewart continued to carry the torch of political paranoia throughout the 80s, and a little bit in the 90s, and apparently still plays live gigs even today. I was lucky enough to catch him at the 9:30 Club in 1987 on an On-U Sound bill with Gary Clail and Tackhead (with Adrian Sherwood himself on the boards). Stewart only did a few songs but he emanated a powerful vibe that made it clear that his lyrics really are his own fears and convictions, not just an act. Perhaps he'll come play in Ithaca someday. Hahahaha!
