Want to hear the new Jarvis album? Well you can. And ALL of it, if you head over to Mr. Cocker’s myspace page. It’s streaming non-stop so you’ll have to either find an hour to sit back and enjoy it or do the sensible, impatient thing and just buy it.
I went over to myspace to listen to the album but it’s not working (might just be the Japanese myspace) so I listened to Running the World, which to me is a pretty crap song. Got me wondering about overtly political songs and if there are any really good ones. I can think of songs like Born In The USA, or Sunday Bloody Sunday, which address specific political events, but examples of songs like this Jarvis one, which are more general in their criticism, I can’t think of any really great one. George Michael’s Wag The Dog was catchy but I suppose that is not so much general as specifically targetting Bush and Blair. Tom Robinson’s (Sing if you’re) Glad to be Gay might rank, but it’s pretty much a niche interest in terms of political protest songs.
Is there any blindingly obvious example I’m missing?
There are tons. Look at Woody Guthrie’s back catalogue and you’ve got a load. Ditto Dylan (especially ‘Eve of Destruction’ and ‘A Hard Rain’). My favourites include ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ by Gil Scott Heron, Billy Bragg’s ‘Between the Wars’, The Dead Kennedy’s ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ and there’s no funkier political song than Edwin Starr’s ‘War’
You mentioned Prince in your email - does ‘Sign O’ the Times’ count?
Yeah, it’s working now, Sinead. I thought of Sign o’ the Times too, and I think it definitely counts and it’s not a single-issue protest song either. You’re right, there are plenty of good ones. Pity Jarvis’s is so crap. Most of the ones you mention above, though, are single-issue protest songs. Actually, Prince has another good political protest song on Musicology. It’s called Dear Mr. Man. Have you heard it?
I like Jarvis’s, it’s brash and I think it makes a valid point about Live 8, how slow things are to change and I fundamentally think he’s right - “cunts are still running the world”.
Is a single issue protest song any less worthy than one that deals with several issues? Apart from Sign o’ the Times, I couldn’t think of another one.
To be honest, if you’re going to write something political, you might lessen the impact of what you’re saying by cramming lots of topics in. As far as protest songs go, I think one issue per song is far more effective.
Hey Sinead, have you heard this The Cake Sale collaboration album? I just read about it a few minutes ago, and noticed it’s released in Ireland. I’ve only heard one song but i’m interested in picking it up if it’s available globally tho.
Sinead, I thought your Ticket review of Jarvis’ album on Friday linked together nicely with Lara Marlowe’s Paris Letter in the main part of the Irish Times. This might not seem obvious but I’ll try and explain. In your review you mentioned the theme of Jarvis Running the World song, and in Lara Marlowe’s article she tells us that the French government secretly supplied nuclear technology and even the missiles to deploy them in the 60’s, while De Gaul publically condemned their nuclear weapons progam. The c****
November 11th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
I went over to myspace to listen to the album but it’s not working (might just be the Japanese myspace) so I listened to Running the World, which to me is a pretty crap song. Got me wondering about overtly political songs and if there are any really good ones. I can think of songs like Born In The USA, or Sunday Bloody Sunday, which address specific political events, but examples of songs like this Jarvis one, which are more general in their criticism, I can’t think of any really great one. George Michael’s Wag The Dog was catchy but I suppose that is not so much general as specifically targetting Bush and Blair. Tom Robinson’s (Sing if you’re) Glad to be Gay might rank, but it’s pretty much a niche interest in terms of political protest songs.
Is there any blindingly obvious example I’m missing?
November 12th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
There are tons. Look at Woody Guthrie’s back catalogue and you’ve got a load. Ditto Dylan (especially ‘Eve of Destruction’ and ‘A Hard Rain’). My favourites include ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ by Gil Scott Heron, Billy Bragg’s ‘Between the Wars’, The Dead Kennedy’s ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ and there’s no funkier political song than Edwin Starr’s ‘War’
You mentioned Prince in your email - does ‘Sign O’ the Times’ count?
November 12th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Paul, as of Sunday 6pm, that’s playing fine for me. It could be a glitch at the Japanese end.
November 13th, 2006 at 2:09 am
Yeah, it’s working now, Sinead. I thought of Sign o’ the Times too, and I think it definitely counts and it’s not a single-issue protest song either. You’re right, there are plenty of good ones. Pity Jarvis’s is so crap. Most of the ones you mention above, though, are single-issue protest songs. Actually, Prince has another good political protest song on Musicology. It’s called Dear Mr. Man. Have you heard it?
November 13th, 2006 at 8:37 am
I like Jarvis’s, it’s brash and I think it makes a valid point about Live 8, how slow things are to change and I fundamentally think he’s right - “cunts are still running the world”.
Is a single issue protest song any less worthy than one that deals with several issues? Apart from Sign o’ the Times, I couldn’t think of another one.
To be honest, if you’re going to write something political, you might lessen the impact of what you’re saying by cramming lots of topics in. As far as protest songs go, I think one issue per song is far more effective.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:09 am
Er, What’s Goin’ On?
November 15th, 2006 at 10:44 am
Hey Sinead, have you heard this The Cake Sale collaboration album? I just read about it a few minutes ago, and noticed it’s released in Ireland. I’ve only heard one song but i’m interested in picking it up if it’s available globally tho.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Sinead, I thought your Ticket review of Jarvis’ album on Friday linked together nicely with Lara Marlowe’s Paris Letter in the main part of the Irish Times. This might not seem obvious but I’ll try and explain. In your review you mentioned the theme of Jarvis Running the World song, and in Lara Marlowe’s article she tells us that the French government secretly supplied nuclear technology and even the missiles to deploy them in the 60’s, while De Gaul publically condemned their nuclear weapons progam. The c****
November 19th, 2006 at 10:43 am
There’s also a link between “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and c**ts too…