Sound of Our Revolution | November 2022: Price of Life

What the fuck. Seriously, what the fuck.

I…I don’t, I can’t. I picked this playlist theme a couple months back thinking that it would very likely be the most relevant issue of the day, and nothing would overshadow it, as anything that could happen would ultimately lead back to inflation, austerity, and the cost of living.

But then we get a PM simping for fracking at the detriment to the country, making her even less popular with MPs and her own party members. She fucked the economy and then blamed it on her chancellor for being loyal to her, and now she’s leaving, paving the way for the 3rd Prime Minister of the year. Blizzard Comedy isn’t even 4 years old yet, but we’ve already had 4 Tory Prime Ministers since beginning in April 2019. Where do I even start getting a thematically appropriate playlist for this month other than just “AAAAAAAAAAAAA” and it’s just 80 minutes of nonsensical yelling of swears.

So fuck it, I’m sticking with the initial plan, go fuck yourselves. The worst thing the Tories have ever done is fucking up so massively in every single conceivable way that I don’t even know how to rebel against you properly. (Of course that’s not true, don’t worry, I’m not that up my own arse. Yet.)

And to be fair – with the energy crisis likely leading to regular winter blackouts for the first time in decades, Truss economic destruction losing everyone their pensions, skyrocketing mortgages and driving up costs of basic resources even more than they were already, it’s not as if the cost of living is old news. The middle classes are going to genuinely struggle, the working classes even more so, those in poverty will be lucky to survive the winter.

We live in a broken system – and we have no one in power. That’s it, that’s the end of the sentence.

No one has any power to act – and the ones who are, on paper, in charge would rather give the rich more breaks, using a repeatedly debunked economic idea, give corporations record profits, and do fuck all for anyone who isn’t at least on the path to becoming a millionaire. Even with Sunak in charge – who might not be as economically reckless as old Lizzy – he will still be campaigning on a system of preserving the status quo but gutting the last remaining public services to make the budget look better on paper but functionally leave the poorest just as if not more fucked that under Truss.

At least Truss’ plan was so batshit that literally everyone was losing. Sunak’s austerity will keep the poor poor whilst throwing a bone to the middle classes to discourage them from voting against them in 2024. And when only the poorest are at risk, there is much less help available.

So let’s try and ground ourselves for a moment – realize how fucked everything is, and Sing, shout, riot along to this playlist about the Cost of Living, curated by me:

1: GDP – Bob Vylan

“When he ask how I feel, I reply that I’m fed up
Some are drowning in money, I’m barely keeping my head up
Price of life on the rise, I’m feeling like it’s a setup
‘Cause nobody that I grew with seems to be getting a leg up”

It’s hard to believe this song has only existed for a year, as it’s fast become one of my all time faves. GDP by Bob Vylan is in my opinion the centrepiece of the excellent “Price of Life” album – a concept record all about the ever increasing cost of living and systemic injustices driven by those in power to incite class warfare.

The whole album would’ve been suitable here, but I have an arbitrary rule that I only have one song per artist – and this one encapsulates everything. The desperation that working classes are forced into dealing or stealing to survive, the dichotomy between with the media reports and the actual effect it is having on people, and the continued oppression to keep the working classes down at the bottom at all costs.

All of this over a pounding beat, heavy guitars, and delivered with expert flow to make It one of 2021’s best Punk songs to come out of the country, and a perfect way to kick off this playlist.

2: Ratrace – Skindred

“Don’t even bother with the boasting
Just take care, coz this ya rat race ain’t fair
Even the saints them are falling
So beware! You’ll find no winners in there”

This song brings me back. First got into Skindred around 2010, which I define as my proper musical awakening. Sure, I liked a few bands and tracks before that – but 2010 was the moment in which I actually started seeking out my own music and not just filtering through what my Dad, brother and friends listened to, to pick out stuff I liked.

Ratrace was the first track I heard from Skindred – I can’t remember if it was something that came up on Last.fm (remember those days?) or whether I stumbled across it on YouTube – but I was in love instantly. I already had a soft spot for Nu Metal (yeah, I was cool in 2010, and what?) – but this was different.

Most of the best Nu Metal originated in the States. Skindred are from Wales. Most Nu Metal is a blend of Metal and Hip-Hop, with occasional industrial elements. Skindred incorporate Reggae and Ska as well. Skindred also have a much more authentic sound than a lot of Nu Metal – as much as I love the genre. It is a bunch of nerdy white people desperately trying to not sound like nerdy white people. In fact it might not even be fair to call Skindred Nu Metal, but they certainly scratch the same itch for me.

This track has such a satisfying bounce to it, which Benji’s vocals really lend themselves to – a simple verse – bridge – chorus – verse – bridge – chorus – break – chorus structure, but so well tied together to create a coherent anthem that you can headbang, mosh or skank to.

Lyrically it’s a bit more abstract than Vylan’s GDP, but encapsulates the futility of being stuck in the “Ratrace” which you could easily apply to the human condition under our current social-economic systems without it being a stretch.

There are no winners. There’s no point taking part in the race against one another. The winners have already won, and they are reliant on your continued competition to keep each other down.

This doesn’t talk about the cost of living per se – but is very much a critique of the system of our society on the whole – which is the thing that has lead us to this point, so I think it’s fair game.

3: Here Come The Drums – Jaya The Cat

“And if your daddy ain’t rich
Ya gotta find some way to take it
So I’m out window shopping
With a brick at three in the morning”

Moving forward to a band I discovered more recently who appeared at this year’s Manchester Punk Festival (did I mention I missed it and am sad about it yet?).

I don’t know much about Jaya the Cat – but Here Come The Drums is a delightful upbeat mid paced ska track. It’s light on lyrical content but using it wisely – all about how those who aren’t born with privilege have to take from their oppressors to survive.

Weirdly inspiring for such a resigned message, helped along by how good the titular drums are in this track, being a perfect marching pace as you find your local Sainsbury’s to break into to feed yourself so you don’t starve to death and the profits of Supermarket chains don’t eclipse the living necessities of poor people.

4: Work and then Wait – Maximo Park

“The right-wing views have been getting me down
They say that work brings dignity, no matter what job they dish out
But the rich start life with a hand-me-down
The wage cap gets bigger, doesn’t it make you proud?”

Obligatory Jake Donaldson Maximo Park suggestion.

Whenever Maximo Park shows up on these playlists, you can bet it was Jake to bring them up. I like them, but it’s not really my scene, so I often forget they exist. You can thank Jake for reminding me how good their lyrics are in particular every 3-4 months!

This is another track about the gap between classes more than cost of living per-se. But again, if you don’t understand how they are linked at this point, then I don’t know what to tell you. The rich getting richer ups the cost of living for the poor – and makes it harder, that’s just how it works. What a great system.

5: Dead End Street – The Kinks

“We are strictly second class,
We don’t understand,
Why we should be on dead end street.
People are living on dead end street.
Gonna die on dead end street.”

I love the Kinks. One of if not the Pioneer of one of the biggest revolutions in rock music of their generation, acting as a peak of Psychedelic, Punk and even a precursor to Metal.

But whenever I want to use an old band I always do a diligence check, just in case they’ve gone all anti-vax or transphobe in recent years. A quick skim of wiki doesn’t show anything too concerning, but there may be some stuff beneath the surface.

Although I also just found out their lead guitarist was bisexual and was genuinely surprised. I know logically that bisexuality wasn’t invented in the late 70s/early 80s – and that the 60s was a very gay time underground even if legislation was even harsher than it is now. But every time I hear a man born in the 1940s who’s still alive today use that label, it’s a nice surprise. I suppose they are called “The Kinks” idk why I’d think they’d be completely straight, just based on personal experience.

But yes, this song has an upbeat kind of bittersweet sound, but lyrics all about the horrible condition of living they are stuck in, and about how they will live and die in those conditions in the same place, as their income is barely paying off debts, stuck in a system that wants to keep them active enough to make money for the rich, but static enough that they can’t escape and move onto something better. Simple, but hits hard.

6: Cost of Living – Half Pint

“Cost of Living is getting higher”

I can’t find any concrete lyrics for this song, but the title speaks for itself.

I’m pleasantly surprised how much Reggae and adjacent songs I could find for this particular topic. It’s very much a lacking genre on my playlists, and I always love discovering more artists in the genre to broaden my horizons.

7: Maggie Thatcher’s Dream – Grace Petrie

“But when I looked at the big picture
Saw the rich getting richer
When I tried to play the long game
I was on the losing team
Can I be so middle class
When I can’t afford the gas?
Is this my economic nightmare or just
Maggie Thatcher’s Dream?”

There are few artists quite like Petrie today. An incredibly funny performer in her own right, having an incredible run at Edinburgh this year – but also very capable of moving you in ways only expert singer-songwriters can.

Maggie Thatcher’s Dream is one of those compositions that is so full of heart and emotion and a perfect reflection of the worst aspects of society and how they impact people like her, that if you can get to the end of this song and feel nothing, then I don’t know what would make you feel. Bet you didn’t even cry at the end of Coco, I don’t trust you.

This is such an earnest pouring of emotions about the economic trap that the working class are stuck in. The line “Can I be so middle class/When I can’t afford the gas?” hits so much different in the current energy crisis. This is what Thatcher and Reagan economics have been leading to – and what Truss tried to accelerate. This is Thatcher’s dream.

8: Worker’s Song – Dropkick Murphys

“We’re the first ones to starve the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat’s about”

I’m not sure when I became a Dropkick Murphys fan, but I’m definitely at a point where I can’t imagine a world without their back catalogue.

It was essentially a roulette wheel which of their songs is on this list, but I think the chorus of “Worker’s Song” with “We’re the first ones to starve the first ones to die” is especially fitting with how the cost of living crisis is realistically going to impact us as a society. The proletariat class are the ones who will be sacrificed. Just like how we were with Covid, Brexit, and Tory Austerity. Loss of the poor is just the price to pay for Tory donors and politicians to line their pockets by gutting the British state and public services.

If this doesn’t fill you with rage, then I am in awe of your emotional regulation, and also, it’s fine for you to feel angry at injustice. You don’t need to regulate to the point of burial. Keep calm, sure, but don’t carry on as if it’s not happening. Direct your anger, don’t diminish it.

9: Pay for the Privilege of Breathing – Napalm Death

“An end to poverty?
Only if you pay up first
Meet the fee and keep your soul”

I could talk about this Napalm Death classic that condenses all the points I make in this blog into less than 2 minutes of Grindcore brutality – about how the notion of paying to breathe isn’t that farfetched from the truth – and that the further we get into capitalism the more basic needs will be monetized at the expense of the most impoverished.

Or I could just remind you of that time Ed Miliband met them that one time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onyU3UflRrg

10: Sardines – Kid Kapichi

“And if you’re feeling a little murderous inside today
They say crime don’t pay, well neither do they
And if you’re feeling like nothing ever fucking goes your way
They say crime don’t pay, well neither do they”

Been on a Kid Kapichi kick lately as their brilliant second album dropped last month. They take everything I love about Brit-punk with a more accessible indie/alt rock coat of paint that doesn’t sacrifice any of the raw rage in the lyrics.

Sardines is a track more about the treatment and exploitation of the working class, rather than the cost of living specifically. But the line “Crime don’t pay, well neither do they” hits on the truth of the situation harder than most.

What’s the point in trying to make an ‘honest’ living if that leaves you objectively worse off than any alternative? Pittance pay was a problem already, but with the cost of living rising, it’s only getting less and less survivable.

11: 100 Little Curses – Street Sweeper Social Club

“May your chef be all pissin’ in the bisque in the kitchen
May I assume your autobiography is filed under fiction
Cause on the breakin’ backs of others is where you got all your cash
Till we make the revolution I hope your life sucks ass”

Who saw this coming? Another Tom Morello collaboration featuring on yet another of our playlists?

Street Sweeper Social Club is a collaboration between Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Boots Riley (The Coup) – bringing together one of the greatest rock guitarists and activists of the last few decades, and one of my favourite rappers of all time in a matchup that I had no idea even existed until I stumbled across this project purely by accident.

Like all of Tom Morello’s side projects, it might not quite reach the levels of Rage’s peak, but 100 Little Curses is still a funky, groovy rap rock track all about wishing small amounts of harm on the rich oppressors to ensure they enjoy their life as little as possible until we’re able to have a proper revolution. Which is a nice sentiment, I feel. “Eat the Rich” is all well and good, but until we’re in a position where we could win a fight, let’s take solitude in little frustrations they could be feeling to ruin their quality of life just enough to put them in a bad mood. It’s not a victory – but it is still satisfying nonetheless to imagine them suffering even a tiny amount as the majority of the country struggles to survive for the next 6 months or so.

12: The Poverty of Philosophy – Immortal Technique

“In fact, I have more in common
With most working and middle-class white people
Than I do with most rich black and Latino people
As much as racism bleeds America
We need to understand that classism is the real issue
Many of us are in the same boat and it’s sinking
While these bougie motherfuckers ride on a luxury liner
And as long as we keep fighting
Over kicking people out of the little boat we’re all in
We’re gonna miss an opportunity
To gain a better standard of living as a whole”

Immortal Technique have such a lyrical mastery over language that even in a track like this, which is essentially a 6 minute spoken word rant more than it is a rap, you’re hanging on every word and each verse hits harder than the last. Exploring the very philosophy of socialism, the intersection of racism and class warfare, the difference between being granted freedom and seeking liberation, and all the nuances that surround these incredibly complicated subjects – in a way that neither talks down to their audience nor overwhelms with dense academic phrasing.

This isn’t a song you’d sing along to or dance to, but it is required listening at least once for everyone who wants to understand basic socialist theory and more specifically the oppression of Latino people and the history of western democracy as a tool of suppression of working class people of colour. Incredibly informative and from an authentic voice that was as relevant 20 years ago as it is now.

13: Breadline Britain – The Communards

“This is Breadline Britain
This free and promised Land
Breadline Britain
Where the rich don’t give a damn
People Getting hungry
and people getting poor
People getting Destitute and more”

God this song is hauntingly powerful. Breadline Britain speaks for itself as a title and is complimented by the dreary, despair filled, mournful vocals and simple sad piano backing, painting a vivid picture of working class life in the most poverty stricken parts of the country. Anger is a very valid emotional response to the current crisis and its effect on the poorest in the country – but something about this pained singing full of despair hits just as hard if not harder than any of the angry Punk anthems on this subject. Powerful stuff.

14: Talkin’ Bout A Revolution – Tracy Chapman

“I’ve been standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion”

After that I think we need something a tad more upbeat. Holding over from last month’s union playlist, we’ve once again got the Tracy Chapman classic “Talkin’ About A Revolution” – which unlike Communards paints an optimistic view of the future for poor people, creating a sense of empowering solidarity “Poor people gonna rise up and take what’s theirs” with a guitar backing that’s almost Country inspired with its twangs, yet sung with passion only really found in old Blues masterpieces.

This song is incredible and manages to make me feel better on days where everything is too much and I just feel like giving up. I hope it manages to have a similar effect on you as well.

15: You Say Millionaire Like It’s a Good Thing – Guante

“Keep us hungry so we never organize for nothing better
Just make it through the day, make it through the week,
make it through the month,
make a millionaire another couple bucks”

Sometimes lyrics really do carry a song – the beat is very Marmite, in that I’m 27 year’s old but I’m still not 100% sure what it actually is.

It’s not bad, but it definitely could be grating if you’re listening to it on repeat for 20 minutes, like I am right now trying to write some words for it. And to be fair I think that’s meant to be the point – it’s meant to represent the monotony of a working week, possibly representing an alarm clock – evenly spaced toneless jarring noises to rouse you from a state of relaxation.

Oh yeah, that’s what it is, still not sure about Marmite though.

But yes, the lyrics are fairly basic, but sometimes basic language is what you need to get a point across. Not everyone needs to be Aesop Rock, capturing the human condition using every single 15+ point word possible on a Scrabble board. Sometimes it’s about the way words are used than what words are used specifically.

Guante really captures the plight of a worker in late stage capitalism and the anger of being barely kept alive and worked to the bone to make people already richer than you more money. Add a context of the price of life getting further away from your reach, and I feel like many of us can relate to this right now.

16: Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) – Bob Marley

“Them belly full, but we hungry
A hungry mob is a angry mob
A rain a-fall, but the dirt it tough
A yut a yook, but yood nah nuff”

Told you there’d be more Reggae, and who else but the legend himself Bob Marley. The first artist I ever knew the name of for some reason. I don’t know why – I couldn’t have named or even hummed any of his songs. But if you asked 6 year old me the name of a musician, Bob Marley would’ve been the first name I mentioned. Maybe it’s just because he’s called Bob and the short palindrome is satisfying to say? But saying that I never felt the same about Bob Dylan – so idk.

What the fuck am I talking about.

Oh yeah, Reggae has a very unique tone to it, where it generally has a very relaxed vibe to it, but that, I think actually works in this track’s favour. The song doesn’t sound angry, it’s laid back and factual, just laying out the facts of the situation. If your poorest people can’t afford to live, they will be angry, and that will pave the way to revolt. Maybe you should do the bare minimum and ensure we can actually fucking survive – because if you don’t, your profits will be the last things you’ll be worrying about.

17: Inflation Blues – B.B. King

“I’m trying to make a living
I can’t save a cent
It takes all of my money
Just to eat and pay my rent”

I have a nagging feeling that B.B. King has something problematic about him – but in my quick research I didn’t find anything, so I probably either made something up in my own head, got confused with someone else, or have just forgotten how to trust that anybody born before 1997 isn’t secretly a piece of shit.

Running on the assumption that he’s broadly fine, this is a nice classic blues track about, well, inflation, hence the title. We’ve already had some tracks with blues influence on this playlist, but this one goes full on vocal wailing, 12 bar blues scales and classic, blunt, stripped back lyrical content to top it off.

Contextually, I don’t think there’s another genre of music more appropriate for topics like this. Whilst I wouldn’t make the claim that modern-day late stage capitalism is in any way equivalent to the horrors of slavery, those two plights are not as distinct as you’d like them to be.

King fully captures the sadness of all your money going into survival and none being used to actually live. His voice nails the feeling, and the instrumental breaks compliment it nicely. Blues instrumentals are very expressive in their own right even without lyrics – and the Sax, guitar, brass, bass and piano are all voices in their own right mourning the cost-of-living situation they’re all in, even without the lyrics telling you what it’s about.

A masterclass in how to write and perform a good Blues track, and a perfect encapsulation of the current crisis millions of people are facing today. If anything, maybe even slightly watered down – as affording rent and food is out of the question for many as well, Christ, can we just put capitalism in the bin already? It’s arbitrarily punishing people for being poor by making them poorer. Fucking bullshit, there must be something better.

18: Something Rising – Mista Trick

“Week after week
A girls gotta eat
Prices go up I’m feelin the heat ya
Rich getting rich
The poor getting poor
It ain’t surprising we can’t take no more”

I remember the first time I heard Andre 3000’s rendition/remix of “My Favourite Things” from “The Sound of Music” – and falling in love with the blend of hip-hop beats and Jazz piano, never hearing anything like it before or since (I’m sure it was out there, but I never discovered it). So stumbling across this fucking jam by Mista Trick and finding out that his entire schtick is this fusion of electronica, hip-hop, and Jazz, I was instantly in love.

It’s just got such a gripping sound that you can’t help but bop to. It starts off as a fairly standard Jazzy kind of cabaret song about prices going on, but then for verse 3 it expertly breaks into a rap verse seamlessly shifting into double time, and fuck, it honestly makes me cum every time. So fucking good.

Not even mentioning the lyrics, which aren’t saying anything that hasn’t already been covered on this playlist, but is reinforcing the point incredibly fucking well.

19: Robin Hood Costume – Beans on Toast

“I know that this song, is a tall pipe dream
But it’s better than the bullshit that I see on T.V
Where the poor get screwed
Every single time
“Work motherfucker work! Tow the fuckin’ line!”
So we work and we worry and we watch T.V
It tells us to work, and it tells us to worry”

If you haven’t seen Beans on Toast live, or aren’t familiar with his work, this song might not be the easiest thing to get into. It doesn’t really have a consistent rhythm – it ends kind of abruptly – and it sounds like it should’ve ended quite a bit before it did.

But, once you’ve gotten used to his vibe, it’s incredibly fun to get stuck in. Beans on Toast releases a new album every year on his nirthday, and has done since 2009 (with 2 in 2020) – and his albums definitely sound like a project which was worked on consistently for 8-10 months and capture basically every thought that was going on in his head at the time.

Robin Hood Costume hasn’t had all of its kinks ironed out to make it an appealing pop song. It’s just got a simple folky tune under Beans on Toast commenting on the nature of money, poverty, wealth and the system of capitalism for 2 and a half minutes. And honestly I love it.

Also when I saw him live, he stopped half way through a song to go on a tangent, which was incredibly relatable. Fucking lovely man.

20: The Cost Of Living Is Killing Me – The Skints

“In this free country,
Where nothing is free,
The cost of living is-a killing me
(Murder murder murder)”

Do I need to explain this one? English Reggae infused Punk about the cost of living causing death to people. What more background do you need?

21: $timulus Plan – Dead Prez

“Don’t ever think slavery was just about race
Slavery was about money
They say the USA was founded on freedom
But slavery built this country”

Sometimes I wonder whether anyone actually reads my insights – and if so, why? I’m giving you artists who know what they’re saying better than I ever will, and put it better too. Particularly when it comes to rap. I feel like me trying to explain any of this takes away from the poetry of the artists.

So let me just say Stimulus Plan by Dead Prez is one of the best take downs of the modern economic system recorded. Give it a listen.

22: That One Percent – The Human Project

“They represent the interests of the few,
a privileged world view
austerity to fix a deficit made by the rich but at what cost?
Why must we pay for what theyʼve lost?”

This song was released in 2018. 3 Prime Ministers ago.

If the fact that any political media released in the last 12 years, be it music, comedy, or anything else is just if not more relevant today than it ever was doesn’t depress you, then you have a stronger constitution than me.

23: Downfall – Architects

“Another faceless figure, an empty silhouette
They’ll line their pockets and leave us six feet deep in debt
So cast your votes, watch them shed their skin
Always out for blood, preying on the weak
We can count on them to paint the future bleak
But we’re still standing by whilst they bleed us dry“

I always like to end these playlists on a grand song. Something heavy or proggy – or just emotionally impactful to round off the point I’m trying to make with my curated playlist.

This track was a very last minute addition thanks to a suggestion from an old friend I haven’t spoken to in years.

I’ve never listened to Architects before, but their impact on Metalcore cannot be understated. Even if you’ve never listened to Architects, you have definitely heard a band that sounds like them before.

Alongside Enter Shikari, they are one of the faces of angry political metalcore-adjacent bands to come out of Britain. Where Shikari went on to revolutionize the more electronic aspects of the genre, Architects incorporate elements of Djent and Mathcore to expert effect.

Not the most accessible sound, but they make it work, keeping songs grounded with an emotive core that a lot of guitarwank bands don’t.

And what better way to end a playlist than with the sentiment “I want to Witness the Downfall” (of Sunak, the Tories, or Capitalism as a whole, delete as appropriate).

It’s a song that has a despairing tone, that you get the vibe that wanting to watch the downfall isn’t even really out of personal spite or wish to change anything – just that it is the inevitable outcome, and even though things are kind of fucked, we’ll take some small joy in the collapse of a system that’s destroyed our lives and planet.

Sorry to end on a depressing note, but that’s just where I am right now. Everything is terrible.

Well, not everything, this playlist is good. Listen here:

And why not use these to get yourself suitably angry for our next live show in Manchester with one of our faves: Cerys Bradley, with support from Sam Serrano, Mark Nicholas, Benny Shakes & Saeth Wheeler on the 14th of November at Gullivers NQ – via Outsavvy: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/10659/blizzard-comedy-live-featuring-cerys-bradley