Contributed by Jonny Collins
We all know that we live in a flawed democracy. Our first past the post electoral system rewards corruption and punishes integrity, meaning that we have a government that a few small towns and pockets of old rich cunts vote for while any meaningful opposition is left powerless due to our “winner takes all” approach to MPs.
We all know the Labour party in its current form is not viable as a long-term solution. Keir Starmer is at best tediously centrist to the point of only enacting positive change by pure accident, and at worst continuing Tory policy with perhaps some breadcrumbs of moderacy meaning that working class people and expats aren’t actively put to death.
We all know that the only way to enact real change is through revolution, industrial action and intersectional solidarity – and that using official government approved channels to protest are about as useful as trying to clean skid marks off the toilet by pooing on them.
But there comes a point where after 12 years of Tory austerity, corruption, mismanagement, violence and gaslighting where you’re just like, fuck it, I don’t care who replaces them, just fucking get them out.
Because Keir Starmer is at least someone who I reckon you could bully into doing something worthwhile if you tried hard enough, but trying to get Rishi Sunak to embark on effective policymaking for the benefit of the people is like trying to get Elon Musk to understand how literally anything in the world works. Impossible, and you will lose the will to live.
So this month’s playlist is a late edition to the #GeneralElectionNow rhetoric – featuring songs across genre boundaries, eras, and voices – calling for (or at least demonstrating the need for) not faffing about for another 2 years and getting the Tories out NOW, and begin a road to not necessarily socialism, but slightly away from far right bollocks delivered by the husband of a billionaire tax dodger to try and line both his and his cronies pockets with the profits made off of stripping all public services down to nothing before they are inevitably kicked out. This needs to be done now. Rishi Sunak is somehow even less elected than Liz Truss – who herself was only voted for by less than 1% of the population, Sunak can only claim less than 0.000005% had a choice in whether or not he was PM.
The only reason we’ve not had a general election is the Tories haven’t finished fucking us in the eye sockets yet – and they know that as soon as they attempt to re-establish consent to fuck us in our hollow bleeding empty brain cases, they’re going to be thrown in the fucking Thames.
Some of these songs are repeats from our anti-Tory playlist, others are about the role of democracy in the abstract, some of them are just bangers about how much our political system sucks – but all of them are cathartic listening in this fucking bullshit time of UK politics and may stop your brain from exploding long enough to see the back of the Tories for a generation. Enjoy!
#1: The Government Totally Sucks – Tenacious D
The Pick of Destiny – 2006 – Comedy Rock
“Now let me tell you something ’bout the government
Uh-huh
They’re fucking up the environment
Say what?
They’re taking all the fucking beautiful animals
Yeah?
And making them fucking extinct
Oh no!
The government totally sucks, you motherfucker
The government totally sucks”
Kicking off we have this silly deleted track from the 2006 comedy “Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny”.
I’m not about to tell you how Tenacious D are actually a super progressive and woke band and their silly lyrics are actually clever satirizing of American culture, and they are the protest voices of a generation.
But sometimes you just need a simple acoustic rock hook about the non-specific government being bad that is both applicable to all and no governments throughout history. Don’t even try to read into these lyrics, they’re not making any points – you could even argue that there’s a naivete to the lyrics that implies that the US government wasn’t always bad, and problems could be fixed by going back to another non-specific period in American history and everything would be a-okay.
But I’m not holding that against this track. It’s a silly little extra to a silly little film that has probably aged about as well as most comedy from 2006, but holds a nostalgic place in my heart, and if you just want to turn your brain off and belt along to that magnificently simple refrain, there’s no better time than 12 years into a Tory government that is only getting progressively worse by the day.
#2: Our Time Is Now – Diamond Head
Diamond Head – 2016 – Heavy Metal
“Enough with this faction
And bleeding the truth
The end of the era
Will be here soon
Our time is now”
I’m sure I’ve said before – but my musical journey really did start when I first discovered Metal music in 2008. While my playlists for Blizzard often don’t reflect much in the way of Metal, I do still have a soft spot for the genre.
Diamond Head’s “Our Time Is Now” is a relatively recent gem from a band I didn’t even realize was still a thing as late as 2016.
“Our time is Now” is a catchy as fuck if lyrically generic ode to revolting and overthrowing fascist regimes and rulers. Delivered with a nice groovy bassline, classic metal riffs, and impassioned but surprisingly not very cheesy NWOBHM style vocals that’s bound to have you rocking your head and/or constructing a guillotine outside downing street before the 4-minute runtime is up.
#3: We Love Your Apathy – Skunk Anansie
Stoosh – 1996 – Hard Rock/Alternative Rock
“I have the information
(that) keeps you from knowing me
I abuse you as you watch me
And you always vote me in
The poorer you are the better
That gives me more control”
Believe it or not, it’s actually quite rare that I’ll hear a band for the first time and immediately get into them. It usually takes me a few tries before I consider myself a fan of the band.
When I first heard Skunk Anansie’s “Twisted” however I was in love immediately. It’s got the grooves and weight of some of the 90s best alternative rock, but also accessible in a way that is on par with Britpop titans – and using this sound to put across unsubtle messages about political corruption and still achieve pretty modest mainstream success is an act worth respecting.
This track has a message about how voter apathy is weaponised by governments to get away with pushing their own agenda, usually at odds with public wellbeing, by creating a narrative that the opposition is just as bad, and there’s no point voting at all.
Now there are legitimate arguments to be made that voting really isn’t all the useful in our apparent democratic system: the fact that we have a two party system in everything but name in real terms; the fact that a vote is worth more if they’re in certain constituencies, and that both international interference and corrupt politicians with money have more technical power over the outcome of an election than any individual voter.
But one thing that is indisputable at this point, for all their flaws – a Labour Government, or even a Labour coalition with Lib Dems and/or SNP would probably kill far fewer people than 12 years of Tory bullshit has. So while I completely get how easy it is to feel apathetic about democracy – especially if you are a marginalized person who Starmer is either scapegoating to win back red wall Tory voters, or remaining very quiet on so as not to piss off other members of the party such as trans people – but I would urge you to vote against the Tories at the very least.
Many people are politically homeless right now – but find out who’s got the best chance of ousting the Tory MP if there is one in your constituency and use this chance to vote against the Tories, not for anyone.
It sucks this is how our system works – but there is no way the Tories will ever reform this. In fact they’re already suppressing voters with their ID requirement and changing boundaries so they can win a majority with fewer votes than before. Labour haven’t committed to electoral reform, but of the two parties likely to form government, they are the ones who would benefit from it the most, so hopefully that’ll be enough to change our broken system to at least a slightly less broken one.
If nothing else, it’d be really funny if the Tories managed to lose all of their seats at the next election, as was projected under Liz Truss. Even if we still all burn to death, that’ll be a fun little respite before the apocalypse.
#4: Old Blue Witch – Fit and the Conniptions
Old Blue Witch – 2017 – Anti-Folk
Buy: https://music.conniptions.org/album/old-blue-witch
“There’s a party tonight in Brixton
I’ll stay at home instead.
Cause the Iron Lady’s bastard child is still in Number Ten
And the hospitals are closing, and the libraries are gone
In other news…
Some old blue witch is dead.”
This might be my favourite dead Thatcher song. While I’m partial to Smoking Gives You Big Tits’ classic, Old Blue Witch manages to combine the celebratory aspect of Thatcher’s death with a message of continued battle and reminder that the fact that Thatcher is dead is irrelevant given her political poison is diluted in the modern Tory governments and even large parts of the Labour party.
By all means celebrate her death – but don’t forget almost everything wrong with modern UK politics can be traced back to her – and her legacy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Austerity, privatised services, warmongering, hell even culture wars – certainly the anti LGBTQIA+ rhetoric wasn’t invented by her but certainly pushed hard by her.
The parent is dead – but she fucked a lot of people and has a lot of privileged Tory children because of it. Celebrate when the whole bloodline is wiped out, I say.
#5: It Takes Time To Build – Beastie Boys
To The 5 Boroughs – 2004 – Hip-Hop
“Hate filled people wanna keep us in check
Tearin’ down each other is what they expect
If you want love well hey that’s a bet
We’ve got to give before we can get
Waiting like a batter who is on deck
When it’s time to wreck shop then shop I’ll wreck
So let’s calibrate and check our specs
We need a little shift on over towards the left
I don’t know why I didn’t expect the hardcore punk band turned revolutionary hip-hop group to have overtly political songs – but when I think of Beastie Boys, I think of catchy yet shamelessly cringe white boy raps over inexplicably good beats and creative samples. But “It Takes Time To Build” has some superb bars which don’t lose the unique Beastie Boys charm, but also make some pretty profound points about the Bush administration and War in Iraq/Afghanistan.
The chorus “It takes a second to wreck it, it takes time to build” conveys the idea of how quickly it is for governments to destroy compared to how long it takes to build something that works. This lyric was inspired by the US’ foreign policy and bombs during the so called “War on Terror” – which ironically spread terror across the entire middle-east for well over a decade – and left areas and people impoverished, stuck in a dangerously unstable regime, and that’s if they were lucky enough not to get caught in the crossfire.
But when I hear the chorus, I can’t help thinking of the NHS – which for all her faults Thatcher actually didn’t really touch, but modern conservatism has been gutting for years to a point that it might actually be beyond saving. Sure, 12 years is a long time – but nowhere near as long as it’ll take to rebuild. If it goes, it’s very likely many of us won’t see a return to publicly owned healthcare in our lifetimes.
The line “We’ve got a president we didn’t elect” referring to the controversy of the 2000 US election, also applies nicely to Rishi Sunak – who even Tory party members didn’t vote for, let alone the general public. So yeah, we do need a shift over to the left. Ideally one further than the current favourite, but even that I’ll take over the Tories.
#6: Kill Tory Scum (Before They Kill You) – Killdren
Overkill is Underrated – 2018 – Breakcore
Buy: https://killdren.bandcamp.com/album/overkill-is-underrated
“Kill Tory scum before they kill you
Kill Tory scum before they kill you
Kill Tory scum before they kill you
Kill Tory scum before they kill you!”
Given that this band was kicked off of the Glastonbury bill in 2019 because of this song, I’d just like to clarify that I think murder is bad and actually don’t particularly advocate for it.
That being said, “Kill Tory scum before they kill you” is a sentiment I don’t think anyone can argue with after the death toll this pandemic directly related to Tory policy.
Yes, we would have likely had a lot of deaths under any government during this time – but there were countless ways this could have been pre-emptively protected against, handled better during the peaks, and even moderated in the aftermath.
We knew that we were not prepared for a pandemic – and as early as 2010 I believe we’ve had reports that a pandemic would be a disaster for this country due to our infrastructure and lack of equipment.
The lockdowns were implemented too late, for too short a time, and were undermined by the very people who set them up. Free testing was stopped too soon, mask mandates were dropped and not even enforced properly – the government corruptly assigned donors to source PPE they were not qualified to do at a hugely inflated mark up to what they would have cost from actual specialists, and before the pandemic was even over Rishi Sunak tried to hurry people back into restaurants and offices which turned out to be breeding grounds for viral spreading and mutation, delaying the end of the pandemic by god knows how long.
Even now, Covid is still a very real risk – yet the government are pretending it doesn’t exist.
I have a lot of gripes with Starmer – and throughout the pandemic as opposition he spent more time supporting Tory policy publicly than challenging it – but even then, I don’t think he would’ve let quite so many people die.
The Tories, charitably, have inadvertently committed negligent genocide – and at worst deliberately wiped out a huge chunk of the country’s population and given long term conditions to others just to ensure their own wallets look healthy.
When you understand this – “Kill tory scum before they kill you” isn’t a death threat, it is a valid protest statement. If the Tories don’t want to be killed, they should probably stop killing us. Just saying.
#7: That One Percent – The Human Project
Clarion Call – 2018 – Punk
Buy here: https://thehumanproject.bandcamp.com/album/clarion-call
“Five years of manifesto and Tory ego,
more tears for spending cuts straight from the publicʼs guts.
With a minority claiming victory,
For this we did not vote.
This song appears in my playlists a lot, so I won’t go on about it. And unfortunately, “For this we did not vote” did not ring true – given that just over a year after this song’s publication, the public did vote for a Boris Brexit, and all the horrors that entailed.
But as a short but sweet melodic hardcore track reminding us that all that the rich, and especially those in politics, only ever serve their own interest. Please remember that every time you vote for the rest of your life. The richer party can usually afford the better campaigns and propaganda, and more importantly the party that has all the hyper rich donors is very unlikely to ever govern in your own interests.
#8: No Gods, No Money – Faintest Idea
The Voice of Treason – 2012 – Ska Punk
Buy here: https://faintestidea.bandcamp.com/album/the-voice-of-treason
“I’m so angry,
I mean let’s get this right, let’s get this right
Who’s the real rioters, the real looters of this country?
The fucking Tories.”
This is the band that turned me in favour of Ska Punk. I didn’t hate it before, I liked a little Less Than Jake and Madness – but listening to both this album and 2016’s “Increasing the Minimum Rage” really showed me that Ska wasn’t just an internet meme – and it’s actually the genre of the politically malcontent in the 2010s & 2020s.
The opening to this song is enough to know why it’s on here. The Tories repeatedly use rhetoric condemning rioters and looters when they’re referring to BLM protestors, refugees, impoverished working class British citizens, or really anyone who is vocally opposing the Tory way of running things.
But the Tories have stolen far more of your money than any so-called benefit cheat, done more damage to British infrastructure than any protestors. The Tories exist to sell off services that previous Labour governments established for the good of the community, to make their mates richer and the services worse and less accessible.
If you have a problem with looters – start at the biggest looters in the country, the cunts in Parliament.
#9: Give us Something Worth Voting For – The Tuts
Update Your Brain – 2016 – Indie Punk
Buy Here: https://thetuts.bandcamp.com/track/give-us-something-worth-voting-for
“They say they’re gonna do this and that
They say they’re gonna change the world
They don’t care about ordinary folk
The system is a joke”
Taking a bit of a different tact with this song – the reason we need a general election now is because without change we won’t survive ‘til 2024.
But a general election is only the first step needed. After that we need a credible alternative. Whilst above I have said Labour are the only real choice in this regard with our system, they’re hardly a credible alternative. More a desperate last option when there’s literally nothing else.
This indie punk track is all about calling for some option that actually makes people feel good to vote for – not just voting as an obligation to try and shift millimetres off the path the oblivion we’re currently locked into. Come on, Starmer – I genuinely don’t want to keep making fun of you and your party, but you make it too fucking easy. Just something, anything, any tangible policy and moral or ethical code that lets us know we’re not just voting for Tories who were never invited to birthday parties at Eton.
#10: Better Decide Which Side You’re On – Tom Robinson Band
Power In The Darkness – 1978 – Punk Rock
“You better decide which side you’re on
This ship goes down before too long
If Left is right then Right is Wrong
You better decide which side you’re on”
Most of the songs I put on these playlists are from the last 15-30 years. Usually because what’s socially progressive one year is often outdated within a decade. There are exceptions to this – but a lot of early Punk, while I still enjoy, I often don’t want to promote due to having language I can’t really justify in hindsight, or messages that have aged like Merlin – i.e. backwards.
Tom Robinson Band – or at least the handful of tracks I’ve heard – are very clearly of their time on a sonic level, with that unmistakable 70s punk sound and hint of new wave synths working their way in from the Prog Rock scene. But lyrically, they’re just as relevant and on point as they ever were.
This song alone has the quips:
“pretty soon there’ll be no room for sitting on the fence”
“If Left is right then right is wrong you better decide which side you’re on”
“if you think you’re free, well listen to me, you ain’t seen nothing yet”
This is both incredible as it means I can unironically enjoy music from the 70s (which, as someone who has a real guilty pleasure for the aesthetic of 70s rock, I appreciate) and also depressing as over 40 years later, very little meaningful change has been made. At this point Section 28 wasn’t even a thing – things got worse. Then a little bit better. And now – a whole lot worse.
There has been a net gain in gay rights, I can’t deny that, not in the UK anyway. Attitudes now are generally much more open than they ever wore even just 20 years ago, but there is a campaign to drag it all back, especially trans rights, which arguably were better in the 90s and 2000s because we were just seen as weird outliers and people generally ignored us – compared to now where on both the left, right and centre there are attacks.
I don’t even think I can say we’re at breaking point, as frankly I think we passed that years ago. Where we’re at now is: The genocide has already started, but if we can save just one life by fighting back, we’re going to fight to the inevitable death.
As I’m writing this, NHS guidance has changed to prevent children from socially transitioning – which means wearing clothes and presenting as their true gender. The people who support this go on about making irreversible changes to our children before they’re old enough to understand – and have now jumped to the conclusion that skirts and dresses are now irreversible changes. Anyone who is in denial that this blatant transphobia is in good faith for children’s welfare is either lying to themselves, or to us.
But I digress – the sentiment “Better Decide Which Side You’re On”, while in this case is specifically about gay rights, is also more widely applicable, and especially now. If you’ve been sat on the fence thinking “Both sides are just as bad as each other” – the centre doesn’t exist anymore. Either you’re in favour of Tory genocide of the poor, or you’re against it. Abstaining is as good as voting for the Tories. Make a choice for once in your life, we are collectively responsible for the survival of the most vulnerable people, so get off that fucking fence, and if you are a fascist, at least have the decency not to hide behind pseudo-liberal language, and just tell us you want us dead.
#11: Farewell to Welfare – Grace Petrie
Queer as Folk – 2018 – Folk
Buy Here: https://gracepetrie.bandcamp.com/album/queer-as-folk
“And if I keep my receipts, can I claim back the mistakes
And the lives ruined by this government?
Or in another eighteen years of budget cuts and tears
Will the people pay for those, just like we pay your rent?”
This website is a Grace Petrie stan account, fight me.
Honestly might be one of the most important cultural figures of this generation’s queer activists. This is the trans inclusive radical feminist we should all aspire to be – and even her more depressing songs ignite a flame within me that can refresh my will to fight even when I’ve all but given up.
“Farewell to Welfare” is a perfect example of what she does best – writing evocative personable songs that underline the impact current political situation has on the most oppressed in society, and lamenting the hopelessness of the situation for us – with blunt, cutting statements that flawlessly convey the need for change and what is likely to happen if we don’t get it.
The last bridge “And I used to dream of a Britain where I’d be proud to bring up kids, These days I’d settle for a Britain where I’d be allowed to bring up kids” gives me goosebumps every time. Powerful stuff.
#12: We Will Not Forget – Fighting Fiction
We Will Not Forget – 2010 – Punk
“Don’t come sidling up to the youth
full of your talk of new times and change
I’ve seen your track record, I’ve got your number,
Same face and a different name
Don’t come crawling up to me now
the clock has ticked around
And you see me as part of society
With the power to take your power”
We Will Not Forget was actually written about the New Labour Government in 2010, so arguably at the time was in favour of a Tory government. I don’t know any of these people personally, but from the context of the issues they had with New Labour in this song I get the impression that these guys wouldn’t be particularly in favour of anything the Tories have done in the last 12 years.
I’m including this song because, like with The Tuts earlier inclusion, this reminds us that it’s not just a case of giving ourselves an election to get labour back in – Labour needs to be better.
In 2010, Tony Blair had committed war crimes, the economy had crashed and Gordon Brown, while maybe getting a bit of an unfair rep in his short term as Prime Minister, was still complicit with all the atrocities Blair committed. So for young people voting for the first time in 2010 after their friends had been slaughtered in a corrupt war waged for personal political gains rather than any actual necessity, and their future prospects scrapped as Neoliberal capitalism began crumbling before our very eyes, I genuinely can’t blame them for wanting to kick Labour out of number 10.
Heck, I was 14 by the time of the 2010 election – but if I was old enough to vote, I’d’ve gone for the Lib Dems – and that didn’t work out well for anyone did it?
This song is important as it’s vital we don’t get complacent if and when Labour regains power. We know the damage a badly run, corrupt labour government can do – and while it’s nothing on even a moderate Tory government, this is the first step towards change, not the end goal.
We should not forget the harm of previous governments, and we should not stop fighting for something better, a new system that we deserve.
#13: Change – Black Stone Cherry
Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea – 2011 – Hard Rock
“It’s been too long
If it’s comin’
I wanna know where the change is coming from”
I don’t think anyone was expecting for southern hard rockers Black Stone Cherry to appear on a Blizzard Playlist. I’m still not exactly sure what their politics are – this track I think is a frustration at the Obama administration’s use of change as rhetoric for the Democrats election in in 2008 after the Bush years only to change very little, not fulfil many of their promises, or only half arsing them – the most notable of which being continued use of Guantanamo Bay – and not codifying Roe V Wade – leading towards the overturning of such and massive damage to abortion rights and accessibility in much of the USA.
But it works as a general plea for change – it’s been too long, and we need to know where we’re getting change from and what it is. I’ve said it before several times, Labour are not doing much to win confidence of progressives, and while some of that can be put down to strategy, not wanting to completely alienate everyone who flipped to Boris in 2019, I don’t think the solution to that is to refuse to commit to anything that isn’t as middle of the road as possible.
Change is more than a campaign buzzword, and we fucking need it right now. Not just a change in face, tangible change in policy – not just implementation of the same policies but watered down.
#14: Our Time Is Now – Gojira
Our Time Is Now – 2022 – Progressive Death Metal
“No way
Our back to the wall
We’ll change the roads
Disobey the mentor”
Not as much to say on this one – although Gojira have some of the most unique riffage in the whole of the death metal genre and this new single is no exception.
I kind of read it as a similar sentiment to the track of the same name by Diamond Head. This might be reaching, but the anthemic quality makes it fit here on a purely sonic level. That chorus groove is enough to inspire anyone to rise up and take over a tyrannical government. Let’s do it.
#15: The Saccharine Drip – The Dowling Poole
The Saccharine Drip – 2021 – Power Pop
Buy Here: https://369music.bandcamp.com/track/the-saccharine-drip
“Owing to the credit crunch, we had to privatise democracy
And chunks were wholesale bought by Serco to sell it to the worthy
Prove you’re worthy”
Music like this coming out in 2021 is really fucking weird. 70s nostalgia – really? It’s the 2020s now, bring the 90s back – The Dowling Poole should be a Nu Metal band.
That point aside – for a band who sounds so cheesy and accessible as these guys do, they really don’t shy away from explicit political commentary, which I assume is the main reason they’re not huge (that and they came 40 years too late).
The Saccharine Drip’s lyrics aren’t exactly good, but the instrumentation has vibes that come straight out of Queen and ELO’s golden years. And quality of the lyrics aside, they don’t fuck about – with about as much subtlety as a fuckboy with a megaphone.
The line highlighted about privatisation of democracy is a fucking powerful one – and not a sentiment I expect expressed alongside these soaring upbeat synth backed guitar riffs. This song can take you right back to the 70s, and wish you were back in the 70s before Thatcher fucked everything.
Kudos Mr. Dowling Poole. (That’s not his name).
#16: Politics – Bad Religion
How Could Hell Be Any Worse? – 1982 – Punk
“Economy, technology, does it really work?
The guy running the government’s another jerk
Try to teach some values and they all erode away
You’re lucky if they listen to a single word you say”
Nearly all modern punk bands owe something to Bad Religion. Not only are they influential in their own right – but a lot of bands they influenced are some of the most influential bands of their respective decades.
This very early cut is messy and poorly produced, in line with the Hardcore scene that was happening around the same time, but something that reflects more modern Pop Punk song structures and writing.
Politics is about…well, politics. It’s not their most complex song on a content level – but like Tenacious D’s “The Government Totally Sucks” sometimes it’s refreshing to just yell along to “The guy running the government’s another jerk” and bounce around to this angry upbeat punk classic.
#17: Lynch Your Leaders – Bob Vylan
We Live Here – 2020 – Punk Rap
Buy Here: https://bobvylan.bandcamp.com/album/we-live-here-deluxe-2
“I swear this place has gone insane
You want your country back from who?
Your brain is fried from too much Sun
We want our country back from you (You, you…)”
Unsubtlety has been a theme with the songs so far on this playlist – and the kings of unsubtle political punk in 2022 have got to be Bob Vylan. The Price of Life is an album I’ve praised a lot as being an unflinching portrayal of generational trauma – but this track comes from the previous album “We Live Here” which really put them on the map in 2020 as a force to be reckoned with.
Lynch your Leaders is a series of rapid bars over a trap beat and distorted guitars/scratches about the experiences of growing up as a young black man in Britain (as is the rest of the album). As such it’s hard to pick just one stand-out bar, so you really need to digest this as the poetry it is as a whole to get the full comprehensive picture of the narrator’s life and trauma.
What I will say is this song absolutely justifies its provocative title in its 3-minute runtime, so expect to be hit hard by this onslaught of honest, unsubtle autobiographical commentaries on the worst aspects of British culture.
#18: New England – Kid Kapichi
Here’s What You Could Have Won – 2022 – Punk
“Money in my pocket, no, I’m not too keen
That’s why I keep voting for the rich and heartless
Bored of all these moaning artists
So I’ll cast my vote regardless”
This song might be my favourite of 2022. Definitely in the top 40 – see next month’s playlist for more info on that.
First discovered this through its Bob Vylan feature, which works really well with this highly polished “Oi!” Punk from this Hastings outfit. Somewhere in-between The Clash and Arctic Monkeys, what you get with Kid Kapichi is some of the best modern rock music to come out of this country and a huge outlet for political rage for anyone living in this country over the last 2 years.
The chorus slaps, the verses are memorable and cutting, and that bridge, fucking yes. If this song doesn’t make you want to punch a Tory, then I don’t know why you’ve read this far on this list, we clearly have very different political ideologies. But thank you anyway.
#19: Kick Out The Tories – Newtown Neurotics
45 Revolutions Per Minute – 1990 – Punk
“Let’s Kick out the Tories”
Go on, you heard the man.
#20: The Unthinking Majority – Serj Tankian
Elect The Dead – 2007 – Alternative Rock
“I believe that you’re wrong
Insinuating they hold the bomb
Clearing the way for the oil brigade
Clearing the way for the oil brigade”
Whilst SOAD used to be a regular feature on these playlists, John coming out as a full Trump Nut while Serj more recently tried to shill NFTs onto his fans, they’re becoming a very difficult band to defend.
They do write damn good music though, so every now and then I’ll throw them a bone. This track is from Serj Tankian’s first solo album, and like a lot of his lyrical content is about unjust wars and corrupt democratic systems. In this instance it is a commentary on the US Government of the 2000s invading foreign countries under the guise of WMDs and threats to American soil – when in actuality they’re just using that as an excuse to gut their oil resources to sell and profit off of.
Within that, he comments on how the voting populous of the time was generally overlooking this due to government propaganda and the terrible sense of pride America has of itself – which is what we’ve been mimicking pretty accurately for the last 6 years or so.
I’m 50/50 on the phrase “The Unthinking Majority” as calling everyone who disagrees with you “Sheep” or something to that effect makes me sound like a Covid denier – but I take this title as a lamentation rather than accusation or criticism. It’s not that the people are willingly going along with this, it’s just the system and Governmental powers are doing everything they can to stop people understanding the horrible things they’re doing so they can continue to profit with little internal resistance.
One thing I am proud of this country for is for not a single moment since 2016 have we made it easy for the government to pull all the bullshit they do. Ultimately, they still did most of it, because they have all the power – but we made a damn good fucking show of it, and now they’re attempting to ban it all. I love living in a normal and fair democracy.
#21: Revolution Now – The Press
Skins ‘n’ Punks, Volume 5: The US Connection – 1989 – Punk
“And don’t put off ‘til tomorrow, what you can do now,
don’t wait for tomorrow, Revolution Now”
I mean yeah – what do you want me to say about this? They’re right.
#22: Take The Power Back – Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine – 1991 – Rap Metal
“The present curriculum, I put my fist in ’em
Eurocentric, every last one of ’em
See right through the red, white, and blue disguise
With lecture I puncture the structure of lies
I’m always slightly wary of including this track, as “Taking the Power Back” implies we had any power in the first place. But I think in the context of the artist it makes sense, and it’s a nit-pick at best.
Zack is rapping about the Eurocentric aspects of North American culture which oppress natives of both North and South America, and indeed any non-white migrants to the country.
Once again, it’s the chorus that really makes this song belong here though – shouting “We gotta take the power back” along to that bouncy ass heavy riff is all the motivation I need. Alright Zack don’t gotta tell me twice. Although do it if you want because it makes my ears happy.
#23: Doing It For The Whigs – The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing
This May Be The Reason Why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Cannot Be Killed By Conventional Weapons – 2012 – Punk
“Here we go
We’re doing it for the Whigs
No future
In Tory politics”
Possibly the catchiest tune The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing has ever made – that main riff is made to bounce to – that chorus is made to be belted out as a call and response – and it does what this band does wonderfully, which is focus lyrics on Victorian themes but linking them enough to current contexts that they feel timeless.
There isn’t any era in modern political history where the line “No Future in Tory Politics” won’t be relevant – unless the Tory party just stops – in which case call the ambulance because I’m 99% sure I’ll be hallucinating.
Like with some of the others, but cheesy, but you should be able to get past that with how well constructed the song is and the sentiment behind it.
#24: Song Of Choice – Crazy Arm
Union City Breath – 2011 – Folk Punk
“In January, you’ve still got the choice
You can cut the weeds before they start to bud
If you leave them to grow high, they’ll silence your voice
And in December you may pay with your blood”
And to close off this mammoth of a playlist, we have a Peggy Seeger classic covered by Crazy Arm, which is my favourite version (sorry Peggy – you’re an icon, it’s the extra verse that edges it for me!).
This is a classic protest song – and while it isn’t explicitly about voting, that is literally the bare minimum we can do to prevent fascism. This song’s verses are so epically crafted to be both sonically pleasing and politically blunt. You have to cut off fascism at the root. We’re a bit late for that now – and this song has existed since the 60s, so we have had no excuse. Let’s not forget next time.
We do still have a choice. It’s not an exciting choice – but it is a choice between fascism and embarrassing centrism – the latter will be objectively less terrible, and it’s easier to move to the left from the centre than the far right. Fuck it, it’s worth a try, isn’t it? I don’t know any more, all I know is if I never have to see, hear or think of a Tory politician again, whatever we do to get to that point will be worth it.
*Sigh*
So there we are. Bit of a mess that playlist. It’s hard to advocate for something I know will make very little difference – but it’s also a necessary step short of full-on revolution. Frankly we don’t have the numbers or equipment for that to have any success right now. Let’s just get the evil party out as a first step, but keep the WD40 to hand in case we do need to get the old guillotine out again, eh?
Listen to these playlists here:
- Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/9YqDQGThgpxugX8a9
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OLTzvgwqYWysqqGehpQdg?si=80f0834b5d59476d
- Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/0d9f4ec2-4d4a-4b36-8177-0f88a1a72c9c?fbclid=IwAR0FO-5A_L4INOcw-kUOTMzg0dsTRMcMD2g_GQF1y3HMmt8Q9H9zgI_tWSc
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGv_OFvoeqQuDLF0Op2cQ0-VoBeW081dM
And after you’ve listened to this, why not join us at twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy on the 28th November for Blizzard Comedy’s Broadcast Avalanche with team captains: Bobbie Jones and Kirstie Summers, with guests Joe Hollingworth, Amarpal Singh, Eden MW and Stuart Dunlop.
And while you’re doing that, why not book tickets to our last live show of the year with: Ishi Khan, and support from Eliott Simpson, Craig Wilson, Maxine Wade and guest MC Tom Short on the 5th of December at Gulliver’s NQ – via Outsavvy: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/11118/blizzard-comedy-live-featuring-ishi-khan
