Category: Political Pops

This week we were visited in The Bunker here at Americana-UK Towers by our friend Bob. Bob likes to remind us that B O B stands for ‘bored of Brexit’, a fact which he chuckled about continuously whilst he raided our bar for strong liquor. Now we’re not sure if Bob is a ‘gammon’ or a ‘snowflake’ – we just consider him a bigoted twat – but whatever he is the most important political situation probably in our lifetimes is hardly something to be bored about. In fact we are so interested in it that we hardly sleep at night, hanging on every twist, turn and shenanigan of the Brexit process. It’s not like we are either desperate to leave or desperate to remain. We’re just increasingly desperate. We’re not sure what is going to happen and the politicians aren’t helping us in any regard since they don’t know either. No one does. What a horrible mess.

We’re not big rioters down here at Americana-UK Towers. We prefer to settle our differences by honest, quiet and frequently drunken discussion. Things rarely get out of hand and when they do The Editor is on hand to restore order in his usual calm and collected way by cutting the throats of those with whom he disagrees. It works for us. What we don’t resort to is turning water cannon on people because, well, it’s undignified and makes a hell of a mess. Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: Laura Veirs “Cannon Fodder””

This week saw the “celebrations” (?) or “commemorations” (?) of one hundred years since the end of the World War One. Obviously the big talking point was that Red Jez wore the wrong sort of coat or had on the wrong sized poppy at The Cenotaph. The unspeakable rogue. The fact that he is a life long pacifist is just beyond the pale – should he, in fact, even have been there at all? We gathered in The Bunker at Americana-UK Towers in order to watch the Peter Jackson film ‘They Shall Not Grow Old” which affected us all deeply. Particularly telling was the segment towards the end in which ex-soldiers reminded us that on their return nobody actually cared what they had done. They couldn’t get jobs and were actively discriminated against. It’s a funny old thing war. Maybe we just shouldn’t do it…

So the mid-term elections have taken place in The US and to all appearances it might look like something of a draw. Of course its probably more nuanced than that but we did wonder how many outside of the States actually know what is going on. Here’s our Americana-UK handy guide: Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: Alice Cooper “Elected””

In this weeks news we learned from chancellor Phil Yer Boots and his boss PM Terry Might that the end of austerity is fast approaching and that we should all be grateful. To celebrate Phil announced tax ‘giveaways’ which should please the forelock tugging amongst us. We read a statistic that of the money in that ‘pot’ fully fifty per cent will go to the top ten per cent. Just let that sink in for a moment. For whom, exactly, is austerity over?

 

We have little time for fossil fuels here at Americana-UK Towers. The entire roof is covered in solar panels and the former stable block now houses the wind turbine. And as stated last week we are fond of recycling (indeed now that all submissions to our site are now digital we don’t have to turn all those CDs into bird scarers in the gardens). We were somewhat surprised recently when those anti-fracking protestors were sent down for over a year for sitting on the tops of some lorries because they didn’t like the idea of mining company Cuadrilla causing potential environmental damage in Lancashire. Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: R. Stevie Moore “Conflict of Interest””

This week we were reminded again by those who know that global warming is going to kill the planet and take us all with it. Then again we were reminded of that last week and the week before and every week for the past thirty years or more. Here at Americana-UK Towers we are fond of doing our bit and we often recycle the hopes and aspirations of the musicians that send us their stuff on the Compost Heap of Shattered Dreams. At least we are not like that Australian geezer who thinks it will be a good idea to resurrect the coal mining industry or that Brazilian geezer who wants to open up the rainforest to mining concerns or Donny John who… well who knows what he wants this week but its bound to be bad for the environment somehow. The simple fact is that we are fucked – so we are going to do the only thing we know to cope in such a situation. That’s right pour a stiff drink and play some tunes. Joni knew what was happening even back then:

Political anoraks amongst our readership will, like us, have been glued to our TVs recently taking in all of the rich drama and nerve-tingling excitement that is party conference season. Or maybe not. These things tend to be back-slapping, self-congratulatory things custom made for the soundbite generation and thin on actual content. Hell, most of the ‘announcements’ are pre-published to the media so we don’t even get the sharp in takes of breath when something monumental (or even mildly interesting) pops up. Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: Borns “It’s My Party””

The track ‘Buffalo Ballet’ taken from John Cale’s 1974 album ‘Fear’ describes the scene in Abilene, Texas, the sparse piano-based sound lulling you into a deceptive ease as it starts off describing the town as “young and gay” with “cattle roaming.” Idyllic ay! The next verse goes on to describe a sleepy, almost decaying scene before the killer bridge: “We all joined in and all joined hands; All joined in to help run this land; Then soldiers came, long long ago; Rode through the town and rode down those who were sleeping in the midday sun.” The scene describes the US cavalry’s defense of landowners against peasant populations, often immigrants, while nowadays the peasant populations often form the cavalry. Cale himself called the song a “European version of the Old West.” (Paul Kelly’s version is better than the original imho but not available outside of Australia on YouTube sadly.)