Category: Political Pops

Kacey Musgraves this week expressed her anger over the US government’s stance on gun reform, following two mass shootings in the US this past weekend. “I don’t know what the answer is but obviously something has to be fucking done,” the singer told a crowd at Lollapalooza . “Maybe somebody will hear us if we all yell together and say, ‘Somebody fucking do something.’” Not everyone was happy however. Fox News pundit Ainsley Earhard told the channel: “She sings two great songs that I have downloaded … but now I’m gonna look differently at her because she is chanting that vulgar language.” Oh what a world.

In April 1649 about 20 men assembled at St. George’s Hill, Surrey, and began to cultivate the common land. These Diggers held that the English Civil Wars had been fought against the king and the great landowners; now that Charles I had been executed, land should be made available for the very poor to cultivate. (Food prices had reached record heights in the late 1640s.) The numbers of the Diggers more than doubled during 1649. Their activities alarmed the government and roused the hostility of local landowners, who were rival claimants to the common lands. The Diggers were harassed by legal actions and mob violence, and by the end of March 1650 their colony was dispersed. Many people have covered this particular track including Billy Bragg on his ‘Back to Basics’ album from 93, but the great folk-singer Leon Rosselson’s original still sounds fantastic today.

With thanks to Andy Clarke

We are 90 days away from crashing out of the European Union like a petulant kid slamming the door behind them as everything falls off the shelves on the way out. Still, good to know we’ve got a crack team of negotiators on the case. Oh wait.

As most of our regular reader(s) will know Americana-UK Towers is based in The People’s Republic of Liverpudlia. That said we do have brethren/sistren outlying communities in The People’s Republic of Birminghemia, The People’s Republic of Mancaphobia and The People’s Republic of Leysestor. Your regular correspondent in all things Politically Pop is from The People’s Republic of Kenilworthonia – however it’s a very small and insular affair, that one, and any visitors are most likely to be met with burning torches and pitchforks. Best avoided to be honest. Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper “Jesus At MacDondalds””

This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Stonewall Riots. Fifty years, mark you. “Stonewall”, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, refers to The Stonewall Inn in Greenwhich Village, New York. This was a place (by all accounts run by The Mafia) which catered to the (illegal at the time) ‘gay crowd’. To preface things you need to understand this: being gay was illegal, serving gays was illegal and pretty much anything ‘gay’ was illegal. This pivotal moment, whilst not being the beginning or the end of the gay struggle, marked a point at which the gay community decided to stand up and tell the world that they ‘just wouldn’t take this anymore’. In 1969 – easily within living memory for some of us. We could explain all of the story in more detail but we are minded that this BBC link says most of what we want to say.

There was a big political event this week but our mums always told us that if you ignore something – like an angry wasp or an embarrassing rash – it will go away eventually. So that’s what we’ve done. On the other hand we do have a column to submit so I can tell you that we guffawed heartily down in The Bunker on hearing the news that The TIGS or The CHUCKups or whatever they are calling themselves this week have splintered, fractured and likewise fallen apart. Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: Todd Rundgren “Fade Away””