Genre(s) - Gaylectropunk Origin - Nijmegen, the Netherlands Year of release - 1979 Bitrate - 128 kbps Size - 30.46 MB
We've got a real oddity here. I am proud to present to you Tedje en de Flikkers, translateable as "Teddy and the Faggots", a proud flikkerpunk band from the east of the country. They were associated with the Rooie Flikkers or Red Faggot movement, a very explicitly gay left-wing squatters' collective, and the lyrics are rather political but mostly very, very naughty. Musically, this is rickety, formless sounding 70s punk with mismatched keyboard melodies and excruciatingly vieze vocals. It is also ridiculously dated, and it should be seen as an interesting relic of cultural heritage more than a musical project of any sort. It will most likely not please your ears to be subjected to this, unless you are Dutch and hunting for fat cocks in the night. Well anyway, enjoy it or not, I'll be going for a wank in the park.
The Tough Alliance are also Swedish, and that concludes the range of similarities to Lifelover. It took me a blonde-quiffed Swede to get to know them. The two dudes play some strange form of electronic music that sounds chaotic and mismatched, experimental and still poppy, and kind of drugged-up catchy. They're hard on vocals and brass and the rhythms are definitely more than simple unilinear doing-doing-doing dance beats. I can not describe it in much more detail without probably missing the mark. This is the only electronic music I know that is inspired by revolutionary politics, even if those are not expressed as such through the music itself as much as in the theory behind the group.
Make it Happen
Year of release - 2004 Bitrate - 128 kbps Size - 8.65 MB
Genre(s) - Folk metal Origin - Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North North England Year of release - 2002 Bitrate - 160 kbps
When it comes to folk metal, if Skyclad didn't write the book then at least they were its editors-in-chief. They were far ahead of most of their peers and in my humble opinion still one of the very few to ever do it right. They're a very likeable bunch too. The music is miraculously uplifting, and sublimely Anglosaxon, building from a NWOBHM-platform instead of the standard melodic death/black metal one, and adorning it with fiddle melodies audibly native to British soil. And of course they are rooted in that wonderful British class consciousness; their lyrics are left-wing without a doubt, but drenched not so much in politics as in a very astute and thoroughly sarcastic analysis of the world around us. Oh, and since precisely this release, Skyclad even have a good singer! So for No Daylights they retooled a few of their best tracks to suit his clear melodic voice and there you have an album and a half of great, really quite harmless metal that will pick up your mood and have you looking hard if you want to find any flaws at all. In fact, would it be sad if a bastard album like this (Martin's lyrics, Kevin's voice) was the band's best material to date? Because it seems a lot like it is.
Genre(s) - Oi!, punk, ska Origin - all over the world Year of release - 2001 Bitrate - 128 kbps Size - 51.46
[Had this one up for a while but it is only the first out of a series of three compilations and why not post them all together?]
For those still believing that the term skinhead is synonymous with neo-nazi, here's the final solid proof that this is a total misconception. The first compilation of a series of three released by the antifascist Insurgence Records presents us with 19 bands mostly from the SHARP (SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice) and RASH (Red and Anarchist SkinHeads) scene. Not a skinhead myself - full head of hair here - I'm nonetheless fascinated by their subculture and praise their class consciousness. Their music is awesome too, this isn't the first oi! release I'm posting here. Street Troopers, Brigada Flores Magon and Los Fastidios deliver some of the best tracks on the disc but it's full of sometimes catchy, sometimes angry songs about working class life, beating up nazis and other fun, important subjects.
Genre(s) - Folk, world music Origin - Bolivia Year of release - probably 2006 Bitrate - 128 kbps Size - 40.96 MB
Last week, Evo Morales has won a second term as president of Bolivia with 62 percent of the vote, and his party Moviemento al Socialismo has finally gained a majority in the Congress. As the first indigenous president and a radical champion of the lower classes, that is, the extremely marginalised Indian majority, he is a symbol for la lucha para las derechos indigenas in the whole of South America, and indeed, Middle and North America as well. This album was probably released in celebration of his first electoral victory and is full of odes to him and the MAS, in a very authentic style - too bad about the programmed drums the album opens with - including three tracks (partly) in a fascinating native language. Basically it's a Latin folk template with acoustic guitars and male and female vocals. Some songs are better than others, in my opinion, but if there's any appropriate time to post this, it's now (okay, actually last week, but shhh). People of Bolivia, I congratulate you.
Genre(s) - Street punk Origin - Boston, USA Year of release - 2006 Bitrate - 128 kbps Size - 41.11 MB
Street Dogs are a punk band formed around Mike McColgan, the original vocalist for the Dropkick Murphys, who I honestly don't really know very well. They have it all: plenty of melodies, chantable choruses, a blue-collar attitude, and great vocals. Anthemic slower songs like Tobe's Got a Drinking Problem and Fatty serve to diversify an album on which each of the faster tracks already show different influences. For instance, the Decency Police could have been written by Dead Kennedys while Sell Your Lies shows a more modern hardcore edge. All this is topped off with the brilliant Billy Bragg cover, There Is Power in a Union. Fading American Dream circumvents all the things that make most punk a boring affair while keeping things nice and political, and there is no greater praise I can think of. Great stuff.
Not a singer of socialist songs by trade, but certainly by passion, Hannes Wader treats us to a lot of classic international workers' songs, but in a fundamentally different fashion than the bombastic symphonics of Ernst Busch. One guitar and his voice are enough for Hannes to render equally powerful music and his voice is certainly much more clear and agile than that of his forebear. I had a couple of fixed favourites on this release (the strong, simple Solidaritätslied and the emotional ballad Die Moorsoldaten), but those are fading into median status as the rest is gradually discovered to be equally beautiful. His audience - it's a live recording, apparently - is as rapt and responsive as I am, over 30 years after the fact. Seriously top-notch, rousing stuff for the discriminating folkie who's not afraid of revolutionary socialism or the German language. Some knowledge of both is of course advised. Vorwärts! Und nie vergessen: die Solidarität!
Genre(s) - Punk/oi! Origin - Various parts of the British and non-British Isles Year of release - 2006 Bitrate - 256/320 kbps Size - 56.97 MB
The first album in punk history produced entirely in Scottish Gaelic (yes, also SS Politician, which btw has a great little folk number at the end) was released only three years ago by the "green anarchoi!" band Oi Polloi! I consider myself a green socialist rather than an anarchist, but it is good to hear sounds that do make the connection between ecological disaster and capitalism. Not only has the blind hunt for profit been largely responsible for the impending climate change, it is holding back effective measures right now. So I hope to see a large anticapitalist block at the Copenhagen summit in december. But on to the music. Well, it's solid punk with slight oi! influences - not quite enough for my taste though - and what more do you need? Best tracks are the opener, the aforementioned SS Politician, and Union Jack.
The blog entry title is right and the RAR and folder title is wrong. My mistake.
Genre(s) - Soul/punk Origin - York, United Kingdom Year of release - 1995 Bitrate - 128 kbps Size - 60.68 MB
This is a band I've been obsessing about and infecting others with for a few months. The name will tell you why. This is a different kind of "redskins" than Johnny Cash sang about: they're skins, and they're red! Actively involved with the SWP* they protested through benefit concerts etc. South Africa's apartheid regime, Thatcher as well as the concessionist Labour line, and supported the miners' strike. To top it all off they play some fine, fine music that'll do well this time of the year. No angry oi! from these blokes, but bouncy soul-punk that can pick you up when you're down any old time and you could even use it to throw a party with. Air-cushion drums propel the sultry guitars, that have only a limited role when the brass section is tearing it up with their contageous melodies. The other centerpiece is the soulful voice of Chris Dean, burning with passion and perfect for delivering his heartfelt revolutionary lyrics. For those who are not yet convinced by this description or the words Socialist Skinhead Soulpunk, I embedded the official videoclip for Kick over the Statues. *) I am with their Dutch (little-)sister organisation so some advertisement would be in order.
Genre(s) - Folk Origin - United States of America Year of release - 2005 Bitrate - 160 kbps Size - 73.13 MB
Part of the Riot-folk collective of folk musicians, Ryan Harvey is a prodiguous songwriter. Like a modern-day Phil Ochs he uses minimal instrumentation and simple compositions to spread his left-wing, working-class views and that's something more people should be doing. Ryan challenges US foreign policies, sold-out unions, capitalist globalisation and - in the autonomous anarchist tradition - any form of authority, relying solely on clever (and true) lyrics and a lot of energy. This album is a very human and very inspiring set of songs with a couple of real angry gems in the shape of the proud Hudson Valley Strikes, the catchy And That's About the Only Thing that Governments Have Done and the positively furious If I Had a Rocket Launcher. Pure anarchoustic adrenalin. Oh and the Talkin' Writer's Block Blues is just plain cute.
A heart that beats no more
Open song to the US occupying forces
Mountaintop mining song
I-69
If I had a rocket launcher
It's not just Bush!
The plan puebla Panama
Field of schemes
AFL-C-U-Later!
That's about the only thing that governments have done
Band/artist - De Stem des Volks Genre(s) - Dutch socialist hymns Origin - Amsterdam, The Netherlands Album - De Rooden Roepen Year of release - Early seventies, I'd guess
Okay, okay. Some more red tones for the masses of radicalised workers that quietly follow this blog. The Voice of the People, as the band name translates, was a choir based in Amsterdam that literally sung about nothing else but socialism. The tracklist of De Rooden Roepen ("The Reds are Calling"; I kid you not) alone seems ridiculously one-track-minded and humourless. Despite its subject matter and even though it's even in my native language, I can't say I really like it as I do equally single-issue artists as Knutna Nävar or Ernst Busch; I'm not so much for purely choral music and it sounds very boring to me. Oh well. If you don't care for instruments and stuff, if you're such a die-hard communist that you don't even care what the music sounds like as long as they propagate revolution, or if you collect the Internationale in every language, you may want to grab this. Makkers, ten laaste male/Tot de strijd ons geschaard/en de Internationale/zal morgen heersen op aard'!
Morgenrood (Morningred)
Strijdmars der arbeiders (Workers' battle march)
Broeders, verheft u ter vrijheid (Brothers, rise to freedom)
Band/artist - Knutna Nävar Genre(s) - Folk Origin - Sweden Album - Vi Slåss för vår Framtid Year of release - 1972
To repent for the politically incorrect albums I can't help myself but posting sometimes, and to satisfy my most faithful and critical blog buddy (sounds dirty), here's an EP by a band whose antirevisionist ideology is true and free of Trotskyite impurities, etc. etc. The red rascals of Knutna Nävar know how to write a catchy tune even without borrowing melodies from the classic socialist chants, as the first track and the humourous Richard Dollarhjärta prove especially well. The latter song also has a surprisingly modern, rocky sound. The other two tracks are more traditional and would fit well on either of the band's full-lengths (like this one). I was asked for a streak of Marxist-Leninist music but this is the only such release I had previously uploaded and ready for posting. It's just a light snack but I hope you like it.
Band/artist - Hudson Falcons Genre(s) - Punk 'n' roll Origin - United States of America (New Jersey) Album - Desperation and revolution Year of release - 2000
Taking an amalgam of rock and punk influences and chewing it up into something hard-hitting they call working class rock 'n' roll, the Hudson Falcons are a crusty bunch from New Jersey with obvious Irish heritage. They're named in commemoration of the Hudson Valley Strikes (or just for living in Hudson) and could sure land a plane on the river if they had a flying picket (yeah, nevermind). On Desperation and Revolution you can expect some politicised, high-octane rock and roll, fuelled by beer, social discontent and the desire for freedom like any good punk album should be. Notable tracks are GLC which is apparently a Menace cover (I just found out today); Free Lori about the political prisoner Lori Berenson, and a reworking of the Irish traditional Come out Ye Black and Tans.
Band/artist - Rise Against Genre(s) - Punk, hardcore Origin - United States of America Album - The Sufferer and the Witness Year of release - 2006
Rise Against are a punk band from Chicago that formed in 1999. As I was looking up this information I read they've just got a new album out but alas, this is not it. Maybe it's bad timing to post The Sufferer and the Witness now, but second newest is still a bit new so yeah. This vegan quartet's style is new-fashioned melodic hardcore with a crisp, refined sound. The songs are volatile but the band sees no reason to go at it at full speed and heaviness all the time and many polished moments give the listener time to breathe. Choruses are fierce and empowering - check out Chamber the Cartridge, Ready to Fall and best of all, Prayer of the Refugee - with a main role for singer Tim McIlrath whose voice especially constitutes half of what makes Rise Against so intriguing.
Band/artist - Ernst Busch Genre(s) - Classical singer Origin - Kiel, Deutschland Album - My compilation for you! Year of release - unreleased
Ernst Busch, who wrote the previously posted poem, was a communist stage actor and singer most famous for his roles in Bertold Brecht's plays and the political and worker songs (like those written by Hanns Eisler in the 20s and 30s, as well as traditionals from the Spanish Civil War in which Ernst actively fought) he gave voice to. This is my compilation of only the best and most militant of these. Bombastically orchestrated marches and hymns from the time when Moscow dictated exactly what the right ideological course was for most communists accross the globe. In the eponymous song, for instance, Lenin is described as some omnipotent demigod whose mere words made the houses, mines and factories rise from the ground. Listen especially to the brilliant Der Heimliche Aufmarsch ("Workers, peasants, take up your rifles...!"), learn the lyrics by heart and sing it in the streets!
Der heimliche Aufmarsch (gegen die Sowjetunion) (The surreptuous advance upon the Soviet Union)
Linker Marsch (Left march)
Lenin
Das lied vom Vaterland (Song of the fatherland)
Vorwärts, Bolshewik! (Forwards, bolshevik!)
Roter Wedding (Red district)
Vorwärts internationale Brigades! (Forwards, International Brigades!)
Halt Stand, rotes Madrid (Stand fast, red Madrid!)
Band/artist - Dead Kennedys Genre(s) - Punk Origin - United States of America Album - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables Year of release - 1980
I don't know much about punk but I do know that this album kills. It is about the only pure, old-school punk album that I fully enjoy. Why? Maybe it's the shitload of much-too-awesome-for-punk riffs, maybe it's the hilarious but merciless social commentary (yes, I do like social commentary) that constuitute the lyrics, maybe it's Jello's demented air-raid alarm of a voice. But what really sets the Kennedys' debut apart from its peers is that Fresh Fruit consists of relatively well-crafted songs with a large amount of melody. This is what makes tracks like Kill the Poor, Chemical Warfare, California über Alles, and Holiday in Cambodia so rememberable. I can imagine this hit the punk scene with the impact and accuracy of a cruise missile back in 1980, and they weren't even wearing footlong mohawks.
Band/artist - Knutna Nävar Genre(s) - Folk Origin - Sweden Album - De Svarta Listornas Folk Year of release - 1973
I've uploaded plenty of actively leftist music on here but so far this one just takes the cake. Knutna Nävar (meaning clenched fist) are a seventies folk band with strong ties to the Kommunistiska Partiet Marxisterna-Leninisterna, Sweden's Stalinist party of those times. Strange how it took the fall of the Berlin wall for most who called themselves communists to figure out that Stalin, Mao and their respective legacies maybe just weren't all that socialist and that the Eastern Bloc was not quite a worker's paradise. This disk, the title meaning something like blacklisted folk, is full of 100% pure acoustic propaganda music, and is quite inspiring to listen to considering its revolutionary appeal. And some of the tracks are just pretty good - especially the title track, I Alla Länder (adapted from Bella Ciao), Arbetarbröder (adapted from Ernst Busch's Der Heimliche Aufmarsch, which I plan to upload in due time as well), and Strejken på Arendal. It also shows the spirit of the times and, to be frank, the lack of criticism within the leftist circles to their own accomplishments or lack thereof. I listen to this one a lot: it's simply a very fun glorification of bureaucratic state capitalism hiding behind a socialist façade, but also warms my heart with the flame of revolution. Arbetarbrödar, vi måsta skapa et Kommunistiskt Parti!
De svarta listornas folk (Blacklisted folk)
Hundra procent (A hundred percent)
Greppet hårdnar (Reach higher?)
Strejken på Arendal (On strike for(?) Arendal)
Hör maskinerens sång (Hear the song of the machines)
I alla länder (In all the countries)
Ho Chi Minh
Ut till fronten (On to the front)
Sången om Stalin (Song about Stalin)
En arbetarkvinnas sång till sin son (A worker woman sings for her son)
This blog is meant to generate attention to bands that I think deserve it, and aims for a large variety of music styles. I will only share albums that I personally recommend, and do not honour requests. You won't find complete discographies here as I encourage individual research and do care about the artists enough not to offer their entire lives' work for the taking. If you notice a mistake or a wrong/broken link, please let me know so I can fix it. Thanks!
Complaints and compliments can be directed to bartromeijn-at-hotmail-dot-com but for quick messages by all means use the shoutbox and comments.
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The music I offer on this blog is for display purposes exclusively. You are not entitled to download or listen to it at all. Go away.
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