High Up There In Gilded Boardrooms

 

When protest is now longer allowed, what then?

 Selection of protest music 1950s-present.

The current crackdown on certain modes of dissident action in the West, particularly environmental protest, signals a new era of totalitarianism & suppression of expression. A whole series of legislation, beginning in the 80s, have eroded & removed many of the rights that were formerly taken for granted while the cursed tranfer of power known as privatisation has leeched society and bled regular people dry. That heads of governments are seen to overtly collude with commercial titans & media moguls only reinforces the prevailing mood of helpess futility & inevitability, a feeling reinforced by economic neccessity and, crucially, the law. Criminal injustice at every level & on all fronts.

 

Traditions of musical resistance that have roots stretching back into antiquity & beyond have always persevered through commercial constraints & governmental censorship but may be under threat now as never before in this time of social media censorship & prosecutions - right now when the need for protest, reliable information & action is greater than ever. Free to say what we want... just so long as we have nothing to say!

A predominantly folk themed collection spiced up with a few different flavours.

Classic songs from Martin Carthy, Dick Gaughan, June Tabor and Richard & Linda Thompson, whose The Sun Never Shines On The Poor always strikes a chord. Bob Dylan's 1962 demo recording Long Ago, Far Away also resonates to this day... "That was long ago, far away - things like that don't happen nowadays...do they?" While Bert Jansch isn't particularly known for protest music, his Step Back from 1995 displays displeasure at privatisation and the way society was heading. He'd surely turn in his grave if he were to see what its come to here in the 2020s. Ben Harper states his concerns on Excuse Me Mr from back in 1994. Ralph McTell tackles homelessness & social alienation on his hit song Streets Of London from the early 70s. Crass, The Poison Girls, The Levellers & Pogues bring a harder edge to the revolution.

Continuous mix 3hrs

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