Political Anthems

Eric Beck rayrena at accesshub.net
Mon Sep 25 20:26:41 PDT 2000


Doug wrote:


>I always liked that old Husker Du song, can't remember the title,
>that raved about "nine-digit zip codes and secret decoder ring
>codes...."

"Divide and Conquer," from Flip Your Wig. The Huskers also have "Newest Industry," from the perfect Zen Arcade record ("The Sun Belt's overcrowded, so let's annex Mexico/The peso's only worth a dime but they've got all that land/There's no need for a war, we know they'll understand").

Peter K. wrote:


>One of my favorite bands (no longer in existence, alas), Uncle Tupelo,
>has a song "Coalminers" on their _March 16-20, 1992_ album. It ends
>with the catchy line: "Let's sink this capitalist system to the darkest
>pits of hell."

This song was actually written in the '30s by real-life labor activist and folk/bluegrass singer Sarah Gunning, whose super-authentic version, called "Come All You Coal Miners"--sounds like it was recorded in a plywood shanty, with black-lung victims hacking away in the background of her a capella rendition--can be found on the amazing Coal Mining Women compilation <http://www.rounder.com/rounder/catalog/bylabel/roun/4/4025/4025.html>, which is chock full of political, labor, and feminist anthems by the likes of Hazel Dickens, Phyllis Boyens, and Florence Reese.

Eric Beck, music dork



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