The band is not "A3" but Alabama 3 (for nearly the entire world). They were not allowed to use the name "Alabama 3" in the US because the country group Alabama sued them. Apparently they trademarked "Alabama". I think the state of Alabama should at least get to sell naming rights!
They have created and recreated a mythology around the band which means the interviews they give are often largely in jest or put on. There are several rumors of who they "really" are. They also change names and they are pretty funny. Jake Black goes by the Very Reverend Doctor D. Wayne Love.
They have a more recent album "La Peste" which is a bit different. They have more gospel/religious parody than political parody (although clearly "Mansion on the Hill" is about inequality). It is also a bit darker. Regardless, it is brilliant. "Too Sick to Pray," "Wade into the Water." "2129" and "Sinking" are all excellent. "Cocaine Killed My Community" ( followed by the lyric "But I don't mind cause I live in the Light of the Lord") has some of the best lyrics about hypocrisy ever.
I will never forget them standing on stage with raised fist salutes during "Mao Tse Tung Said" when they toured with Chumbawamba in 98. It is truly an enduring memory. If you think U.S. did not know what to make of the direct (but fun) anarchists like the Chumbas they were completely baffled by the acid country techno gospel sounds of sarcastic, playful, and substance abusing socialists.
There old website was better (the I V Lenin manifesto was hilarious and good politics) but you can put G W Bush in "Old Sparky" (the electric chair at their cinematic newer website):
www.alabama3.co.uk/
Peace,
Jim
At 11:59 AM 3/5/02 -0800, you wrote:
>I haven't had a chance to sit down and watch this show
>(I'm more of a "Law and Order" freak myself), but I do
>know that the title song is written by a
>country/techno group called A3. Some of their song
>titles are "Mao Tse Tung Said" and "Bourgeoisie
>Blues", not that it means they are lefties...I'm not
>sure..but here's an excerpt from an interview....
"Many of you have heard "Woke Up This Morning", the opening theme for _The Sopranos_. The band that sings it goes by the name of Alabama 3, and their album _Exile on ColdHarbour Lane_ is one weird puppy. There's a song on it, whose name I cannot recall, that discusses the evil grip of temptation and prescribes a hit of socialism, straight to the mainline.
"For those of you who may be worried, no, I am not digging the socialism fix.
"But temptation does have a hold on me, oh yes. Not the temptations of the flesh, for though the world is full of fine hotties, my woman fulfills my needs in that regard. No, I'm talking about the material goods. I'm talking about money.
"This whole internet gig offers amazing rewards to people like me. Geeks of my generation can go from college to very successful employment in a couple of years. People in my dad's generation might have been better able to afford houses due to lower property values, but in pretty much every other way people like me have it made.
"Of course, I hate my job. So do most of my friends. But we keep laboring after this internet nonsense because the money is just too good to turn down. What good is waking up eager to work each day if it means you can't have spiffy computers, hand-crafted weapons, and THX-certified home theater?
"Now that I've written that question, it looks silly, doesn't it? It ought to be better to wake up happy. But as I said when I started today, temptation has a hold on me."
-anonymous review at Diaryland.com of Alabama 3's "Exile on Coldharbour Lane" written obviously before the internet bubble burst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20020305/17202090/attachment.htm>