John Thornton wrote:
>
> Chris Doss wrote:
> > A lot of Billy Bragg is like that. I prefer his love
> > songs.
>
> Billy Bragg is great at making mindless sloganeering songs come to life.
> He is very under appreciated in my opinion.
The core of any criticism is first to recognize genre, and the decorum of the relevant genre. Songs such as Solidarity are not for listening but for singing collectively in the midst of action. Leadbelly's "Bourgeois Blues," on the other hand, is not for group singing but for listening. Contrast This Land is Your Land and Pretty Boy Floyd -- my guess is that the latter would be absurd for group singing at a rally, but it is a great song. A song for group singing at a rally, a picket, etc. _must_ be grounded in mindless sloganeering or it's worthless. A song for listening must either revivify or avoid such content.
And sometimes a song can provide a slogan that organizes immense vistas of human history in a few words:
Ain't no country extra fine, If you ain't a mile from the end o' the line. Ain't no country extra fine, If you ain't on to the power line.
Carrol