[lbo-talk] MoDo on Dylan

[// ravi]

On Apr 10, 2011, at 10:00 PM, Charles Turner wrote:
> On Apr 10, 2011, at 9:24 PM, // ravi wrote:
> 
>> I am assuming here that this fellow Costello can talk about things other than Michael Jackson, which makes him a non-"cipher"?
> 
> Well, how about his song "Tramp the Dirt Down" about Maggie Thatcher?
> 
> <http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elvis+costello/tramp+the+dirt+down_20047487.html>
> 
> Ranks up there pretty high for me...
> 

Yes, that's quite nice (and I appreciate the MP3 upload; I liked listening to it), but does all music need to have overt political references to be good? A billion people listened/listen to Michael Jackson and found it entertaining. Perhaps he could have used this popularity to inform the public on politics. Or perhaps bringing some listening pleasure (even if it is not obscure enough to be sophisticated) is enough to make someone a non-cipher?

	--ravi