Post by thesoundmonitor on Oct 12, 2003 6:19:26 GMT -5
WARSAWPACK
Stocks & Bombs
(G7 Welcoming Committee)
By Warren Wheeler
While both punk and hip-hop music has been shrink-wrapped, marketed and commercialised to an apathetic army of teenage mall-rats worldwide, it is worth noting that these two particular styles are also the most dangerous politically. When thinking of the most influential musical subversives of the last 30 years or so there appears a disproportionate representation of these two confrontational styles. Bands such as The Dead Kennedy’s, Public Enemy, Killing Joke, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, PIL and Rage Against The Machine have all embodied their particular generations’ sociopolitical frustrations and angst and turned them into musical manifestos.
So it’s not terribly surprising that these two styles have often lived in harmony with one another. Indeed Disposable Heroes (and more recently Spearhead) and RATM borrowed equally from each genre to create their own unique hybrids.
But where Spearhead take a pacifist stance, and Rage Against The Machine took an antagonistic approach, Warsawpack fall neatly between the two - landing somewhat closely to Dub War. On this, their second album for Canada’s G7, the septuplet successfully capitalise upon their previous work and meld the hip-hop with the punk with such precision it allows for additional styles to also become apparent. The dub and jazz influences are more evident this time around, while the rock takes a slight step backward in the mix.
Opening with what sounds like a sample from some obscure children’s Christmas record, the band launch into a shock and awe campaign attacking everyone whose hands are soiled with blood money and whose corporate/political success has come at a high price for the millions of disadvantaged around the world. Indeed the cover art depicts a faceless President giving the thumbs up to a military attack, while the inner art details corporate connections. A further connection is then made between US military strikes and the financial benefits some of these companies receive as a direct result of dead, foreign civilians.
‘Lump of Coal’ has a smooth jazz bass line, an equally smooth brass section while Lee Raback takes on the persona of corporate a CEO criticising anti-war protesters with the lines “What the fuck were you thinking, huh? / We got businesses to run / Fat kids that need Christmas gifts and stuff.” Again the link here between business and war is foremost.
Raback then rhymes into a summary of conservatism and it’s media-invoked rationale with “And you’re part of the problem / Unpatriotic, you communist, you anarchist / You terrorist.” Of course the link between each ‘ism’ is absurd and Raback’s delivery ensures the tongue is buried deeply within cheek.
‘Wolfblitzer’ takes on the war on terror and Iraq invasion a bit more precisely, though Raback’s cynicism comes to full realization with lines like “Missed targets like big structures with red crosses painted on them” and, impersonating a news broadcast, “This shot of a bomb drop was brought to you by Coke / And for Christmas the Afghans will all get a soda”, and finally, “This means business - sorry, sorry - This means war.” Interestingly, the track makes the comparison between the Bush Administration and Hitler’s Henchman in the chorus. And just as the chorus says “It may sound absurd at first / But ain’t it a lot like Nazi Germany.”
But it’s not intense political diatribe. Musically Warsawpack align themselves with the aforementioned trailblazers along with Fishbone, George Clinton and Beastie Boys. The brass, the dub-inspired bass, the laidback grooves all fit nicely with the humour and make spite kind of fun, making Warsawpack the Michael Moore of music.
Stocks & Bombs
(G7 Welcoming Committee)
By Warren Wheeler
While both punk and hip-hop music has been shrink-wrapped, marketed and commercialised to an apathetic army of teenage mall-rats worldwide, it is worth noting that these two particular styles are also the most dangerous politically. When thinking of the most influential musical subversives of the last 30 years or so there appears a disproportionate representation of these two confrontational styles. Bands such as The Dead Kennedy’s, Public Enemy, Killing Joke, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, PIL and Rage Against The Machine have all embodied their particular generations’ sociopolitical frustrations and angst and turned them into musical manifestos.
So it’s not terribly surprising that these two styles have often lived in harmony with one another. Indeed Disposable Heroes (and more recently Spearhead) and RATM borrowed equally from each genre to create their own unique hybrids.
But where Spearhead take a pacifist stance, and Rage Against The Machine took an antagonistic approach, Warsawpack fall neatly between the two - landing somewhat closely to Dub War. On this, their second album for Canada’s G7, the septuplet successfully capitalise upon their previous work and meld the hip-hop with the punk with such precision it allows for additional styles to also become apparent. The dub and jazz influences are more evident this time around, while the rock takes a slight step backward in the mix.
Opening with what sounds like a sample from some obscure children’s Christmas record, the band launch into a shock and awe campaign attacking everyone whose hands are soiled with blood money and whose corporate/political success has come at a high price for the millions of disadvantaged around the world. Indeed the cover art depicts a faceless President giving the thumbs up to a military attack, while the inner art details corporate connections. A further connection is then made between US military strikes and the financial benefits some of these companies receive as a direct result of dead, foreign civilians.
‘Lump of Coal’ has a smooth jazz bass line, an equally smooth brass section while Lee Raback takes on the persona of corporate a CEO criticising anti-war protesters with the lines “What the fuck were you thinking, huh? / We got businesses to run / Fat kids that need Christmas gifts and stuff.” Again the link here between business and war is foremost.
Raback then rhymes into a summary of conservatism and it’s media-invoked rationale with “And you’re part of the problem / Unpatriotic, you communist, you anarchist / You terrorist.” Of course the link between each ‘ism’ is absurd and Raback’s delivery ensures the tongue is buried deeply within cheek.
‘Wolfblitzer’ takes on the war on terror and Iraq invasion a bit more precisely, though Raback’s cynicism comes to full realization with lines like “Missed targets like big structures with red crosses painted on them” and, impersonating a news broadcast, “This shot of a bomb drop was brought to you by Coke / And for Christmas the Afghans will all get a soda”, and finally, “This means business - sorry, sorry - This means war.” Interestingly, the track makes the comparison between the Bush Administration and Hitler’s Henchman in the chorus. And just as the chorus says “It may sound absurd at first / But ain’t it a lot like Nazi Germany.”
But it’s not intense political diatribe. Musically Warsawpack align themselves with the aforementioned trailblazers along with Fishbone, George Clinton and Beastie Boys. The brass, the dub-inspired bass, the laidback grooves all fit nicely with the humour and make spite kind of fun, making Warsawpack the Michael Moore of music.