A Video and Three Anarchist Songs

Occupy Wall Street has been a real game changer in the discourse as to our political and social prioritities. With winter coming in the northern hemisphere, it remains to be seen whether the movement can keep up its momentum and translate their concepts into viable social change. Seems like the only way we might be able to reset the system is to initiate a steep inheritance tax on estates over $2.5mil, returning this excess to the public coffers...not likely but, hey kids, you are being ripped off. Support of this type of fundamental change didn't work for the Yippies, but they sure had fun pointing out the lunacy of the system, including threatening to dose the water supply of the city of Chicago, levitating the Pentagon and throwing dollar bills from the balcony of the New York Stock Exchange.  Actions, all of which, brought the machine a grinding halt through exposure of its greed and paranoia.  A few OWS folks down under have picked up on this spirit (too, good):

 

 

Sometimes a creativity, a good idea and melody sync up but, not often enough. Perhaps the most prolific and profound band of the 1980's California punk rock scene, whose DIY ethic and working class politics defied the generally more pretentious posturing of their neighbors.  We Jam Econo is an extraordinary documentary about the band, and is one of my favorite rock and roll docs along with Some Kind of Monster and New York Doll. These are the kind of movies with such depth and nuance that they could be watched again and again, much like this song:

Victim of the first three album/CD/recording rule, and better in the headphones than live, Modest Mouse's early work begged the question if it was possible to practice this type of music, or was it just a spontaneous scream. This one, however, is obviously carefully crafted:

Billy Bragg Has been spreading a similar message for thirty years. The first time I saw him, was outside a Black Flag show in Dencow where he seranaded the waiting audience, in the cold, before going inside and opening the show. There's been a long history of dissent against policies and people who hoard wealth at the expense of the common good, as this song chronicles:


Keep up the good fight!