KitNotes

I am not going to comment on the budget, because quite frankly, I can’t be arsed. Gordon Brown fucks over people like me - low paid, no kids - with what amounts to be a tax hike after the abolition of the 10% base rate of income tax, whilst giving a tax cut to the corporations and business in order to “stimulate growth”. The only “growth” that has been “simulated” is in a particular region of males in boardrooms across the city (because, let’s face it, the City only enters the parts of the 21st century that it likes - equality amongst the sexes not being one of them).

Oh, that was a comment on the budget, wasn’t it? Oh well, the point is that it’s no change from the norm, so I don’t think it’s worth any new comment. Dave Osler has commented more on it over on his blog.

What’s provoked me to write is Times “comment centralist” Daniel Finkelstien is whinging that there are no centre-right rock stars and encouraging fellow wingnuts to help him compile a CD of tunes which wreck the mike in support of the family, low taxes, small government and other such bollocks.

Good luck to him, I say. Rock and roll, as one of his commentators pointed out, is anti-establishment, which is what the centre-right is.  But it’s left me in a bit of a quandry, too, because apart from the Manic Street Preachers (who are a bit crap musically in my view as well as being politically crap - c’mon lads, quasi-Maoism is so 1970’s) and bands like Rage Against The Machine/System of a Down/Green Day which have a fairly limited fan base amongst teenagers in their bedrooms, there aren’t any decent far left bands or tunes since the 1980’s.

So, in response to Finkelstein’s challenge, here’s the KitNotes version: Find me left tunes that have come out since 1990, that don’t include the above bands. They don’t count.  I don’t care what genre they come from, but they must have a radical message.

So, for example, “He Got Game” by Public Enemy with such lyrics as…

God takes care of ol folks and fools
While the devil takes care
Of makin the rules
Folks dont even own themselves
Payin mental rent
To corporate presidents
1 outta 1 million residents
Be a dissident
Who aint kissin it
The politics of chains and whips
Got the sick
Missin chips and championships
Whats love got to do
Wit what you got

… counts, as does, perhaps, “People Hold On” by Coldcut & Lisa Stansfield:

Everybodys looking for a meaning
Everybodys doing their own thing
And nobodys solving the problem
Aint nobody helping each other

Some people give into fear
Some people give into hunger
Some of us live for the future
And some of us wonder

Give a little life, give a little love
Maybe theres enough for everyone
Give a little hope, and a little trust
Maybe theres enough for everyone

… whilst being a bit hippyish,  it’s quite clearly a critique of Thacherism. The person who nominates the best song, and gives the best reason for it’s inclusion, will win a copy of the final CD.

The winner will be announced at the Socialist Bloggers Meetup.  My decision is final (this blog isn’t a democracy, you know) and no arguments will be entered into.

Get to it!

What the hell? Could they not possibly get a more stereotypically gay song?

“Would you like something to suck on for landing, sir?”

Indeed.

Britain, you have no taste.

Quite possibly the worse thing about it all is that Scooch were the best of a bad bunch. We had Cindi singing a ballad which sent me to sleep, has-beens Brian Harvey (’im out of East 17) and Liz McClarnon (’er out of Atomic Kitten), Hawkins and Brown (’im out of The Darkness, ‘er is actually quite talented but the song sucked), Cindi (’oo the ‘ell is she?) and Big Brovaz (actually, we actually realised that they were crap a long time ago, so it’s not going to be any different second time round).

Eh, Morrisey, where were you, you bastard? You PROMISED us a decent Eurovision entry.

Fuck it. I’m going to enter next year. Eh, Stroppy, up for a duet?

One word: shocking.

The current agency worker rights regieme is non-existant. Despite what the New Labour mandarins keep telling us, a so-called ‘flexible’ workforce is not good for the economy.  It is inherently insecure. It is usually some of the worst paid work in Britain - the average agency worker in London earns around £6.50 an hour. They are usually either forced or tricked into signing away their holiday and their protection under the European Working Time Directives (it’s shocking in and of itself that Blair had the balls to fight for the British opt-out in the first place).

Because of the precarious nature of temping, agency workers can’t even dream of getting a toe - never mind a whole foot - on the property ladder. They have very little  employment rights as it is.

Don’t get me wrong; temporary work in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. I’ve temped before and no doubt will temp again.

But employment agencies are shysters. They are tricksters, they are bullies, they are theives, they are incomptent buffons, only motivated by their desire for more profit or bigger bonuses or commission, every last one of them.  They simply cannot be trusted. If a recruitment consultant tells you it’s 3pm, check your watch. Not just to see how they lied but to see if it’s still there, too.

The ‘flexible labour force’ benefits capitalism - not the workers. Don’t be fooled otherwise.

It is coming soon.
Give me the dates you would like.
Let us do this thing.

EDIT: Turned it into haiku instead.