Billy Bragg

To me he's a bit anachronistic of the whole 80's Red Wedge / 'bash the guvverment' goings on. I used to share his political views but I preferred his 'love' songs.

Now he seems to be happy dressing up as a Roman Centurion and annoying politicians. And singing Woody Gutherie songs of course.

To be fair, this was when he was headlining the TUC rally in Tolpuddle last summer, an event which I love but where I know I won't much like the music, but really the man sounded like a grotesque ranting parody of himself. I agree that he was more interesting in the 80s, and I think back then, at least, he was a good songwriter, but I find something very irritating about his exaggeration of his accent in his singing voice, which strikes me as the kind of salt-of- the-earth ethnic authenticity that was the very worst thing about the old left.

[Ducks into handy thermonuclear shelter: By, but he's been and gone and done it now...]

No offence taken whatsoever. I'm glad I didn't get to hear Wright's snigger.

i have walked out on yo la tengo after ira's 18th lame guitar solo. is there a more overpraised band? not likely.

i am a rampant leftist so his poltical songs seem realvant
and finally the two mermaid avenue albums are heartbreaking in their clarity and beauty

Classic

Dud.

Yo La Tengo new album is nice, but they have done nothing for me live.

"I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night" and "Marching Song of the Covert Batallions" are as good as almost anything he's done.

Why's he doing so few gigs to promote Must I Paint You A Picture? I haven't seen him live for years (at least 10!) and have a strange hankering to do so again; but The Barbican doesn't seem the right place to do so at all - I want to see just him & his guitar in a small club or something.

I think the comp misses "Richard," "This Guitar Says Sorry," "Tender Comrade," "The Marriage," and most egregiously "She Came Along to Me"; I'd also sub the trad. "Which Side Are You On" for "There is Power in a Union" and (ugh, I know it's tongue in cheek and it's still unbearbable) "Help Save the Youth of America." But this is still a great collection of songs...

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0353/sheffield.php

don't tell me its an act.

While I appreciate the existence of the version of 'Shirley' on which Johnny Marr plays everything, I wish there were *instrumental* releases of all the tracks Bragg did with Marr. I would like to be able to focus more easily on the acoustics and guitar sounds in 'Greetings to the New Brunette' et al. I guess for Bragg to do this would require a degree of humility and recognition that he wasn't the best thing on the tracks, but he has more of that than most pop stars.

How about an instrumental 'Sexuality'?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwU4zCEJtY

god

^^^ i like how you can tell the guy with glasses about 55 seconds in is singing "anuvver girl"

Putting Phil Ochs to the tune of Joe Hill and complaining about how he was discarded "when fashions changed" struck me as vintage cringe-worthy Bragg.

Bragg has his share of cringe moments -- maybe more than most, because of the relationships/politics minefield he's digging trenches in, and because of the way he goes about it (strident about sentimentality, sentimental about stridency) but to me, this isn't one of the cringes. I think it's a decent tribute, and Ochs would probably have agreed that his topical songwriting style rose and fell in popularity like any other fashion wave.

A few years ago I interviewed him. I'd emailed and reminisced about how as a teenager I used to go to see him at every gig, every Greater London Council event, every rally. He phoned to suggest a day for me to go down to his house. "Yeah, Tuesday would probably work. Having a bit of an 80s get-together," he said, flatly. "Weller and Morrissey are coming for lunch, and they'll probably stick around for the interview." Wow, I said, that sounds amazing. Just amazing. He paused, then pissed himslef laughing.

braggin'

Had no idea I wrote what you were quoting until I scrolled up: Bragg's one of the good guys, I have trouble saying anything wrong about him now, though I haven't bought anything for years.

Like his music, but he's never understood that even people who share his political/ideological views hate to be preached to. Just shut the fuck up and sing.

I really like Bragg, but that said, a little goes a long way - Taxman and Don't Try are the two best for me --

"A New England" is a really great song. I love Talking with the Taxman about Poetry a lot too: "The Warmest Room" is wonderful.

i kind of forgot who billy bragg is, but this tweet made me lol

billybragg. Kids -- there is no Santa. Those gifts were from your parents. Happy New Year from Wikileaks

You know, talk about a guy people take for granted. I've seen him live a few times, and almost every show I get this "here we go again" feeling at the start. Then by the end I'm ready to climb mountains and claim the peaks in the name of the people. I saw him do a songwriting workshop a couple of weeks ago, and he remains an amazing human being and great writer/raconteur. He told hilarious stories of his mom, explained how he went about writing a song about the sinking of the Titanic (from the perspective of the iceberg, for which the sinking was the end of its own centuries long journey), and talked about the difference between tweets and facebook, as much as he recognizes that they have in some ways supplanted marches and whatnot as the prime mean of protest, and songs, which possess the ability to instantly transform your mood. When pressed for an example he cited a song he had written about the death of his father (which his recently deceased mom requested he play at her own funeral). He played it for the small crowd, and by the end many of them were weeping. That's something else. (He made sure to note that his mom also requested recordings of English dancing tunes be played at her funeral, and her dancing shoes laid on her casket, lest anyone think she was somehow all gloom and doom).

Anyway, a remarkable guy who I think doesn't get enough love, either here or in general. Just wanted to say.

Right there with you - I was at the Sat. Old Town School show a few weeks back and was similarly dazzled. Good audio souvenier - set one Woody, set two Billy.

Just missed his DC show and you're making me wish I had seen it. Josh's take mirrors mine re when I saw him in the past

playing the next 2 nights around NY, to mark Guthrie centennial.

"Levi Stubbs' Tears" is one of my favorite songs ever, otherwise he's never interested me. But I heard a good new song on the way home today called "No One Knows Nothing Anymore." I should have recognized the voice but didn't, and was quite surprised to find out it was him.

The last album was completely forgettable for me. I've been a fan for 20 years but listening to half the new one pretty much closed the chapter for me. Not that any of it is bad but, meh...

Lib Dem spokesman Bragg back with another banger

ANTIFA pic.twitter.com/dUB99SJn8l

— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) May 31, 2020

omg. no i won't enquire if it is meant to be some kind of joke!

he doesn't want to change the world, he's just looking for another channel 5 ww2 doc!