Sovereign Citizen – Jackie Sings a Rebel Song
The fact is that many intelligent people will embrace a few very different forms of radical politics throughout their lives is no secret. Leo Tolstoy was a soldier, then a peaceful Christian, then a Christian anarchist wishing to give away his fortune. Pier Paolo Pasolini was pretty right-leaning but died as a card-carrying member of the Italian Communist Party. Some of the great dictators desired to be painters and priests before becoming serial killers. Even yours truly had flags of Ernesto Che Guevara adorning his walls while writing vigorously on leftist message boards.
Of course, looking back on my experience, I can blame a lot of it on naivety. However, I had no chance. If you are exposed to bands like the Clash and RATM, witness the hearty communion of people chanting in unison, and believe that the world could be improved, you’re likely to turn the same way. A lot of this is rubbish, but it’s brave manly rubbish.
Sovereign Citizen’s Jackie Sings a Rebel Song is a revolutionary anthem of the kind that Joe Strummer might have dreamed up during the early 1980s. The video features images of Sandinista rebels, as well as of Argentine-Cuban rebels, although an Eastern European would be quick to point out that not all Revolutions are the same. It may also have something to do with Jack Charlton singing Republican anthems while managing Ireland, although that gets confusing. (Good 1990 World Cup, though, wasn’t it?)
It’s a cheerful and ebullient number, and I reckon that we need more of it. Heaven knows I wake up to Bandiera Rossa playing on many mornings. Hey, some people pierce their tongues and paint their nails black, and some sing rebel songs. Gotta have something to get us by. Now, where did I stash my Chumbawamba collection?
Harker – Moriah
Grunge, or whichever other name you want to bestow the mostly Seattle produced sound, left a big mark, but disappeared suddenly and unceremoniously. Sure, I know that there were lots of post-grunge that kept scoring mainstream hits for years to come. But, comparing Soundgarden and these groups is like saying that drinking vodka straight from the bottle is almost like having an Appletini.
The anger, passion, and musicianship of the Seatle bands still influence many today. After all, it’s a sound built on the very foundations of much of modern hard-rock. And, just hiding from the sight of mainstream attention, artists are perfecting and modernizing the formula.
One such groups is Harker. Their Sabbathy guitar homage also features traces of post-hardcore, emo, and modern metal. Harker’s concerns, much like their predecessors, are with the passive nature of humans in the face of modern tragedies. Aggressive and well-balanced, Harker is a rock band living for the future.