The Election Section V2.10

Just in case you need just that little bit of extra incentive to vote today:

I make no apologies for posting this, yet again, on the only day it matters:

Newtown Neurotics – Kick Out The Tories

Do what you have to do today.

See you on the other side. (More soon.)

The Return of The Election Section

Okay, I’m going to hold back the rant for now. We have six weeks of election bullshit ahead of us to wade through, plenty of time for politicians to irritate me sufficiently to provoke that most biting of response: a blogpost and an appropriate song.

Before that happens, a little over two years ago, in the run up to the last General Election, I ran a series of posts featuring records with some political content, alongside others which I fiendishly gave political context where before there had been none. There were ten posts, eight posted before the election, two slightly more depressing ones afterwards; all of the links have perished by now, so I thought that I’d revive a couple of those songs to kick things of.

So, with my apologies to very long-term readers who are now yawning and moaning that they’ve seen all of this before, we’re off, with a song I referred to in my last post, the other “rap” song that I (incorrectly) think I can perform when I’ve had a few. And in case any of you are unaware of my political leanings, the title of this one should make it abundantly clear:

Oui 3 – Break From the Old Routine

Next, a song which I’ve posted twice before, but it’s such an absolute classic I’m brazenly going to give it its’ hat-trick appearance. It’s an anti-Thatcher song, but since the lyrics are deliberately oblique, it’s one which has stood the test of time:

Hue and Cry – Labour of Love

And whilst that may be upbeat, subversive pop at it’s finest, this next tune is one of the most hypnotic, noisiest two-chord call-to-arms you’ll ever hear, a record I’m proud that I bought on 12″ when it first came out, back when I was a youthful cardigan-wearing  unapologetic leftie (I’m no longer youthful, and I wear nice jackets instead of cardigans these days, but the rest stands):

Spacemen 3 – Revolution

Just in case that one was a little too subtle for you, a record which an ex-flatmate and I once bonded over. He had rocked up to the flat Hel and I shared to see the spare room we had on offer, bleach-blond Mohican haircut and leather jacket gloriously offset by his spectacles, girlfriend who definitely wasn’t going to be moving in too, no honestly, you’ll hardly notice her (….) in tow, and Hel and I liked him immediately. One Friday night he and I stayed in and drank, and of course I’d done a playlist, which had this song on it. We must have played it about ten times in a row, mostly because I was so pissed and chatty I kept talking over it and then complaining I’d missed it again.

Quite how I managed to miss it, gives an indication of just how pissed and chatty I was.

This was always going to get an airing at some point, but a request by regular reader abramson60 via the Comments the other day has brought it – and, for that matter, this whole post – forwards:

Newtown Neurotics – Kick Out The Tories

Ok, so that’s the stuff I’ve posted before done and dusted. Coming soon: biting satire in the form of musical misappropriation.

In other words: more soon.

But before I go, a little comment. Since the snap election was called earlier this week, we have already seen examples of voter apathy, much raising of eyebrows and tutting and “Oh no, here we go again”s.

One of the many things that has annoyed me since the Brexit referendum is the constant message that the majority of the UK voted to leave the EU. They did not. The majority of people who voted, voted to leave the EU. Here’s a graph which you will see me using a lot over the next few weeks:

Let’s do the maths: that’s 31,553,728 people who either did not, or could not, vote in the referendum.

When Theresa May announced the snap election, she claimed that it was to prevent divisions at Westminster hampering the Brexit negotiations. We’ll examine that statement in more detail another time.

But had more people turned out to vote in the Brexit referendum last year, it’s just possible that the result would have been different, and that those same Brexit negotiations would not be happening.

So, make no mistake, it is apathy among the electorate which has led to this election being called. Which is not an excuse for even more voter apathy this time around; it is so, so important that as many people as possible are able to vote – irrespective of how they vote – on June 8th.

Which is why you’ll see me posting this link a lot over the next few weeks too:

Register to Vote

You have until 22 May 2017 to register to vote in the General Election on 8 June 2017.

Do me a favour and sign up will you?

That is all. For now.

The Election Section #8

As I write this, there are just under four hours to go until the polling stations across the UK close. If you are able to vote, and haven’t yet, go do it. If you already have, nice one, I hope you made the right (that’s right with no capital R) choice.

To round off this series of themed posts. I’ll keep it short; as you’ll probably guess from the sleeve of the 7″ single, today’s song is a simple yet beautiful thing of wonder, a song so lustrous in its production values and subtle in its message, it needs no additional words from me to be appreciated.

Newtown Neurotics – Kick Out The Tories!