Clovers In The Atmosphere

Billy Bragg is cool, but old. He played Peg City last night. It was just him and an electric guitar (and several mugs of tea) which made for an interesting show. solo electric just about sums up Bragg's positioning in between punk and croony singer-songerwriters. The whole show had a feel of a leftist rally which I found a little distasteful. I can't help but wonder what a right-wing balladeer show would look like. Then I remembered just how amazing and ahead of it's time Bob Roberts was. Hello World posted about the corporatization of viral/guerrilla marketing (http://www.en-dash.com/blog/2006/09/22/im-lovin-in-dude/), which I think is relevant to the ethos of modernity. and Bob Roberts mastered that idea16 years ago.

The opener was Geoff Berner (http://www.geoffberner.com/lyrics.htm) who played funny and innappropriate songs with his accordion. I was particularly struck by his piece "Lucky God Damn Jew" which was meant to be provacative but I thought it sat nicely in the Roth/Allen (Woody, not George) tradition of laying forth the bitter, sarcastic, and possibly conniving side of judaism and/or aggressively mocking people's preconceptions about it rather than presenting an idealized picture for the betterment of the race (see Ellison's "Invisible Man"). It is also relevant to an article I read recently in salon called "cool jews" (http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/bestof/2006/001837.html) about the fact that contemporary jews in cinema and television were nebuschy and neurotic (Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer) as opposed to the 60s and 70s when they were tough, cool, or both (Lou Reed, Dustin Hoffman). I applaud Berner in his efforts. Bragg suggested (before playing Eisler on the go) that the HUAC hearings were actually an anti-semitic purge. I think these issues are important in a time when the world at large is turning against Israel for a poorly executed but not unprovoked war. Berner also plays pure humor well including "Don't play cards for money with Corby Lund"which is sadly absent from his album. (Btw Corby Lund is the lead singer of Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans--big stars in Canadian country music).