Jon Ewing
Playlists
Don’t Give Up the Ship – So Pretty
19 September 2017
So Pretty are a DIY feminist punk rock band from Chicago who not only make a fabulous raucous noise but are also community activists in their own right, creating their own arts space for women and trans individuals.
Which Side Are You On? – B. Dolan
12 September 2017
Rhode Island rapper B. Dolan calls out the hip-hop haters in this song that samples a folk song written for striking American miners in the 1930s.
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free – Nina Simone
5 September 2017
Like a lot of young British movie fans of my age, the deceptively cheerful piano melody of this song first came to my attention in the 1970s as the theme music to the BBC’s long-running Film Review series (Film 1972, Film 1973 etc etc…) and it was nearly twenty years before I learned that this jolly jazz-gospel piano tune was in fact one of the key cultural touchstones of the American Civil Rights movement.
Silver Lining – Stiff Little Fingers
29 August 2017
The music of SLF was a great influence on me as a teenager. Coming from a small, rural town in the East of England, I couldn’t relate directly to a bunch of Belfast boys who had grown up during The Troubles. But I had no difficulty understanding what it was like to be surrounded by generations of adults who thought they knew best about my future, despite making a mess of the world and their own lives.
Now – Potent Whisper + Maria-Christina & The 7 Pedals
21 August 2017
From the very start of Now you’ll be able to hear the simmering anger and imagine the sneering curl of London rapper Potent Whisper’s lip as he taunts the establishment. But what you might be surprised to learn is that the backing music isn’t the usual layer upon layer of samples. It’s not even a whole band, although you’d be forgiven for thinking it is. In fact, all of the music on Now is performed on… a harp.
My Mind is for Sale – Jack Johnson
15 August 2017
The mellow sound of Hawaiian folk-pop surf dude Jack Johnson has not got any less gentle on the ear with this first taste of his forthcoming new (seventh) album, so it might sound a bit abrupt when played alongside the likes of Prophets of Rage, but don’t mistake that chirpy, slick production and cooing, treacly vocal for terminal insouciance. Jack Johnson is cross.
Better Decide Which Side You’re On – The Tom Robinson Band
7 August 2017
The passion of Better Decide Which Side You’re On is just as strong and most of the lyrics seem particularly apposite 40 years after it was written. This is a song about standing up to fight against extreme right “bullyboys” and giving no quarter to those who are “sitting on the fence”.
Risk to Exist – Maximo Park
31 July 2017
“If you see something and you think somebody needs to stand up for it – whatever issue it might be – then you should,” Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith told The Independent earlier this year as they debuted their sixth album, Risk To Exist. “There’s a responsibility as a citizen and as a human.”
Repeat – Manic Street Preachers
24 July 2017
A song doesn’t necessarily have to earn its place on the Music to Fight Evil playlist by arguing a well-reasoned political point. Sometimes it’s enough to be angry at… whatever. Like this rousing battle cry from the first Manic Street Preachers album, Generation Terrorists.
Unfuck the World – Prophets of Rage
18 July 2017
This year’s first new Prophets of Rage material, Unfuck the World, has all the characteristics you’d expect from RATM and Public Enemy. Frankly, it feels like it was made for the Music to Fight Evil playlist.
Get Better – Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip
10 July 2017
Most protest songs concern themselves with the symptoms of the problem rather than the problem itself. But Get Better by Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip takes a wider and more positive outlook, challenging young people to rise above their circumstances rather than be consumed by them.
99 Red Balloons – Nena
4 July 2017
Ah, the Europop one hit wonder. Usually it’s as close to a definitive expression of disposable, fun-while-it-lasts, harmless bubble gum pop as it’s possible to be – Whigfield’s Saturday Night, Lou Bega’s Mambo Number 5, Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex, Blue by Eiffel 65… I could go on, but as the list grows it begins to seem less like harmless fun and the more like a pandemic of mindlessness.