Songs of the political underground

Songs of Protest
Various
Blatant Propaganda Products
Send $10 to PO Box 1327 Woden, ACT 2606 or visit <http://www.BlatantPropaganda.com>

REVIEW BY ANDREW HALL

The Songs of Protest CD is a great collection of Australian music artists with a progressive political bent. The liberating mood of the album is set with the opening track "Our Way of Life" by EYE, a propaganda collage against the federal government's "terrorism" hysteria.

Ranging from hip hop to pop-punk, industrial and electronica to techno-acid-house, the album's contributors comment on issues such as media and government lies, activism, refugees, war, Aboriginal land rights, anti-nuclear issues and uranium mining, class solidarity, reclaiming the streets, environmentalism and many others.

For me, the Non Bossy Posse and the Warrumpi Band's version of "Stand Up" and the EYE's refreshing hip hop-industrial-funk version of the popular slogan of working-class solidarity, "The Workers United Will Never Be Defeated" stand out. Ginger Tom's now classic "Hey, Hey USA: How Many Children Did You Kill Today?" is always a favourite.

The album's entire 76 minutes is high quality underground music.

Blatant Propaganda's J Citizen has built a world-wide following for his label, through a simple mail-order business and the outstanding quality of his music projects and those of the other acts he provides an outlet for.

As well as being deeply involved in alternative electronic projects, that began with the industrial activist outfit EYE in 1991, and the dance-floor shaking analogue-electro outfit E.L.F., Citizen is a political activist.

He also takes his tunes to Canberrans via E.L.F.'s and EYE's highly energetic live shows, and through his radio programs on the city's community radio station 2XX.

From Green Left Weekly, October 1, 2003.

Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

From GLW issue 556