A Xmas Message
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Lennon and leaders in his own wordshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoC83orA4ysLennon on revolution in his own words and endorsing peacefully if possible , violently if necessary ideahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRq1mp4VArA
Vin Maratty wrote:gnome wrote:In order to meet the required deadline of the end of March 2014, the EC should request him to work expeditiously on an election video using existing scripts.I would appreciate a copy of the scripts so far in order to see if the project is within my capabilities, tho' I can't see why not and I don't think we would be breaking the official secrets act vinmaratty@googlemail.com
Hi Vin,I've got copies of the various scripts, and will email them when I get a moment on my other computer (kids on it at the moment).Bob.
I think that what comrades are doing with this song is what Shklovsky called 'filling in the gaps'. Okay, Lennon talks about some of the things that we advocate, but he's doing it in an airy-fairy kind of way that leaves everything open to interpretation. Non-socialists will fill in their own gaps according to their perspectives. That aside, to suggest that Lennon was a socialist is preposterous. He was certainly influenced by Tariq Ali in the early seventies, and was associated with Ali's paper. Moreover, this is a man who supported the IRA. Do we want to associate ourselves with such a person?
I think we should avoid using Imagine. It is too old, too slow, and too dull. Something more dynamic should be used. A plodding soundtrack with a boring voiceover is not going to grab the attention of disaffected voters. An old song from the 70's is not the way to attract people to the SPGB.
OK, '70's may be good. How about "Children of the Revolution" by T-Rex. The lyrics aren't socialist, but the song is rousing.
alanjjohnstone wrote:Lennon and leaders in his own wordshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoC83orA4ysLennon on revolution in his own words and endorsing peacefully if possible , violently if necessary ideahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRq1mp4VArAAs far as socialists are concerned, these clips are a garbled mishmash of all sorts, e.g. 'If you want to change the world, do it subtly by…bed-ins'. Yeah, right. I think Russell Brand has more idea.Holding 'Imagine' up as a socialistic song is fair enough as far as it goes (it doesn't mention anything about taking political action to get rid of the ruling class, for example, and nor does 'Working Class Hero') but we should distance ourselves from 'Lennonism'.
"Children Of The Revolution"Yeah!Well you can bump and grindIf it's good for your mindWell you can twist and shoutLet it all hang out[Chorus:]But you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo no noWell you can tear a planeIn the falling rainI drive a Rolls Royce'Cos its good for my voice[Chorus]Yeah!But you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo way!HeyWow
Matt wrote:"Children Of The Revolution"Yeah!Well you can bump and grindIf it's good for your mindWell you can twist and shoutLet it all hang out[Chorus:]But you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo no noWell you can tear a planeIn the falling rainI drive a Rolls Royce'Cos its good for my voice[Chorus]Yeah!But you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo you won't fool the children of the revolutionNo way!HeyWowHa, ha. Like I said, the lyrics aren't socialist, but neither do they need to be. Any soundtrack used for a broadcast just needs to catch the attention.
Can anyone provide a direct quote, where any contributor to this thread has said explicitly or "suggested" that Lennon was a Socialist?On the other hand, the lyrics of Imagine, do indeed mention things which parallel the case for Socialism.
Okay, another half-assed hippiehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf5nVk5MU70"The Restless Consumer"The people have heard the news The people have spoken You may not like what they said But they weren't jokin' Way out on the desert sands Lies a desperate lover They call her the "Queen of Oil" So much to discover Don't need no ad machine Telling me what I need Don't need no Madison Avenue War Don't need no more boxes I can see Covered in flags but I can't see them on TV Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies The restless consumer flies Around the world each day With such an appetite for taste and grace People from around the world Need someone to listen We're starving and dying from our disease We need your medicine How do you pay for war And leave us dyin' ? When you could do so much more You're not even tryin' Don't need no TV ad Tellin' me how sick I am Don't want to know how many people are like me Don't need no dizziness Don't need no nausea Don't need no side effects like diarrhea or sexual death Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies The restless consumer lies Asleep in her hotel With such an appetite For anything that sells A hundred voices from a hundred lands Need someone to listen People are dying here and there They don't see the world the way you do There's no mission accomplished here Just death to thousands A hundred voices from a hundred lands Cry out in unison Don't need no terror squad Don't want no damned Jihad Blowin' themselves away in my hood But we don't talk to them So we don't learn from them Hate don't negotiate with Good Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies Don't need no more lies The restless comsumer flies Around the world each day With such an appetite for efficiency And pace…Don't need no more lies.
"Wouldn't it be lovely if everyone worked together to make the world a nicer place" set to a feeble riff is not going to change anything. For fuck's sake, comrades, the fucking bibble talks about a nowhere place where everyone lives in harmony. If we're going to have a puerile invocation of some ideal world written by someone who thought it was ok to bomb innocent workers as our anthem then why stop halfway? Why don't we just abandon analysis and pander to the petty prejudices of ill-informed workers? Come on.
No one is suggesting having Imagine as an anthem, at least not that I can see on this thread, or indeed anywhere else on the Forum. Once again, I will ask "Can anyone provide a direct quote, where any contributor to this thread has said explicitly or "suggested" that Lennon was a Socialist?
No not a socialist but expresses anti-war ideas effectively for any video of ourshttp://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/livingwithwar.htmlIf that isn't enough to convince you , listen to Flags of Freedomhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mrr3tkNPPo And to gladden the heart of any NE member , Eric Burden and the Animals – even if geordie rather than mackem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lroU7apzma8 In the year of 2014 when slaughter in the trenches will be commemorated by the capitalist vultures of war, surely we can create our own anti-war video.
Or how about this anti-war song, only fault being it is time and event linked rather than generalised (no pun intended) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntLsElbW9Xo Our world is our oyster when it comes to the selection of a suitable anti-war song to accompany a anti-war video/photos
This'll never end. I could list a thousand songs that might allude to socialism but not one of them will ever create a socialist. Doesn't work that way and you shouldn't delude yourselves. It's a fucking pop song. Forget about it.
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