I've been looking forward to writing this post since Friday when I saw the prompts for the awesome Weekend engagement topic hosted by the oh-so-fabuloso @galenkp
The initiative certainly does what it sets out to do and gets the blockchain buzzing each and every weekend. Confession time, I do not get to participate as often as I would like as when my job sees me hit work weekends, that cycle lasts for 4 or 5 weekends in a row but I certainly like to head to G-dog's page whenever the weekends are my own and I am able.
It's a great place to meet cool new people but only for those interested in creating original, quality well presented posts and a genuine desire and passion for engagement with others, if you're the kinda person who loves to dwell in the comments section and create threads longer than the Nile, this is gonna be right up your street!
This weeks topic is right in my wheelhouse and from the choice of prompts there was no contest at all for me this week.
I dearly love talking about music but I don't write about it too often on my blog as I have a tendency to discuss every note, every alternative way of viewing every lyric and stare blankly at those who do not feel the way I do about those artists and songs that resonate with me most. What a nerd, right???
Tell us about the most recent music or track you have began listening to and tell us why you like it, what it means to you and why.
There's something you need to understand about me and my almost 50 year mad, passionate love affair with music, when I am in to a certain track, album or artist I am insatiably obsessed, for as long as it takes to work that itch outta my system.
Even though I may not listen to a certain artist or band for months at a time, when I do it is re-bloody-lentless. My poor long suffering family are quite used to this nowadays but as there are certain musicians I adore that they detest, so it's not always easy for them.
I have had one of those spells this week with an artist almost no-one will be familiar with as he is an independent artist and has views on society and the establishment, on capitalism and money that wouldn't fit easily with the average record company.
He is from Bristol in England and his name is Billy Rowan but together he and his band make up "The Undercover Hippy".
No no no... Whoa, stop! That's me dressed to go to work, no idea how that pic sneaked in there.
Below is The Undercover Hippy!
This track entitled Boyfriend details Billy's experiences in a club with a series of flirty ladies who neglect to inform him that they are attached to another until the very last moment when Billy thinks they are about to go 'back for coffee', I absolutely bloody adore this catchy tune and the cheeky, mischievous humour throughout is right up my street.
The video is a clean version appropriate for all audiences but the audio tracks on YouTube without the video have a slightly more adult version of the track.
So the reason I am here introducing you to The Undercover Hippy is that I have been feverishly consuming every track of theirs for 4 solid days in a row. I mean from breakfast till bed and even when I hit the pillow I have been wearing my headphones as I simply cannot get enough of their music.
I did tell you I am obsessed, right?
Next week it may be The Smiths, Morrissey, Rick Astley or Muse, maybe even Frank Turner or a compilation 80's feel-good tracks, but this week it has been none-stop Hippy!
So there are a few funny tracks like the one above but the real reason I love their music is that there is some pretty deep social commentary on all of their albums, from a scathing attack on ex Prime Minister David Cameron's speech regarding the looting and rioting a few years back in London to acidic
takedowns of banksters, corporate lobbyists and governments bowing down to business while screwing over those at the bottom of the food chain.
He sings about his experiences in the Gambia where he spent time collaborating with some very talented musicians there and writes about the desperate situations he witnessed first-hand and the gruelling poverty and inequity that exists right across our planet.
As someone who is all about the lyrics (words in general in fact) this appeals to me massively. Here's the kicker though... I haven't actually told you what genre the Undercover Hippy falls in to, have I?
Well they are an uhm... Folk type, reggae group with uhm rock and soul elements, with a little punky, ska flavour in there too, often with a mainstream pop vibe but other times an anthemic revolution chant or indeed a se shanty kind of thing...
Nope, I'm not kidding, I forgot to mention that most tracks featuring the elements above are delivered in a rap style hip-hop style, although often not!!!
I'm telling you their back catalogue is like a smorgasbord of wildly differing styles and musical techniques that simply works.
There are so many wildly fabulous lyrics that it is a genuine struggle for me to pin down just one or 2 but I shall try...
From the track "Money, money, money".
It’s a super sinister situation
When you look at where the first world funds come from
It’s a super sinister situation
When you’re buying your food by
Selling a gun
From the track "Long way down".
Me, I was so unaware, till I took a trip and I went down there but now I’m still livin a lie, in my big house with my van outside while my friends down there they try to survive on one quid a day when I just spent five on a bottle of wine. So fine. Need that shit just to help my mind unwind, cos sometimes, living at the top can still be a grind but, that line, well I find, it doesn’t really hold weight most of the time cos even as I sit here writing this rhyme, something I say just serves to remind me. That even though I may not have that much, what I have is way more, than enough and even at the top we’re still looking up, looking up.
Both examples may sound really heavy and maybe you imagine them as being a little depressing, no not for an instant. They are however, heart rending and provoke the listener to think about what he or she hears.
If you have even the vaguest interest in getting to know The Undercover Hippy better, I highly recommend listening to the "monkey suit" album, it is all of 45 minutes in length and that in this commentator's humble opinion is exceedingly good for the soul.
Sometimes when I am having difficulties in life, I wander to a quiet spot alone, list to this album once or twice in entirety and then I feel able to rejoin the world again.
So let me leave you with one more lyric from the riotous high octane dance fest that is "Last chance to dance", for an entirely different kind of vibe...
Dance like a lunatic
Stop thinking with your dick and tryna look slick
Just pick up your feet to the beat and feel the bass kick
And anyway the girls love that shit
Dance like a full blown heart attack
Sweat like a river running down your back
Making a puddle on the floor surrounding your feet
That's deep enough to drown your cat
You may be wondering about the origin of those lines, it's a tune about people dancing in a nightclub, all the different motivations they feel when they hit the floor, and The Hippy saying "life is short, just bloody dance like you mean it". It's replete with violin solo's a dance track and almost an Irish jig kind of mood... Bizarre, but weirdly satisfying, like halloumi dipped in chocolate, or uhm... Perhaps not!
So this week on my days off work I wanted to start working on areas around the house that had been a little neglected since Christmas due to me and m'lady working long hours across the holidays and also having some family stuff to deal with as well as packing my daughter up and taking her back to the city of Manchester where she attends drama school.
The first thing I do when I have tasks to attack is choose my music. I intended to listen to one of my favourite Hippy tracks but that turned to a shuffle of every song of theirs in my library, then every song again on repeat, like I mentioned the first day I listened to their music for 19 frickin' hours!!!
I feel like Billy Rowan writes and sings about the things I think about and believe. This is a common thread with most of my other favourite artists. How cool to be challenged while listening to music that you love. The Undercover Hippy and I, don't agree politically or ideologically on every single point but neither do me and my friends or indeed my family. Part of being a grown up is to learn to engage with those you do not always agree with and maintain civil, friendly, sometimes even loving relationships, right?
I have tended even from being very young to prefer music with a message or strong resonant lyrics although I must confess occasionally I just like to switch off, not think and enjoy a cool, enjoyable melody.
I just checked and it seems the Undercover Hippy are on tour 1 hour away from my home in April... Maybe there will be another post where I get to use this ridiculous image again, right?
Sorry! I promised myself I would delete that image immediately after using but, nope... Shameless.
I hope I managed to stay informative and interesting and introduce you to a dude and his band that I find utterly amazing and I didn't turn into too much of a 'fangirl'. If I introduce one more person to their music I will be utterly delighted as I believe music, the right music especially is akin to medicine for the heart, mind and body.
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my post and if you're one of those amazing people who like to hit the comments section... Then I doubly thank YOU!
Either way I want you to know that you are appreciated!
Keep taking the time to connect with each-other both here and in the 'so-called' real world and try and look after each-other, because as you already know...
