Billy Bragg is one of those guys who you can tell is pretty cool, but you can’t tell exactly why. When I first heard his music, I thought it was hilarious. The biggest reason, was the heavy re-verb, mixed with the heavy cockney accent. He was a one man show. Just him and a electric guitar, sans effects (unless you count re-rerb). Eventually, I did get into his music. Mostly because people I respected, thought his stuff was so great. C. Burt was probably the person who introduced me to Bragg. In this picture, he is performing with Johnny Marr from
The Smiths, who I was a huge fan of. Bragg is also referenced in Tim Armstrong (of
Operation Ivy and
Rancid) lyrics. In “The War’s End” by
Rancid, Armstrong sings about the father of little Sammy the punkrocker, going into Sammy’s room and smashing his Billy Bragg record, because he didn’t want Sammy to hear that “communist lecture.” Even though Bragg’s lyrics are political, it wasn’t exactly Communism that he was preaching. Interestingly enough, Bragg was actually part of a group called the “Red Wedge,” which promoted the Labour Party. Anyway, I think that this song is so great. It’s called the “The Milkman of Human Kindness.” It is the first track from his “Back to Basics” album.
Give it a listen, if you feel so inclined.
