As it is polling day in Northern Ireland I have put together a podcast of tentatively political music. Tracklisting:-

Blaise Bailey Finnegan III (excerpt) - Godspeed You! Black Emperor [Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada EP] How to disrespect authority in style.

Black Steel - Tricky [Maxinquaye] A cover of the Public Enemy tune, a tale of a black man who organises a prison riot to protest against the draft notice.

By the Time I Get to Arizona - Public Enemy [Apocalypse ‘91: The Enemy Strikes Back] Enraged by Arizona’s decision not to hold a holiday in honour of Martin Luther King.

Night Of The Hunter - Piano Magic [Disaffected] Piano Magic not sounding like themselves at all on this, but it’s still a good anti-bloodsports song.

At Home He’s A Tourist -Gang Of Four [Entertainment] I couldn’t have a political mix without Gang of Four really could I?

Who Makes The Nazis? - The Fall [The Complete Peel Sessions 1978 - 2004] “Longhorn, longhorn breed”. This song always puzzles me, this is the Peel session version which is maybe even stranger than the album version.

Reuters - Wire [Pink Flag] 1977, but it could have been written yesterday.

All these Governors - The Evens [The Evens] The lyrics remind me of our legistlative assembly, sadly.

Unfair - Pavement [Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain] Not 100% political but a tale of Northern California vs Southern California, I think.

Women Of The World - Jim O’Rourke [Eureka] A simple message beautifully done.

Harrowdown Hill - Thom Yorke [The Eraser] Thom’s reaction to the suspicious death of weapons investigator David Kelly.

Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt Written by Elvis Costello at the time of the Falklands War, this is a very heartfelt rendition from Robert Wyatt.

War - Bob Marley [Rastaman Vibration] The words aren’t Bob’s, but are instead the text of the address to the UN by Hailie Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia. Wise man.

Northern Industrial Town - Billy Bragg [William Bloke] The only song in the list about Belfast, written just after the 1994 ceasefires.

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