Jeff Ott
Will Work For Diapers
Subcity
Nothing like folk music to push your politics – the music is slow and unobtrusive, and there’s no strong hook to block your well thought out message. This two CD set speaks a manifesto for the Ruckus Society, which provides activists with whatever resources it can scrounge up. Of course, like all political groups, you have to be the right flavor of activist to get support. But that’s not atypical. The songs here cover a long list of topics, mostly very current: The Gulf War, 9-11, stop using oil and plastics. Interspersed are some old standards: feminism, don’t pay your evil landlord rent, feed the poor. All these songs are reasonably well played and to the point, even if they all sound pretty much the same.
This isn’t an album about music so much as one about changing the world. If you like the manifesto, you’ll love the soundtrack, and if you don’t buy the program, it’s reasonably offensive. Imagine an acoustic guitar played out of a van covered with stickers and spewing oil smoke – the driver means well, but probably isn’t accomplishing what he wants. That’s the joy of idealism; you can practice a religion without all those tedious voters meetings.
Subcity Records: http://www.subcity.net/ • Ruckus Society: http://www.ruckus.org/
