Jesus Christ!
Did anyone - UK-based obv - see the Green Party Election broadcast tonight or was it some delirium I unwittingly slipped into?
The broadcast was like some Alan Partridge offcut discarded because it was too embarrassing.
Picture the scene. A third on the bill group of Soul II Soul imitators from 1991 strike up what they fondly imagine is 'a soulful groove.' They begin to sing - a chant that it's too traumatic for me to remember, but you can imagine the basic idea, you know fatuous platitudes about 'going green' and 'making a difference.'
Then, then.....
Cut to the leader of the Green party. He's bellowing over the music, declaiming Green policies.
O
my
God
It can't be, it can't be....
Yes ---- what he thinks he's doing is....
rapping....
If this weren't painful enough, later in the broadcast, he starts
dancing
(Nervous system disintegrates in meltdown of vicarious embarrassment).
geezus, Mark, thanks for making me glad im a Canuck...if it helps any, i can almost imagine how horrid it must have been...almost :)
trying to appeal to the young, hip urban demographic i guess
Posted by: Rob at May 20, 2004 02:19 AM'Paint the whole world Green' is the title...
We were like OMG, how can so many people create such a tiny sound???..(There must have been at least 5 singers...)
Anyway, you'll be pleased to hear it's online at http://london.greenparty.org.uk/audio with MP3 & OGG samples...alas not the Euro or Headcandy remixes which are only on the CD...
Posted by: jand at May 20, 2004 11:22 AMOuch, that's horrid!
Posted by: Tim at May 20, 2004 11:30 AMA similarly horrific do-good song, this time for the Responsible Young Drivers association. Unfortunately, the clip is short, so you can't hear it in all it's glory:
http://www.thegentles.com/site/about_why.html
(scroll down to see the lyrics)
I thought a couple of them were quite moving actually, if you can sort of forget the party political aspect. Darren Johnson quite scary though.
Posted by: Dan at May 21, 2004 12:17 PMYes, I saw it too and now I am satisfied that the Greens are hip enough to vote for. The leader reminded me of Gary Clail.
More to the point did you see Kilroy Silk on QT last night?
Posted by: David at May 21, 2004 12:38 PM"this CD is priced at only £5 for individuals"
They really can't get away from their strange bizarre political jargonismic madplaces can they?
But they are sporting a BRAND NEW ECO FRIENDLY AUDIO COMPRESSION FORMAT! The brand new "more open and with a smaller file size for similar quality" OGG format... I tried the "ogg" - it was intercepted by neither Microsoft Windows Media Player nor iTunes and eventually my graphics program had a go at it. Couldn't hear anything.
They really are stupid shits. (All of them, not just the Greens.)
Posted by: Mike at May 22, 2004 01:06 AMThis CD is fairly straightforwardly Political Speeches set to Dodgy Music. "Brixton-based record producer Charles Bailey" is letting down the side a bit isn't he? He knows his way around that Bontempi organ I guess.
The thought of them "doing it live" chills me to the bone.
Posted by: Mike at May 22, 2004 01:15 AMJust realised that you make no reference to the page I am commenting on (www.greenparty.org.uk/index.php?nav=audio)...
Bruce had found it and I was dismayed but also a bit drunk. Now I have a hangover. My assumption that the ludicrous 'new file format' sold to the Green Party is utterly useless turns out not to be quite right.. It does actually turn up on Google. I'm just so used, working for the council, to techno-know-nothing political people being sold expensive hunks of worthless technology that I didn't even bother to check...
Posted by: Mike at May 22, 2004 12:08 PMI'm not commenting on that page either.
It was this bloody page! http://london.greenparty.org.uk/audio
It really is horrendous. I will get my coat now.
I believe WinAmp reads .ogg It's an open-source format, so it's unsurprising that Microsoft and Apple aren't touching it.
Posted by: mwanji at May 22, 2004 01:30 PMi am using all willpower to refrain from comparisons between this and reynolds/woebots mc blogging rhymes ting, but I just can't help the neurons connecting. . .i know its unfair, sorry ;)
Posted by: steve_hyperdub at May 23, 2004 11:40 AMAt least they were able to sort out that business in the desert.
Posted by: sphaleotas at May 23, 2004 05:51 PMi've heard that the uk independence party are in the process of putting together a narrative rich brit pop covers cd.
Posted by: myke boomnoise at May 24, 2004 02:34 AM