The first three tracks on this two-disc set, from last year's albums by Ani DiFranco, Sleater-Kinney and Public Enemy, suggest a genuine resurgence of political pop. Sleater-Kinney's "Combat Rock" nails the climate of fear removing dissent from the US media, while DiFranco's nine-minute "Self Evident" is a great Beat howl at every angle of 9/11 and America since. Elsewhere this often
sounds like the grim music of a marginal movement, which recent anti-war demos have showed isn't the case. A great pop song to reach out to that public, like Costello's "Shipbuilding", is needed next.
The first three tracks on this two-disc set, from last year’s albums by Ani DiFranco, Sleater-Kinney and Public Enemy, suggest a genuine resurgence of political pop. Sleater-Kinney’s “Combat Rock” nails the climate of fear removing dissent from the US media, while DiFranco’s nine-minute “Self Evident” is a great Beat howl at every angle of 9/11 and America since. Elsewhere this often
sounds like the grim music of a marginal movement, which recent anti-war demos have showed isn’t the case. A great pop song to reach out to that public, like Costello’s “Shipbuilding”, is needed next.
