Ian Brown ft. Sinead O'Connor - 'Illegal Attacks'
Good Lord! Here I was talking only yesterday about how certain singer's voices sound like they can only carry the one tune, and here's the absolute KING of this exact situation...and this time he's brought along a friend who also has the same knack. It's like we've reached some kind of elemental plane where music only exists on an atomic level, and all molecular synthesis falls apart. But, if all Ian Brown songs sound like Ian Brown, and all Sinead O'Connor songs sound like Sinead O'Connor...who does this song sound like?
Well, it being a scathing protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 'Illegal Attacks' contains the kind of language we can't really broadcast from here (Ian's has the song, cusses and all), so just for now you'll have to take my word for it that this is a totally Ian Brown production, from the film-score strings to the martial backbone to the air of total seriousness which inhabits everything he's done since the Stone Roses.
And yes, I did mention the anti-war outrage at the core of the song, so it's not like it's inappropriate to be serious. But some Ian Brown songs have been about dolphins evolving from monkeys, and there was the one about people having corpses in their mouths, and all delivered with the same parched gravitas. You kind of get the impression Ian Brown could sing 'Smile' by Lily Allen and it would sound like a prayer to the living from the ghosts of our forefathers.
Naturally, this all lends itself to political protest rather well. Good points are raised, righteous anger distributed, global conflicts reduced to personal gains and losses (financial) and personal gains and losses (to soldiers' families), carving a message of disgust and compassion onto the cliff face of political indifference.
I did mention it was serious, didn't I? Good.
And while it's very easy to shrug and snicker and say, sarcasically "oh no, Ian Brown is against the war in Iraq, AND HE'S BROUGHT SINEAD, George Bush is DONE FOR!", it kind of misses the point. You don't write protest songs because you believe they will change the world, you write protest songs because you want all the people who feel the same way that you do to understand that they are not alone in feeling the way they do.
And given that this is essentially the brilliant 'F.E.A.R.' with more pointed lyrics (and Sinead O'Connor), it's actually no bad way to get that point across.
More tune next time though, please...
Download: Out now
CD Released: September 17th
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comments
If Radio 1 means anything, you would have the guts to play the likes of 'Illegal Attacks' and other anti-war songs, instead of the saccharine naracissism that passes for popular culture these days. As Stop the War points out, where have all the anti-war songs gone? They're here, they've just been silenced by tv and radio, because anything that signals displeasure at the government is akin to terrorism these days. There's plenty to listen to on Stop the War's website. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio hasn't got a hope of being edgy anymore. You just carry on dumbing down the masses and bowing to the establishment, but don't ever complain when people like Bush and Blair get elected.
Blimey #1 is getting a bit precious.
Remind me exactly when it was that singing a song about something actually changed the world for the better?
We live on a planet where a cabal of politicians and businessmen do pretty much whatever they want, in the full knowledge that most people are too dumb / poor / apathetic to do anything about it.
Radio 1 playing this song won't make a blind bit of difference. Now let's rock the house and forgot all about Monkey Boy and the Mad Rasta Nun.
Ian Brown is an absolute legend. All of his tunes sound so good and have a really enforced meaning behind them, From being anti-cocaine to anti-war. Illegal attacks is, in my opinion, one of his best songs ever with flowing lyrics like "It's a commando crusade, a military charade" and epic lines like "SOLDIERS! SOLDIERS! COME HOOOOME!" What a man.
His only downfall being that he supports manchester united, COME ON THE ARSENAL!!!
Terrible, narrow minded review. Illegal attacks is a top tune and is only a taster as to what this great man has put together on his fifth album. True, Ian Brown does not have the best vocals in the world but he more than makes up for it with straight up clever lyrics... I would certainly like to say thing on this comment regarding your review but I know if I proceeded the comment wouldn't be acknowledged...Enjoy your next episode of the x factor!!
[Er, Damien, loving the withering sarcasm and all that (clearly you missed all the blogs about how the X-Factor isn't my cup of tea, but whatever...) but perhaps you might want to consider actually reading this review before you climb on that high horse of yours? I said the voice suits the tune and the lyrics, and I said it was a good song. It's a four-star song, docked one star for being 'F.E.A.R.' again. And also, no-one's comments have ever been knocked back because they don't agree with a review. Not even if they don't agree with the review they THINK they've read, when actually they haven't. Lots of love - Fraser