One of my favorite music traditions is the diss track. Hip hop has a pretty firm hold on this genre. I mean, "Ether," "Takeover," "No Vaseline," "Hit 'Em Up," "The Bridge is Over," "Fuck Wit Dre Day." Please.
But rock has its own less prominent tradition. Rock's diss tracks tend to be a little slighter, a little humorless. They are usually aimed at ex-lovers. There are some, however, that target more interesting subjects. Think of "Positively 4th Street." Or "Range Life." Or Okkervil River's "Singer Songwriter." Now, let me introduce you to Volcano! and their epic and masterful (and hilarious and techincally amazing) diss track "Africa Just Wants to Have Fun."
Download:
Africa Just Wants to Have Fun
The song pretty much speaks for itself. But let it be said that Bono deserves every note of this song. He's been inviting this kind of criticism for some time now. His level of righteousness is out of control, and I admire the fact that a little band from Chicago has the set to call Bono out on his bullshit.
For those of you (us) who struggle with lyrics, they're impossible without a lyric sheet (as you're no doubt learning at this moment). I've taken this from the band's website because the lyrics are amazing:
CHORUS
Sick of your crucificool
Cootchy-coo, look at you, cootchy-coo,
look at you, and you're a
Heck of a champion too
Hands to god, 'rena rock,
hold the poor, in your heart, flash'em the
Shades and the leather perfume
Smell of God, martyr fool,
win their hearts, king of tools, king of the
Philantharopicacool
'Mericans, Africans,
holding hands, buying pants
VERSE 1
I'm on top of the new new thing
Gonna get the new line of bling, and I'll
Shine shine shine shine like a white god
natives gonna worship me
I woulda done it anyhow, so I'll
Buy it up buy it all right now, because
Africa just wants to have some fun
BRIDGE
In the land where nothing grows, nobody even knows
Nobody knows that it's a Chrissamuss, What do they do without the Chrissamuss, ooh
Lets go on a safari, show these jungle cats how to party
This desert is so beautiful, hey lets make a music video, yeah
Me and the natives will be singin' holdin' hands we gonna stop all the violence in this land
I'm gonna set this world straight, I'm suckin' dick at the G-8, but
I'm not the only one lickin' choads at this safari party
Clear channel men fellatiate me, censor me and proliferate me
CHORUS 2
VERSE 2 (yelled)
Where'd ya get that jacket, Bo-no?
Where'd ya get those shades, Robo-Cop?
You and your little booby Bobby,
Sellin' the new Spanish gold
BRIDGE
Everyone out on the floor
Its supergroup pop for the poor
Savin' our souls at the store
Savin' us all from the horror
Let your martryrs arms
Bear the winds
Of the wind machine, wind machine
CHORUS 3
OUTRO
Gonna get a little drunka tonight, gonna get a little drunka tonight, gonna get a little
Gonna get fucked up tonight, gonna get fucked up tonight ee-aigh-ee-aight,
Me and the kids are pickin' fun at you, we're pickin' fun pickin' fun pickin' fun at you
Cuz when you're actin' like Christ on the cross, you look ridiculous OOHH
I admit it I don't know what to do, I don't know I don't know what to do
But I know what not to do, and I know the smell of your leather perfume, it smells like
Death to me, smells like piss on a fire, smells like toxic fumes at a maquiladora
Where'd ya get that shirt asshole
Whncha make Whncha make up your mind
Are you bored Are you bored or inspired? Well either way
You just came to shoot your load off the stage
A pacifier for a nation of beige
After your concert and at the G-8
You came to party yeah you came to get laid
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Of course, hard to forget New Radicals promise to "kick your ass in" to Beck, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson. This is an excellent, insane song by an oftentimes frustrating group. Do you have other volcano! (guess we're on some sort of group(punctuation) kick) reccs, Scott? As an actual diss track it's harder in rock because people don't seem to record a song in a night and the immediacy isn't there, right? There's no Hot97 willing to put on any rock diss. But this reminds me more of something like Canibus dissing Eminem. There's such a discrepancy in the level of stardom that it's hard for me to buy what they're saying as anything but attention grabbing and star fucking. It's a great song, though, so I'm not sure I care... But dancing around in a wife-beater and tight underpants is as affected (if not more) as sunglasses and leather jackets, without giving millions to charity. I can't believe I'm coming out on the Bono side of this debate.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree--it's a really great song, but seems a little affected. Also, if you're going to diss someone, shouldn't you enunciate? But at the same time, that kind of belies the star-fucking critique, because if you wanted attention, you'd probably want to make sure you were understood. Regardless, I really like it--nice choice.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about this, and Dylan's "Masters of War" has to be my ultimate rock diss, though it's not specifically targeted, right? But this is unbeatable, even by rap:
ReplyDelete"And I hope that you die/
And your death will come soon/
I'll follow your casket by the pale afternoon/
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed/
And I'll stand over your grave/
Til I'm sure that you're dead."
Dylan drops the mic. Crowd goes nuts.
Pretty strong, and graphic, but for pure painful dis, I'm not even sure it's the best Dylan--I'd go with the cruel shaming of Like a Rolling Stone.
ReplyDeleteI can't disagree with either Masters of War or Like a Rolling Stone.
ReplyDeleteLet's keep in mind that Positively 4th Street was aimed at his early fans and/or promoters. Or, what about Idiot Wind? It's about his wife two years before they divorced. Separated or not, it's remarkable when you (literally) call someone an idiot on one of your best albums. Imagine when Chris Martin does this; it's actually going to be a little bit hilarious.
One of the one's you posted has always kind of fascinated me...OR's Singer Songwriter. I've never met Shef, I know you have Jim, but he seems well ensconced within the literati--and I get that you can be that without being everything he disparages in the song, but there's certainly a high degree of correlation. Is he being self-deprecating, ironic, or just an old-fashioned dis to some people he's run with?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but "How does it feel? To be on your own" doesn't compare to wishing someone DEAD over and over (he uses some form of it 4 times in the last 8 lines).
ReplyDeleteSheff's a tough dude. I've only spoken to him twice, and in such a stilted context, but I think that it's a dis to one particular person he knows but obviously has a greater meaning. I think he truly LOVES the things he loves, and when people don't, or use them as props, he sees it as affect and that annoys him.
Dude, you know you picked the most neutered lyrics to make your point...
ReplyDeleteYou said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
I mean, it's not death, but death's kind of an easy-out against all out shame.
I hear you on Sheff, I love the guy. But what's always gotten me about that song was the detail. Like it's hard for an outsider to indict that world with that degree of specificity...But your point about authenticity/props makes a lot of sense--good stuff.