MUSIC
I had planned to do a song in the style of Ovlov, but I failed at that and made a punk/emo song. But it was fun nevertheless. I'm so past caring that I steal entire melodies with lyrics now. "What is it good for" is a hook from the Blackmail song "For Sure". You may not know them, but in the early 2000s the German rock band Blackmail was one of the most important bands to me, I've listened to their albums so much, they're in my DNA forever. And once we're talking about War and What is it good for, what is more obvious than to sample good old Edwin Starr. My sincerest apologies to him. Though he seems to agree with me.
LYRICS
My take-a-walk-and-listen-to-a-podcast routine turns out to be fruitful. I wanted to write about the situation at the Ukraine border, but then the lyrics turned out to be about demagogues in general.
One essential page in demagogues playbook is the scapegoating of foreigners and minorities. In the podcast they talked about a new law that Putin wants to introduce: it would require a regular battery of health checks for non-Russian citizens. The result would likely be many business people and companies leaving Russia for good and thus a further blow to the economy. When asked why Putin would even think of such a short-sighted move, the interviewee answered that he doesn't care too much about the economic well-being of his country, it's a move to appear as a strongman and is a PR stunt to preserve power.
So the Cold War that this song is about is basically a war on the marginalized, using them as scapegoats, othering them, blaming them for things they have nothing to do with and – remember the Caravan – paint a picture of a menace.
It's a cold war
The enemy's at the gates
Waiting to take everything away
It's propaganda, it's propaganda, it's propaganda, baby
It's propaganda, it's propaganda, it's propaganda, baby
Animals*
Are waiting at your door
they made you poor
and now they're back for more
It's propaganda, it's propaganda, it's propaganda, baby
It's propaganda, it's propaganda, it's propaganda, baby
We're in a war, dividing humankind
We're in a war for narratives and minds
But what is it good for?
What is it good for?
(Hua) What is it for?
(Listen to me, woah war)(Yeah)(Huh, look out)
Self-preservation (absolutely, listen to me)
A frightened nation (yes say it again)
Opposition-stabbing (huh)
Power grabbing (Good god y'all)
It's propaganda, it's propaganda, it's propaganda, baby
It's propaganda, it's propaganda, it's propaganda, baby
We're in a war, but you don't know the sides
We're in a war for hearts and souls and minds
*Yes, Trump said that. 'These people are not real people, they're animals.' I will never forget that and I can't understand that this wasn't more of a scandal.
@radioovermoscow Feb 2022
Loving that awkward guitar break after each line in the verses. Brilliant.
@unkept Feb 2022
Really nice job and that is a catchy refrain. Enjoyed the use of samples and the little guitar piece at the end was a nice treat. Well done!
@mardeycranbleson Feb 2022
Really appreciate how in depth your process and liner notes are! Great song, I like how smooth your vocals are contrasted to the heavy and fast guitars. Very cinematic performance especially the middle breakdown part with the sound effects.
@mattwdunn Feb 2022
Great song. Love the riffs. Chorus is catchy. I love the use of samples.
@nadine Feb 2022
Robert, are you writing a concept album based societal collapse? Your music hits me quite hard this year both lyrically and musically.
This song has tons of energy and I love the marching drum bridge. The hook is catchy as hell. Very strong song!
@sph Feb 2022
Funny how you mix a sing-along chorus with the message behind. It works. Great song. Love the additional grit the vocal samples bring.
@b3nut Feb 2022
Love the drive...and that bridge! Yeah great idea sampling Edwin Starr...he's still right on. Speaks well to the dehumanization of the Other, which is the stock-in-trade of demagogues everywhere. (And why King Nectarine's "animals" comment wasn't more of a scandal is because his base truly believes it...they really are that toxic.) Really like this one mate...
@candle Feb 2022
The bridge is my favourite part. But this whole song is awesome. I love the driving guitars & the entire message of the song - especially the shot across Trump's bow :D
See You In The Shadows…
p.s. I agree, I could never figure out how that didn't become a huge scandal either…
@jacobeverettwallace Feb 2022
LOVE how this song just motors right along. Love the driving and incessant style against huge guitars and all the cuts and stops and style change in the bridge. This is right up my alley. You slayed this one for sure. I enjoyed my listen!
@chrismyth02 Feb 2022
This is an absolute wall of sound, I turned it up and dug every minute. LOVE the homage within. HUA. I love when this devolves from the emo-punk you mention to some sludgly stoner doom a la vintage Melvins... then picks back up. This is one of my favorites on FAWM so far.
@mctown Feb 2022
Nice sounds... nice sounds... lyrics are cool too....David
@karlsburg25 Feb 2022
Ah mate i love the power behind this one. and i also love how at your heaviest and with those amazing driving guitars you manage to get an amazing melodic sense throughout. this is beyond super good. by the way have i asked you what drums you use. These are utterly bombastic and i could do with them in my life.
@bootlegger Feb 2022
Love the drive to this right off the bat. The arrangement here is really cool. Love those bass lines. They really sell the whole thing IMO in the verses. The breakdown is really cool. Really well done and super poignant.
@beyondthelimes Feb 2022
Nice! The layered vox sound great. And I really like the stop/start math-rock arrangement.