To 1997 and Back Again

I am a contrarian.  Yes, it's a character flaw, one that sometimes reaches ridiculous, irrational, self-defeating heights.  So it's unsurprising, perhaps, that I was the last in my peer group to explore Pandora.com.  I am glad I did, though, because it brought me back a little piece of 1997 that I didn't know I was missing. 

In 1997, I was a recent college grad with a job in Birmingham--a 60-mile drive from my community in north Alabama (heads-up; future rant on lack of public transit in 'Bama forthcoming).  Spending that much time in the car, I listened to a lot of radio.  And Birmingham being Birmingham, that means either NPR or Top 40.  Normally, this would be a bad thing.  Except that there was this one catchy, infectious tune  that got a bunch of airplay for a while.

It featured a sample from a '30's era song I didn't quite recognize.  It was titillatingly vague, in terms of gender; that was definitely a man singing "I could never be your woman." Best of all, it contained one line that caught my ear immediately: 

So much for all your highbrow, Marxist ways...

You can go for years in Alabama without hearing the word Marxist in any context (now, "commie" occurs with great regularity, and "socialist" is trotted out like a sturdy old work horse every election--but Marxist, well, only in history class).  So to hear it casually thrown out in a clever, hooky pop song was jolting.

I loved that song.  I could never find the album in the stores when I actually had money to spend on music.  So when it was edged off the radio by blander offerings, I was sad.

Years went by.  I forgot about the fun little song about a charming, handsome, Marxist ass until Pandora played it on my station a couple of days ago.  I found the video on YouTube (fabulous!), and I did a Google search.  It turns out that White Town, the band from which "Your Woman" issued, comprises one man, Jyoti Mishra.  It turns out  also that he identifies as an anarcho-syndicalist (joy!).  And, he had a "love map" on his blog, demonstrating a lack of love from Alabama.

As an Alabamian long fascinated with anarcho-syndicalism, I had to email!  I mean, the fact that he managed to get the word "Marxist" played over and over again on pop radio was reason enough.  But also, his blog touches upon some disturbing truths about America's international policies, especially the deadly drone attacks launched against Pakistani and Afghanistani targets.  And he's a Chomsky fan. And he's straight edge. And, and...

To my pleasant surprise, he sent me the nicest email back.  His blog and his email made me feel less isolated.  It gave me a little more hope, knowing there are other people concerned about the same issues and working to keep them in the public consciousness.  Because, let's face it, in a state where Obama is largely regarded as a socialist, I'm not going to find a lot of political sympatica any time real soon! 

So my first post is in honor of White Town and Jyoti Mishra.  He's a marvelous musician and a super person--and he has done a lot since "Your Woman."  Check him out:  http://www.whitetown.co.uk/