MICHAEL DES BARRES: Vive la Revolución!

Yesterday I referred to a slice of prose by Michael Des Barres as a Communique. Why?

Well the answer - broadly - is politics. Now, before I go any further let me stress that I am NOT talking about party politics. I know that there are people who read the Gonzo Daily from all parts of the political spectrum, and I have no intention of offending any of you. I am talking about social politics (for want of a better word); issues that affect us all, left wing, right wing or indifferent.

I don't know that much about contemporary social politics in the United States, but I do know that in the UK there are a lot of things that people are getting angry about, mostly involving loss of individual personal freedom, loss of community spirit, and the way that people are becoming prisoners of their own technology. I think that one of the social factors by which you can gauge our individual lack of the ability of self-expression is the way that popular music has altered in recent years. It has stopped being a medium of social change, and has largely become emasculated and pointless. Once rock and roll had been colonised almost entirely by TV game shows and fly-by-night talent competitions there was no hope for it. Once you could learn how to make pop music as a lesson in school, or as a course of further education, it stopped mattering from any socio-cultural point of view.

I do not wish to sound like I am apeing one of my least favourite people in the world with her 'return to Victorian values', but it is time for a return to the musical values of 40+ years ago. The time is right for dancing/fighting in the streets, and what else can a middle-aged man do but sing in a rock and roll band?

When I first read Michael Des Barres' statement that I posted yesterday I thought it felt like a call to arms, a message from a revolutionary leader if you will. It even reminded me of one of the Angry Brigade communiques from forty years ago, which is why I tongue in cheek referred to it as such. The organic, sinuous and sexy music on Carnaby Street is a message which shows us the way forward. It, together with Jack White's equally organic, sinuous and sexy album are amongst the best records of the year. They are certainly the most honest, and - to me at least - are a call to arms.

For those of us who love rock and roll music, it is time to rise up and reclaim it.

If you have not done so already, check out Michael's Gonzo Artist Page