I’m afraid I rather don’t ‘get’ Jarvis Cocker’s popular beat combo outfit Pulp and never have done. The music is well made and clever, and clearly Cocker is a good chap, yet the music leaves me cold. But there’s always a but. Most of the Pulp set at Glastonbury passed me by, but not the eternally brilliant, lyrically anyway, Common People. Thousands upon thousands of middle class luvvies belting out a song which is all about what is known as “class tourism”, where wealthy folk romanticise or try to imitate the lives of the working class. It was preposterous and therefore glorious, if only for one brief moment in time. Having the Red Arrows flying past during the song was simply perfection. The strange paradoxes of Glastonbury writ large. And there are plenty of them.
Kneecap’s attack drew on the government plenty of vitriol from the large audience, as did Bob Vylan’s angry diatribe about the middle east, which included pure anti-semitism. I have never been that bothered about musicians engaging in politics, not least because it’s always happened and I was disappointed that a clearly terrified BBC pulled live coverage of Kneecap. Anyone not wanting to see Kneecap could surely have tuned in to something else, but I guess some folk like to be offended. In these instances, though, it’s the audience reaction I have found most interesting.
Rock dinosaur ‘Sir’ Rod Stewart engaged in politics before his ‘Legends’ performance by urging people to give far right populist Nigel Farage “a chance” as prime minister “because he’s coming across well in his loathing of people of colour”. Actually, Rod didn’t say the last bit but he might as well have done since that’s precisely what the Fagash Fuhrer has been coming across well doing. I blogged yesterday that I hoped Stewart would be booed to fuck when he came on stage but the exact opposite happened. The same people who shouted abuse at a Labour government – a Labour government – were, it seemed unanimous in celebrating the rise of a politician who has divided this country like no other in recent memory. For Stewart to then add, between songs, “music brings us together” took some beating. The old boy can still do it, no doubt, but what a shame his head is so firmly up his arse when it comes to the politics that shapes our nation.
And that’s Glastonbury for you, a festival that is by nature a left of centre event where people can indulge their left of centre politics while simultaneously cheering for a bloke who supports a piece of shit like Farage. Some causes are more important than others, I suppose? And Britain’s scary descent to the kind of politics they now have in America just goes on and all everyone wants to do is get their phones out in order to find the words to Maggie May. We may not have a free country for much longer but we will always have Rod. Great.
