Bread, Circuses And Patriotism

Is it me? Or is it slightly barking to be spending £50million on a "national commemoration" of the First World War?

Even if the UK could afford it, what exactly is the point? I suppose the old adage about patriotism being the last refuge of a scoundrel could provide some of the answer.

Do we need anything further to remind us that this war was a catastrophic waste of countless lives? Or that war (remember Iraq? remember that Afghanistan has been going on for 11 years?) solves nothing?

The main cause of the Second World War? The First World War.

And here is David Cameron: "This was the extraordinary sacrifice of a generation. It was a sacrifice they made for us, and it is right that we should remember them." 

Perhaps it is enough to remember that this generation was sacrificed by its own military and political leaders.

Perhaps it is also worth remembering that the First World War was 100 years ago. What about the Boer War, the Crimean War? Should we still be commemorating them? And their careless, cruel and incompetent "sacrifice" of more young lives?

If this is the best that the UK government can come up with to re-run the "bread and circuses" effect of the Olympics, it does feel a lot like that scoundrel's last refuge.

A Medal For Morrissey

He may be a little crazy, but Morrissey provided a highlight of the Olympics with his declaration that "the spirit of 1939 Germany now pervades throughout media-brand Britain".

Isn't Morrissey's attack on mindless jingoism what you expect from rock stars? Well, it used to be. From Jim Morrison through to Johnny Rotten, it used to be part of the job description to attack and upset the establishment.

John Lennon did a pretty good stint in the job... only to be resurrected without his knowledge and appropriated for the Olympics (courtesy of Yoko Ono).

Paul McCartney... er, we know how that worked out. And even Pete Townshend, one-time angry young mod and subverter of the Union Jack, agreed to take part in the Olympics finale...

There was speculation about why Kate Bush didn't appear live (leaving one of her songs to be used completely out of context). Is it possible that she has too much artistic integrity?

Lennon alive (rather than Lennon dead) would surely not have allowed himself to be subsumed by the establishment. He might even have said something to leave Morrissey in the shade.

Shirt Shrift

It seems that anyone wearing a Pepsi T-shirt to the Olympics might get the same treatment as someone mentioning Jimi Hendrix on The Real Blues Forum (see previous post).

Although the organisers now appear to have back-pedalled a bit on this.

However, the Olympics is a Coca-Cola event and you'd be wise to keep that in mind. And don't even suggest that the tie-up between Coca-Cola and fitness is kind of odd.

You think Coke might be bad for you? Coca-Cola reassures you that it's "safe for consumption as part of a balanced and varied diet". So that's all right, then.

Security Risk

Only a few days to go to the Olympics, and it's good to know that the military are prepared to shoot down hijacked passenger planes over heavily populated areas of London.

Now we can all sleep easy in our beds.

David Starkey tends to be a little extreme in his pronouncements, but his tirade against the Olympics on the BBC's Any Questions? last night really did go over the top — in the very best way.

It's surprising that he wasn't taken out mid-flow by a strategically based missile.

Playing Games

The Olympics. Isn't it a wonderful event? It's sole raison d'etre is the promotion and enjoyment of sport rather than moneymaking and exploitation on a grand scale.

Or did I get that the wrong way round? The Musicians' Union has just announced reports of musicians being asked to perform for no payment at Olympics and Jubilee events. As is so often the case, it seems it's assumed that musicians enjoy what they do so much that they will do it for free.

The MU says: "Our understanding is that all other sectors involved in putting on these events, eg security, staging, equipment hire etc are being paid their usual fees, but not musicians." It is urging its member to refuse to work for nothing, and to report any such offers.

This is nothing new in London. Pubs, clubs and bars there have long exploited bands' desire to play by offering them no-pay gigs, or gigs with convoluted contracts that basically ensure the band only gets paid if it brings in an impossible number of punters. The venues make money on the bar, and sometimes on the door too, and the bands tend to make nothing.

London is supposed to be the hub of the music scene, but it's generally only in the provinces that pubs and clubs pay bands a reasonable fee. That's why the gig list for Russ Payne and the Shark Dentists looks kind of provincial; the reason is that we refuse to play for nothing.

Of course, professional musicians enjoy what they do, but they enjoy it a whole lot more when what they do is recognised as having some value.