How
I survived the aftermath of the general election with a little help
from Kurt Vonnegut and Beau's latest LP.
After the all too
depressing results of the recent general election sank in, and the
prospect of another five years of Tory government became a reality,
my Twitter feed turned quickly from pre-election optimism and hope,
to despair and blame. It also filled with scaremongering about what
we as a society needed to prepare ourselves for. There was one tweet,
amongst the deluge, that stuck in my mind and seemed to sum up where
our society is heading. It highlighted a quote from Kurt Vonnegut's
Slaughterhouse 5, about how the American poor are encouraged
to despise themselves, perpetuating their position and lack of
opportunity while bolstering that of the rich and powerful. This,
Vonnegut states, is in contrast to many other countries which have
folk tales that value wisdom over wealth, and virtue over
self-serving ambition -
America is a nation
of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor
but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than
anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American
poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest
eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor,
is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question:
“If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” (Kurt Vonnegut –
Slaughterhouse 5)
It's easy to see the
parallels in modern Britain where our underclass is routinely
ridiculed on TV, or attacked in the press, whereas corporations are
free to avoid taxes if they pay enough donations to the right
political parties. Timely then that the latest album from Beau should
drop through my letterbox around the same time as did many electoral
leaflets and voting reminders. It too chimes themes similar to those
found in Slaughterhouse 5, along with other cautionary tales
about corruption and misuse of wealth. Listening to Beau's latest
work did give me some hope for the spiritual well being of our
nation, which in the immediate wake of the election seemed somehow
broken and in need of some TLC.
Shoeless In The
Desert is a gentle compassionate album, and like those folk tales
it champions wisdom and virtue. Recorded simply and in the timeless
folk way of just voice and one 12-string guitar, no overdubs, it's an
album that's all about melody and message. Themes spread across the
album's fourteen songs include religion, immigration, environmental
concerns, alongside more personal takes on relationships, ageing, and
even a humorous sideswipe at coronary heart disease.
In our current
sound-bite and shuffle era it's encouraging to see long-form
songwriting done so well. And no wonder - Beau has been writing,
recording and performing music for over four and a half decades. His
early championing by John Peel tells you all you need to know about
the calibre of his work. (Peel released Beau's debut as the first
release on his Dandelion label). In a fairer world Beau would be a
much valued cultural treasure, up alongside Dylan, Mitchell, Cohen
and the like. As it is the world is not always fair, something that
may become all too apparent over the next few years. Thankfully we
have the likes of Beau to help fight our corner and cushion any
blows. Long may it be so.
