Arcade Fire feat Mavis Staples – I Give You Power
All proceeds go to the American Civil Liberties Union, and the message on their website reads: “It’s never been more important that we stick together and take care of each other.” So we can be pretty sure this track – released on inauguration day – is aimed at Donald Trump. “I give you power / Over me / I give you power / But I gotta be free / I give you power / And now I can say / I give you power / I can take it away,” is pretty much the entire lyric, until a slight variation at the end – “I give you power / Where do you think it all comes from, huh? / Who gives you power?” Which sounds very much as if it’s reminding Donald Trump that, even though he won the presidential election, he can lose, too. The anger comes from the brooding electronic arrangement, and from Mavis Staples who sounds – for the first time in her career – sinister. A protest song that is intended not just to capture a moment, but to be applicable in other circumstances.
Gorillaz feat Benjamin Clementine – Hallelujah Money
Released on inauguration eve, Gorillaz’ response to the rise of Trump is elliptical, dwelling not so much on what might happen but on the way money corrupts (and, yes, Damon Albarn is probably aware of the ironies of a rich rock star who can do whatever he wants putting out a song on this subject). What makes it Trump specific is one particular reference: “I thought the best way to perfect our tree / Is by building walls / Walls like unicorns,” which suggests that walls are an illusory answer to problems. And then: “It is love, that is the root of all evil,” which is the opposite of what songs usually suggest, but which seems apposite in the wake of Trump taking to the stage on Thursday night to the strains of the Rolling Stones’ Heart of Stone. As with Arcade Fire, Gorillaz have reined in the poppiness here, as if they very much do not want anyone to think “BANGER!” and ignore the message.
Early Turner – No Hallelujah (Song of a Blowhard)
Early Turner is Tom Gray, from 1998 Mercury winners Gomez, and this song – also released this week – is meant to be therapeutic. Unlike the last two, he’s happy to pair his despairing lyrics to a lovely folk-pop melody. But despair it does: “If you believe him / You watch a monster grow,” Gray begins, insisting “until the penny drops / No hallelujah will be sung” for the “blowhard on a wall”. But he recognises the key issue here is the enabling of Trump: “How did we get so dumb?” A question that might be as well aimed at Michael Gove as those who voted for the new president.
Fiona Apple – Tiny Hands
Not so much a song as a chant. Which is fine, because that’s what it’s meant to be – a rallying call for Saturday’s women’s march on Washington. The only lyric is “We don’t want your tiny hands anywhere near our underpants”, paired with a sample of Trump intoning “Grab ’em by the pussy.” Trump never seems to be perturbed by reasoned criticism, by anger. What he hates is mockery, especially the suggestion that his hands might be small, and that might reflect on another part of his anatomy. In which case, Fiona Apple, job done.
Coco Rosie feat Anohni – Smoke ’Em Out
According to the New York artpop duo, “Smoke ’Em Out welcomes the new character who will be occupying the White House with a mob of women and children armed with forks and knives. In the wake of this unnatural disaster, we feel a call to rise, shout and burn the house down. The future is female.” To be honest, it’s hard to discern that from the lyrics, certainly the opening verse – if you can infer the political message from “Baloney sandwich lonely clowns / Smoke laugh toke craft / Porn blood piss grass / Piss miss heart hand” you are substantially sharper than I am. What might be clarity comes from Anohni’s chorus, assuming the house refers to the White House: “Burning down the house / Smoke them out / I was on the brink like so many times / Got children and wives waving forks and knives / Burning down the house / The dead girl shouts / Smoke them out!” It is not quite Which Side Are You On? in terms of its forthrightness. On the other hand, it is the closest thing to a banger of these five.
