Randy Smith selects his favourite protest songs from 2000 onwards (part 5)

  

  Randy from Rebel Time Records (https://rebeltimerecords.bandcamp.com/) continues selecting his favourite recent political/protest songs... 

  Urban Vietcong - Attacco

"Hold
your proletarian hand
tight on the world's throat!
Paper the sky with flags!
March boldly ahead, don't be late!
Who's marching out of step?
Left!
Left!
Left!"

  The poem "Left March" (excerpted above and written in 1918) by Russian poet and playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky has been described as "a unique hymn to proletarian strength and determination" and "an appeal to struggle against slavery and violence and to work for the future." It's a poem "which inspired movement and pointed toward the proper direction - to the left" and which "was written like a marching song, which beat to cadence. It was a call to arms."

  And I bring this up why??

  Because, the song "Attacco" by Italian band Urban Vietcong (https://www.facebook.com/urbanvietcong/) seems to me to directly take it's inspiration, inflection, meter and, most importantly, its message, from this poem. It too is a marching song and a call to arms.

  Based out of Livorno, Italy, Urban Vietcong deal in combative left-radical punk/oi/core.

  Singer Bebe stated that "In “Attacco” we express our desire for a greater organization of left movement, in order to, as Majakovsky said, attack the sky." Further,"Attacco" concerns itself with, as Bebe put it, "what should we, the proletariat (understood as workers, students, unemployed) do to organize, create and be more united."

  It's a song that is tense, taut, melodic and motivating, a song which name-checks and acknowledges the struggles of the the Black Panthers, the Viet Cong and the Palestinian resistance, a song that calls for unity, organization, prioritization and attack. It's a song that finds the band "always sitting on the wrong side, together with the exploited, behind a barricade"

  An important song to me for a few reasons.

  First and foremost, it was my introduction to Urban Vietcong.  Back in May of 2017, I received a Facebook message from a guy named Bebe who said he liked the label and wanted to let me know about the band Urban Vietcong (out of Livorno, Italy) that he sang for. He included a couple of videos, including the "Attacco" video and left it at that. I watched the video, I loved the video and thus began my ongoing love affair with Urban Vietcong.

  And, as I got to know Bebe and the band,  I was stoked to learn that both he and bass player Schiu were also in Trade Unions, a band I had long loved (and listened to often via Youtube), but knew next to nothing about. Very cool.

  So happy to have been able to get to know the band and to have been able to help out with their latest release "Storie Tra Bottiglie E Ciminiere." Especially happy to have been able to have the band over on this side of pond for a few shows. The Fall Offensive / Attacco Tour 2019 was just a success on so many levels, a truly international effort, steeped in a love for left-radical punk and politics, based on / in mutual affinity and affection, respect and regard, camaraderie and cooperation.

  It's just so cool ... one day you get a random Facebook message from a band you've never heard of, the next day they are cooking you pasta in your kitchen!

  And, very importantly, it was through my work with Urban Vietcong that Rebel Time Records was able to, as Bebe put it, "organize, create and be more united" with our comrades at RASH CDMX / RASH Mexico and with our comrades-in-musical-arms at Discos Machete ("independent label based in Mexico City. From our barricade we seek to support, promote and disseminate anti-authoritarian, anti-fascist and politically committed musical projects. Long live the sounds of the revolution!”) as well as with the comrades at Dure Realite ("a self-managed and militant Montreal association that wishes to promote a revolutionary culture through artistic outlets. We believe that a label that shows clearly its political positions will support, promote and develop scenes where all forms of discrimination and reactionary ideas won’t be tolerated").

  All this, thanks to one fortuitous Facebook message!

  And, hey, this song got me reading poetry again! No small feat!

  Siamo tutti Urban Vietcong! Thanks for everything Bebe, Giovanni, Luca and Schiu!!

https://urbanvietcong.bandcamp.com/album/a-colpi-di-machete

Discoccupati senza dio e rifugiati
presi a calci in faccia trattati come feccia
il proletariatovariegato e incazzato
va reso coscienzoso e pure organizzato

PRIORITA' è la casa e si difende coi picchetti
PRIORITA' e il lavoro si bastona i sindacati
PRIORITA' la scuola lotta con gli studenti
PRIORITA' è la strada si difende dai fascisti

Non stringeremo le cinghie le farem rotear davvero
caricheremo uniti assalteremo il cielo
Non mancheremo il colpo vi spazzeremo il via
con il sangue agli occhi non sarà solo utopia

Lo stato borghese si difende con i maiali
sguinzagliando digos usando tribunali
seduti sempre dalla parte sbagliata
insieme allo sfruttato dietro una barricata
ATTACCO vietcong a colpi di machete
ATTACCO al razzismo come pantere nere
ATTACCO come Palestina contro israele
ATTACCO come Spartaco contro il potere "

Urban Vietcong - Attacco ( reviewed by Randy Smith from Rebel Time Records)

  Out of all the Top 10's I've posted on here thus far, my favourite is from Rebel Time Records' Randy Smith. The reason being the effort he put into the update, not only writing extensive comments but also putting up cool picture/videos for his choices (http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/top-10-songs-chosen-by-randy-smith.html). It was a no brainer that I was going to ask him to do one of the regular Friday guest reviews and he's come through with another winner. If you're interested in checking out Rebel Time Records then here's a couple of handy links :

https://rebeltimeproductions.wordpress.com/

https://rebeltimerecords.bandcamp.com/


 Thanks Randy.....

In the immortal words of Forrest Gump: "My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”

 Well, in this particular case, the gettin' was good! And what I got, in the form of a FB message, was an introduction to a band called Urban Vietcong.

 Back in May of this year I received a FB message from a guy named Bebe who said he liked the label (Rebel Time Records) and wanted to let me know about the band Urban Vietcong (out of Livorno, Italy) which he sings for. He included a couple of videos and left it at that.

 Sidenote: after some FB back-and-forth with Bebe later on, I was stoked to learn that Bebe and Urban Vietcong's bass player both played in another of my favourite Italian bands, Trade Unions. Bebe seemed stoked to learn that anyone outside of Italy had even heard of Trade Unions. Look for Trade Unions on Youtube ...

 The first video was for the lead-off song "Attacco" from the band's debut release, a 6-song CD called "A Colpi de Machete." What the heck, I press play, and, immediately, just one bite in, realize that this is good, real real good. An ooey-gooey, super-catchy, 3 minute almalgamation of streetpunk/oi and left-radical politics. In fact, the whole album is quite simply a pot of political punk rock gold, chock full of songs of protest and resistance.

 Visually, the video starts off with a quote from Davide Rosci, imprisoned in Italy for his part in the 2011 riots in Rome that saw an armoured police vehicle set ablaze (He was released just a short time ago). Sonically, the video starts off with a sound bite from the movie 'Giordano Bruno,' something along the line of "all men are equal and have the right to think and raise their heads to the sky where the sun shines on the truth." Lyrically, the song deals with, as Bebe put it, "what should we, the proletariat (understood as workers, students, unemployed) do to organize, create and be more united..." Looking at the Italian lyrics, I noticed it name-checked, for example, the Black Panthers, the Viet Cong and the Palestian resistance and called for unity, organization, priortization and attack. A lot to chew on in just one song.

 Musically, Urban Vietcong hits the sweet spot. Attacco is an instantly memorable, melodic and meaningful song. It's taut, it's tense, it's tough. Catchy-as-heck, anthemic, shout-a-long streetpunk(as are all the songs on the album). The kind of song that has me singing along after a first listen. Personally, I'd say the band are, in terms of music and message, comparable to such equally inciteful and insightful contemporaries as Action Sedition, Afterboltxebike, Cor Fort, Mossin Nagant, RPG-7, etc. All bands that, I guess, could be lumped together as 'redcore' bands and all bands that I have on repeat.

 Apparently, the band will be back in the studio to record their second album early in 2018. Something to look forward to for sure.

.........................

Lyrics: " Discoccupati senza dio e rifugiati presi a calci in faccia trattati come feccia il proletariatovariegato e incazzato va reso coscienzoso e pure organizzato PRIORITA' è la casa e si difende coi picchetti PRIORITA' e il lavoro si bastona i sindacati PRIORITA' la scuola lotta con gli studenti PRIORITA' è la strada si difende dai fascisti Non stringeremo le cinghie le farem rotear davvero caricheremo uniti assalteremo il cielo Non mancheremo il colpo vi spazzeremo il via con il sangue agli occhi non sarà solo utopia Lo stato borghese si difende con i maiali sguinzagliando digos usando tribunali seduti sempre dalla parte sbagliata insieme allo sfruttato dietro una barricata ATTACCO vietcong a colpi di machete ATTACCO al razzismo come pantere nere ATTACCO come Palestina contro israele ATTACCO come Spartaco contro il potere "

https://urbanvietcong.bandcamp.com/album/a-colpi-di-machete

  This is Attacco....