It Arrival Half Hot Mum!
To mark the sixth anniversary of Britain’s razor-thin vote to leave the European Union, the songwriter-filmmaker John Dog has released “London Falling”, an astounding Costello-esque broadside at the media-driven madness that brought the country to this pass.
The brilliant tragi-comic video (embedded above) that goes with it is smack-bang in Happy Mutant territory, with a lovely retro creature-feature ethic, hilariously jingoistic old-style swirling newspapers and an unstoppable onward narrative march as the mysterious Brexit monstrosities converge on the capital. This all accompanies Dog’s beautiful ballad itself; while the name clearly channels the beloved-around-here Clash, the song is stately and ironic, with brass and class and elegance.
If you like that I’d respectfully urge you to check out “Moon on a Stick” too, the last verse of which makes me cry happy tears for childhood dreams, or indeed anything on Mr. Dog’s Youtube channel, a treasure trove for fans of genteel archive footage set to timeless pop (mostly by his frequent collaborator, the renowned artist and activist Kellie Strøm). You’ll also find his award-winning (and adorable) finger-puppet videos which again align closely with matters boingian e.g. the golden age of VHS horror and SF. Enjoy!
Disclosure: John Dog is a RL friend of mine, but I’d be a fan regardless and honestly believe you might be too when you see the above.
