Description: Meme Four panels Top left Smiling happy guy Top right text reads: Listening to homophobia by Chumbawumb The name of the band is cut off due to its length. Bottom left image: Traumatized guy Bottom right text reads: Remembering what the song is about

The joke is that the second half of the song uses an upbeat tone and a tuba playing a jovial tune while the band sings about hate crimes and lynchings committed during the AIDS crisis.

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[–] 35 points 2 months ago (23 children)

Chumbawumba is one of those bands that everyone thinks is a one hit wonder, but actually have a fucking sick history and discography.

Revolution/Stagnation/Defeat is one of my favorites

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    https://youtu.be/WSqUBwlHld4 this one's mine

    hey computer do the thing with invidious links

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    The close harmony acapella stuff they did was great

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  • [–] [S] 7 points 2 months ago (7 children)

    Ooh, their cover if Bella Ciao is second only to being in a crowd singing it.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago* (6 children)

    the lyrics are kinda lib tho

    original is about partisans
    their version is just gibberish lyrics or some specific thing I lack the context for

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 2 months ago* (2 children)

    Haha, very much not liberal.

    It came out during a major crackdown on protesting including the introduction of stop and frisk specifically targeting muslims in the UK; an international court finding the UK had been torturing prisoners; multiple union leaders from the UK were found dead and mutilated; as well as the ongoing invasion of west asia.

    The new lyrics are telling people that the capitalists are responsible for all of this and that they need to say goodbye to their loved ones as what they are about to do will mean never seeing them again and that their face will be on TV.

    Protesters don't get their faces on TV.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (1 child)

    Thanks for the context. I still wish more music like this wouldn't beat around the bush. It's designed to be esoteric enough that it's inoffensive and anyone can listen to it and it can be on the radio and stuff. A far cry from explicitly left-wing songs like Solidarity Forever or Pie in the Sky or Communism Marches Through the Planet or Should I Ever be a Soldier or El Pueblo Unido or literally any explicitly left-wing song. A lot of progressive pop music groups really mellow their message in order to get more media exposure.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Lots of people in that scene were pissed about them selling out back in the day

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Did they really sell out? They used basically every appearance after Tubthumping to either lampoon whatever they were appearing on or draw attention to something important.

    I feel like I heard that they used some of the Tubthumping money to help out Anarchist groups too. I could be wrong though.

    I just think they're cool and we need more bands that just use music as a vessel for political theory and action.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I try to keep out of drama from when I was a toddler but it was definitely didn't earn them any friends in the punk scene

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2g8y2YYN90

    pretty good ep tho

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  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    what's a good place to start as a first album listen

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 child)

    Anarchy is good, but literally everything slaps. Pictures of Starving Children and The Boy Bands Have Won are also good

    You can also listen to most of their stuff in a day or so, at least the stuff that's easy to find. They did a ton of pressings that just got lost to time. I think that first one (the one I shared) is essentially lost media.

    Give The Anarchist a Cigarette is also another banger

    Tubthumping is also part of a while ass album that rocks too. There's a documentary they did as well

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Thanks, now I'm spending all day listening to their discography. I had things to do.

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