In my opinion, the application of ‘Should I stay or should I go’ by The Clash, to a medley of clips of Tony Blair’s speeches is really quite clever and also very appropriate. The process of Blair stepping down as Prime Minister has constantly been referred to as ‘the long goodbye’ by the media, because of his sense of indecision about resigning and the way it is being ‘dragged out’ as some see it. Thus in a ‘narrative’ sense, the lyrics of the song coordinate well with the wrapping up of Blair’s campaign.
However, having said that, it can be seen as almost ironic that punk music is being applied to such a political context. This is because the ‘punk movement’ has always been about ‘anti-establishmentarianism’ and ‘anti-authoritarian’ ideologies such as anarchy and the defiance of those in power; rebelliousness; going against the mainstream, and such ideas. Nonetheless, on the other hand because punk has always contained an element of politics (for example, very political lyrics), it isn’t so ironic that someone would juxtapose music by The Clash with footage of British political figures. Roger Sabin writes that “punk was not an isolated, bounded phenomenon, but had an extensive impact on a variety of cultural and political fields”. The emergence of punk rock in the 1970s had a significant effect on the social environment of that time, and I guess its relevance is just as obvious even today, as seen by the ‘Tony Blair sings The Clash’ video clip.
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The Politics of Punk Rock
In my opinion, the application of ‘Should I stay or should I go’ by The Clash, to a medley of clips of Tony Blair’s speeches is really quite clever and also very appropriate. The process of Blair stepping down as Prime Minister has constantly been referred to as ‘the long goodbye’ by the media, because of his sense of indecision about resigning and the way it is being ‘dragged out’ as some see it. Thus in a ‘narrative’ sense, the lyrics of the song coordinate well with the wrapping up of Blair’s campaign.
However, having said that, it can be seen as almost ironic that punk music is being applied to such a political context. This is because the ‘punk movement’ has always been about ‘anti-establishmentarianism’ and ‘anti-authoritarian’ ideologies such as anarchy and the defiance of those in power; rebelliousness; going against the mainstream, and such ideas. Nonetheless, on the other hand because punk has always contained an element of politics (for example, very political lyrics), it isn’t so ironic that someone would juxtapose music by The Clash with footage of British political figures. Roger Sabin writes that “punk was not an isolated, bounded phenomenon, but had an extensive impact on a variety of cultural and political fields”. The emergence of punk rock in the 1970s had a significant effect on the social environment of that time, and I guess its relevance is just as obvious even today, as seen by the ‘Tony Blair sings The Clash’ video clip.
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