No real competition this week. Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush at the time was a ground breaking song with a ground breaking video to boot. Kate Bush's overall look and dancing is always absolutely mesmerising.

The first time I ever linked this song to politics was when Ronald Reagan first came to power in the 1980s. The song for me captured the moment with its lines:

Well how do you plead An actor indeed Go re-learn your lines You don't know what you've done The finale's begun.

Reagan of course was an actor and when he came to power it felt that the cold war could erupt into a full nuclear conflict. Thankfully, this scenario was avoided and yet little did anyone know that Reagan was to set in motion 50 years of rapidly growing and unsustainable wealth inequality that would result in a US billionaire class and the top 0.1% controlling 13.5% of the nation's wealth while the bottom 50% controlled only a further 2.5% in 2024. So I write this post as Trump gets inaugurated for the second time in 8 years. It is incredible to me that someone as immoral and sociopathic as Trump could become President even once, let alone twice. And yet many historians see obvious parallels with past nation empires especially with the rise of the Caesars in the Roman empire. The pattern seems to always be the same. Too much wealth inequality where many people become desperate for a slice of the pie even though that pie is plentiful. The problem is a small oligarchy that hoards resource forcing many of their fellow citizens into poverty. The big mistake the USA and subsequently many Western nations made was to conflate the regulation of wealth distribution with egalitarianism or even socialism. The idea that there should be a good differential between the net worth of someone who has contributed much to society versus someone who has contributed little, makes complete sense. However, in such a world the poorest may only possess a small amount of capital whilst the richest might possess many millions. Let's say 50 million. Yet we do not live in a world like that. Instead we live in a world where there are now a substantial number who have 950 million more than the 50-millionaire. These individuals are hiding behind the traditional wealthy hoping that those who struggle to make ends meet do not differentiate between someone who has a personal fortune of 50 million versus someone who hoards a billion. The odd thing about Americans voting Trump into power is they think someone who is a billionaire is going to fix the system that creates billionaires. Obviously, such an idea is preposterous. So is there any hope? Well according to the historians, the current state of affairs is unstable. Wealth inequality like this will not last forever and it will be corrected in one of four ways:

1. A major conflict either a civil or international war.
2. A revolution.
3. A major catastrophe such as a pandemic or major natural disaster
4. Major political reform driven by strong leaders who forcibly pursue wealth redistribution to help correct the inequality

The 4^th option has happened in the USA before at the turn of the 20^th century in what was called the gilded age. Presidents like Roosevelt and Wilson introduced many reforms to control the burgeoning wealth of the aptly named robber barons. Let's hope the current problems plaguing the USA are corrected peacefully as they were at the turn of the 20^th century rather than by a revolution or civil war which would be catastrophic in a nation that is so awash with guns.

My first job was working in a Drug and Alcohol Unit at Westmead hospital. The issues around illicit drug use are certainly not straight forward and sadly even those who are talented and famous are not safe from their possible ultimate consequences. This song by Amy Winehouse turned out to be a portent to her tragically short life.

There is a song on Kate Bush's album Never for Ever called blow away. In the song she sings the line:

"Hello Mini, Mooney, Vicious, Vicious, Buddy Holly, Sandy Denny"

And here is the long lost Sandy Denny, another tortured soul who suffered immensely from alcohol addiction and mental illness finally losing the battle with both in 1978 at the age of 33. "Who knows where the time goes?"

Well it is my lovely wife's birthday today and I have the perfect song for this day. "Happy Birthday Helen" by Things of Stone and Wood. Sadly, the audio quality of this video is very poor so I have put two versions of the song one so you can see the Aussie band members of Things of Stone and Wood performing, the other so you can hear the song with decent sound quality. It is always gratifying when one can find the perfect song for an occasion (slightly more aligned than the song I chose for our 20^th wedding anniversary (Covid Island Discs Day 26) 😀.

Video of the band performing but poor sound quality

Audio of song with no video

This is the first song by Steely Dan to appear in Covid Island Discs and perhaps his best known song. This song very much reminds me of another song that has the telephone number theme to its lyrics. I will cite that song in tomorrow's Covid Island Disc.

This song I guess is a bit dated now, but it captures the nervousness of a potential nuclear war that hovered over all us during the cold war. As someone who loves lyrics this song certainly is a good example of the wordsmith's art as it captures in lyrics the hope that nuclear war will never happen because those who control the ICBM arsenals also love their children. Below is the full lyrics of this song.

2022 Update: Hmm sadly not as dated as we would have liked 😥.

In Europe and America there's a growing feeling of hysteria Conditioned to respond to all the threats In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets Mister Krushchev said, "We will bury you" I don't subscribe to this point of view It'd be such an ignorant thing to do If the Russians love their children too How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy? There is no monopoly on common sense On either side of the political fence We share the same biology, regardless of ideology Believe me when I say to you I hope the Russians love their children too

There is no historical precedent To put the words in the mouth of the president? There's no such thing as a winnable war It's a lie we don't believe anymore Mister Reagan says, "We will protect you" I don't subscribe to this point of view Believe me when I say to you I hope the Russians love their children too We share the same biology, regardless of ideology But what might save us, me and you Is if the Russians love their children too

Another song from Lorde. This song reminds me of another song especially the lines:

But I hear sounds in my mind Brand new sounds in my mind But honey I'll be seein' you 'ever I go But honey I'll be seein' you down every road I'm waiting for it, that green light, I want it

At the time of writing this post, I can't remember the song that it reminds me of. I wonder if it will come to mind before the end of Covid Island Discs?