Country Joe McDonald RIP

 The real America? I grew up in awe of the USA. AS a kid, I loved the technology of the Apollo moonshots and NASA and I wanted to be American. I believed that America was the land of the free, the land of opportunity. The land where you went if you wanted a good life. When I was 14, I saw the Ramones. The face of New York nihilistic punk rock and I was smitten. The Ramones seemed out of kilter with my idealised view of the USA. It wasn't all sunshine and bubblegum. I was intrigued. I became obsessed with underground American music. On the recommendation of my eldest brother Laurie, I borrowed his copy of "Electric music for the mind and body", the debut album by West Coast psychedelic legends Country Joe and The Fish. It was an eye opener. The sharpness of Country Joes songwriting was impossible for me not to love. The album is an absolute classic. I was intrigued and went out and bought the second album "I feel like I'm fixing to die". The title track is an anti war anthem.

Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men

Uncle Sam needs your help again

He's got himself in a terrible jam

Way down yonder in Vietnam

So put down your books, pick up a gun

Gonna have a whole lot of fun

And it's 1, 2, 3

What are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn

Next stop is Vietnam

And it's 5, 6, 7

Open up the pearly gates

Ah, ain't no time to wonder why

Whoopee! We're all gonna die

Well come on generals let's move fast

Your big chance has come at last

Gotta go out, get those reds

The only good commie is the one that's dead

And you know that peace could only be won

When we've blown them all to kingdom come

And it's 1, 2, 3

What are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn

Next stop is Vietnam

And it's 5, 6, 7

Open up the pearly gates

Ah, ain't no time to wonder why

Whoopee! We're all gonna die

Well come on Wall Street don't move slow

Why man, this is war-a-go-go

There's plenty good money to be made

By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade

Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb

They drop it on the Viet Cong

And it's 1, 2, 3

What are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn

Next stop is Vietnam

And it's 5, 6, 7

Open up the pearly gates

Ah, ain't no time to wonder why

Whoopee! We're all gonna die

Well come on mothers throughout the land

Pack your boys off to Vietnam

Come on fathers don't hesitate

Send them off before it's too late

Be the first one on your block

To have your boy come home in a box

And it's 1, 2, 3

What are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn

Next stop is Vietnam

And it's 5, 6, 7

Open up the pearly gates

Ah, ain't no time to wonder why

Whoopee! We're all gonna die

Is there a better anti war song? Is there another one that covers all of the bases? I had the honour and privelige of seeing Country Joe several times in the 1980's. The one time which really stuck with me, was at Dingwalls in the middle of the Falklands war. Joe gave a short lecture on why war was a bad thing. A heckler launched a tirade about him being a commie. Joe calmly responded that he'd been in Korea with the US army and seen the futility of it all. He also pointed out the money he'd raised for veterans causes, when the government was not interested. Of all the artists I've seen and I've seen a lot, none had the moral integrity of Joe. 

He was an old man and he had Parkinsons, so it is not the tragedy of a young mans passing. But the world and the USA in particular needs more Country Joe McDonalds.  A decent man. A man of courage and principle. I am glad I saw him. There are a few songs that I wish I was talented enough to write. The fish cheer is very near the top. The False Dots Action Shock was my attempt to do a song in that style, thank you for the inspiration Joe. 

RIP Joe. Godspeed

I

The five harsh lessons of the One Barnet struggle

For the last five years, this blog has fought tirelessly to make our local politicians see sense over the One Barnet program. Now Barnet has been transformed into Capitaville and the axe has been taken to the tree of jobs that used to be Barnet Council. Functions are being chopped up and scattered to the far flung reaches of the country and all manner of revelations about the ineptitude of the council and how we've been taken for a ride are starting to emerge. Thus far we've found out that the carve up of jobs was printed on a map in the contract. We've found that Capita have appointed their own bailiffs to chase debts, despite Barnet having contracts in place. The existing companies are in the process of starting legal action against the council (guess who will pay). We found out that the investment in new systems is being paid for by Barnet taxpayers, not Capita and perhaps the most predictable cock up of all is that the Leader of the Council told the press this week that he expects the whole thing to be a  cock up. 

Sadly, I believe we should never have found ourselves in this position. I believe that if the people of Barnet had got the support of the people whos job it is to represent us, we'd never have found ourselves in this mess. I have turned a blind eye to all manner of things in Barnet that have disturbed me. What I am about to write will probably lose me a few friends, but it is the truth, so if people don't like it they can go forth and multiply. This is written not for the benefit of anyone in Barnet, but for anyone else stupid enough to try and stop such a juggernaut in their Town Hall.

1. You will fail if the opposition party don't give you 100% support. In Barnet, the main opposition group, the Labour Party have never come out against One Barnet. Despite hundreds of leaflet drops, wrap around adverts on the cover of local papers, two sell out films at the Phoenix, blanket coverage in the press for five years and countless public meetings, the Local Labour Party have never once committed to the fight against One Barnet. They have been lukewarm in their opposition. We've never seen a three line whip on turnout to protests. We've never seen a motion telling Capita that they will break the contract if elected. We've never seen a public proclaimation that they actually oppose the process. We've never seen leaflets saying they support the APSE alternative being delivered to every house in Barnet. We've never seen anything more than a motion for a referendum. If Labour had packed every meeting with supporters, challenged every dodgy paragraph of the contract and held the Tories to account, there is no way we'd be here. A few of the Labour Councillors have done their bit, but they are not in the majority. Labour has failed the people of Barnet in its opposition to One Barnet. That is a fact and if people don't like the truth then it is just too bad. The Labour Party in Barnet has been a comfy club for far too long. It is time that they started to fight for their principles with passion and vigour. During the GLA elections last year, the Barnet Alliance pulled out all the stops to support Barnet Labour and get Andrew Dismore elected. This was a huge success. Labour has not reciprocated with the One Barnet Campaign. The last Labour budget even accepted the dodgy savings detailed in the contract.

2. You wont stop an outsourcing if the local Unions aren't 100% committed to the fight. There are two types of Trades Unionists. There are ones who stand up and fight for their principles and there are ones who cheer other people on if it doesn't cost them any money. Workers in Barnet are now losing their jobs. If they had flexed their collective muscle properly when this monster first reared its ugly head, the Council would have thought again. Which workers in the public sector have the best deal? The answer is those such as Tube drivers who are prepared to fight for their terms and conditions. If residents find their bins aren't being emptied and their roads aren't being gritted they will soon realise the value of council services and they might take a different view to the proposals. Barnet had a couple of token half day strikes, this was never likely to change the minds of the local Tories.

3.  Local activists need to cut the talk and step up the action. In my opinion there are far too many planning meetings and far too people out on the streets drumming up the support of local people. The one lesson I learned from the Friern Barnet Library is that actions speak louder than words. Direct action changes the landscape. Now of course there are some people I totally exhonorate from these comments, but there are far too many people who talk a good game, but when it comes down to standing out in the snow protesting, suddenly find an urgent appointment or have developed a cold. 

4. Politicians need to be shown what the consequences of ignoring popular sentiment are. This happened in the GLA elections to great effect. In six months time, we have the Council elections. When the politicians knock on your door, ask them what they have done to ensure that the people of Barnet did not get ripped off by Capita in the One Barnet Contract. Ask them if they read the contract and saw the map of where the jobs are going. Ask them if they objected to this attack on the local economy. Ask them how they manifested this opposition. If you belong to a local Party, seek to deselect any candidate that can't give you a sensible answer. Barnet needs people who care to represent us.

5.The harshest lesson of all is that most people really couldn't give a sh*t about what happens to anyone else in Barnet, so long as they are alright. If the project fails, as one in four major outsourcing projects fail, then we will get lousy services and a huge tax bill. Now given the efforts I've put in to fighting this process, I'll feel pretty P*$$*D off, but if a single person moans about it to me and has sat on their bum for the last five years doing nothing, I shall tell them where to go.

At the last council election, I stood for council and lost. I spent six months campaigning to no avail. About a year after the campaign people started coming up to me and saying "You stood for council, what are you going to do about..." (usually planning issues). I asked them if they voted for me. Invariably they said "No, we voted Tory because we wanted to get rid of Gordon Brown". I then pointed out I stood for council, which was a totally different election. I also pointed out that I lost, so unlike my victorious opponents, it ain't my job. I then informed them that I had resigned from the Lib Dem party over the coalition and I am banned from membership of the Labour Party, so I won't be standing again.  They then said "we need people like you at the council, stand as an Independent." The truth is that if they wouldn't back me with a party behind me and the excellent track record of the local Lib Dems prior to 2010, then they wouldn't back me as an Independent with no resources. I have better things to do than trudge round Mill Hill, knocking on doors in the rain. 

The harsh truth is that as far as I'm concerned, I think Barnet has been hugely let down. It's been let down by lazy politicians, lazy trades union members and activists who are too busy running talking shops when they should be out on the streets pulling out every stop. Most of all though, I think we've let ourselves down. The wraparound about One Barnet went out to virtually every home. People read it then used it to line the budgie cage litter tray. In the film Woodstock, made in 1969 about the music festival, there is a song called "I feel like I'm fixing to die" by Country Joe MacDonald. It is an anti war song. Half a million people were at the festival. The chorus was "and it's 1, 2,3 what are we fighting for, don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam, and it's 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates, there aint no time to wonder why, we're all gonna die". After the first chorus, Country Joe Berates the audience saying "I don't know how you ever hope to stop this F*ckin war if you can't sing any louder than that". When I look at what has happened in Barnet over the last five years, that is exactly how I feel. 

Rog T's Top Ten gigs

Here's my top ten gigs. Dates are guesstimates.

1 - 1977 - The Roundhouse - The Ramones, Talking heads, The Saints
2 - 1977 - The Roundhouse - The Vibrators, 999, The Radiators from Space 
3 - 1978 - The Marquee -  The Dickies
4 - 1978 - The Hope and Anchor - Crass
5 - 1978 - The Moonlight club - The Doomed (The Damned's post Brian James reunion)
6 - 1990 - The Subterrania - Big Audio Dynamite
7 - 2009 - The Roundhouse  - Smokey Robinson
8 - 1978 - Stonebridge Park Festival - The Vibrators, Misty in Roots, The Ruts
9 - 1977 - The Marquee - Wire
10 - 1982 - Dingwalls - Country Joe McDonald

It was a rather hard choice as I've been to plenty. Most of the Ramones gigs could have made it in there, as could most of the Vibrators gigs. There are a few notable other gigs I'd like to mention. We put on a show for Edgware General hospital Campaign in Montrose Park in 1997, with The Sway and The shrinking Violets, which was superb. For my band, The False Dots, my two favourite gigs was 1982 at Pub Bastun in Aland, Finland and 1984 at Dingwalls. I really enjoyed The Steve Miller Band and Joe Cocker last year at The Concorde Plaza in California. A few years ago I thought the Polecats at Oakwood Golf club was a great show. Recently I've really enjoyed the annual Pogues gigs at Brixton Academy. X-Ray specs were good at the Roundhouse and the Pisols were great at Brixton.

My Top 5 venues

1 - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm
2 - The Marquee (in Wardour St)
3 - The Moonlight Club (West Hampstead)
4 - Dingwalls, Camden Town
5 - The Music Machine, Camden Town (Became the Camden Palace)

And my big bugbear of the week. In the BBC coverage of the Electric Proms, the trailer featured pictures of Camden Town tube station, in relation to the Roundhouse. Everyone knows that Chalk Farm is the station for the Roundhouse.