The Communists Have The Music
From This Might Be A Wiki
| song name | The Communists Have the Music |
| artist | They Might Be Giants |
| releases | Dial-A-Song (2018), The Communists Have The Music, My Murdered Remains, Some Murdered Remains |
| year | 2018 |
| first played | September 20, 2018 (52 known performances) |
| run time | 2:27 |
| sung by | John Linnell, John Flansburgh on post-chorus |
Trivia/Info
- The song was first released digitally on September 11, 2018, and later as a 7" single, backed with "I've Been Seeing Things". Initially teased by a Girlie Action press release, a full animated video directed by David Cowles and Jeremy Galante with art by David Plunkert was released on October 9. On various media the band promoted the song using the tag #aynrandsandwich.
- In a Girlie Action press release, Linnell said of the song:
On the one hand, Fran Lebowitz memorably said of Communism vs. Fascism that one was too dull and the other too exciting. However, our song takes its cue from somebody (I can’t remember who) in our high school, who once compared two bands (I wish I could remember which bands) by declaring that one had the power but the other had the tunes. This enduring metaphor seems to apply to any pair of things we can think of.
- The digital single features a recreation of a 1915 oil painting by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich entitled Suprematist Painting: Eight Red Rectangles. Malevich was not a communist. The recreation used in the single's artwork was made by John Flansburgh with red construction paper and displayed upside-down.
- The House Un-American Activities Committee existed from 1939–1969 and was primarily used to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having communist ties.
- Read more about noted Objectivist author Ayn Rand and Marxist philosopher Friedrich Engels, and read the lyrics to "The Internationale", a left-wing anthem and standard of the socialist movement since the late nineteenth century, in preparation for playing the backing track.
- The outfits the fascists have are likely Nazi uniforms, some of which were notably manufactured by Hugo Boss.
Song Themes
Drinks, Food, Music, People (Real), Politics, References To Other Songs Or Musicians
Videos
- Watch it on
- Watch it on (audio only)
Current Rating You must be logged in to rate this. You can either login (if you have a userid) or create an account with us today. The Communists Have The Music is currently ranked #35 out of 1022. (192 wikians have given it an average rating of 9.13) |
