Attila The Stockbroker: Spirit of the Age
note: press play, let the video fully loaded first and then press play again for smooth video & sound.
Some of you may remember the skinhead poet doing “Willie Whitlaw’s Willie” on Oi! Oi! That’s Yer Lot!, an early Oi! compilation LP or that famous rant “Contributory Negligence”, a punk rock poem savaging a judge‚Äôs remark that a rape victim was partly to blame for the crime because of the way she was dressed.
Attila then was running along with other early 80s punk poets such as Seething Wells, making up The Ranting Poetry movement, folowing in the footsteps of earlier punk poets such as John Cooper-Clarke but with a more hard-edged rhyming and a more pronounced Socialist leaning. Among his closest friends at the time were the guys playing in great bands such as The Newtown Neurotics and The Redskins. Unlike those bands though, Attila never stopped doing his thing to this very day, including fronting a band called The Barnstormers, and according to the video above, he’ll keep on keeping on! The man is now on tour along with Dave Rovics in the States.
SPIRIT OF THE AGE
Attila The Stockbroker
You’ve got to be young and black to rap, right?
So I’ve no chance ‘cos I’m old, punk rock and white…
You’ve got to be young and black to rap? Wrong!
Anyone can rap – or write a punk rock song
So don’t look at me with scorn or derision
I don’t accept boundaries of cultural division
I’m MC Attila and I’m right in your face
So listen up folks ‘cos I ain’t going no place
This rap’s called Spirit of the Age
I’m aged 47, I’ll always be on stage
Millions of ideas buzzing round my head
and I’ll be rapping till the day I’m dead
Aged 48 I won’t be sedate
Rancid rule, Joe Strummer is my soul mate
Aged 49 I’ll be doing just fine
Reeling in the Right on my verbal fishing line
50? I’ll be nifty!
So don’t look at me like I’m sad or I’m shifty
Aged 51, I’ll be having some fun
When Brighton score 10 and Crystal Palace score none
52? I’ll be talking to you
And I’ll make more sense than Blink 182
52? Top of the tree
Red rebel rhymes and rapping rebel poetry
54, like I said before,
show me a fascist, I’ll show him the door
55, still cutting it live
while boring arty poets take a nose dive
56, high in the mix
This old punk rocker will have learned some new tricks
57, still first eleven
Drinking real ale like it’s manna from heaven
58, I’ll be fuelling debate
Giving it straight from the 51st state
Aged 59, laying down the line
pulling out words and watching them intertwine
60? Still defying convention!
I won’t be drawing my punk rock pension!
As long as I’m alive I’ll be on stage
Age of the Spirit, Spirit of the Age!
END.
more on Attila:
Official Website: attilathestockbroker.com
Loads of mp3s to download here
