Friday, November 5, 2010

Operation AXIOM
"Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason & Plot.
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot."

Guy Fawkes was an unapologetic monster, a terrorist who was caught in the midst of executing a most diabolical act of mass murder, an act of devilry he intended to commit in the name of the Christ. It is right & just that he met such an ignominious end as suicide, thus condemning his rotten soul to eternal damnation. But there is nothing in Fawkes's crimes to justify the merry festival of naked anti-Catholic bigotry that is the British holiday of Guy Fawkes Night. "Papists" are the only group discriminated against officially in British law. The pope is burned in effigy annually in the awful, hateful town of Lewes, yet there is no hue & cry from Europe's numerous defenders of multiculturalism. There is no reason why the 5th of November 1605 should ever be forgot, & there is no reason why the occasion must be marked by open & inexplicably unopposed expression of sectarian hatred.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of Guy Fawkes Night
Less Than Jake, "Short Fuse Burning" from Anthem (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I thought about something like "The Bad Guy" by Reel Big Fish or "Exquisite Dead Guy" by They Might Be Giants," but aside from their titles they had no relevance. "Short Fuse Burning," however, that's a song rife with Guy Fawkes, if one is so inclined.

"These are all the reasons why
I'll be exploding tonight,
And why this chip on my shoulder
Feels like a mile wide,…

Maybe then I'll find
Some strength inside,
'Cause I've lost any hope of ever changing,
I'm a short fuse burning.

Hey everybody, don't forget me, forget me.
Hey everybody, don't forget me,
I forgot who I used to be.
And I'm a short fuse burning,
I'm so close to exploding,
So everybody, don't forget me,
I forgot who I used to be."

2 comments:

The Guy said...

Sometimes I think that "Short Fuse Burning" is the best song off that album. Sometimes I think that is their best album.

Ranking aside, that's a damn fine song and a damn fine choice.

Mike Wilson said...

Firstly, I thank thee.

Secondly, for a decade now I've taken it as a statement of fact that Hello Rockview is L.T.J.'s best album. We all know Anthem is dynamite, just phenomenal, but I have honestly never taken the time to sit back & think, "Is Anthem their best album?" I should do that in the none too distant future.