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| Readers recommend: songs about refusal | Readers recommend: songs about refusal |
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| How to decline a verb that seeks to politely – or otherwise - decline? This week it ironically starts with a star’s tragic decline. The new feature-length documentary about Amy Winehouse, directed by Asif Kapadia, manages, in compelling fashion, to reveal a phenomenal songwriting talent who begins her career as a refreshingly funny, articulate, mischievous and sassy singer. It then follows her fall, via a bad relationship and the pressures of fame and touring, into extreme vulnerability, a woman with bulimia who simply could not refuse the attentions of the wrong kinds of people and the allure and addiction of drink and drugs. | How to decline a verb that seeks to politely – or otherwise - decline? This week it ironically starts with a star’s tragic decline. The new feature-length documentary about Amy Winehouse, directed by Asif Kapadia, manages, in compelling fashion, to reveal a phenomenal songwriting talent who begins her career as a refreshingly funny, articulate, mischievous and sassy singer. It then follows her fall, via a bad relationship and the pressures of fame and touring, into extreme vulnerability, a woman with bulimia who simply could not refuse the attentions of the wrong kinds of people and the allure and addiction of drink and drugs. |
| At heart Amy seemed like someone who just wanted to sing in intimate jazz clubs, someone who was screaming “No!” to herself and others around her, and found an outlet only in highly personal songwriting. Yet commercial pressure to play huge venues, and particularly appalling media scrutiny gave her no escape. Her huge hit song, Rehab, makes a famous refusal, but in life she could not refuse things that ultimately killed her. | At heart Amy seemed like someone who just wanted to sing in intimate jazz clubs, someone who was screaming “No!” to herself and others around her, and found an outlet only in highly personal songwriting. Yet commercial pressure to play huge venues, and particularly appalling media scrutiny gave her no escape. Her huge hit song, Rehab, makes a famous refusal, but in life she could not refuse things that ultimately killed her. |
| Songwriting is often an act of defiance against or dealing with something, especially the devil within oneself, but it can come out in far bigger contexts, whether in protest songs or as a reaction to bad relationships, pain or drama. One of the biggest bad relationships raging at the moment is that of Greece and its European debtors. Last week the Greek people voted in a referendum with a resounding no, or “oxi”, but in that oxi is a massive oxymoron - they don’t want and can’t cope with the tough bailout terms, but they still need the money. Where will it end? In more debt, probably, or total economic disaster. | Songwriting is often an act of defiance against or dealing with something, especially the devil within oneself, but it can come out in far bigger contexts, whether in protest songs or as a reaction to bad relationships, pain or drama. One of the biggest bad relationships raging at the moment is that of Greece and its European debtors. Last week the Greek people voted in a referendum with a resounding no, or “oxi”, but in that oxi is a massive oxymoron - they don’t want and can’t cope with the tough bailout terms, but they still need the money. Where will it end? In more debt, probably, or total economic disaster. |
| This entire conundrum may be on international economic scale, but the pattern also transmits at an individual level. And for this feature, in the psyche of any number of impoverished or frustrated songwriters, who don’t want something they know they still need. That bailout, however, in song, is more often work, a lover, or inevitable vices. How many songs are out there that want to say no, but are not sure of the alternatives? | This entire conundrum may be on international economic scale, but the pattern also transmits at an individual level. And for this feature, in the psyche of any number of impoverished or frustrated songwriters, who don’t want something they know they still need. That bailout, however, in song, is more often work, a lover, or inevitable vices. How many songs are out there that want to say no, but are not sure of the alternatives? |
| But artists do need to refuse things in order to survive, and even thrive. As fashion’s Coco Chanel put it: “Elegance is refusal.” The novelist John Updike said that “the refusal to rest content ... is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.” So sometimes you have to say no to innovate, to make your mark. The brash, ballsy film director, James Cameron, of Terminator and Avatar fame, said his industry “is about saying ‘no’ to people, and inherently you cannot take ‘no’ for an answer”. | But artists do need to refuse things in order to survive, and even thrive. As fashion’s Coco Chanel put it: “Elegance is refusal.” The novelist John Updike said that “the refusal to rest content ... is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.” So sometimes you have to say no to innovate, to make your mark. The brash, ballsy film director, James Cameron, of Terminator and Avatar fame, said his industry “is about saying ‘no’ to people, and inherently you cannot take ‘no’ for an answer”. |
| Refusal of course can come from both sides. Refuseniks is a term used about Soviet-era Russians who were denied permission to emigrate, but the word is latterly used to define those who object to all kinds of issues. History is studded with freedom fighters who refused to stand up to injustice, from the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, from the anti-pollution campaigner Erin Brockovich to India’s Mahatma Gandhi. All them of were fighting against regimes, countries, corporations and bullies who in turn were equally stubborn in their refusal to listen. Unfortunately many of these do win, because they have more power to refuse, be that in government or the workplace. But history proves is those who say no to the status quo who ultimately gain true credibility and respect. | Refusal of course can come from both sides. Refuseniks is a term used about Soviet-era Russians who were denied permission to emigrate, but the word is latterly used to define those who object to all kinds of issues. History is studded with freedom fighters who refused to stand up to injustice, from the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, from the anti-pollution campaigner Erin Brockovich to India’s Mahatma Gandhi. All them of were fighting against regimes, countries, corporations and bullies who in turn were equally stubborn in their refusal to listen. Unfortunately many of these do win, because they have more power to refuse, be that in government or the workplace. But history proves is those who say no to the status quo who ultimately gain true credibility and respect. |
| In some cultures, at least appearing to say no is often avoided. India is known its head wobble or headshake, a gesture that ambiguously says neither yes nor no, but is often a polite way of avoiding overt refusal. And its culture, I’m told, is also heavily steeped, as do many religious countries, in the urge to say no to the seven vices – wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony – a theme that may also come up in your song suggestions. | In some cultures, at least appearing to say no is often avoided. India is known its head wobble or headshake, a gesture that ambiguously says neither yes nor no, but is often a polite way of avoiding overt refusal. And its culture, I’m told, is also heavily steeped, as do many religious countries, in the urge to say no to the seven vices – wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony – a theme that may also come up in your song suggestions. |
| The Irish language, Gaelic or Gaeilge, quite extraordinarily has neither words for yes or no. Why? Is this an oddity of linguistics? Did it evolve to avoid directness? To enjoy a humorous ambiguity consequently expressed in a rich heritage of literature? To mischievously keep centuries of invaders - Vikings to Scots and English, from finding out where anything is? Your thoughts on this would be welcome too, especially if you suggest music from that part of the world. | The Irish language, Gaelic or Gaeilge, quite extraordinarily has neither words for yes or no. Why? Is this an oddity of linguistics? Did it evolve to avoid directness? To enjoy a humorous ambiguity consequently expressed in a rich heritage of literature? To mischievously keep centuries of invaders - Vikings to Scots and English, from finding out where anything is? Your thoughts on this would be welcome too, especially if you suggest music from that part of the world. |
| Refusal of course need not be serious, and can also be simultaneously very funny. Add rather a lot of frightening, and you’ll see all of this in Sir Ben Kingsley’s explosive and psychotic performance as Don Logan in the film Sexy Beast. Yes, yes, yes! No, no, no, no no! | Refusal of course need not be serious, and can also be simultaneously very funny. Add rather a lot of frightening, and you’ll see all of this in Sir Ben Kingsley’s explosive and psychotic performance as Don Logan in the film Sexy Beast. Yes, yes, yes! No, no, no, no no! |
| Finally, for me the most amusing example of musical refusal came in December 2009 when the band Rage Against the Machine were the focus of a successful campaign, with their song Killing in the Name, to keep Simon Cowell and his X Factor winner Joe McElderry, off the Christmas No 1 spot. The band were interviewed on the morning show of BBC Radio 5 Live, featuring presenters Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty, who asked the band not to swear on live radio. You can imagine what happened next. Here’s an audio clip of the outraged Fogarty, when frontman Zack de la Rocha, simply couldn’t resist. His refusal was not only amusing, but truly apposite. | |
| Related: Audio: Rage Against the Machine swearing on BBC Radio 5Live | Related: Audio: Rage Against the Machine swearing on BBC Radio 5Live |
| And to see what radio listeners didn’t catch all of, here’s a video of their interview and performance. What great guys. What a band. | And to see what radio listeners didn’t catch all of, here’s a video of their interview and performance. What great guys. What a band. |
| So then, delve into your dissent and defiance, ratchet up you repudiation, and put forward your suggestions of songs about refusal in comments below. Who could refuse such an invitation? This week we also give a very warm welcome to another new guest guru in the chair, our very own viceroy of veto, India’s Ravi Raman, who proves how RR continues to become ever more international. Deadline? UK time last orders 11pm this coming Monday 13 July, before Ravi’s results come out next Thursday 16 July. I won’t take no for an answer. | So then, delve into your dissent and defiance, ratchet up you repudiation, and put forward your suggestions of songs about refusal in comments below. Who could refuse such an invitation? This week we also give a very warm welcome to another new guest guru in the chair, our very own viceroy of veto, India’s Ravi Raman, who proves how RR continues to become ever more international. Deadline? UK time last orders 11pm this coming Monday 13 July, before Ravi’s results come out next Thursday 16 July. I won’t take no for an answer. |
| To increase the likelihood of your nomination being considered, please: | To increase the likelihood of your nomination being considered, please: |
| • Tell us why it’s a worthy contender.• Quote lyrics if helpful, but for copyright reasons no more than a third of a song’s words.• Provide a link to the song. We prefer Muzu or YouTube, but Spotify or SoundCloud are fine.• Listen to others people’s suggestions and add yours to a collaborative Spotify playlist.• If you have a good theme for Readers recommend, or if you’d like to volunteer to compile a playlist, please email peter.kimpton@theguardian.com• There’s a wealth of data on RR, including the songs that are “zedded”, at the Marconium. It also tells you the meaning of “zedded”, “donds” and other strange words used by RR regulars.• Many RR regulars also congregate at the ‘Spill blog. | • Tell us why it’s a worthy contender.• Quote lyrics if helpful, but for copyright reasons no more than a third of a song’s words.• Provide a link to the song. We prefer Muzu or YouTube, but Spotify or SoundCloud are fine.• Listen to others people’s suggestions and add yours to a collaborative Spotify playlist.• If you have a good theme for Readers recommend, or if you’d like to volunteer to compile a playlist, please email peter.kimpton@theguardian.com• There’s a wealth of data on RR, including the songs that are “zedded”, at the Marconium. It also tells you the meaning of “zedded”, “donds” and other strange words used by RR regulars.• Many RR regulars also congregate at the ‘Spill blog. |
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