2020 has been a terrible year for just about everyone. Everyone has their own ways of trying to cope, but if you happen to be a musician it is only natural that writing music would be one of your outlets of coping. The combination of being isolated due to the pandemic and the current state of the world creates the perfect environment for creating political art. This is certainly the case of My Politic, the Nashville based Americana duo made up of Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey.
The duo just released the seven-song protest EP Short-Sighted People In Power on Bandcamp and on October 30 it will receive a wide release. The duo’s previous releases did touch upon social issues such as coping with depression and drug addiction, but this is the first time the duo has been overtly political.
The songs were written in a way that they interconnect with each other. This should be viewed as a concept album that listeners should listen to in its entirety. There are certain songs on the album that are perfectly fine tunes, but listened to on their own they could be missing some needed context. It would be like watching a two-minute scene, instead of watching the whole movie. As described on the album’s Bandcamp page it is meant to be a “historical snapshot”. The duo definitely does an effective job of creating a cohesive whole which well articulates the times we are living in.
The opening and title track work well as a mission statement which sets the stage for the songs that are to follow. It calls out powerful lobby groups such as the NRA, the fossil fuel industry, and the drug companies. It highlights the blood that is on their hands. It also includes the statement “It’ll take everyone of us to get what we want. From these short-sighted people in power.” The need for action is something that will be developed further later on.
The second track is a scathing indictment of Trump and his enablers. The chorus features the relatable lyrics “Fuck the president. Fuck the GOP. Fuck the folks at fox news. Spreading lies on tv. ” There are many of us that have echoed these sentiments.
The next two tracks feature biting satire, “Fantasies Of A Fox News Viewer” and “Voter Suppression”. I recently had the opportunity to interview Kaston Guffey for the next episode of the Ongoing History of Protest Music podcast which will be released on Monday, October 5. He talked about the album and the motivation behind his songwriting. He mentioned how he has been listening to a lot of Randy Newman. The Sail Away album, in particular, is a prime example of a brilliant satire that uses the narrative of terrible people to expose social injustices. Guffey mentioned how he was trying to accomplish something similar and he does succeed. I think Randy Newman would be proud.
The next song “All American Way” addresses the countless situations of black lives who needlessly lost their lives at the hands of police. It also highlights the racial inequalities by contrasting situations where white men have taken up arms because they couldn’t get a hair cut.
The next song “The Experts Told Us’ has a personal connection to Guffey. During our interview, Guffey told me that when writing the line “We all know somebody, that died who could’ve lived” he had in mind John Prine who died on April 7 of this year due to complications from COVID-19. Prine was a personal hero of Guffey, who he had an opportunity to meet on a few occasions. It is sadly a relatable lyric to many that have lost loved ones due to government mismanagement.
The closing tune “Talkin’ RNC Blues’ once again returns to satire. It is also an example of how the songs build upon each other. As previously mentioned the first song stated “It’ll take everyone of us to get what we want. From these short-sighted people in power.” This track builds upon that by concluding with a rousing call to action, “So for the sake of the country vote this election day. By mail, absentee or the old fashioned way. If you have to go out make sure you’ve got a mask. Lets all come together and take out the trash.”
The album is timely and the duo accomplished its mission of creating a clear snapshot of 2020. It well reflects the shit show that has been 2020, but it holds out hope that with collective effort things will get better.