“The Mountebank Parade” Playlist (reposted from Facebook)

“The Mountebank Parade,” from The General Electorate’s SYNTHETIC BONES, is about the danger of stupid people acting in large numbers. The ignorant and deluded are often easily (indeed, willfully) enchanted by charlatans and demagogues. I wrote this song in March 2016 as I watched a demagogue rise to prominence, propelled into the stratosphere by stupid people whose zealotry and hatred of anything they don’t understand blinded them to the danger of what they were undertaking.

I had Nine Inch Nails in my mind for the arrangement, although some very astute listeners might discern that one portion of the song’s drum arrangement is based on Peter Gabriel’s “Intruder.” But for this playlist, I mined the darkest new wave tracks of the 80s and the early industrial music of the 90s. You’ll hear David Bowie and Tin Machine, of course. There’s also a myriad of other artists known for their dark streaks: Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, and The Sisters of Mercy. But you’ll hear the darker aspects of Modern English (a band whose early output was every bit as dark as Joy Division’s, but who are known for their poppy, ebullient fare that began with “Melt With You”), Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, Cocteau Twins, and Tori Amos.

You can HEAR THE PLAYLIST HERE, AT THIS LINK. Go ahead. Click the link. You know you want to. You like good music, and you like me. Click it. Listen again and again for free on Spotify, and then share the link with your friends. Tell them to listen to it again and again.

THE MOUNTEBANK PARADE LYRICS

It’s trumpery, true; this cynosure’s worth could not have less value but sets sights on all earth. This reptilian brain, this catch as catch can, Reveals the smallness of soul and the meanness of man. The trailing end of a failing trend and cultural caché Has not utility in any meaningful way.

Small men, small minds, mouthpiece for all mankind, Millionaire by fortune, idiot by trade And the lemmings all applaud the mountebank parade.

Misdirection in the drinking water And misinformation in the public fodder. But don’t stop feeding at those troughs: The masses love their opiates more than a rebel loves his cause. Civility, empathy, reason grasp for breath In vain, too late to dodge their deaths.

Small men, small minds, mouthpiece for all mankind, Millionaire by fortune, idiot by trade And the lemmings all applaud the mountebank parade.

Carnival clown, brass faced buffoon, fewer dimensions than a comic book cartoon. To what do we make of it? Oh, what to do with But hope it is buried in the annals of myth.

Small men, small minds, mouthpiece for all mankind, Millionaire by fortune, idiot by trade And the lemmings all applaud the mountebank parade.