20 Billy Bragg and the Blokes “St. Monday”

Billy Bragg is not that big in the US, but is known for carrying the political dissent folk voice from artists like Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. One thing that makes him stand out was his use of an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar when performing solo. 

Electric guitars are louder, obviously, but in some ways more empty sounding than an acoustic. You can add all sorts of effects, from tremolo to reverb to distortion, but much like the difference between digital music and vinyl, there’s a warmth that’s missing. Of any artists to just use an electric guitar for their music, I think Bragg does it the best. Check out his song “A New England” for an example of this. 

This is not to say he doesn’t include a band from time to time. The earliest song I remember of his was “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” which slowly adds instruments as the song builds to a terrific end. As a Star Trek fan, it was his cry of “Beam me up, Scotty!” that stuck in my head.

The song I chose for this playlist, “St. Monday” by Billy Bragg and the Blokes, is an anthem for a four-day work week. I admit, I’ve never had a typical job. My earliest jobs were often in retail: I worked in a shoe store to pay for college, in a frozen yogurt shop, in a record store, a t-shirt cart, a hat store, a book store, a big box hardware store where I got a forklift license, and a generic big box store. Beyond those, I had my own photography business for a brief period of time, I wrote and taught half-time shows for a high school marching band (the field designs and the drum score), was a substitute teacher where I ended up as a permanent sub for the weight training courses (when offered the job they said they’d like me to do it, but I had to stop dressing like Elvis) and worked as an adjunct professor before landing a permanent position teaching philosophy. 

Retail jobs have crazy, weird hours. Public school teaching jobs stop in the summer, and teaching college classes depends on when the classes are scheduled. As I tell folks, “I didn’t go into jazz, rock and roll, and philosophy to get up early.” Bragg’s “I Ain’t working on a Monday” just speaks to me.