More from Our Anniversary Show

Every year when we celebrate another year on the air, I always kick off the anniversary show with this song: "Memphis, Egypt" by the Mekons (see partial playlist in the marginalia at left). If you listen closely to the lyrics, you'll note that even as it sonically celebrates the visceral kick of the music, it offers a pretty trenchant critique of all it has come to symbolize, from rebellion to corporate co-optation. I'd like to think that this song attempts to re-claim it for the former purpose, but in a strictly dialectical analysis (which I think the Mekons might appreciate) maybe you can't have one without the other (?). Anyway, the video is very cool, so give it a looksee.