This is ALBUM CLASH: CIVIL WAR!! 

With sincere apologies for the slightly delayed release, in this week’s pod we conclude our Paul Simon clash by casting our ears over the diminutive folkster’s (yes, I’m reusing that moniker again) most successful album, 1986’s ‘Graceland’.

There’s an awful lot for us to get through with this one, not least of all the controversy that Paul Simon caused in breaking the cultural boycott and travelling to South Africa to record with South African artists at the height of the anti-apartheid movement. We talk - at length - about the moral and ethical quandary that Simon’s decision represents, and how his position is somewhat undermined by the fact that on one track he duets with an artist who did accept money from the apartheid regime to perform at Sun City. 

We do (eventually) talk about the music, and the way that Paul Simon manages to seamlessly blend the sounds of the Soweto township with those of New York City and the American Deep South. We also have a long old chat about the term ‘world music’ and the negative connotations that have come to be associated with it.

In our latest ‘video killed the radio star’ Tim takes us through a classic 80s video which saw the emergence of a global megastar, whilst paying homage to one of the 20th Century’s most iconic stars.

We also have our latest album of the pod where Tim picks a new release by an artist whom we have previously entered into the ring of death…

Also this week:

Tim does his bit to promote cultural learning by providing a useful translation service;

Kev recalls a classic gritty 1980s drama about nuclear winter in South Yorkshire; and 

When is an ultra capitalist institution also a front for communist ideologies?

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***Check out our ‘can’t get you out of my head’ playlist:

Youtube Music: https://t.co/xHKWgpcadA

Spotify: https://t.co/8Exejzv2rg

Enjoy!

Find us on Twitter (@Clashalbum), Instagram (@Clahsalbum), Threads (@Clashalbum) or send us an email (albumclash@gmail.com).***