Ska-P "Eurosis" 1998 €€€€

The recent European Parliament election was, we were told, the most important ever: these elections could promote dangerous anti-European, populist, forces which could bring the United Europe experiment to an end. Brexit would either be our wake-up call or the start of the unraveling. It's true that the political vocabulary of these "populist" forces is mostly despicable: fearmongering, nationalism, xenophobia, islamophobia, isolationism. One cannot dispute that they represent a danger to what we've come to consider as European values of tolerance and progress. But what exactly is that European status quo we're supposed to fight to save? One where important financial decisions are taken behind closed-doors meetings by Eurozone ministers and a central bank not subject to any democratic control. A Union which has, post-Maastricht, integrated the neo-liberal dogma, whose financial rules were tailored to the German elite's needs, rigged into hoarding surpluses in the economically developed EU core while the periphery accumulates deficit and debt. So when inevitably countries like Greece and Spain got into trouble what did they get? loans that went directly into repaying German and French banks, tied to a program of brutal austerity that plunged them into recession and unemployment. While the people never saw a single cent of the loans they were saddled with for generations, all liquidity was squeezed from the economy to pay back the creditors who had the nerve to appear as saviors. Small businesses closed down, big ones moved to safer havens, wages were cut, taxes were raised, all in the name of the sacred euro. Meanwhile, the German people were made to believe that these billions did not go into saving the banks (again!) but into rescuing lazy and incompetent Southern Europeans. If this is the way the EU and the Euro currently work, why are we surprised when people turn to the likes of LePen and Salvini for an alternative?
Even though Eurosis was released 20 years ago, it suddenly struck me as relevant: its title is a mix of "euro" and "neurosis", and the cover depicts a euro-coin picturing some sort of baby demon - very aptly as the common currency was still in its design stage. Of course Ska-P couldn't possibly have foreseen how thoroughly Spain would be fucked over by the euro-system, so the euro-demon stands for the corrosive power of money in general, rather than for actual Eurozone economic policies. They more or less ignore the EU and attack everything they think is wrong with Spain and the world: their country's corrupt conservative government and financial elite ("Circo Ibérico", "España Va Bien", "Kacikes"), the Catholic Church ("Villancico"), the institution of monarchy ("Simpático Holgazán"), poverty and repression in Latin America ("Paramilitar", "Juan Sin Tierra", "América Latina Libre"), animal furs ("Kémalo"), the narco-police ("Al Turrón") etc. Far from being preachy, they approach their subjects with humor while the music is also, above all, fun: wild, joyous, fast, and very very loud. Their songs are so catchy that they've become very popular in their home country, even among those who do not share their radical ideology. Though I wouldn't call their albums samey, it's fair to say that they all present a similar mix of the same ingredients: Ska, Alternative, Latin, and Punk. "Paramilitar" adds a bit of rap metal a la Rage Against The Machine, while "Juan Sin Tierra" is based on a ballad by Chilean political troubadour Victor Jara and only transforms into Ska-P's familiar latin ska style halfway through. "España Va Bien" starts as a frantic country number to engulf mariachi music, ska, and even can can, while "Seguimos En Pie" sports a relatively slower reggae beat and "Poder pa'l pueblo" is the band's first instrumental. Incidentally, the band features two main vocalists, lead singer Pulpul and backing vocalist/toaster/entertainer Pipi fulfilling a role similar to Keith Flint's in Prodigy - one has to see them live to appreciate the combination. Video clips reveal the band to be at their best live, but all their CD's are worth buying: well produced, pure, infectious fun - with a message!  

***** for Paramilitar

**** for Circo Ibérico, Villancico, España Va Bien, Simpático Holgazán, Juan Sin Tierra

*** for Kémalo, Poder Pa'l Pueblo, Kacikes, América Latina Libre, Al Turrón, Seguimos En Pie