A collection of 125 lyrics by seminal punk/country group the Mekons, many of them distinctively illustrated by band members in styles ranging from xerox art to the illuminated printing of William Blake, from Chartist broadsheets to punk posters. Also includes 16 pages of candid Oon the roadO images of the band by noted photographer Ann Lehman.
Annotation:
After their beginnings as an art college punk rock band rehearsing with borrowed gear in Leeds, England, in the late 1970s, the Mekons seemed poised to emulate fellow Leeds University graduates Gang of Four's route to relative prosperity. However, a critically acclaimed first single and a deal with Virgin Records led to a debut album whose lack of success led to their being unceremoniously dropped. Half a decade in the artistic wilderness later, they were rediscovered by the American rock critic Greil Marcus, and a reanimated band began a revived, US-based career, which included performance art pieces with the late Kathy Acker and their own art shows. HELLO CRUEL WORLD is a pocket-sized book of lyrics, art, and photographs that sums up the band's multi-faceted approach to their work. The Mekons' songs are a mix of politics, oblique literary references, and the kind of clever pop you'd expect from artistic punks of a certain age; but, unusually for rock lyrics, the words stand up in their own right, and the band's collaborative artwork and photographer Anne Lehman's candid pictures lend the project added depth and a palpable sense of fun.
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