Comments on: Live in Edinburgh This Week – 14th September 2008

By: Drunk Country

Drunk Country — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:07:01 +0000

Hear Hear, Wee Half China.

A slightly debilatating intestinal problem, & the resulting fun that inevitably goes with such gifts from genetic hand-me-downs, has kept me pretty much quiet of late; hence me not pitching in on this one.

Even so, this one did have me scratching my chin in a vaguely middle class manner over the resulting commentary (despite being only vaguely considered mc by dint of career choice, a lack of Welsh accent proper & fuck all else).

Is this the type of circus you alluded to, Toad, a few weeks back? If it keeps up I think you’re going to have to get yourself a larger Big Top to house that extra ring. Beware, though: as the boundary between performer & audience blurs, try & avoid getting shafted in it.

By: Live in Edinburgh This Week - 21st September 2008 « Song, by Toad

Live in Edinburgh This Week - 21st September 2008 « Song, by Toad — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:54:33 +0000

[...] been neatly scolded for my snobbery after mocking neds last week, with no mention of their prejudice for threatening to chib me for [...]

By: Wee Half China

Wee Half China — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:05:36 +0000

You’re right about the stereotyping. Having grown from a fully fledged ‘Ned’ as you call it, since I grew up in a council house, wore boob tubes and drank MD 20/20, had separated parents etc. to a full-blown middle-class teacher/musician, the comments are exactly what you’d expect to hear from a middle class bunch. Even the defensive, well it’s ok to make sweeping generalisations cos sticks and stones can break my bones but stereotypes will never hurt me cos I’m middle class was expected. But I thought that more might have debated the truth of our social system. Would you not rise up and be proud of a name that the people that put you in your shitty position in the first place used for you as a derogatory term? I throw chinky about left, right and centre, I am half Chinese. Do us Scots not pride ourselves on our killer drinking culture? Do black people use the term ‘nigger’? All derogatory terms. We take the piss and appear proud of our derogatory terms, live up to them even because that’s what society expects of us.
Who’s willing to give these kids a break? When you’ve got parents on heroin at home; when you’ve been beat on all your life; when you’ve got yourself up every morning, got yourself ready for school and grabbed your handful of dry cereal from the box; when all you know is anger and hate at home; when people have already made their judgements about you, why the fuck should you try and be something else? You’re already marked.
I know that this isn’t what this blogs about and wouldn’t it be lovely of me to crack some jokes about how I used to be Ned and sucked 8000 cocks, but this time, after reading all these posts with only Euan trying to defend, well, I felt a little reminder was needed.
Working in a school where teachers already mark kids at 5 to be ending up in jail is positively depressing work. I would like to think that some folk still believe in giving folk a chance and that that begins by changing your own views.
Admittedly I still struggle with the whole working-class to middle-class thing. I don’t like it. I have and use stereotypical views about middle class life. But I’m trying to fight it. I’m sure there’s lots of middle class folk out there who don’t wear Pringle, don’t drive Volvo’s and who don’t play Golf.

As Billy Connelly said, before he became middle class of course, working class love the Upper class eccentrics. They communicate. Upper class love the rough and ready working class. they understand each other. It’s the ‘unsure what I am but I wanna be upper class’ middle class that cause all the fucking problems, that nobody likes. We love that self-deprecation shit though don’t we? Us middle class get away with saying anything we like cos we know that we’re an annoying, educated, self-righteous bunch anyway. And so we start again.

Fuck it. That felt good. Here I fucking come Martin Luther KIng!

By: I guess all this history is just a mystery to me | A Free Man

I guess all this history is just a mystery to me | A Free Man — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:01:15 +0000

[...] . Toad of Song, by Toad is a master of getting feedback from a notoriously reticent audience. See this post about Neds and this one on Calexico as an example of Toad at his [...]

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:51:04 +0000

Do you honestly want to read another 1000 screed on why they’re brilliant? No, thought not, so stop it.

By: a tart

a tart — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:41:33 +0000

Well if you’re not offended yet I’m sure I’ve got more nasty things to say about Calexico!

By: Euan

Euan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:31:55 +0000

it’s also the society we live in – i.e. the fear mongering of the media etc.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:17:17 +0000

That’s what I mean though: people are incredibly bad at statistics. Hence the hysterical fear of wandering paedophiles and idiotic enthusiasm for the lottery.

By: Euan

Euan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:15:31 +0000

hence why i’ve never played it.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:09:43 +0000

Good. It’s a fucking scam.