The Decline Of English Murder

November 5, 2012 12:46 PM

Alan Moore - The Decline Of English Murder. A song for Occupy

Although it's referred to in the video description as Alan Moore's first record he has released a few things before. He released five albums of spoken word performance pieces (a few of which have tracks available on youtube):

The Birth Caul (1996) (1, 2, 3, 4) - with music by David J and Tim Perkins

The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels (1996) - with music by David J and Tim Perkins

The Highbury Working: A Beat Seance (2001) (1, 2) - with David J and Tim Perkins

Angel Passage (2002) (1) - with Tim Perkins, Jah Wobble and Billy Bragg

Snakes and Ladders (2003) (1) - with Tim Perkins

He also released the song You are My Asylum (2009) with Downtown Joe Brown and the Retro Spankees, which came on a free CD with an edition of Dodgem Logic.

posted by dng (10 comments total)

He sounds a bit like MJ Hibbert on this new song (mainly the way he sings cafeteria near the beginning), which has got me pining for an Alan Moore cover of Hey Hey 16K
posted by dng at 12:51 PM on November 5, 2012

And, of course, March of the Sinister Ducks.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:03 PM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Never show him this.
posted by Artw at 1:06 PM on November 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

She sorts out her hair in the washroom at Preston Services
Dries her hands under a notice that reads have you seen this child
And she nurses one tea for an hour in the cafeteria
Watching the truck drivers blind their fried eggs with the cutlery

And English Murder. It’s all over her face.

Just waiting until the right time the wrong light boy
There’ll be a photograph
With a bad 1970′s fringe and a look of uncertainty
Years later you’ll know the name but not where you know it from
And they’ve emptied the terraced row with compulsory purchases
Reasoning that they’d make more from the ground with the people gone
So he shuffles the half a mile to the nearest post office
When lads push into the queue he pretends he’s not noticed them

And English murder. It’s all over his face.

A low enough cold snap, a high enough gas bill
You’ll skim the epitaph
And you’ll possibly notice his name like somebodies you knew from school
There’ll be an off the peg verse where sad has been rhymed with dad
And the houses in which they’ve invested their City bonuses
Have increased the property prices and therefore the homelessness
And the scabby grey anti-climb paint and withdrawn amenities
In case socialising promotes anti-social behaviour

And English murder. It’s all over the place.

The bunches of flowers in pedestrian precincts
Your average psychopath, at least kills with a hammer or brick
and not with greed and incompetence
And after two or three years maybe they’ll express remorse.
posted by basicchannel at 1:16 PM on November 5, 2012 [5 favorites]

And yet, Artw, I think Alan Moore would approve.
posted by WidgetAlley at 1:45 PM on November 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm doubly cautious of dark tunnels if Moore is involved.
posted by Artw at 2:13 PM on November 5, 2012

hardly
posted by parmanparman at 3:20 PM on November 5, 2012

Never show him this.

How about this (nsfw)?
posted by homunculus at 5:08 PM on November 5, 2012

Oh, he'd probably like that.
posted by Artw at 5:09 PM on November 5, 2012

Jimmy's End
posted by homunculus at 12:30 PM on November 6, 2012