Larger issues which face all of us, country or not, are covered in "Dying Planet," where lazy complacency over environmental destruction is decried, and "Chinese Murder Mystery" examines the plight of the immigrant seeking a better life - a goal which is denied through a criminal act. The liner notes say this song was inspired by a real-life event which was also the inspiration for Kakistocracy's cover art.
Such weighty issues as politics and immigration issues and the environment might well be overwhelming to people, and Kakistocracy makes one wonder if this is how the country was supposed to go - the theme of "400 Years": "if they could see what we have done, they probably wish that they had never come."
Considering that "from the New York Islands to the Frisco Bay it grew, and the land that belonged to every man became the property of a few" ["Trumpets Goin' Round"], they wouldn't find a public place to land anymore! As for those propertied few, some advice is offered: "lock all the doors, swallow the key and brag to yourself you're the land of the free."
"This song won't change the world." Neither will Kakistocracy - but listening to it just might be enough to get you to begin asking your leaders the questions necessary to help this country avoid a bad fate: "How we gonna look to the future when we can't face our past?" ["Half Mast"]
How indeed!
[MP3 samples of the tracks available at the Austin Records Direct website.]
All quoted lyrics presented under Fair Use provisions.
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