Billy Bragg

Those interested in the contemporary roots music are probably familiar with Billy Bragg. Bragg is probably best known for his collaboration with Wilco "Mermaid Avenue", which took Woody Guthrie songs that only had lyrics and put them to music. This collaboration yielded two albums and a movie which is quite good. In many ways Bragg is a throwback to the kind of songwriting that Guthrie empodied. Smart, often direct and playful his songs tend to take a strong stance on political issues. Bragg however is from England, so some of his work is particular to the happenings of his country. The artistry, song craft and playfulness, however, often mediates any lack of knowledge on the part of the listener. Bragg came on line during the early 1980’s, and his early songs could be described as New Wave one man punk-folk. Here are few songs that I like: