Old Rottenhat (1985)

About this title: Wyatt has been quoted as declaring that this record was "a conscious attempt to make un-misusable music," i.e., music that couldn't be appropriated by the Right or broadcast on Voice of America. VOA doesn't broadcast uncommercial music such as this in any case, but Wyatt did succeed in stating some of his political concerns -- imperialism, the carnage in East Timor, the flaws of rigid political ideology -- in an understated manner. He went back to writing his own material for this album, after having focused on eclectic "covers" in the early '80s, with fair success. It's perhaps an even ... read more

Tracks:

1. Alliance [Wyatt]
2. United States of Amnesia [Wyatt]
3. East Timor [Wyatt]
4. Speechless [Instrumental] [Wyatt]
5. The Age of Self [Wyatt]
6. Vandalusia [Wyatt]
7. The British Road [Wyatt]
8. Mass Medium [Wyatt]
9. Gharbzadegi [Wyatt]
10. P.L.A. [Wyatt]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.