Your Flag (Is Wack)

Heath Cottengim has created this epic vexillological rap video.  Enjoy. https://youtu.be/kNHMCs5GkS4   Download: soundcloud.com/heathcottengim/your-flag-is-wack Lyrics: genius.com/Heath-cottengim-your-flag-is-wack-lyrics [Hook: Heath Cottengim] Your flag is wack, your flag is wack, your flag is wack Belgium just Germany taking a nap I’d take it all back If you’d just change the flag I be on the attack ‘Cause your flag is… Continue reading Your Flag (Is Wack)

World Order: Imperialism

Japanese band World Order is, in their words, "a group creating a unique genre of performing arts through its original musical and physical expression". (The group's leader, Genki Sudo, has characterized World Order as "a new-world-order-conspiracy-theory parody group".) Of their 2013 single Imperialism -- from their album Have a Nice Day -- they say: The new single… Continue reading World Order: Imperialism

Xavier Rudd & The United Nations: Flag

Xavier Rudd is an Australian singer-songwriter who recently brought together musicians from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and South Africa to form the band United Nations.  Their reggae song Flag leads off their latest album Nanna. The video is built around images of white flags -- the white flag of peace, not surrender.… Continue reading Xavier Rudd & The United Nations: Flag

Helly Luv: Revolution

Kurdish performer Helly Luv (Helan Abdulla) shot the music video for her single Revolution in a village near Erbil, Iraq, during fighting between ISIS and the Kurdish peshmerga.  (During the shoot she fired upon ISIS militants herself.)  The video is an oxymoron:  a pacifist plea to "Stop the Violence" that glorifies the anti-ISIS Kurdish armed forces.  It… Continue reading Helly Luv: Revolution

The Most Vexillologically-Sophisticated DJ?

Thanks to Neil Mussett who enthusiastically pointed us to this flag-loving electronic music DJ:  Bassnectar (aka Lorin Ashton).  His logo is the "Bassdrop": From The Bassdrop Explained: “My dear friend who created the word “bassnectar” helped me create the logo. We searched through books of images and icons, and found something similar to the first original… Continue reading The Most Vexillologically-Sophisticated DJ?

Rihanna: American Oxygen

In Rihanna's latest music video, the Barbadian immigrant uses imagery of the American flag to unpack its meaning in terms of American dreams and nightmares, ultimately declaring "this is the new America / we are the new America".  Jake Flanagin in Quartz calls it "a surprisingly powerful statement on immigration" (surprising given Rihanna's reputation for non-political dance music);… Continue reading Rihanna: American Oxygen