A brilliant song about popularism - Mr. Damage (1979}
Last edited Sun Mar 29, 2026, 07:18 AM - Edit history (4)
David Bowie let loose hard lyrics once in a while in songs like Sweet Thing, Young Americans,and Station into the Station. His hardest takedown a popularism came very early, Signet Committee (1968) where the AI ‘love machines’ programmed to take out the establishment, killed everybody.
The Angels, an Australian band, all but matched Bowie lwith their song Mr. Damage. The message is that popularism is little more than swapping one of authoritarian religion like the Roman Catholic Church for another that promises chaos , revenge, and literal deconstruction.
Changing the lyrics, a little, can anyone doubt “ that yhe marveled one so recently deposed was seen three years later with a new suit of clothes - for the very special day (of victory and revenge) that fits Donald Trump to a T,
From my perspective, it is self evident, Trumpism is just another religion with a particular mission: to the most inflict damage on MAGA s enemies of the moment.
All the faithful follow. A very special day, indeed.
Those who consider themselves dispossessed , could hardly wait to evaporate the swamp with nuclear weapons. Well their motivations and hopes might have been different, but their desire was the same: as much damage, destruction, and deconstruction as possible.
Popularist influencers are as responsible as anyone else whether they have read Satre, Foucault, Mein Kampf or nothing at all.
“Holding frozen hands, as Mr. Damage holds the curse.”
Exactly right.
https://m.
Holding council with the king and queen
Trying hard to decide the fate of their regime
There's only one thing needed to complete the harmonisin'
That's a man with a voice like a scraping violin
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Toothless jaws gumming melancholy stuff
A burst of rapid fire Spanish from a window up above
Students out to pose in their studied disarray
Books of Sartre, Marcuse openly displayed
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Mr. Damage walks through the door of his sacrificial church
Mr. Damage, meet you in the lobby and he'll leave you in the lurch
Mr. Damage stands at the altar, sermon of the search
All the faithful follow
Resident winos stumbling and lurching
Walking cadavers, smiling and searching
Man with the DT's looking at the feeble glossy
Portraits of long-dead, celebrated people
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Trying hard just to keep a candle lit
A leather flyer leaves the subway anxious to admit
That the marvelled one so recently deposed
Was seen three days later in a brand-new suit of clothes
Brand-new suit of clothes for a very special day
A brand-new suit of clothes for a very special day
A brand-new suit of clothes for a very special day
A very special day, a very special day, a very, very, very special day
Mr. Damage holds a curse
Mr. Damage drives a hearse
Don't you know who did it first, Mr. Damage
Holding council with the king and queen
Trying hard to decide the fate of their regime
There's only one thing needed to complete the harmonisin'
That's a man with a voice like a scraping violin
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Mr. Damage walks through the door of his sacrificial church
Mr. Damage, meet you in the lobby and he'll leave you in the lurch
Mr. Damage stands at the altar, sermon of the search
All the faithful follow
Holding frozen hands as Mr
Holding frozen hands as Mr
Holding frozen hands as Mr
Damage holds the curse”