Markus Apitius,
the remarkable Cologne-based composer/musician/singer, has just released
his latest album, AGE OF STRAW. And what an album it is, packed with twelve
intense, powerful songs about the dark, troubled world we live in.
Apitius has always been a fearless artist, unafraid to take chances, try
new things, defy public opinion. In AGE OF STRAW he goes beyond what he
has done before, attacking the complacencies and hypocrisies of the age.
A case in point is our typical mealy-mouthed response to an evil deed
like a school shooting: “our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims.”
Here is Apitius’s reaction:
“Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers,
that’s all we’re willing to give cause it’s
the cheapest way. We pretend to think and pray,
should I join ISIS or the NRA?”
Apitius goes on from there to attack “The Blah Blah Brothers”
(politicians who don’t have an agenda to sell except racism), Mad
King John (“who thinks himself a hero but then turns into Nero”),
and Little Princes (“your poppa told you to be strong, and momma
says you can do no wrong, but you prefer blind belief causing trouble
and grief, yeah”).
Apitius’
all-out assault on our social ills–-and on our shallow, greedy, power-hungry
leaders–-is a brave and defiant one. He is an artist who speaks truth
to power, in the tradition of Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Frank Zappa.
In short, he is one of Germany’s most daring and courageous musical
talents.