Session | Joe Innes

A few weeks ago we invited Joe Innes round to record, what has turned out to be, a very topical session.

Although not even a London estate agent would describe our studio as spacious, we just about managed to squeeze Joe in along with two members of this ‘Cavalcade’, Amy and Charlie, to play us three songs. Two are fan favourites from his last EP, Brian, I’m a genius too, along with a new one ‘John McClane’. This is what Joe says about the new song:

John McClane is a song from our upcoming album, and it (mostly) isn’t about Die Hard…

I’ve always thought John McClane was an interesting character. At the beginning, he’s feeling all sorry for himself because his estranged wife has chosen to pursue a career in a different city, and is a high flying executive at a fancy company. So, he’s lost his identity as the main breadwinner and provider for his family, and isn’t acclimatising well to a modern world where his traditional masculinity has little value – then, he gets the chance to recapture his alpha maleness by saving his wife, and killing a bunch of bad guys.

This song, I suppose, is about all the men in the world who are crossing their fingers and toes for a chance to play that role, and wrestling with being a traditionally masculine dude in a world where increasingly, that’s not what people care about. A lot of men can see power and their dick-given privilege slipping away. Donald Trump will now be president thanks in part to a lot of white men who know their power and relevance is fading. I certainly read ‘Make America Great Again’ as ‘Make White Men In Charge Again’.

Ok, forget it. It’s just about Die Hard. I really like Die Hard.