”Working Class Voodoo” was written as a response to a TV show I watched a while ago. The gist of the program was to discuss adventures people should engage in before they die. This was a program that was attempting to provide a recipe for ultimate happiness. At some point, roughly half an hour into the show, I realized that quite a few of the must-dos laid out were rather expensive, which made me smile a bit. I came to the conclusion that it seemed only wealthy people can afford happiness. This obviously ruled out the working classes altogether. I started laughing. To be fair, this wasn’t the message the show meant to portray but rather, my interpretation of it.
A few days after watching the program, I was at a store lining up to the cashier, while two construction workers behind me were conversing about how easy life would be if they were millionaires. One of them said he would build a house for his wife, making her happy finally; the other stated he would write and self-publish a book about the construction business – people would no doubt be lining up to get a copy. I couldn’t help wondering if there’d ever be a book. People who love writing usually write regardless of their financial status or lack of time. In addition, I also feel that no wife’s happiness is solely dependent on her husband’s standard of living.
All this made me think of a phrase my grandfather used to describe the dissatisfaction of the working classes and their tendency (or anybody’s for that matter) to phlegmatically complain about their shortcomings and society in general. As far as my grandfather was concerned, actions spoke louder than words. His attitude was that if you wanted to change something, you needed to complain less and do more. Hence he called the above sort of emancipation, “working class voodoo.”
The logic behind this phrase he had conjured up was that unlike real voodoo, working-class voodoo included no voodoo priests, black dolls or needles. Rather, it usually consisted of a group of angry and disappointed men, who used words as their needles and aimed these verbal daggers at people they felt were the undisputed sources of their misery. This list of cursed individuals usually consisted of their bosses, wives, politicians and other pillars of society.
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I agree with my grandfather’s analogy. For starters, I don’t really believe in stereotypes. In addition, I’m of the opinion that what he said about the working classes is true for the entire mankind, regardless of their social standing. That’s what people do: they complain. Be that as it may, I always did find the phrase “working class voodoo” very cool – a great little title for a rock song. So, finally, nearly 35 years after I’d heard the phrase for the first time, I finally turned it into a song, a song that in this case pretty much wrote itself. The words and the melody came to me in just one sitting. To add some punch to the lyrics, I took quite a few ideas from the TV show I had watched – visiting Louvre was just one of the steps to contentment.
The other two songs on the EP, “What Is Love?” and “Daytime Suffering” continue and elaborate on the idea “Working Class Voodoo” presents. While the protagonist of the title track is “in love with being blue” (thus insinuating that there’s actually a great comfort in complaining about life when surrounded by a group of likeminded individuals), the other two songs remind the listener that regardless of what my grandfather said about the all-mightiness of change, there’s no shame in failing to turn your life upside down every time you are disappointed in the cards life deals you.
In addition, people’s realities are complex. The protagonist in “What is Love?” is stuck at home with his kids, while his wife is busy building a career for herself, neglecting the family…at least from his perspective. He describes himself as “disappointed Frankenstein,” yet this type of situation is obviously difficult on both parties. “Daytime Suffering” is about a couple whose dreams have not come true. It’s a dialogue, or rather, a monologue, the male protagonist trying to console his wife to no avail. She’s depressed and unresponsive. As his last resort he tries praying only to realize that “God’s been way too busy lately” to return his messages. All this while Paul McCartney’s Wings play on the husband’s mind!
As always, my wife Elina wrote the instrumental bits that begin the songs, took the promo shots and scripted, filmed as well as directed the music video. While we were doing all this, my in-laws looked after the smallest kids, while my eldest son played with the wee bit older ones. He also cooked for us and kept the house tidy! So it’d be fair to say that making this EP was very much a family affair. I hope you enjoy it. I had many fun moments putting all of this together, the most embarrassing of which was when I was spotted by a few of my kids’ friends’ parents in that ridiculous weatherman gear you see in the music video. They looked at me very peculiarly as my wife and I greeted them with a smile and disappeared into the nearby forest with a camcorder and a tripod. The things one does for music videos!
Oh and before anybody points it out, I do lie in the lyrics, I definitely have been to Louvre and I totally lined up to see Mona Lisa smile.
Tom Tikka who started writing songs since the age of six has undergone numerous ups and downs through his career graph before he finally established his name with The Impersonators. Even after his previous teammate, Carmen Gray was disbanded in 2013; the musician did not lose hope rather worked steadily while believing in his passion. His current venture has contributed positively towards his success as he has gifted the industry with some of the finest and most impressive rock tracks of all time including ‘Working Class Voodoo’.