Sir Van Morrison performs on stage at the British Summertime Festival in Hyde Park Featuring: Van Morrison Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jul 2018 Credit: Neil Lupin/WENN
Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison debuted a new song on Thursday titled “They Own the Media,” evoking an age-old antisemitic trope and outraging many fans and critics.
In the track, the 75-year-old rock and folk legend does not reveal who the pronoun refers to, but sings, “They control the narrative / they perpetuate the myth / Keep on telling you lies / telling you ignorance is bliss.” An official audio-only video for “They Own the Media” was posted on YouTube on Thursday, and had over 12,000 views by the following day.
Legendary singer-songwriter Van Morrison released a new song on streaming platforms Thursday whose title espouses a classic antisemitic trope.
The lyrics of the song, “They Own The Media,” never indicate who the pronoun in its title refers to. But Morrison, a two-time Grammy winner, was also accused of antisemitism for the 2005 track “They Sold Me Out,” and throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been trafficking in conspiracy theories that frequently overlap with Jew-hatred.
The album raised eyebrows in March when its song list was revealed, including titles such as “Why Are You On Facebook,” “Big Lie,” and “Stop Bitching, Do Something.” On the website Stereogum, writer Tom Breihan called out “They Own the Media,” saying “it sure seems to be an antisemitic trope.”
Last modified on Thu 6 May 2021 08.36 EDT
Even a man as implacably opposed to lockdown as Van Morrison â who spent 2020 releasing songs rubbishing science as âcrooked factsâ, mocking people for wearing masks and describing the government as âfascist bulliesâ while also invoking the Berlin Wall â might be forced to concede it had its advantages. After all, it gave him the time to write the material for Latest Record Project Volume 1, a 28-song, two-hour-plus opus that allows him to set out his latterday worldview more fully than any previous work.
Van Morrison: Latest Record Project Volume 1 album cover
Morrisonâs longstanding sense of distrust â the result of some dubious contracts he signed in the 1960s â long ago calcified into a