Woody Guthrie's one of my favourite musicians of all time: a travelling lefty tunesmith, an inspiration to Bob Dylan, and a slightly shambolic figure.
In his New Year resolutions, he mixes the personal with the political in a very charming fashion. Personal hygiene and working harder take up most of the first 15 resolutions (No. 3: WASH TEETH IF ANY), while beating the Nazis comes in at 27 (HELP WITH WAR - BEAT FASCISM). Other resolutions are more whimsical: 19: DREAM GOOD and 20: KEEP HOPING MACHINE RUNNING.
My resolutions are quite simple: get less fat; be a little more tolerant (where deserved), publish some papers.
Billy divides opinion. Some think he's a honking bore trapped in the 80s, others think he's a deft wordsmith representing the thoughtful side of punk and folk.
I'm on the latter side. He does have a challenging voice (nasal cockney, basically) and he does sing about politics a lot, though not as much as you'd think. He's hugely enthusiastic about other musicians, he's an engaging live performer, he's funny and can occasionally shock you with a gorgeous tune.
I've only got the anthology Must I Paint You A Picture? and his collaboration with Wilco using Woody Guthrie lyrics which didn't yet have tunes - Mermaid Avenue - on digital media - but I'd recommend it, and his album Workers Playtime (I'll forgive him for that missed apostrophe) as ideal introductions to the quirky world of Bragg. Don't Try This At Home is his catchiest album. He's testimony to the idea that all you need to make a difference is a ready wit, a guitar and a pair of Doctor Martens. He's not cool, in that he's not glossy, styled, marketed and airbrushed, but he's definitely someone to admire.
Look out for him too on the triumphant The Imagined Village folk/rock/world albums, which fizz with joy.
Here's Kirsty MacColl singing Bragg's 'A New England' with him - she had a solo hit covering it:
