The songs and music videos of Jason Webb

Just The Bullet

Things have been a bit quiet on the music front for the last 6 years (!) as I've been working on my rock opera project (oh, yes). However, I do occasionally get the urge to express myself in song in ways that don't fit in with that project. "Just the Bullet" is one of those songs.

Just the Bullet started off as just a song, but I decided that it might be a good idea to put some sort of video with it so that I could upload it to YouTube. However, as I worked on putting together a very basic video (bearing in mind that I don't have access to any professional video-making facilities), it started to take on a life of its own and the whole thing ended up being more of a multimedia project than a "music video".

Take a look at the video, listen to the song, and see what you think. The subject matter could be considered controversial and attract some strong comments from all sides, so, after you've watched it, scroll down and read my answers to some (hypothetical) frequently asked questions. If you wish to make a comment on the video then please head over to YouTube and post your comment there rather than sending it to me directly.

Whatever your opinion on the song and the video, positive or negative, if it makes you think at least a little bit, then I've achieved something with it.

A little bit about Just The Bullet

I'm hoping that Just the Bullet will make people think about its subject matter, therefore, it's inevitable that questions will be raised about it. In order to avoid lots of similar comments on YouTube, both positive and negative and possibly descending into an argument, I've attempted to predict some of those questions and post answers here.

My reason for doing this is that if I can clear some of these "walls" out of the way, then it'll leave people more free to think about the subject matter and the true message of the piece.

Is it an anti-war song? - Not exactly. By the time a war starts, it's almost too late to do anything about it. Leaders seem to have a habit of manoeuvring their people into a position where it seems they have no option but to fight. Sure, you can protest about one war, but even before that one's over, you can guarantee that the people in power are already setting events in motion that will lead to the next one. Of course, by the time the public become aware of it, it's too late again, so they're told (once again) that there's no option but to fight.

The song does clearly indicate that war is a bad thing, but it's more of a criticism of the way that leaders drag their people into wars using lies, prejudice, and propaganda.

Is the song criticising the soldiers who go out to fight? - No, it's not criticising the soldiers who go out and fight the wars, but it is asking them to make sure that they know exactly why they're doing it. If the fact that "superiors ordered it" is good enough justification for taking somebody else's life then so be it, but just remember that soldiers on both sides can make that same claim. Are both their superiors right... or are they both wrong?

At the end of the day, you're the one who has to live with the thought of taking another human being's life, so it's important to know the true reason behind it. Leaders can turn round and say something like, "I'm sorry, I thought they had weapons of mass destruction," but that doesn't return the lives that you took based on their "mistake".

Is the song pro/anti [insert political/religious/racial group here]? - No. If you got that message then you've totally missed the point. The video uses images giving certain messages, but it's intended to be an example of how these messages are used as propaganda to manipulate people, rather than endorsing or criticising the messages themselves.

I actually tried as hard as I could to ensure that the words and images didn't indicate a specific nationality, religion, or political preference for the narrator, as I feel that the issues raised apply to anybody, regardless of their alliances.

You mention the Pledge of Allegiance though, so it's clearly a pop at the US. - Not necessarily. You can pledge your allegiance to any organisation, whether it be religious, political, the country you live in, or even the company you work for. There is, in fact, an official Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine Flag, so a mention of a "pledge of allegiance" doesn't have to automatically refer to the US. However, as the saying goes, if the cap fits...

What's with all the early-20th Century propaganda posters? - Unfortunately, most of today's propaganda is delivered via TV, newspapers, and the internet, so there is a lack of "official" propaganda posters nowadays. Luckily (?), it seems that most of the paranoia, prejudice, and scaremongering tactics that were used in those posters from almost a century ago are still being used today, albeit in the form of flash political speeches, "news" stories, and documentary films.

What's the significance of the No-Man's-Land football match reference? - At Christmas 1915, the British and German soldiers in the trenches, overcome by the goodwill of the season, realised that they were not that different from each other and took part in friendly exchanges. Obviously, one of the core principles of war is keeping the opposing sides hating each other, so the leaders banned any friendly interaction and tried to destroy feelings of goodwill by ordering Christmas artillery bombardments.

Basically, it's a good example of how the political objectives of leaders override the personal feelings of their citizens, even when the lives of many of those citizens are at stake.

Yawn... do we really need another anti-war song? - Firstly, as I said above, it's not just an anti-war song, it goes deeper than that. Secondly, taking a look at the World, it would appear that the answer is yes, we do need another anti-war song. Perhaps if we have enough of them, the people in power might start taking notice of them. That might be a bit too much to hope for though.