The Bassturd From San Francisco, CA zoom Covers "Stealth Bomber" Member(s) The Bassturd Instruments An army of Yamaha synths Influences (minus Wesley) Devo, Frank Zappa, Dead Kennedys, Ween, The Dead Milkmen, early Peter Gabriel, Johnny Cash, The Flaming Lips, Negativland On "Stealth Bomber" With the current U.S. occupation of Iraq in full swing it seems that everyone has an opinion about what's best for our "national security," or what's best for the people of Iraq, etc... When I was going through my Wesley Willis albums looking for a song to cover, this one stuck out like a sore forehead. Wesley's music never got too political... unless you count his unrelenting support of the American prison system and the C.T.A. When I heard "Stealth Bomber" again it just seemed appropriate for me to make sure that the masses had access to this one as well. It appeared on his second album "Prisonshake." Only 500 copies were pressed and it has been out of print for almost a decade. This track represents that rare side of Wesley that we didn't get to see very often... the political side. On Conceiving the Cover I scrapped my first four ideas before coming up with something I thought suited this track's lyrical might. Wesley's forceful execution of these lyrics makes it quite clear to the listener that he is both angry and excited. I wanted to capture that anger and excitement while putting a very unsettling twist on the musical backdrop...(that's why all of the keyboard parts are slightly out of tune with one another). I also incorporated the sound effects of air raid sirens and explosions from Wesley's original track. I hope the intended irony of this track does not escape anyone. Wesley was not a big fan of murder or genocide and so I don't think he was advocating the destruction of Iraq. As he would have explained it, "It's just a rock song." Wesley Willis in Three Words Daddy of Rock-n-Roll...(assuming rock-n-roll is one word due to the hyphens) On the Web Close Window