guerrilla

Bluntly put, Freedom fighters are supposed to be the "good guys" by the international media because they practice guerilla warfare against a wrongdoing government. Good fighting evil.

Terrorists are those who are "bad" because they practice guerilla warfare against a good or peaceful government. Evil fighting good.

Guerillas are more broad. If the media can't make up its mind over who's good or not, the people in question are branded "Guerillas." They could be good or bad, we're just not sure who to support yet. Nowadays it's sorta overused, like the term "hacker".

Do they all practice guerilla warfare? Certainly? Do innocents die? Sometimes. Are they doing the right thing? That's tricky. They're well-intentioned (who isn't) but do the ends justify the means?

Guerilla is the third album from Welsh indie band, the Super Furry Animals (provided you don't count the B-sides and rarities compilation 'Out Spaced', which features the song with the world record for most swear words in a single: The Man Don't Give A Fuck). It definitely ups the stakes in terms of craziness from its predecessors and confirmed their place as the second most innovative members of the British indie A-list (Radiohead being first, obviously).

The album added a definite techno element to the psychedelic drug-addled rock of its prequels. I remember at the time that I was amazed by how much airplay the main single Northern Lites was getting on Radio 1 and was excited by a possible invasion of quality music into the charts. Sadly my crazy fantasy did not come true and we still have shite like Westlife and Gareth Gates to put up with. This single remains one of my favourites and is central to my first truly drunken story (but this is not the place for such things).

Other highlights include Do or Die, Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home), Fire in My Heart and Chewing Chewing Gum.

On a side note it's kinda funny now this node is already soft linked to Che Guevara the guerrilla, who features in the lyrics to Hermann Loves Pauline (on Radiator). Apparently, Hermann Einstein was an 'asthma sufferer, like Ernesto Guevara'.

Guer*ril"la (?), n. [Sp., lit., a little war, skirmish, dim. of guerra war, fr. OHG. werra discord, strife. See War.]

1.

An irregular mode of carrying on war, by the constant attacks of independent bands, adopted in the north of Spain during the Peninsular war.

2.

One who carries on, or assists in carrying on, irregular warfare; especially, a member of an independent band engaged in predatory excursions in war time.

⇒ The term guerrilla is the diminutive of the Spanish word guerra, war, and means petty war, that is, war carried on by detached parties; generally in the mountains. . . . A guerrilla party means, an irregular band of armed men, carrying on an irregular war, not being able, according to their character as a guerrilla party, to carry on what the law terms a regular war.

F. Lieder.

© Webster 1913.

Guer*ril"la, a.

Pertaining to, or engaged in, warfare carried on irregularly and by independent bands; as, a guerrilla party; guerrilla warfare.

© Webster 1913.