Hero worship is written into music's DNA. There hasn't been a composer, singer or musician who didn't start by emulating someone; eventually, the talented transcend their influences, develop their own style, and become an inspiration to others. Songs dealing with hero-worship essentially take three forms: there are heartfelt encomiums to individual idols, more cynical assessments of what it is to be a hero or to worship someone, and knotty combinations of the two.
We'll start in cynical mode, with the sardonic Stranglers. Do they regret that so few people exhibit the idiosyncrasy and dedication to a cause that might make them worthy of worship? Perhaps - but their gleeful description of Leon Trotsky's violent death makes you wonder why anyone would court such attention. Scott Walker is trenchantly sceptical: his retired soldier may have medals, but they are a hollow compensation for disability and ostracism, and a mother's grief.
The trouble with masculine heroes is that they present such a skewed, violent vision of the world. Mr Nichols, suggests Saul Williams, has never learned to appreciate life: awestruck by his father and later by his employer, he has made money his god and capitalism his religion, and threatens suicide when failed by all four. Tom Robinson is more light-hearted in his description of the dangers of idolatry: singing in a comedy London accent, his narrator reveals that he would do anything for his brother Martin, even go to jail. Kanye West demonstrates more self-awareness in his thoughtful tribute to his brother-in-spirit, Jay-Z, exploring the complications of their fan-idol relationship, which grows trickier as the two become peers.
West made a typical mistake: he ignored the common lore that one should never meet one's heroes. As Heavenly Nobodies instructs, their real-life fallibilities will always fall short of the fantasy image fans cherish. Jill Sobule goes further, arguing that heroes should remain biographically mysterious, lest we discover that they were malicious, opportunistic or plain "drunk and depressed". She's so mordant she makes the Stranglers sound naive for believing there have ever been heroes.
All this cynicism needs an antidote, so let's end with some cheering eulogies. There's a delightful innocence to the Drive-By Truckers' celebration of a childhood infatuation with actor Steve McQueen: it may have caused the narrator to lose his driver's licence aged 16, but at least no one was harmed. Not a single critical note besmirches Carlos Puebla's lavish ode to Che Guevara, written as the hero of the revolution left Cuba to disseminate his guerilla methods elsewhere.
Saxophonist Benny Golson's tribute to his friend, the trumpeter Clifford Brown, is similarly ardent, particularly as performed by Lee Morgan, who had been taught as a teenager by Brown. Listening to it, you'd gladly believe that hero worship is no bad thing.
This week's playlist
1 No More Heroes The Stranglers
2 Hero of the War Scott Walker
3 Mr Nichols Coldcut featuring Saul Williams
4 Martin Tom Robinson Band
5 Big Brother Kanye West
6 Heavenly Nobodies Lush
7 Heroes Jill Sobule
8 Steve McQueen Drive-By Truckers
9 Hasta Siempre Comandante Che Guevara Carlos Puebla
10 I Remember Clifford Lee Morgan
Next week: Historical events
