1979-2016-?

This piece seeks to represent working class experience under neoliberalism initially imposed in the UK by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1979. The cage represents the ‘capturing’ and constricting of the working class as their economic, political and social power has been deliberately dismantled over the last 35 years via what has been described as the 'economics of class war' (1). The piece also references Max Weber’s concept of the working class experiencing industrial capitalism as an ‘iron cage’ (2). Within the cage there are various artefacts that anesthetize and distract the working class to/from their experience. Referencing ‘1984’ (3) these include lottery tickets, sexualised images and alcohol. The wine bottle is from Chile where neoliberalism was first imposed under Pinochet in 1970s. In the top corner of the structure is a CCTV camera representing the preventative surveillance and control exercised by the state upon its citizens.

The title 1979-2016-? implies an uncertainty about where society in now heading.

Bibliography

(1) Harvey, D. (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

(2) Weber, M, The Iron Cage (1985) quoted in Bowman, M. (et al) (2001) Religion, Modernity and Change: Course Introduction, Milton Keynes, The Open University and Cole, N. Understanding Max Weber’s “Iron Cage” and why it’s More relevant Today, http://sociology.about.com/od/Key-Theoretical-Concepts/fl/Understanding-Max-Webers-Iron-Cage.htm

(3) Orwell, G. (1949) 1984, London, Penguin.

'Talk of Violence' by Petrol Girls? Stunning!

Petrol Girls take their name from a group of women in the Paris Commune who-at least mythically- burnt down parts of Paris in the last days of the Commune as it was being overthrown by Versaillais troops in 1871(1). I saw the modern day Petrol Girls at The Owl Sanctuary in Norwich earlier this year and they were absolutely stunning-a set of full on melodic post-hardcore punk with intelligent, angry lyrics challenging sexism, structures of violence and injustice. This is a band fuelled by feminist convictions, left politics, compassion and righteous anger with an integrity backing up their words. The two original members, Ren Aldridge and Liepa Kuraitė, have been joined by Joe King on guitar and Zock on drums and have had a couple of previous physical releases; the 3 track Petrol Girls and another 3 new tracks on Something Else released earlier this year.

I ‘ve seen the band a couple more times and they seem to keep getting better so I was interested to see if they had managed to transfer the intensity and energy of ‘live’ on to album...and glad to say they have!

Of the 10 tracks on Talk of Violence only one has been previously released physically so basically you’ve got an album of new material, though fans will recognise some of the tracks from gigs. And that seems like a good place to start! What have they done to ‘Touch Me Again’! They’ve turned a good song into something amazing! Complete ferocious anger at the experience of sexual harassment and assault that women have to endure in a misogynistic culture that apparently has infected even the punk scene. The repeated line “Touch me again and I will fucking kill you” is delivered with all the indignation and anger it deserves. This track has gone up another level in recording.

The album kicks off with the sounds of a protest and the declaration “We want to stop the false peace” (‘False Peace’), it’s here that reviewing without access to lyrics became problematic but I can report that both ‘Clay’ and ‘Fang’ keep up the energy level, with ‘Fang’ living up to my hopes after hearing it live.

Another track fans will recognise is ‘Treading Water’ which has been online as a taster for a few months, it seems to confront the violence of Fortress Europe and its response to refugees ( a situation that Europe seems to frame as it’s own crisis rather than that of the refugees!) before going on to list various forms of insidious and structural violences that are often ignored or justified.

‘Phallocentric’ critiques men’s preoccupations with themselves and their dicks in both public and private life, “Erect shaft-like monuments for your wars’...’Phallocentric we're not done when you are, Phallocentric I'm bored of your art, I want to play not perform a routine, I want pleasure not just here to please”.

Over the 10 tracks Petrol Girls are focussed, intelligent and intent on highlighting inequality, oppression and injustice wherever and however they are expressed- if you’re offended by this band you might want to have a think why.

All in all ‘Talk of Violence’ actually exceeds my expectations in so much as it does the Petrol Girls I know from gigs complete justice. Live they are ferocious, articulate, angry and confrontational- somehow they’ve managed to translate that into this album. Faultless.


Bibliography.
(1) Petroleuses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9troleuses

Essentialism II

We all live with gendered expectations; the characteristics ascribed to, and expected of, a person on the basis of their biological sex (which is itself interpreted- in Europe via a 2 sex model).
This piece expresses some of the most common gendered ascriptions to, and demands of, women made by our society on the basis of a body interpreted as female.
I decided to include 'sexy' after hearing a business women talk about how a woman was expected to bring 'sexiness to the table'.
The fact that the model is hollow can be interpreted as an implied critique of essentialism.

Bread and Circuses.

The phrase 'Bread and Circuses' was first used in ancient Rome by Juvenal to describe the preoccupations of a Roman citizenry who, though once politically active, had now become  politically uninvolved, bought off with cheap grain and entertainment (1).
This piece points to two contemporary equivalents of 'Bread and Circuses' which both placate and distract people enabling the elite to carry on unchallenged. To quote Mark McGowan football is a "distraction from the realities of being a slave" (2).
(With a bigger TV this piece could be more effective!)   


(1) 'Bread and Circuses', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
(2) 'Mark McGowan (performance artist)', https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_McGowan_(performance_artist)
 

Introjection/Projection.

One aspect of Introjection and Projection is the belief that our social interactions and experiences leave psychic traces and residues in our internal life/unconscious. These psychic traces colour and constantly reconstruct the psychic screen that we view the world around us through and thus affect our subsequent interpretations and experiences of that world. This process is ongoing- our internal life modified by our experience of the social; our experience of the external coloured by the residue of our social experiences (1).

This piece attempts to give expression to the above, when it is exhibited there will be an accompanying paint set so that the public can add to the colours building up on the visor thus giving physical expression to the affects of their social interactions.


(1) Redman, P. and Whitehouse-Hart, J. (2008) 'I just wanted her out': the psycho-social and media texts, in Redman, P. (2008) 'Attachments. Sociology and Social Worlds', Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York.
  

IDestroy/Interview.

Courtesy of IDestroy.

IDestroy are a Bristol based punk/garage rock 3 piece comprised of Bec Jevons, Becky Baldwin and Jenn Haneef. Formed in early 2015 they cite influences as wide ranging as Sleater Kinney, Gossip,  X-Ray Spex and Iggy and the Stooges. In February this year they released their debut EP ‘Vanity Loves Me’ to positive reviews, mosh.hitthe floor.com commenting ‘this is a true punk EP’ (1); thegirlsare.com described it as ‘raw and powerful’ (2) while Punktastic described the title track as a ‘short, sharp slab of garage-rock glory’ (3). After coming across them via Facebook and checking out their highly impressive EP I contacted them for an interview and, between gigs on their current tour, lead singer Bec Jevons kindly obliged.

Q: Could you give us an overview of IDestroy? How did you meet? When did you start?

We are Bec, Becky and Jenn, three-piece rock ‘n’ roll band. We met whilst studying in Bristol and formed the band about a year and a half ago. Since then we have been playing shows all over the UK and into Spain. We put out our first release ‘Vanity Loves Me’ (EP) in February this year.

Q: What had you been doing before? Had you been in other bands?

Yes, we’ve all been playing in various other bands since we were in school, I currently also play with The Blue Aeroplanes and Becky plays with Triaxis and Dorja. We’re the kind of people who love playing and collaborating with new people.

Q: Was there anything specific that made you decide to form a band together? Similar ideas musically?

I’d been writing a bunch of songs that I specifically had in mind to play with a three piece, powerful and energetic line up. I knew Becky and Jenn would be the ideal people to ask for the job, luckily they were up for it!

Q: Who would you list as influences-would you identify with Riot Grrrl?

I love riot grrrl! Sleater Kinney in particular have been a big influence of mine, along with The Gossip. We’ve each got a big list of different influences though. But for me Nirvana, Bowie, The Thermals, Jack White etc etc

Q: How did you decide on the name?

One of the first songs I wrote to be played in the band was a track called I Destroy. We were really excited about this song and we felt it summed up the direction of the band, so we decided to make it one word and name the band after it.

Q: Did you have a fairly clear idea of the sound you were aiming for from the start or has it been more of an evolution?

Yes, I had a pretty good idea when we were forming the band what I wanted it to sound like. It has come together in a really natural way, particularly our live show.

Q: You released the 4 track 'Vanity Loves Me' EP earlier this year. Could you talk us through the tracks, what sort of subject matter were you exploring?

The subject matter ranges from feeling the need to destroy everything, to enjoying getting drunk with your friends… so I think there are a lot of relatable themes in the lyrics! The theme of the whole EP is an observation of human feelings and behaviours.

Q: Are you happy that it 'captures' where IDestroy are now? Often musicians feel their releases document where they were!

We’re really happy with how it’s been received, we’ve sold far more than we imagined and it’s had great reviews. I think it’s a good introduction to what we’re all about. We’re currently focusing on the next release, it’s important for us to develop on the sound though and put out even better tracks.

Q: How does the creative process work in IDestroy? Is there one main songwriter or is it very collaborative?

I usually start with getting some lyric ideas down and then I’ll write the song around them. I’ll get a rough demo recorded with all the riffs, chords and vocal melodies to a basic beat. We’ll then all go into a rehearsal room and work more parts of the arrangement and getting a solid structure down.

Q: What sources do you draw on in lyric writing? Personal experiences, books, films?

All of the above! You can find ideas and inspiration from literally anywhere if you really put your mind to it.

Q: Often female musicians have to put up with sexist attitudes and comments from men with essentialist viewpoints. What's your experience been like so far?

Luckily, I think we have avoided sexism at most of our shows. This is possibly because we often play with other female and mixed gendered bands, so most audiences and other bands on the bill are good to us. When we are the only female band on the line up we get comments made about us which just reflects people’s assumptions about female musicians. Sometimes we are approached after our set by people who seem so surprised that we are good at what we do. Sound engineers don’t expect us to play ‘properly’ or to know about our own gear… And people often think that someone else is booking for us and managing us when we've always done it ourselves. We can’t complain about this too much, because sometimes we enjoy proving people wrong!

Q: What are your plans for the rest of 2016 and into 2017 -are you going to be out playing live, do you have any plans for further releases?

We are currently on tour, playing dates all across the UK. In between the shows we will be recording the next release ready to put out early next year.

Q: What bands and writers have you been enjoying lately?

I’m currently checking out Jamie T’s new album, which is sounding pretty good so far. Slotface, Martyrials and a band we met in Spain called The Strangers all get shout outs for featuring on my current playlist!

Thanks to Bec and IDestroy. You can check them out on Facebook and Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/idestroy

Bibliography.

(1) Young, J. (2016) ‘IDestroy – Vanity Loves Me EP Review’.

http://mosh.hitthefloor.com/reviews/idestroy-vanity-loves-ep-review/

(2) Carter,E. (2016) ‘Introducing IDestroy’. http://www.thegirlsare.com/2016/07/11/introducing-idestroy/

(2) ‘IDestroy Premiere New Video’ (2016) http://www.punktastic.com/radar/idestroy-premiere-new-video/

https://musiceyz.co.uk/2016/03/03/vanity-loves-me-by-idestroy-ep-review/

Algorithms.

A trailer for Adam Curtis' recent film 'HyperNormalisation' (1) commented that corporate monitoring of online activity is now so prevalent and algorithms so powerful that our internet experience resembles gazing into a mirror. The internet reflects back to us our interests and is tailored to us according to our online history so that, in affect, we inhabit a cyber reproduction of our self.