music
Hong Kong: Where anarchists and blackbirds sing about freedom
Brief report on anarchist elements in the Hong Kong activist scene ca. 2009, focusing on Lenny Guo of the band Blackbird, veteran of the 70s Collective.
Also deals with HK independent media, the Social Movement Resource Centre, and the 2005 WTO protests. By Norman Nawrocki of Rhythm Activism. Published in Fifth Estate #381 (2009). Posted here with permission. Photos in [url=http://libcom.org/files/Nawrocki:%20HK%20anarchist%20scene%20(2009).pdf]PDF[/url].
Acid comment: the moral panic about acid house parties - The Red Menace
Article looking at the media hysteria surrounding the Acid House music subculture of the late 1980s.
In the last couple of months the ‘acid house’ scene has eclipsed even "lager louts" and football hooligans as the media’s favourite Threat to Civilisation As We Know It. From all the talk about "Crazed Acid House Mobs" and "Drugged Disco Parties", it would seem that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are about to descend on humanity dressed in bandanas and Smiley tee-shirts.
Muzak to my ears - canned music and class struggle
Public space and muzak as policing.
Muzak to my ears
"If you want more Mozart in your life, start loitering."
The End Of Music As We Know It
Brief leaflet from the 1980s.
"There isn't much difference between rock 'n' roll and teaching, mind you. It's the same job. You're entertaining delinquents for an hour."
- Sting, ex-teacher.
When The Police disguise themselves as pleasurable, and are accepted as such, then the State's overt cops in blue or in the classroom can retreat into the background.
Class struggle and hip-hop: interview with Comrade Malone, 2009
Hip-hop has seen artists with social and political awareness. Rarely, however, has there been hip-hop fused with unashamedly class struggle, libertarian politics. 22-year-old Comrade Malone attempts to buck that trend with his album The Spontaneous Revolt LP.
Ed Goddard from libcom.org caught up with him to talk about life and politics in music.
Tell us a bit about your life growing up and how you got into politics.
Reservoir of poses - Gregor Jamroski
This article first appeared in the late 1980’s in an obscure, apparently one-off, magazine called Hopeless Tasks which emerged from Seattle, USA. It’s a neatly stated situationist-influenced critique of pop culture recuperation, bands as entertainment commodities and the weaknesses of punk ‘radicality’.
Source; endangeredphoenix.com
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Section one
I
Top ten music videos of 2008
Libcom's pick of the best music videos of 2008.
Justice - DVNO
French electro duo Justice's video by Ed Banger label-mate So-Me pays homage to 80s graphic design and TV. Watch out for the Murder She Wrote bit!
Top ten tracks of 2008
Libcom's pick of the best music of 2008.
Empire of the Sun - walking on a dream (Van She Tech remix)
Aussie collaborative effort Empire of the Sun gets the rework treatment from compatriots Van She. The outcome is sublime:
http://www.savefile.com/files/1806124
MGMT - Kids
From their outstanding debut album, Oracular Spectacular.
Robot Rock and Japanimation
There've been some good political blogs recently. I should save my political writing energy for the articles I'm supposed to do, so I thought I'd post cultural things here. I've been watching animated music videos on youtube today, so I might as well share those...
To start off, Kap10Kurt - Danger Seekers, 2008:
The 3rd World, by Immortal Technique and DJ Green Lantern (Viper Records 2008)
The new release from Immortal Technique, hip-hop’s most implacable class warrior, thoroughly links local and global struggles. Tom Jennings nods his head enthusiastically
Globalising Ghettocentricity. Music review – Tom Jennings
