bespoke 8 looking back on the Summer of hate
Editor
David Sowerby
Editorial Assistant Alyson Walsh
Art Director Robert de Niet
Contributors Sarah Bonser Maya Rose Boustany Jon Chapple Laura Hall Daniel Higgins Jennifer Hore Arianne Khan Sophie Moore Tom Sowerby
Editor’s Letter So the credit crunch is finally upon us. Whether it’s waking up at five am to steal milk from the float, styling your hair into pigtails to gain child bus fare or putting your shrapnel in your wallet instead of the charity box, it seems the majority of us are aware of being at least a little more conservative with the way we spend our cash. But what the media needs to now realise is that we are aware of the recession and the only thing more annoying than having no money is being reminded of it every five minutes. We know we’re going to be hard up for a while, we know we have to spend sensibly and we’re all very much aware of the Tesco value scheme. So we’re poor and miserable, that’s decided. And what’s the next logical, healthy step when you’re depressed? As anyone who has gone through a Paul & Linda McCartney-esque break up will tell you, the quickest way to happiness comes with a slight detour
to anger. Whether it’s throwing your ex’s favourite records in the bin, excessive partying or telling their friends that they’re shit in bed; one thing’s for sure, being angry is definitely much more fun than being depressed. In this issue of Bespoke we will be delving into protest music, fashion and fighting, you’ll see through the eyes of a stalker and hear what pisses off broody alt-glamour model Vikki Blows. Yet it’s not all doom and gloom, we’ll be reminiscing about the summer of love, Woodstock and Hendrix, and showing you that there are still ways to have fun for free. But for now let’s just rejoice in the fact that, temporarily at least, it’s completely okay to be a little morose and pissed off. So don’t turn that frown completely upside down… stop half way, open your mouth and grit your teeth. It’s time to hate.
Inside this issue‌ Page 6
Never mind the bankers: here come the protesters Sarah Bonser
Page 8
A riot on my own Jon Chapple
Page 10
Woodstock forty years on Tom Sowerby
Page 12
Design your own slogan t-shirt Arianne Khan
Page 14
I am not a terrorist: please don’t arrest me Sophie Moore
Page 16
A new kind of riot David Sowerby
Page 20-21
The A-Z of Vikki Blows Laura Hall
Page 22
I know where you live Daniel Higgins, Charlotte Arif, Sherene Russell, Sophie Watkins, Eleni Charalambous
Page 34
I’m broke let’s go out Maya Rose Boustany
Page 36
Peter Tatchell: Human rights, global justice, student rebellion Jennifer Hore
Page 38
Top 10 protest songs David Sowerby
never mind the bankers: Here come the protesters Sarah Bonser
Apparently it’s not all fast cars, lavish apartments and Saville Row suits for those in The City, however, bankers bleatings of slashed bonuses, persistence mistaken for greed and unpleasant working environments, fell upon deaf ears as protesters vandalized The Bank of England, ransacked the Royal Bank of Scotland and burnt banker effigies to cheering crowds. Whilst the rest of us face life on the breadline, with long dole queues, hand me down clothes and the possibility of living out of cardboard boxes, they continue to bellyache about being misunderstood victims of the media as they sip vintage wine on their luxury yachts, still in sight of their extravagant holiday homes in the south of France. The sorry tale of the beleaguered banker reached its final chapter on Financial Fools Day with a war upon the gluttonous fat cats. Keypads as weapons, broken windows, bloody skirmishes and an officer knocked unconscious by a flying printer. It was like a scene from Judge Dredd as police helicopters hovered above a group utilizing a stolen office chair as a battering ram to smash their way into an RBS branch, crowds urinating on buildings, whilst a wall of PC plods were pelted with fruit, paint and eggs. Putting aside people running through pink, smoke-bombed air clutching burning eyes from pepper spray retaliations, police helmets being snatched from heads and hurled into oblivion, the less serious and more surreal was the Easter bunny attempting to hop his way through a police line, demonstrators wielding lightsaber toys and the grim reaper leading a procession declaring battle against those
who have left the smaller individuals “with their pants down. ” Ahead of the G20 summit and all the action of impounded armoured personal carriers, and police whacking individuals with truncheons, the life of the banker got a little more edgy when warned by the Metropolitan Police to ditch their conservative threads for more ‘casual’ loafers and chinos – disguising themselves against angry mobs of anti-capitalist protesters. Considering the ‘dressed down’ wardrobe advice reeks of wealth and snobbery, financial workers may as well have ‘I am a banker’ tattooed on their forehead and run through Canary Wharf wearing nothing but £50 notes waving a Briggs umbrella and clutching their bowler hat. Some may have dared attempt more unpretentious attire, even going as far as looking scruffy to blend in with protesters, however, along with this comes the chance of being mistaken for one of the rowdy crowd and incidentally risking arrest. The bolder bankers disregarded the Met, putting on an excellent display of bravado and senseless stupidity, parading themselves in impeccable 3-piece suits complete with shiny shoes and neat ties, dangling from office windows taunting the “peasants” below with rude gestures, pompous remarks and waving £10 notes above their heads. All is well when there’s bricks and mortar to keep an angry clan at bay, however, the suits have to leave the building sometime and when they do... can anyone say, lamb to the slaughter. In the words of the protesting ‘peasants’ “Make love not leverage.”
A riot on my own Jon Chapple
A countdown of some of the biggest, the most violent and the most important acts of civil disobedience in history.
10. Democratic National Convention Riots – 1968 So your brother’s bound and gagged and they’ve chained him to a chair / Won’t you please come to Chicago just to sing – yes, it’s got to be 1968, year zero of the Angry Student. The initially peaceful antiVietnam War protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois by anarchists, hippies, socialists and especially students, turned ugly when members of Chicago’s police force shot dead a student and protestors reacted accordingly. Well-known journalists Mike Wallace and Dan Rather were among those roughed up by riot police. 9. G-20 London Summit Protests – 2009 Late 2008 and early 2009 thus far has seen a reduction, as Harold Wilson
wouldn’t have put it, of the value of the pound in your pocket. So, what’s one to do? SMASH SMASH SMASH! But of course. 8. Jyllands-Posten Mohammed Cartoons Riots in Pakistan – 2007 Publish some badly drawn and not-evenever-so-slightly-or-clever amusing photos of our prophet will ya? 7. Bloody Sunday Riots - 1972 Riots following a tragic incident in which thirteen innocent people in Londonderry, Northern Ireland were shot dead by British peacekeeping troops during a civil rights march. The deaths helped garner support for Irish republican terrorist groups such as the IRA and led to the dark and violent period known as The Troubles. 6. Sunset Strip Curfew Riots (the ‘Hippie riots’) - 1966 A series of protests against the police being able to lock up under-18s in Los Angeles for being out after 10 p.m. Fair enough, no? Especially when you read quotes like this from police officers: ‘It has become the custom to humiliate curfewviolaters with insults and obscene jokes, pull their long hair, brace them against squad cars, and even choke them with billy clubs, before hauling them down to the West Hollywood Sheriffs or Hollywood Police stations where they will be held until their angry parents pick them up.’ Pffft. 5. Springbok Tour Riots in Queensland 1971 Pissed off with the free movement of
a cricket team representing a country whose leaders were denying people basic amenities on the premise that their skin was a different colour, thousands of young Australians took to the streets, and were promptly arrested after a month-long state of emergency was declared by the mayor of Queensland. 4. Boston Tea Party – 1773 Make us pay a tax on our tea like everyone else has to? I don’t think so! 3. The Battle of Cable Street – 1936 A conflict between the (legally, but perhaps not completely ethically) parading British Union of Fascists, protected by the Metropolitan Police, and, well, just about every one else in East London. Jews, socialists, anarchists, Irishmen and commu-
nists vented their frustration at the racist, anti-immigrationist dogma of the fascists by erecting barricades and roadblocks and preventing them from passing through the multicultural areas where said groups lived. 2. Partition riots in India – 1949 Partition our country along ethno-religious lines into two new sovereign states and expect to get away with it? 1. Nika riots - A.D. 532 The deadliest riots in human history, when rioting after a particularly heated chariot race left an estimated 30,000 dead and resulted in around half the city of Constantinople being burned or otherwise destroyed. And you thought Millwall fans were bad.
Woodstock forty years on
Tom sowerby
The Sixties youth generation were one of the first to really stand up and protest over how their country was being run. It was the first time in history that young people were voicing their opinion, with intelligence, strong will and belief, though on the whole they had a far more peaceful approach than the methods we see in modern day protest. The youth of the Sixties tried to promote and share their opinions and ideas through music, poetry and human interaction rather than physical means of violence and anger. Granted though, they were all high.
1969 was a turbulent year for America; the Stonewall riots in New York that fought for gay rights, the first withdrawals from an unnecessary and hugely unpopular anti-communism war in Vietnam and the brutal Charles Manson killings are just a few examples of the dismal state the nation was in. Despite the doom and gloom though, the hippie ideal had not completely died. Woodstock, which was to be the largest western music festival ever held, had taken nine months to prepare and had several different location plans rejected due to mass local community protests. Finally an agreement was reached; Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethnal, New York. The six hundred acre site played host to over 500,000 people across three days in mid August 1969. Thirty two of the best acts around including Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Incredible String Band, Janis Joplin, Canned Heat and The Who played on that iconic weekend. Drugs were openly everywhere, with LSD being the narcotic of choice; at one stage it was even announced on stage between sets to “watch out for the brown acid.” Despite the audience being generalised as half a million young, unemployed freeloaders it really wasn’t the case; there were people from all walks of life who enjoyed the show at a modest $24 for all three days. It was an event that taught older citizens not to be afraid of the new ‘radical’ attitudes of America’s youth. Even more surprisingly some local residents ac-
knowledged that the drugs were probably the main reason behind the lack of crime and violence and praised the audience for their behaviour. The festival wasn’t about ‘sticking it to the man’ like it has often be portrayed; it was about everyone getting along and accepting each other. Even though it has always been thought that Jimi Hendrix’s intense rendition of the all-American pride song ‘Star Spangled Banner’ was the highlight of the festival, the truth is that by the time Jimi took to the stage in the early hours of Monday morning most of the people had passed out or left and the ones awake were in no fit state to remember it. It seems that one of the most iconic moments of the festival was Country Joe and the Fish’s performance of ‘Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die’; an anti-Vietnam song in which the whole audience got involved with the song. Forty years on and there has still never been a festival like it, at least not on such a large scale. It is a truly inspirational moment in history that will never be forgotten, and never be repeated. Although it may not have been a strong enough event to change the world, it did at least change the way most viewed this odd and dangerous counter-culture paving the way for future generations of youths to be accepted, even if not completely understood. Despite the fact that the ‘hippie’ ideals could not be saved (by the 1970’s it was more of an embarrassment than a matter or pride), it sure was one hell of a way to see off the end of an era.
design your own slogan t-shirt Arianne khan
Slogan t-shirts, once used as a way to fashionably - protest against the wrongs of the world. Thirty years on and the ‘80s fashion craze of slogan t-shirts was given a new lease of life in the form of ‘New Rave’. 2007 saw slogan t-shirts thrown back onto the catwalks and into our wardrobes. Now in 2009 they are making yet another comeback, however, this time in the form of design your own, ‘DYO’. With the country, and a vast majority of the rest of the world, in an economical crisis, design your own t-shirts are not only a great way to get your own personal message across but also a great way to budget when times are hard. Whether you decide to put across a political statement, a sentimental message or just something funny, it’s up to you, another reason why DYO should be the next big thing. With the recent protests in London’s banker district, and peoples unrest at the
economical status it looks like ‘punk’ is set to make a big come back. T-shirts may be the way for the peaceful protestors to make their point following the example set by Katherine Hamnett in the ‘80s. Punk first came into culture in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with the shocking Bondage trousers and Safety Pins. Vivienne Westwood was seen as the leading lady of Punk and paved the way for future designers such as Katherine Hamnett. Her shop ‘SEX’ on Kings Road became the place to be if you were young and trendy. Along with Malcom McLarren she dressed the likes of the Sex Pistols that undoubtedly added largely to the popularity of Punk. She created a series of t-shirts that showed shocking images of bare breasts and alike, these t-shirts were the first steps towards the slogan t-shirts seen at a later date. She continued her work in shocking and controversial Punk fashions until Punk became mainstream in 1983 when Vogue ran a feature on it.
T-shirt designs and Photography - Ria Collinson
I am not a terrorist please don’t arrest me sophie moore In September 2005, iconic designer Vivienne Westwood joined forces with one of the largest British civil rights groups, Liberty, who were holding a campaign against anti-terrorism measures that threaten basic human rights and freedoms. T-shirts were designed as a response to the British government’s proposal to allow terrorist suspects to be detained for up to three months without being charged, instead of the present 14 days. There were two designs on the t-shirts: “I am not a terrorist. Please don’t arrest me,” and, “Liberty throw away the key.” The designs were also available on baby grows, enamelled badges and necklaces, and were
all available in Westwood’s shop, Sex. Vivienne Westwood told reporters, “This tshirt is really to ask the British people to use their imagination.” Her designs reflect her commitment to Liberty and justice in a typically Viv inspired bold style giving tradition a radical twist. Only 250 of each design were produced and each t-shirt was sold at £50. All the money that was raised funded the Liberty organisation. A year on from the joining of Liberty, Vivienne Westwood was presented a DBE in the 2006 New Years honours list for ‘services to fashion.’
a new kind of riot David Sowerby Quick As A Flash: Flash Mobbing - A free way to have fun, stir things up and rebel against conformity. Fifty years ago the term ‘flash mob’ could have described snappily attired, gold encrusted, Italian gangsters, as stylish as they were dangerous, when the modern ‘flash mob’ is a following of typically normal, harmless, if anything underdressed people. Normal people with only a craving for disorder, amusement and possibly ‘art’ in common. A large, secretive collective organise and prepare via under-the-radar means of communication, such as text messages and private emails, to all meet in a certain place at a certain time with disruption and mayhem the ultimate goal. Actually the gangsters and modern flash mobbers aren’t all that dissimilar, with both partaking in what would probably be construed by the police as ‘organised
crime’. When gathered the crowds partake in some kind of unusual public activity, whether it’s all bringing iPods and mp3 players to turn a respectable location into an impromptu rave, having a mass pillow or water fight or simply ghost-like silence in a usually hectic region. A flash mob unites sharply and swiftly with their only real defence being the weapon of confusion, until the police arrive and they scatter, occasionally Shameless style, in different directions. The odd OAP comes close to a heart attack and a few businessmen will miss their trains home but the majority of employees and onlookers are left simply baffled and bemused. Some even lose their inhibitions, break mould and join the fun in the greatest law aggravating, power-to-the-people,
loophole hopping phenomenon of the 21st century. In a recent flash mob at London Victoria station, carried out in the peak of commuter traffic, men in suits even joined in, dropping their briefcases to make moves that their children would shudder at the thought of. Recent flash mobs have included mass nudity in Manhattan, a hundred person hokey-cokey in Huddersfield, a storm of zombies embarking on a rampage through San Francisco, spontaneous egg and spoon walking in Prague and six floors of ToysR-Us customers in New York suddenly staring at a life-size model of a dinosaur in New York City. Organisers and believers would insist it is a form of modern performance art, though it seems the majority just go along for the fun and a chance to shake things up a bit
in times where laws and regulations keep us so refined and constrained. Like a flash of lightning, a flash mob will never strike in the same place twice, and is sure to make an unforgettable impact wherever they happen to strike. The Three Golden Rules: 1, Don’t tell everyone you know about it. If a flash mob gets too big then it’s highly likely authorities will get tipped off and everything’s over. If someone has spent three days creating an authentic pirate outfit complete with stuffed parrot and you blow it then they’ll be perfectly in order to knock you round the head with their prosthetic wooden leg. 2, Enjoy it. If you’re going to get embarrassed dancing around in the lobby of a commercial office then you’re going to look
sillier than the crying security guard who didn’t see it coming. 3, For God’s sake be prompt. If you’re even five minutes late then you’re going to look like a twat. A hundred pirates all swaggering around making arrghh noises is pretty funny; one is not. You may as well go around with a ‘free hugs’ sign. Teenage Riot: Guerrilla Gigs – A rebellious, musical phenomenon intent on bringing down the music industry that constrains it There’s something a little too scripted and unsurprising about your average concert experience. The live performance itself can be excellent but the actual experience is typically run-of-the-mill, overpriced and unimaginative. Unless of course it’s Amy Winehouse snorting coke after too much gin and passing out two songs in. But you can see all that in the London Lite instead of forking out a steep, silly ticket price. Generally though, you just know what to expect. Usually you’ll be prepared to see the band, watch the songs, wait for a predictable encore, applaud and go home. It’s like if you were to go to the zoo, you’d probably know you’d see the zebras, giraffes, tigers, lions, sharks, buy a wacky logo t-shirt and head home. (Don’t worry there’s no ‘gorilla gig’ puns coming). But imagine a trip to a zoo that didn’t have cages and on arrival you were thrusted free of charge into a wild, spontaneous, savage setting where anything could happen. Okay, in a zoo without cages you’d probably want to get the hell out of there, or at least be armed with some kind of tranquil-
liser gun, bad example. But it’s this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that helped shape and style the unhinged and totally thrilling world of guerrilla gigging. The first real example of guerrilla gigging is the Beatles’ iconic performance on top of their Abbey Road recording studio. The Liverpudlian pop legends played for hours to astonished passers-by but were eventually moved on by police after noise complaints from presumably classical music-loving residents near by. British bands like The Libertines and The Others continued and revamped this style for modern times by trying to close the gap between band and audience and playing gigs without permission or organisation from the record labels and booking agents. With the invention of the Internet and discussion forums in particular, it became possible for bands to announce impromptu performances with just a few hours notice and still ensure they’d have a huge crowd of obsessive fans. Why stop there though? With no promotion, organising and planning needed a totally new form of entertainment was being formed, one where the listeners and fans were as essential to the performance process as the artist. This style of live music manages to Strip down the barricades of conventional performance and indulges in something both memorable and raucously rock n’ roll. There have been guerrilla gigs performed on the London underground, in the back of lorries, on the upper deck of buses, parks and high streets. Not all have to be this obvious and high aimed, and the same basic principal has happened with artists busking unnoticed
and unadvertised in train stations and street corners. A few years ago Badly Drawn Boy played largely unnoticed all day, playing covers and a few originals at Waterloo Station; not a great example admittedly, the guy does look more homeless than most actual homeless people. More recently though eclectic noise quartet Ponytail played in a laundromat in Brooklyn, the Californian, scuzz-rock duo Will Crum took over a floor of an Ikea during normal business hours and New York experimental scenesters The Eskaltors played in an abandoned tortilla factory. So, a recap: no rules, sound limits or smoking bans, you don’t have to pay to gain admittance, you feel like you’re involved in something special and you don’t have to put up with temperamental Cockney touts yelling ‘buy awr sell’ in your ear for an hour while you queue. Keep your ears to the ground.
The A-z of vikki blows Laura HaLL Pint-sized pin up Vikki Blows is the face of a new breed of glamour model. Forget the St. Tropez perma-tan and the blonde locks which fall to beneath the buttocks; Blows is a metal kid, she dresses like a goth and gets an adrenaline rush from tattoo and piercing parlours. She was thrown out of school in the first of her teenage years and has since knocked about with the naughty ones of Rock ‘n’ Roll, while causing male (and female!) hearts to race wherever she is seen. With a personality too bold to be shrouded beneath the page three stereotype, busty bombshell Blows has given Bespoke an encyclopaedic look at the girl behind glamour girl exterior in this time of dismal disillusionment. BLOWS LOVES... A is for Air drums- they are so much better than air guitar! B is for Burgers- especially from the big M at 4am while I drive from the city back to the suburbs. C is for Curry...cupcakes...curry...cupcakes. D is for Dj-ing, but only when I have full control over my playlist.
E is for Essex, born and bred. F is for Festival season. It’s just about starting and I’m so hyped for Download. G is for Grungers. Baggy jeans, greasy hair, Kurt Cobain, the nineties. Some really great things came out of that decade. H is for Horror movies all the way. I’m a bit of a cinema nerd. I is for ichatting to my friends all over the place. J is for Jewellery. K is for Kings of Leon. Who doesn’t love ‘em? L is for late nights, although I like a good lay in too. M is for My blackberry, I check it all the time. You could say I’m addicted. N is for Night time. I’m a bit of an owl. O is for One way tickets. P is for Picnics in the sunshine. It’s actually the most perfect weather for one at the moment. Q is for Queens of the Stoneage. R is for Roadtrips with friends, mix-cds and coffee. S is for Slipknot. My most favourite band ever. T is for Toast and Marmite.
U is for Underwear. V is for Vivienne... W is for ...Westwood . X is for XYs. It’s a love-hate relationship. Y is for Yellow fruit pastilles. Z is for Zico Chain. BLOW HATES... A is for Alcohol. I’d rather have a Coca Cola B is for Babies screaming their lungs out on long-haul flights C is for Cheese. D is for Drugs. I’d rather have a coffee. E is for Early mornings. F is for Flies on your wind screen and for being too quick to be squatted. G is for Germs, I went through a stage where I’d wash my hands far too much. H is for Hypocrites. I is for Idiots. J is for Jealousy. K is for Kippers, cod, plaice; anything fishy. L is for Losing things. M is for My Fickleness. N is for Nights in when you really wanted to go out! I’ve learnt that spontaneity is the key and if you dwell on things for too long, you’ll normally end up regretting it. O is for orange marmalade. P is for Pigeons and anything that concerns them. Q is for Queuing. Us Brits are great at it, but who really likes to queue? R is for Rainy Monday mornings. S is for Slow Walking People. Get out of the way. T is for Traffic Jams. U is for Usher... he ain’t no Diddy. V is for Vomit. I have a really huge phobia
of it, which really does control my life. W is for Westlife...get a life. X is for XYs. Ditto to Love. Y is for yoghurts with bits in. Z is for Zzzzzzing through your alarm. BAD TIMES. This summer Vikki says to, “Find your rebellious streak, get some Queens of the Stoneage on the airwaves and head to as many festivals as possible for far too much fun. All the shit can be dealt with after the sun has set.”
I know where you live Concept and art direction: Daniel Higgins and Sherene Russell Stylist: Charlotte Arif Photographer: Eleni Charalambous Hair & make-up: Sophie Watkins
I’m broke, Let’s go out Maya rose boustany Why 2009 is the perfect time for music fans to be poor, and underage kids to get into awesome music. Ok so we’re in a recession. Boo hoo. No longer will students be able to open that third overdraft to spend on vinyl that acts as decoration and gig tickets to see some band Vice likes but you, actually, don’t. However, there is something shining through this grey sea of financial unease to put a smile on your creative faces. It isn’t free swimming lessons for old people or Michelle Obama near groping our Queen, it’s the ever changing face of music. I am referring to a new generation of musicians who are creating scenes that aim to include fans regardless of their age, their image, or what they’ve got in their wallets… The beauty of music is that it’s something that can be enjoyed regardless of money and nowadays there are plenty of ways it comes packaged for our entertainment. Downloads, let’s be honest, are becoming more hassle than they’re worth. Band freebies are great, online file transfers are
also pretty useful, but if you are a student who pays via iTunes, you are the first I’ve ever met. However, this new era of ‘postrecession’ bands are more than happy to give their music away. Find a website like skingraftrecords.com or adaadat.com and there is a veritable feast of awesome free music. Plenty of musicians are keen to get their music heard regardless of profits at the moment. Luckily for us this hippie-fied attitude towards making music is becoming trendy with lots of new artists, and we all know musicians are sickeningly keen to jump on bandwagons. Sign up to as many band pages as you can and you’ll be surprised how many free album sampler mp3s get emailed to you. Also keep your ear to the ground for free gigs on fan pages, last.fm, and MySpace. Admittedly though, sitting at home trawling the net all night is not going to cheer you up when you’re broke. Rather than admitting defeat though, a DIY attitude is becoming more popular in both musicians and fans. Cue all the scenes popping up around the country, be it skinny kids playing free hardcore gigs in their living rooms up north or dreadlocked dubsteppers putting on huge underground raves in Bristol and Brighton. They’re free, they’re all inclusive, and they’re not full of rich Londoners who will ironically theme the night ‘cheap’ then wear a £200 dress reminiscent of a black sack. We are pulling ranks in ways comparable only to that of the ration-fed working classes of 1940s Britain. Okay so I’m exaggerating, but there definitely seems to be a visible youth-fuelled shift happening in the current creative scene.
Some Bands Who Want To Share The Love Home The London folk scene is experiencing huge success at the moment with acts such as Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Mystery Jets, and Noah and the Whale. The folk scene is largely DIY themed and they play lots of nice shows where under 18s can attend and the tickets are cheap. Don’t just let your understanding of the S/E music community end here though. Contrary to what many newspapers would have you believe, this is not the most exciting thing happening in music today. Some other bands doing making relevant music in our homeland at the moment are S.C.U.M. and An Experiment On A Bird In The Airpump. They are both bands who are heavily influenced by art and are trying to create a live experience that transcends your average Friday night indie band effort. S.C.U.M played a series of underage
nights, furthering their ethos of allinclusive shows, whilst A.E.O.A.B.I.T.A.P have played numerous free shows around London. Try to catch both whilst you still can for under a fiver. And Away Heartsrevolution are a US two piece (often joined live by a drummer) who promote an ethos of fan involvement in their music. They drive around between shows in an ice cream van which doubles up as a party bus and base for the production of their large range of merchandise. This kind of merger is becoming more popular with young people who are more interested in a creative lifestyle than a creative career. Similarly, The Smell, a downtown LA art space, holds plenty of free all ages shows to promote local music and art. The incentive is not profit, but to allow expressionism and to inspire kids who might
peter tatchell: Human rights global justice, student rebellion
Peter Tatchell is an Australian-born human rights activist, who, back in 1991 attempted to place Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe under citizen’s arrest. Failing to do so, Tatchell and two other associates were arrested, and charged with public order offences. Since this particular, daring display of beliefs and morals, Tatchell has attracted the world’s media, resulting in worldwide knowledge of his work and organisations (like queer rights action group, OutRage!)
Jennifer Hore
“We were attempting to arrest Mugabe under Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. This Act authorises the prosecution in Britain of any person who commits an act of torture anywhere in the
world,” stated Tatchell, “Also under Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, ordinary citizens have the power to arrest a person who has committed a crime. We were seeking to exercise that lawful power when we tried to arrest President Mugabe.” Though the world may only have clocked on to the works of Tatchell back in 1991, his beliefs and confident nature were encouraged from an early age. Aged sixteen and living in Victoria, Australia, where young men were being drafted into the US Army to fight the Vietnamese, Tatchell found himself influenced and organising rebellious political rallies. A few of these saw Tatchell organise a symbolic burning of the US flag in his school yard, and then becoming involved in a protest march to the US Consulate, which resulted in Tatchell being charged and beaten with truncheons, to his initial shock and horror. After establishing his own underground student magazine, influenced by the outbreak of student rebellions and protests in Paris, Tatchell was seen as a threat to his new headmaster, (“a right-wing old fogey,”) demanding to know if Tatchell had any connections with the ‘communists’ who he believed were manipulating young boys, like Tatchell, to overthrow Australian democracy. “We are all part of the same human family, with a duty of care towards each other, no matter what our nationality, race, belief or sexuality. If everyone cared about others, as well as themselves, there would be a lot less injustice, deprivation and suffering in the world. Altruism, compassion and solidarity benefit us all,” states Tatchell on
his jam-packed website. Tatchell continues to work on human rights campaigns, is a co-founder of queer rights group ‘OutRage!’ and is the Green Party’s parliamentary candidate for Oxford East. His passionate work has enabled him to contribute to numerous books and have his own say on current issues in the ‘comment is free’ section of The Guardians website. Regularly updated, the site sees hundreds of readers expressing their views in reply. This evidences Tatchell’s influence and understanding of the nation’s views on current issues and political rights. His continuous contributions to the world’s problems (Tatchell jumped in front of the bus which was carrying the Olympic torch, holding a sign saying ‘Free Tibet, Free Hu Jia’ back in 2008) allow Tatchell to express his passions for the rights of human beings.
10 - Black Flag – Rise Above Perhaps the American equivalent of The Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK, Black Flag’s message is a voice for a generation, not just a nation. The line “we are tired of your abuse, try to stop us it’s no use”, is so venomous and raw, you’ll believe you’re making a difference by just shouting along. It’s the sweatiest, fist-in-the-air salute to punk rock ethics and rebellious living caught on record. 9 - The Zombies – The Butcher’s Tale An unusual yet hauntingly effective protest song, in that it is told through the eyes of a war scorn soldier. The song tells the story of an English butcher who was drafted in the First World War, leaving family and home, only to discover that there was little difference between his profession as a butcher and his duty as a soldier.
is difficult. “No man born with a living soul can be working for the clampdown”, suggests how easily people succumb to lifestyles they never thought possible when caught up climbing the working ladder. The protest is against the fellow man, in a desperate attempt to keep things real and grounded but also against those who made the system what it is. 6 - Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi Possibly the most peaceful way of protesting imaginable, Mitchell poetically describes her sorrow of how we are destroying our natural environments to create space for unnecessary resources and unfounded progress. The lyric “paved paradise to put up a parking lot” captures the sentiment most acutely, you’ll be shedding tears each time you walk past the multi-storey.
8 - Kanye West – Diamonds From Sierra Leone Stylish, political hip-hop bringing to light the destructive side of the bling that drapes so much of the scene in which West rules. The blood diamonds not only exploit child labour and corrupt governments, but lead to extreme civil wars in African nations such as Sierra Leone. Mixed majestically with Shirley Bassey’s classic Bond-hit ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, it creates a two-sided argument, of which Kanye walks out with Bassey in a headlock.
5 - Country Joe & The Fish – I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die The main aim of writing a protest song is to have your words heard, and what better way to have the words heard than write the catchiest, most contagious song imaginable so people can’t help themselves but sing-a-long. Light and satirical whilst entirely cynical and solemn, it’s a truly memorable protest to the war in Vietnam. The line “you can be the first ones on your block to have your boy come home in a box” carries the serious sentiment home.
7 - The Clash – Clampdown Fascists, communists, Nazis and conformists all are hunted down and bitterly fought in this vigorous yet upbeat Clash number, although making one clear interpretation
4 - The Doors – Five To One “They’ve got the guns but we’ve got the numbers”, a line so exhilarating and aweinspiring that it can be used in almost any situation of protest or demonstration. Jim Morrison’s extravagant, power-to-the-
people anthem has everything a song of rebellion should have; hope, belief, darkness, poetry and of course a killer, menacing riff. 3 - NWA – Fuck Tha Police One of the most thought-provoking, inspirational, stirring songs of all time, NWA’s ‘Fuck The Police’ brought to light the extreme racial prejudices and downright brutality, ignorance and intolerance of the American police force and slammed their message into the faces of the world. Although angry and militant the message that runs under the surface is actually to motivate and encourage, through education, self-respect and strength. Not to mention that “Fuck Tha Police” is also really satisfying to say. 2 - Bob Dylan – Masters Of War You couldn’t have a list of protest songs without Bob Dylan gracing it. The definitive protest singer, Dylan manages to put the voice of an entire concerned nation and wrap it delicately into packages of pure heartfelt, powerful, poetic genius. A pacifistic song against war driven with an intense, raw acoustic backing that actually sounds like the soundtrack of men walking to their deaths. Brutal and brilliant, it drives home the sorrow of war deep into the pit of your stomach. 1 - Rage Against The Machine – Sleep Now In The Fire Any RATM song could make this list as every RATM song has that desperate, furious belief and ambition that it’s going to make a difference in a world so politically unstable and corrupt. Let’s just say you’re not going to hear frontman Zach
de la Rocha crooning over a girl out of his league, he’s going to use every minute he can to voice his anti-establishment tirades and sermons on the masses. This song protests against a multitude of different political issues; past and present. The conquest of Native Americans and U.S. slavery in the 1800s, the US government’s bombing of Hiroshima and the Vietnam War and generally America’s greed as a central theme. The song’s video, directed by Michael Moore, even managed to cause a full on revolt in the centre of New York City. The band played outside the New York Stock Exchange and ended up forcing it to close it’s doors in the middle of a trading day. A song that actually created a protest within a protest.
Image: Rage Against The Machine on stage at Reading 2009 in Guantanamo Bay suits and hoods.
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