A Kiss in t h e sh ape o f a bul l et BY TYSON KINGSLEY
Follow i ng the release of Materi al Control, Glassjaw i s returni ng to an enti rely di fferent m usi cal landscape than they left nearly 15 years ago. At the release of thei r debut album ?everythi ng you ever w anted to k now about si lence?they w ere faced w i th a scene enveloped i n a relatable them e, heartbreak . Along w i th heartbreak com es an atti tude of anger and resentm ent. Thi s i s evi dent i n lyri cs such as ?li ke a bi tch i n heat I hope she k now s?. That i s a clear di splay of aggressi on tow ards a lost sui tor. Today those w ords w ould be m et w i th a m ore di vi ded recepti on than they w ere due to less focus on m asculi ni ty and m any bands tak i ng ti m e to pay attenti on to the w om en i n m usi c. Wi th those old them es no longer bei ng the standard and w i th Glassjaw bei ng back i n the spotli ght, vocali st Daryl Palum bo found i t necessary to com m ent on hi s old lyri cs. Palum bo has gone on to apologi ze greatly for how he addressed hi s ex-gi rlfri end. Stati ng that nobody should be spoken to i n that m anner. Whi ch i s an i m portant step i n m ak i ng m usi c a safer place for w om en as i t i s very m ale dom i nated. Lyri cs stem m i ng from hatred tow ards parti cular w om en m ay m ake li ve show s a harm ful setti ng for fem ale fans. Gi ven that there has been a clear shi ft i n audi ence percepti on, one m ay assum e that thi s w ould be m et w i th open arm s. Palum bo?s request for forgi veness w as rejected by m any long ti m e fans. They have gone on to beli ttle Palum bo for tak i ng these steps tow ards betteri ng hi m self. Thi s m ay be because fans si m ply don?t w ant a beloved w ork to be tai nted. No m atter the case, i t should be noted that along w i th that, they?re choosi ng to fully i gnore the reason for the apology. Seem i ngly sm all acts li ke these are w hat becom e barri ers i n our progressi on tow ards true equali ty i n our scene.
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