let it rip

the snowball manifesto:

The pulsing digital countdown is remorseless. On the PC menu bar. The projected hanging strip in the shopping mall.

Numerologically, ' 2010' feels infinitely more apocalyptic than '2001', but the best sounds around continue to share a pedigree in the analogue. Served up reheated. Or merely compressed.

A carbon footprint set in stone. Carved on set sometime back in 1968 when that mysterious black obelisk was first publicly unveiled.

Despite the threat of global meltdown, the new millennium was ushered in on the back of nothing more ruinous than a piece of digital frippery from Robbie Williams. Robbie the Robot. Not so much Lost in Space as lost in the cult of meaningless celebrity.

Seven grammes of powdered Timothy Leary were propelled into orbit aboard the Pegasus rocket in 1997, ultimately burning out in 2003 before its intended deeper migration. Two years later, Hunter S. Thompson settled for only a cannon atop Aspen to distribute his remains; a Gonzo salute with two thumbs squarely on the launch button.

Between December 25th and Hogmany, I have found myself forcibly exposed to all three episodes of 'The Matrix Trilogy' on terrestrial tv. For all its ominous flickering code and John Wooesque choreographed ballet, less than a decade after its first chapter's initial release there is far too much digital dicking around to allow it to climb much higher than a Cubby Broccoli fart. As wholly indigistible as 007 fast food, its bilious aftertaste encapsulates the dire balance of CGI to substance inherent in contemporary culture.

I'm sure there must have been some mainstream highlights in "The Noughties'. I just can't think of (m)any.

In fact, it is enough of an indictment of current trends that video gaming has for some time now provided a more engaging and genuinely immersive experience. There is no ghost in the machine. No elusive cyber deity. If we all take our fingers off the keyboard for more than an instant, there remains nothing more 'out there' than a shadowy lingering fingerprint. A decaying hyperlink to some remote RIAA interred archive. DRM protection by Microsoft stooges in Ray-Bans. CIA Spooks.

So. Let it rip. And keep on blurting.

The hard drive is our fragile collective repository: dry goods and soul food.

Produced by Sonia Pottinger.
Recorded at Treasure Isle, Kingston.
Mixed by Errol Brown.

▼ CULTURE: SKILFUL DUB from "Culture In Dub" LP (Sky Note) 1978 (Jamaica)
BONUS DUB:
▼ CULTURE: TWO SEVENS CLASH DUB from "Two Sevens Clash b/w Dub" 45 (Joe Gibbs) 1977 (Jamaica) [VINYL RIP]

power in the darkness

EMI 2715.

From Wiki:
"The band hit the club scene right in the middle of London's punk explosion. Their live shows got favourable reviews, and soon A&R men were
attending many of their gigs. There was one small problem - a song in the band's set called Glad To Be Gay. Even the punk independents shied away from this one. Stiff Records president Jake Riviera went as far as to refer to their music as fucking queer music."

Written by Tom Robinson. Recorded at Wessex Studio, London. Produced By Chris Thomas. Engineered by Bill Price.

Tom Robinson: bass, vocals; Brian 'Dolphin' Taylor: drums, vocals; Danny Kustow: guitar, vocals; Mark Ambler: organ.

Not quite in the same league as Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" - how could it be ? - but a good stab at striking a positive note from a curiously British perspective. I have always liked Tom Robinson; no matter what Jake Riviera allegedly went on record as saying. Fuck him.

Have you ever seen the 1978 Brit film, "Scum" ? The vegetarian Bolshevik in that movie was essentially Tom Robinson in caricature.

I did get pissed, though, when that fervent self-belief and advocacy of justice got hi-jacked by bland, politically correct motherf@ckers in the 1980s; let it be said. Men and women in suits. Regional councils.

Motherf@cking bureaucracy.

I have no interest in dressing up like Winnie Mandela. Halloween is over.

▼ TOM ROBINSON BAND: 2-4-6-8 MOTORWAY from "2-4-6-8 Motorway b/w I Shall Be Released *" 45 (EMI) 1977 (UK)

▼ TOM ROBINSON BAND: POWER IN THE DARKNESS from "Power In The Darkness" LP (EMI) 1978 (UK)

* Originally dedicated to the 'Free George Ince Campaign'

PURCHASE POWER IN THE DARKNESS + BONUS TRACKS