“I dont know where I’m going but (…) here I go again”
Whitesnake
I don’t know what to think of all the G8 stuff. So many people with nothing but vague ideas of why they went to the protests. Is that better than not protesting at all? On the other hand, the most worrying part about the whole event was the demonstration ban. I didn’t expect that they’d get that through.
While writing this I’ve listened to a report about the closing speeches of the G8 summit and it makes me feel just as sick as bored. Nothing achieved but another huge media event. It was mad to scan through the reports in different news over the last couple of days. To be a bit scared about friends who could be harmed. To see the numbers of injured cops shrink from 500 in the news on Saturday to 10 cops that have actually been at hospitals and even they had no serious injuries. To hear about idiots that threw stones that hit their own people. Actually to idiots who threw stones at all. To read about how stuff got taken out of context, like that quote about “we have to carry the war into the G8 summit” which originally wasn’t a call to violence but a call to discuss the war as a subject at the summit. To see how one burning car multiplied itself to imaginary dozens of cars through the frontpages. To see Bono, that epitome of cynism, being celebrated as a “people over profit” saviour. Old news but maybe should be told again now:
“Bono, the rock star and campaigner against Third World debt, is asking the Irish government to contribute more to Africa. At the same time, he’s reducing tax payments that could help fund that aid. After Ireland said it would scrap a break that lets musicians and artists avoid paying taxes on royalties, Bono and his U2 bandmates earlier this year moved their music publishing company to the Netherlands.”
Here’s a link to the article.
One should think he had already made enough money from almost ruining SST Records over that NEGATIVLAND lawsuit back in the 90s.
Do you know the book “Die Berliner Simulation” by Bodo Morshäuser? Here’s a part from it that came to my mind in the last couple of days. Pardon the bad translation, I hope it still makes sense.
“This afternoon I’ve been at a demonstration. What can I say about it? It was the same as it always is. Of course it wasn’t the same as always. In the Bergmann street the howls sounded spookier than in the wide Martin-Luther-street a couple of days before. And the men of the SEK had never been this close. But it was the same model: a single provocation or a single intention are enough for the first assault of the police, and it’s just the attempts to flight that bring the shards and the battle. And then, Sally, I go home and what do I see? I see the model of a tv segment about a model of a demonstration. What’s real, slips over the back, just as always, and mainly things are said that have already been said at other places. That goes on day by day. Not the events but the models of the events are repeated. They dominated what happens. The emitions are set to two possibilities. We are supposed to stay within these models like in a hamster wheel, cause there’s nothing in them that stays real; except for the simulation.” * _ *
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Have I mentioned that we put on a SKULL DEFEKTS show on Sunday 10th of June at the K4?! Sweaty hypnorock. Postpunk with stonerheaviness. Switches on you inner strobe and blows your minds. Seriously, don’t miss it.
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My damn machine is getting slow. Got CPU puffering all over my Fruity Loops so I get lots of stuttering if I use too many wav-samples and effects at the same time. Takes the fun off making music. Makes me want to play in a real band again. It’s too hot to start figuring out how to solve it. So I blog instead.
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Is it okay that the BETH DITTO cover image of the NME makes me feel good? Simply for silly “yay, a cool fat woman” reasons?
And I had already thought I’d always have to stick to DIVINE for my favourite pop icon.
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Another recap: Last week TURBOSTAAT and SINGLE STATE OF MAN played at K4. Pictures of both are up in the photo section of www.evemassacre.org
SSOM were a wonderful surprise as they played an intense and varying kind of emo rock / posthardcore. Although it reminded me of a lot of 90s bands SSOM have an air of freshness about them that moves them beyond epigonism. They are totally nice guys too. They still seem to look for shows for a german tour in August – book them if you can!
After that TURBOSTAAT proved that they “still have it” if you pardon that expression. 😉
They were to play Rock im Park, one of those 60.000 people festivals, on the next day and their next record will be on a major, and stuff like that always makes everybody feel like saying goodbye to a band cause you know you might not meet them in the same context again. Rock im Park didn’t even get them a place to stay so they stayed two nights at massacre mansion. (With PLUS/MINUS that was my personal record: 4 band accomodations in one week.) Well, last Friday TURBOSTAAT played a show that was as good as ever, sweaty and rocking, emotional and fun. My favourite little moment was when I asked Seppo to shout for “Frieda und die Bomben” and he started shouting “Friiieda!” and they started playing it. I love that song. The special thing about Turbostaat is not just that they rock like hell and have lyrics that most of the time hit the perfect point between politics and emotions, and between ‘keep it simple stupid’ and ‘intellectually stimulating’ but also that they spread the impression that you are watching a band that is about more than music. Friendship, ideals, you can’t put a finger on it but they got that special something about them and I really hope they won’t lose it anytime soon.
On Saturday we had our SOPHISTICATED BOOM BOOM against the evil empire of G8. Thanks to everyone who came! Printing deco-robots and masks took ages so I was a bit late when I arrived at the K4 and got a bit hectic but it was worth it, it was a fun night. Mucho thank yous to our dream bar team: Melinda as the imperator (or later Darth Vader), Dominik as Han Solo and Simon as Obi Wan Kenobi, and the other mask invaders – Daniel and Ioakim, it was fun. At the beginning it was a bit weird cause people seemed to be in the mood to get the party going but it took ages till they really started dancing. We played a bit more guitar music than usually but had some nice electronic parts too, and with a slightly different style than the last couple of times. Felt nice. I played that John Cale / LCD SS “Where are your friends tonight” tune twice, once for every missing Sophisticated Boom Boom DJ. Yes, we missed you, Tobi and René!
My personal hit of the night was the Boys Noize remix of “Bom Bom Bom” by the Living Things.
We’ll have a second SOPHISTICATED BOOM BOOM party this month, at the 23rd of June, themed “What would a pirate do?” Fittingly I will give away free coloured mini-cdrs of totally copyrioted EVE MASSACRE mash ups to the first 20 guests. Spring cleansing style, yo.