Personally I am a little jaded by Michael Jackson flashmobs, but this example from Chile in June 2011 takes it to another level of political protest with around 3000 students, many dressed up as zombies, dancing to Thriller by the Presidential palace in Santiago.
The dance off was part of the ongoing student movement about the funding of education, with zombies wearing signs saying 'died in debt'.
Showing posts with label 2010s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010s. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Occupy London Second Thoughts
Since last Saturday's start of Occupy London Stock Exchange (Occupy LSX), I've been back a couple of times to the camp. The tent town by St Paul's Cathedral is now settled in complete with food, information and legal tents, portaloos and a library. There's a Uni tent with lectures and discussions, I gather my old comrade Massimo de Angelis spoke on Wednesday.
The best thing about it is probably its messthetics. Don't get me wrong, it seems very tidy, but its very existence messes up the sterile homogeneity of this part of London. You rarely see much in the way of street life other than tourists and people rushing to and from work, so it was interesting yesterday seeing all the little encounters and conversations and encoun going on around the camp with protesters and passers-by. Good too to see the walls plastered with all kinds of posters and messages.
I've included quite a few images of the posters because they give a flavour of some of the different positions of people in the occupation (click on images to enlarge to read some of the posters in more detail) - anarchist, marxist, liberal, new agey etc.
In a way, the fact that people are sleeping in the streets here represents a reclaiming of the City as a living space. The financial area of London is now largely empty of residents - it is a place to work, not to live. But until the nineteenth century it was the heart of London, filled with people of all kinds living in close proximity. The population of the City reduced from around 130,000 in 1800 to only 10,000 today, while the rest of London has expanded and become home to millions.
The camp is actually on Church land, and today the Church authorities issued a statement saying that they were having to close the cathedral for health and safety reasons because of the protest. It seems inevitable that this will be used as a pretext to seek the eviction of the camp, and the 'health and safety' has to be taken with a pinch of salt. The tents are not blocking the entrances to the church and people have been freely entering the Cathedral all week. Indeed even this afternoon, after the Church had issued its statement about closure, a service was held there for school children - so presumably it was safe enough for them.
The outcome probably reflects political tensions within the Church - on the one hand there is some support from radical Christians for the protest (and some are active within it). On the other hand, St Paul's is at the establishment end of the Church spectrum, with its 'corporate partners' including JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank and the London Stock Exchange.
The assembly today (pictured above) vowed to continue the occupation. In a sense what is being played out repeats the medieval history of this part of London. From the 12th to the 14th century St Paul's enclosed surrounding streets with a wall and annexed them for the Church, and the citizens demanded the right to continue to assemble on the land.
According to the historian John Stowe: 'King Edward II. in the 10th of his Reign [1294], granted that the said Churchyard should be inclosed with a Wall, where it wanted, for the Murthers and Robberies that were there committed. But the Citizens then claimed the East Part of the Churchyard, to be the Place of Assembly to their Folk-motes; and that the great Steeple, there situate, was to that Use, their common Bell; which being there rung, all the Inhabitants of the City might hear, an come together. They also claimed the West Side, that they might there assemble themselves together, with the Lord of Baynards Castle, for view of their Armour, in defence of the City' (A Survey of London, 1603).
Glad to say that this week there was no sign of some of the dubious anti-semitic currents I detected at the weekend (see Occupy London: first thoughts), indeed there was singing and dancing there this week for the Jewish Simchat Torah celebrations.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Occupy London: first thoughts
The various Occupy actions around the world at the weekend have varied in scale, intensity and political mood. Rioting and huge crowds in Rome, a big demonstration in Madrid, and an extension of the Occupy Wall Street movement into the heart of New York, with a demonstration in Times Square.
Anti-austerity protests based on the occupation of public spaces in the heart of the city have been building for months (Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, Syntagma square in Athens, not to menton Tahrir Square in Cairo and Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv). This weekend can be seen as a conscious internationalisation and that counts for something when a major trend in relation to the crisis of the global economy is a resurgence of populist nationalism.
The London action was smaller than New York, Spain or Italy, but respectable in terms of numbers - I would say there were a couple of thousand but difficult to be sure, as the crowd was split up by the police cordon. Unsuprizingly, police lines prevented entrance to Paternoster Square, home of the London Stock Exchange, but the crowd did manage to occupy the steps of St Pauls Cathedral. There were some surreal scenes such as people dressed up for weddings in the church making their way through the crowd, and tourists variously frustrated and entertained. I heard one American woman complaining about the protests say that she had come here to help our economy but she wouldn't be coming back!
Compared to previous actions in the City, Occupy the London Stock Exchange felt a bit lacking in energy/intensity. But then again while Stop the City in the 80s and J18 in the 90s aimed to cause havoc for a day and then disperse, the Occupy movement is in for a longer haul, with many people staying there all weekend (and we shall see how much longer). So maybe some conservation of energy was in order.
There was a mix of people there, good, bad and ugly according to your taste. It would be very easy to listen to a few of the latter and dismiss the whole movement out of hand, as for instance Ian Bone does ('One Thousand Cultists Kettled at St Pauls'). But I would say that it is currently too diverse, fluid and open to give up on - there's plenty of room for discussion and development.
And there's certainly plenty to argue about... The adulation of some for Julian Assange, who turned up on Saturday, certainly made me feel uncomfortable, as the guy seems to have a bit of a messiah-complex combined with some incoherent politics (leaving aside the rape accusation - he hasn't been tried yet after all).
A movement without visible leaders is not one that has necessarily solved the problem of leadership, i.e. how to create direction and momentum without giving rise to a self-serving elite (whether elected or self-appointed). Without consciously tackling this issue, the lack of leaders can just mean that the 'leader's chair' still exists even if it remains empty, just waiting to be filled by the first plausible demagogue/celebrity that comes along .
Likewise a movement that disdains politics is not a movement without political assumptions. There is a fundamental shared feeling of 'enough is enough', of the refusal of austerity, and the search for an alternative to a life subject to the fluctuations of the economy. That's all good, but then what?
There are some odd alternative economy models around in the occupations, notions of capitalism without finance capital (the 'real economy'), of monetary reform, of a resource-based economy that is beyond capitalism and communism (this is the line of the new-agey Zeitgeist Movement who had a banner on steps of St Pauls). It is not just that some of these ideas seem to have very little understanding of what capitalism actually is and misrepresent it as a conspiracy by a few rich bankers rather than a global mode of production and exchange. It's far worse than that, because some of these ideas have very murky antecedents and indeed dubious present-day associations.
A lot of 'monetary reform' notions just read like recycled 'Social Credit' ideas, as developed before the Second World War by CH Douglas. As Derek Wall pointed out in his article Social Credit: The Ecosocialism of Fools (Capitalism Nature Socialism, September 2003), Douglas was not only an extreme right wing racist, but his monetery ideas are saturated with an anti-semitic world view. Likewise, the Zeitgeist Movement basically rehash the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, simply subsituting the word 'bankers' for 'jews' (see Zeitgeist Exposed at the Third Estate).
At the Bristol occupation at the weekend this racist conspiracy theory view of capitalism was openly articulated by someobody telling the occupation that 'Zionists want a new world order'. What was disgraceful about this episode was that people dutifully repeated this poison and cheered him rather than kicking the guy out. And that whoever was responsible for 'Occupy Bristol update' on youtube thought this was uncontroversial enough to give the guy a platform.
The 'human microphone' thing in the occupations is in danger of becoming an absurd fetish. In Wall Street people repeated the phrases of speakers to make sure that people further back could hear speeches when a microphone was banned. In most cases where there is no ban it would be surely be better - and very simple - just to set up a PA or use a megaphone, like people have been for years. By the looks of the Bristol occupation, there was no need for anything as the crowd seemed small enough for everybody to hear. It did look like a religious 'call and response' exercise, and involved people in the bad faith exericse of speaking nonsense which on reflection I would hope many would prefer not to utter.
I know that there are plenty of good sound people camping out at St Pauls now, and I think it is very important to get involved and challenge reactionary ideas. To just walk away holding our noses could allow some of these dangerous ideas to get a foothold in the very high profile occupation movement.
Oh yes and this poster on Saturday really got on my tits: 'Go to work, follow fashion, watch TV, spend money, look happy, act normal, repeat after me. I am free'. Patronising activist superiority complex nonsense, looking down on the 'duped' proles. People who work, follow fashion and watch TV (I am guilty on all three counts, your honour) know when we get out of bed every morning that we are not really free, and we know when we have to spend money we haven't got what the economy is all about in a visceral way. And until we move, the 'movement' against capitalism is going nowhere.
See also: Occupy London Second Thoughts
Anti-austerity protests based on the occupation of public spaces in the heart of the city have been building for months (Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, Syntagma square in Athens, not to menton Tahrir Square in Cairo and Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv). This weekend can be seen as a conscious internationalisation and that counts for something when a major trend in relation to the crisis of the global economy is a resurgence of populist nationalism.
The London action was smaller than New York, Spain or Italy, but respectable in terms of numbers - I would say there were a couple of thousand but difficult to be sure, as the crowd was split up by the police cordon. Unsuprizingly, police lines prevented entrance to Paternoster Square, home of the London Stock Exchange, but the crowd did manage to occupy the steps of St Pauls Cathedral. There were some surreal scenes such as people dressed up for weddings in the church making their way through the crowd, and tourists variously frustrated and entertained. I heard one American woman complaining about the protests say that she had come here to help our economy but she wouldn't be coming back!
Compared to previous actions in the City, Occupy the London Stock Exchange felt a bit lacking in energy/intensity. But then again while Stop the City in the 80s and J18 in the 90s aimed to cause havoc for a day and then disperse, the Occupy movement is in for a longer haul, with many people staying there all weekend (and we shall see how much longer). So maybe some conservation of energy was in order.
There was a mix of people there, good, bad and ugly according to your taste. It would be very easy to listen to a few of the latter and dismiss the whole movement out of hand, as for instance Ian Bone does ('One Thousand Cultists Kettled at St Pauls'). But I would say that it is currently too diverse, fluid and open to give up on - there's plenty of room for discussion and development.
And there's certainly plenty to argue about... The adulation of some for Julian Assange, who turned up on Saturday, certainly made me feel uncomfortable, as the guy seems to have a bit of a messiah-complex combined with some incoherent politics (leaving aside the rape accusation - he hasn't been tried yet after all).
A movement without visible leaders is not one that has necessarily solved the problem of leadership, i.e. how to create direction and momentum without giving rise to a self-serving elite (whether elected or self-appointed). Without consciously tackling this issue, the lack of leaders can just mean that the 'leader's chair' still exists even if it remains empty, just waiting to be filled by the first plausible demagogue/celebrity that comes along .
Likewise a movement that disdains politics is not a movement without political assumptions. There is a fundamental shared feeling of 'enough is enough', of the refusal of austerity, and the search for an alternative to a life subject to the fluctuations of the economy. That's all good, but then what?
There are some odd alternative economy models around in the occupations, notions of capitalism without finance capital (the 'real economy'), of monetary reform, of a resource-based economy that is beyond capitalism and communism (this is the line of the new-agey Zeitgeist Movement who had a banner on steps of St Pauls). It is not just that some of these ideas seem to have very little understanding of what capitalism actually is and misrepresent it as a conspiracy by a few rich bankers rather than a global mode of production and exchange. It's far worse than that, because some of these ideas have very murky antecedents and indeed dubious present-day associations.
A lot of 'monetary reform' notions just read like recycled 'Social Credit' ideas, as developed before the Second World War by CH Douglas. As Derek Wall pointed out in his article Social Credit: The Ecosocialism of Fools (Capitalism Nature Socialism, September 2003), Douglas was not only an extreme right wing racist, but his monetery ideas are saturated with an anti-semitic world view. Likewise, the Zeitgeist Movement basically rehash the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, simply subsituting the word 'bankers' for 'jews' (see Zeitgeist Exposed at the Third Estate).
At the Bristol occupation at the weekend this racist conspiracy theory view of capitalism was openly articulated by someobody telling the occupation that 'Zionists want a new world order'. What was disgraceful about this episode was that people dutifully repeated this poison and cheered him rather than kicking the guy out. And that whoever was responsible for 'Occupy Bristol update' on youtube thought this was uncontroversial enough to give the guy a platform.
The 'human microphone' thing in the occupations is in danger of becoming an absurd fetish. In Wall Street people repeated the phrases of speakers to make sure that people further back could hear speeches when a microphone was banned. In most cases where there is no ban it would be surely be better - and very simple - just to set up a PA or use a megaphone, like people have been for years. By the looks of the Bristol occupation, there was no need for anything as the crowd seemed small enough for everybody to hear. It did look like a religious 'call and response' exercise, and involved people in the bad faith exericse of speaking nonsense which on reflection I would hope many would prefer not to utter.
I know that there are plenty of good sound people camping out at St Pauls now, and I think it is very important to get involved and challenge reactionary ideas. To just walk away holding our noses could allow some of these dangerous ideas to get a foothold in the very high profile occupation movement.
Oh yes and this poster on Saturday really got on my tits: 'Go to work, follow fashion, watch TV, spend money, look happy, act normal, repeat after me. I am free'. Patronising activist superiority complex nonsense, looking down on the 'duped' proles. People who work, follow fashion and watch TV (I am guilty on all three counts, your honour) know when we get out of bed every morning that we are not really free, and we know when we have to spend money we haven't got what the economy is all about in a visceral way. And until we move, the 'movement' against capitalism is going nowhere.
See also: Occupy London Second Thoughts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Riot comms: from chalk, to CB radio to blackberry
The state and media's targeting of social media following last week's riots in England started out as an absurdity, with twitter, facebook and blackberry messaging variously blamed for the ability of rioters to seemingly outwit the police. Now it has begun to take a tragic turn with the jailing for four years of two young men for posting up facebook events for riots that never even happened. They were prosecuted under sections 44 and 46 of the Serious Crime Act for 'intentionally encouraging another to assist the commission of an indictable offence'.
Doubtless people did use their smartphones and their laptops to keep track with what was going on, arrange to meet up and spread information both true and false. But of course as many people have pointed out, riots have been happening for hundreds of years without the aid of these devices as insurgents have always found ways to communicate with each other. In the past , riotous demonstrations were sometimes publicised by chalked messages - see example from Deptford in 1932 .
Thirty years ago there was a suggetion that Citizen's Band (CB) radio was being used by rioters. In the aftermath of the rioting in Moss Side, Manchester in July 1981 Chief Constable James Anderton blamed the events on a conspiracy: 'It was well-coordinated. We believe a kind of military strategy was used with look-outs, people taking up observations, and vehicles being used by spotters. We also know that CB radio was used to pass messages'(Times July 10 1981).
CB radio enabled personal two way communication between users years before the mobile phone. By 1981 at least 300,000 people were believed to be using it in the UK, but it was illegal to do so amidst claims that it could interfere with emergency services communications (Times 27 February 1981). To demonstrate how law abiding they were, some CB users campaigning for legaliszation offered to help Manchester police by jamming rioters' messages (Times 11 July 1981), though their offer was rejected. Later that year, the Government did allow some FM frequencies to be dedicated to CB users, effecitively legalising it - though it remained illegal on AM.
In real terms, CB radio was marginal in the 1981 riots but its advent did signal that the state's monopoly on this kind of communication was coming to an end. The police still do have a tactical advantage in communications, particularly through its network of CCTV, helicopter and satellite imagery. But the means of mass communication are no longer solely in its control. We can expect to see a concerted attempt to reverse this in coming months, with arguments being made to close down communications in 'emergency' situations.
This will have implications for people trying to organise parties and all kinds of social events, not just demonstrations and riots. Last week a 20 year old from Essex was charged with "encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offence" under the 2007 Serious Crime Act. His alleged crime was publicising a mass water fight on Blackberry and Facebook.
Doubtless people did use their smartphones and their laptops to keep track with what was going on, arrange to meet up and spread information both true and false. But of course as many people have pointed out, riots have been happening for hundreds of years without the aid of these devices as insurgents have always found ways to communicate with each other. In the past , riotous demonstrations were sometimes publicised by chalked messages - see example from Deptford in 1932 .
Thirty years ago there was a suggetion that Citizen's Band (CB) radio was being used by rioters. In the aftermath of the rioting in Moss Side, Manchester in July 1981 Chief Constable James Anderton blamed the events on a conspiracy: 'It was well-coordinated. We believe a kind of military strategy was used with look-outs, people taking up observations, and vehicles being used by spotters. We also know that CB radio was used to pass messages'(Times July 10 1981).
CB radio enabled personal two way communication between users years before the mobile phone. By 1981 at least 300,000 people were believed to be using it in the UK, but it was illegal to do so amidst claims that it could interfere with emergency services communications (Times 27 February 1981). To demonstrate how law abiding they were, some CB users campaigning for legaliszation offered to help Manchester police by jamming rioters' messages (Times 11 July 1981), though their offer was rejected. Later that year, the Government did allow some FM frequencies to be dedicated to CB users, effecitively legalising it - though it remained illegal on AM.
In real terms, CB radio was marginal in the 1981 riots but its advent did signal that the state's monopoly on this kind of communication was coming to an end. The police still do have a tactical advantage in communications, particularly through its network of CCTV, helicopter and satellite imagery. But the means of mass communication are no longer solely in its control. We can expect to see a concerted attempt to reverse this in coming months, with arguments being made to close down communications in 'emergency' situations.
This will have implications for people trying to organise parties and all kinds of social events, not just demonstrations and riots. Last week a 20 year old from Essex was charged with "encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offence" under the 2007 Serious Crime Act. His alleged crime was publicising a mass water fight on Blackberry and Facebook.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Riots in The Sun, 1981 and 2011
Two front covers from The Sun thirty years apart. The first from 1981 during riots, an image of police behind riot shields in Liverpool 8 and the headlne 'To think this is England' (note also bottom of the page 'Fury in the Ghetto'):
The second from last week's riots declaring 'England is Sick' (note bottom of the page 'Anarchy in the UK'):
The similarities are obvious, a pervading sense of a post-colonial melancholia (Gilroy), dreaming of some imagined homogenous England free of social conflict that never existed. The choice of England as the frame of reference rather than the UK was particularly significant in 1981 since elsewhere in the disunited Kingdom - in the north of Ireland - scenes of rioting and urban violence had been commonplace for more than 10 years. The implicit assumption was that the 'heartland' should be kept untainted while its forces unleashed water cannons, CS gas, plastic bullets and indeed live ammunition in Derry and Belfast.
If the imagined English rose garden is an acardia, any disruption must be borne by foreign bodies. There is a direct line from Margaret Thatcher's infamous 1978 comments about being 'swamped by an alien culture' to royalist historian David Starkey's complaint this week about the riots being partially the result of white youths 'becoming black'. Inevitably, others have specifically pointed the finger at black music, with Paul Routledge in the Daily Mirror blaming 'the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music, which glorifies violence and loathing of authority (especially the police but including parents), exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs'.
But there have been changes. The woman on the front page of the Sun in 2011 is a Polish migrant rescued from a burning building in Croydon. England is more diverse than ever, and the dream/nightmare of an all-white Anglo-Saxon nation has receded into the past. Even the fascists like the BNP have stopped publically talking about forced repatriation and have opted instead for positioning themselves as a pressure group for white ethnicity - a begrudging acceptance, whether they admit it or not, of multicultural reality. Darcus Howe saw the 1981 riots as one factor leading to an 'ease of presence' for black people. Well it hasn't always been easy, but up until the 1970s, a significant proportion of white people believed that it was both desirable and possible to 'send 'em all back'. That England is thankfully dead, however much racism continues to exist in various forms.
Still the Polish woman leaping from her flat, the Asian families mourning those killed in Birmingham, the black women at my work complaining about the unruly youth, also pose a problem for any future 'left' or 'radical' movement. The problem is not so much how to overcome cultural barriers but the difference between the rage of those who feel they have nothing to lose, and other working class people who feel - and sometimes are - threatened by this anger. A working class consituency of all ethnicities that can be mobilised by papers like The Sun behind calls for more police and harsher sentences. A New England where overt official racism is marginalised, but marginalised young people - and especially young black people - have a tougher time than ever.
(best thing on musical aspects of the riots so far is Dan Hancox's article in The Guardian, Rap responds to the riots: 'They have to take us seriously')
The second from last week's riots declaring 'England is Sick' (note bottom of the page 'Anarchy in the UK'):
The similarities are obvious, a pervading sense of a post-colonial melancholia (Gilroy), dreaming of some imagined homogenous England free of social conflict that never existed. The choice of England as the frame of reference rather than the UK was particularly significant in 1981 since elsewhere in the disunited Kingdom - in the north of Ireland - scenes of rioting and urban violence had been commonplace for more than 10 years. The implicit assumption was that the 'heartland' should be kept untainted while its forces unleashed water cannons, CS gas, plastic bullets and indeed live ammunition in Derry and Belfast.
If the imagined English rose garden is an acardia, any disruption must be borne by foreign bodies. There is a direct line from Margaret Thatcher's infamous 1978 comments about being 'swamped by an alien culture' to royalist historian David Starkey's complaint this week about the riots being partially the result of white youths 'becoming black'. Inevitably, others have specifically pointed the finger at black music, with Paul Routledge in the Daily Mirror blaming 'the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music, which glorifies violence and loathing of authority (especially the police but including parents), exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs'.
But there have been changes. The woman on the front page of the Sun in 2011 is a Polish migrant rescued from a burning building in Croydon. England is more diverse than ever, and the dream/nightmare of an all-white Anglo-Saxon nation has receded into the past. Even the fascists like the BNP have stopped publically talking about forced repatriation and have opted instead for positioning themselves as a pressure group for white ethnicity - a begrudging acceptance, whether they admit it or not, of multicultural reality. Darcus Howe saw the 1981 riots as one factor leading to an 'ease of presence' for black people. Well it hasn't always been easy, but up until the 1970s, a significant proportion of white people believed that it was both desirable and possible to 'send 'em all back'. That England is thankfully dead, however much racism continues to exist in various forms.
Still the Polish woman leaping from her flat, the Asian families mourning those killed in Birmingham, the black women at my work complaining about the unruly youth, also pose a problem for any future 'left' or 'radical' movement. The problem is not so much how to overcome cultural barriers but the difference between the rage of those who feel they have nothing to lose, and other working class people who feel - and sometimes are - threatened by this anger. A working class consituency of all ethnicities that can be mobilised by papers like The Sun behind calls for more police and harsher sentences. A New England where overt official racism is marginalised, but marginalised young people - and especially young black people - have a tougher time than ever.
(best thing on musical aspects of the riots so far is Dan Hancox's article in The Guardian, Rap responds to the riots: 'They have to take us seriously')
Friday, July 22, 2011
New Cross Street Art
Took this last week in Laurie Grove, New Cross (that's South London for you out of town people). Just around the corner from Goldsmiths College with its many art students, so you'd hope for some decent street art. This example isn't graffiti as such, it's actually done on paper and pasted on to the wall.
Naked man is saying 'cos the 20th century people took it all away from me', plus a Zizek reference with part of his anatomy labelled 'Big Other'.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tolpuddle singer deported to Australia
The punitive UK immigration controls against musicians have been highlighted here before. A particularly poignant example this week, with an Australian singer prevented from singing at the Tolpuddle festival - which commemorates the deportation of workers to Australia for forming a union in the 1830s. Came across this at Bristol National Union of Journalists site:
'In a bizarre homage to governments gone by, the UK Borders Agency has deported an Australian trades unionist back to the colonies. Her crime? Singing.
If you’re heading to Tolpuddle next weekend for the annual union festival – a great mix of political debate, foot-tapping music and beer – spare a thought for Maureen Lum from Tasmania. The Australian trade unionist was due to take part in the annual rally to commemorate the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were deported for forming a trade union – but has herself been deported.
Maureen arrived in the UK last Sunday for a long planned holiday and was due to sing with the Grassroots community choir at the festival in Dorset. However, immigration officials at Stanstead Airport deported her for not having a performers’ visa, despite the fact that she was not being paid to come or for her performance. The deportation has led some commentators to question whether grandmother trade unionists are more unwelcome than terrorists.
The Tasmanian Grassroots Union Choir is a group of music lovers dedicated to ensuring that workers’ songs, old and new, are being sung and heard in Tasmania. They were due to perform a special series of songs about one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, George Loveless, who was exiled to Van Diemen’s Land, as Tasmania was then called.
Nigel Costley, South West TUC Regional Secretary, said: “You would have thought that after 170 years things might have moved on. The Tolpuddle Festival is more than a rally for trade union members; it is a celebration of working people’s culture. We were delighted when the Grassroots Union Choir agreed to come and perform. The petty and vindictive attitude of immigration officials might mean there is one less voice in the choir but the thousands of people attending the festival will sing out strongly in her place.”
Just to remind you what the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival is all about, in 1834 six Dorset farm workers were arrested and sentenced to seven years’ transportation for organising a trade union. Massive protests swept across the country and thousands of people marched through London; many more organised petitions and protest meetings to demand their freedom. Eventually they returned home in triumph. The festival takes places each July when thousands of people come to small Dorset village to celebrate trade unionism and to remember the sacrifice made by the six farm workers.
It’s a popular mix of political discussion and speeches, great music and the traditional procession of banners, wreath laying and Methodist service. This year’s Festival takes place from July 15-17 and the camping places have already sold out. For more information see: http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/'
'In a bizarre homage to governments gone by, the UK Borders Agency has deported an Australian trades unionist back to the colonies. Her crime? Singing.
If you’re heading to Tolpuddle next weekend for the annual union festival – a great mix of political debate, foot-tapping music and beer – spare a thought for Maureen Lum from Tasmania. The Australian trade unionist was due to take part in the annual rally to commemorate the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were deported for forming a trade union – but has herself been deported.
Maureen arrived in the UK last Sunday for a long planned holiday and was due to sing with the Grassroots community choir at the festival in Dorset. However, immigration officials at Stanstead Airport deported her for not having a performers’ visa, despite the fact that she was not being paid to come or for her performance. The deportation has led some commentators to question whether grandmother trade unionists are more unwelcome than terrorists.
The Tasmanian Grassroots Union Choir is a group of music lovers dedicated to ensuring that workers’ songs, old and new, are being sung and heard in Tasmania. They were due to perform a special series of songs about one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, George Loveless, who was exiled to Van Diemen’s Land, as Tasmania was then called.
Nigel Costley, South West TUC Regional Secretary, said: “You would have thought that after 170 years things might have moved on. The Tolpuddle Festival is more than a rally for trade union members; it is a celebration of working people’s culture. We were delighted when the Grassroots Union Choir agreed to come and perform. The petty and vindictive attitude of immigration officials might mean there is one less voice in the choir but the thousands of people attending the festival will sing out strongly in her place.”
Just to remind you what the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival is all about, in 1834 six Dorset farm workers were arrested and sentenced to seven years’ transportation for organising a trade union. Massive protests swept across the country and thousands of people marched through London; many more organised petitions and protest meetings to demand their freedom. Eventually they returned home in triumph. The festival takes places each July when thousands of people come to small Dorset village to celebrate trade unionism and to remember the sacrifice made by the six farm workers.
It’s a popular mix of political discussion and speeches, great music and the traditional procession of banners, wreath laying and Methodist service. This year’s Festival takes place from July 15-17 and the camping places have already sold out. For more information see: http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/'
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Swamp 81
All this talk of the short hot summer of 1981 has naturally got me thinking about continuities and discontinuities between then and now. One aspect is the way that images and tropes from that period get recycled, of which a positive example is Loefah's Swamp 81 record label. Over the last couple of years Swamp 81 has put out some great London bass tracks by, among others, The Bug, Pinch, Kryptic Minds, Addison Groove and Skream.
Calling the label Swamp81 is nice way of subtly situating this dubstep and after sound (don't make me use the term post-........) in a trajectory reaching back to reggae sound systems, and in a history of resistance sonic and otherwise. For as you probably already know, Operation Swamp 81 was the name of the notorious police operation in Brixton that sparked the uprising there in April 1981 - an operation in which 943 people were stopped by police in the streets of Brixton over a six day period.
(Drumz of the South reports on Swamp 81 in Paris)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Dancing Questionnaire 22: Jamie Potter
Jamie Potter (http://twitter.com/jamiepotter) gives us the low down on 21st century nights out in Hull, Leicester and Leeds.
1. Can you remember your first experience of dancing?
I have a strange relationship with dancing. I bought my first decks when I was 15 but I was about the only person in my school/town who had any interest in dance music so parties and club visits were non-existent. When I first started going out drinking there were small dancefloors in some of the bars with cheesy DJs playing horrible cheesy music. I was generally reluctant to dance as I was scared of looking like an idiot, though if I saw an attractive girl on the dancefloor I was occasionally tempted into some awkward shuffling that barely registered as 'dancing'.
My first 'proper' dancing experience will have been at either Spiders or Welly in Hull, I can't remember which. Both are rock/indie clubs catering to very young crowds. As I said, I was mainly into dance music but I also liked a lot of rock music and most of my friends were into it, so it was a scene I felt comfortable in. Some and friends and I, while in sixth form, got a train over one night and I remember actually dancing to the likes of Rage Against the Machine and At The Drive In.
2. What’s the most interesting/significant thing that has happened to you while out dancing?
At Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem in 2008 somebody died after taking drugs in one of the tents we'd been dancing in at the time. I think they had a heart attack. We weren't aware of it until a few hours later when word got around the campsite, at which point we were all chilling out by our tents. I wasn't taking drugs that weekend, I don't really like or need them, but everybody I was there with was on something or other, so the news hit home a bit and led to some glum faces. Though, of course, a few hours later normal service had been resumed.
3. You. Dancing. The best of times…
Getting lost in the music, there's only the here and now, the world doesn't exist beyond the four walls (or railway tunnel...) and the range of the speakers. Tapping into the groove of the music that transcends individual tracks, like a pulse, with this record pulling you to this side and the next record tugging you in the opposite direction. Warmth, sweat, skin on skin, jostling and bumping. Timeless.
4. You. Dancing. The worst of times…
Listening to the DJ play the same record he did last week and the week before that and the crowd responding like it's the first time they've ever heard Living On A Prayer and you neck bottles of artificially flavoured alcohol packed with sugar because the other option is being alone in your room mixing together some minimal techno and you hope for a beautiful girl to come and rescue you, but it doesn't happen. In the morning you vow to give up on these crap nights but the other option is being alone in your room mixing together some minimal techno...
5. Can you give a quick tour of the different dancing scenes/times/places you’ve frequented?
As previously mentioned my first dancing experiences were among the rock and indie clubs in Hull when I was 17 or 18. The party scene in my home town was pretty non-existent with house parties an excuse to drink rather than dance. I remember DJing at a friend's house party, my only house 'gig' back then, and I was essentially playing background music.
Things changed when I started university and I began going to my first 'proper' nightclubs. These were often to see drum and bass/hip hop/breakbeat nights, usually in small, sweaty venues like the old Po Na Na or Charlotte in Leicester. Such gigs were nearly always dominated by white males, despite the cultural mix of Leicester. The large number of music technology students also contributed to the crowds at these gigs.
At the same time, I was also going to the cheesy student nights with my wider circle of friends, who tended to be fairly disinterested in dance music, especially the house and techno I love. These nights were always bigger, drink fuelled and soundtracked by chart hits and classic cheese like the Baywatch theme. There would be an even mix of girls and guys in what I could only really term a cattle market - people on the prowl for members of the opposite sex. I couldn't stand these nights out and only went along because my social life would be non-existent otherwise and I tended to depend on copious amounts of drink to get me through them.
Further in to my uni life I started working at some cool bars in Leicester, often finishing in the early hours of the morning and hitting one of a couple of late night bars until 7 or 8 in the morning. Both were fairly small places, frequented by bar staff with a nice community feel. One, the Basement, played funk, ska and soul and was a refreshing change to all the crap elsewhere. The other, Esko, started as a members only space and soon grew into a hot, underground club pulling in some of the finest drum and bass and dubstep DJs.
Working a bar every weekend often meant I missed a lot of the big gigs elsewhere. In my final year at university I started DJing out a bit more getting a set at a tiny bar in Leicester called The Hub which had a great DIY feel and regular bunch of customers. House parties, again, were danceless affairs despite asking for my services as a DJ. Around this time I started falling out with the scene. Drugs were integral and it was very cliquey. If you weren't quaffing MDMA it was hard to integrate and I found most of the people boring. I'm personally very political and found the lack of politics, the rape jokes, materialism, sexism and so on really uncomfortable. Similarly, the clubs and gigs seemed to be dominated by faddish music (tropical etc.) and were all about getting off your tits, dropping tune after tune, which I like in moderation, but I was yearning for more nuanced music and sets from techno DJs and the like.
Since then and finishing university I've been floating around following jobs or postgrad degrees and haven't really settled down yet. Subsequently the dancing has had a hit too, being few and far between.
6. When and where did you last dance?
Aside from a shuffling my hips while mixing in my bedroom, it was unfortunately a while ago now, at the Brudenell in Leeds for Jeremiah Jae, Tokimonsta, Teebs and Daedelus.
I went along with a friend who usually listens to folk, indie and punk/riot grrl so it was an eye opening experience for her and it was nice to be the one who drew her out of her comfort zone, to share some new music and experiences with her. I distinctly remember she asked during the warm-up set, while we were sat drinking, how on earth you dance to such music. But as soon as Jeremiah Jae took to the decks and the crowd swelled she just started dancing without any kind of prompt or 'education', it just came naturally. Great night!
7. You’re on your death bed. What piece of music would make your leap up for one final dance?
That's a tricky one to answer. I have many favourite pieces of music for dancing to, but with something like techno, which is some of the music I listen to and mix the most, they're not records that I'd immediately jump up and dance to. Rather, I find with a lot of techno and other electronic music that the urge to dance follows on from all the music that has come previously in the set. There has to be a groove, so to speak. So I may hear a track that I absolutely love, but if I haven't been 'warmed up', if I'm not in that dancing trance, then I might not feel that immediate urge. Saying that, I remember walking past a tent at a festival and hearing Vitalic's performing Pony live and I just left my friends and ran into the tent.
To get back to the question though, there is music that does make me jump right up and that's usually hip-hop/funk kind of stuff. So, death bed track? That would probably have to be Hip Hop by Dead Prez. Soon as I hear that bassline, my mood perks up.
All questionnaires welcome, just answer the same questions - or even make up a few of your own - and send to transpontine@btinternet.com (see previous questionnaires).
1. Can you remember your first experience of dancing?
I have a strange relationship with dancing. I bought my first decks when I was 15 but I was about the only person in my school/town who had any interest in dance music so parties and club visits were non-existent. When I first started going out drinking there were small dancefloors in some of the bars with cheesy DJs playing horrible cheesy music. I was generally reluctant to dance as I was scared of looking like an idiot, though if I saw an attractive girl on the dancefloor I was occasionally tempted into some awkward shuffling that barely registered as 'dancing'.
My first 'proper' dancing experience will have been at either Spiders or Welly in Hull, I can't remember which. Both are rock/indie clubs catering to very young crowds. As I said, I was mainly into dance music but I also liked a lot of rock music and most of my friends were into it, so it was a scene I felt comfortable in. Some and friends and I, while in sixth form, got a train over one night and I remember actually dancing to the likes of Rage Against the Machine and At The Drive In.
2. What’s the most interesting/significant thing that has happened to you while out dancing?
At Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem in 2008 somebody died after taking drugs in one of the tents we'd been dancing in at the time. I think they had a heart attack. We weren't aware of it until a few hours later when word got around the campsite, at which point we were all chilling out by our tents. I wasn't taking drugs that weekend, I don't really like or need them, but everybody I was there with was on something or other, so the news hit home a bit and led to some glum faces. Though, of course, a few hours later normal service had been resumed.
3. You. Dancing. The best of times…
Getting lost in the music, there's only the here and now, the world doesn't exist beyond the four walls (or railway tunnel...) and the range of the speakers. Tapping into the groove of the music that transcends individual tracks, like a pulse, with this record pulling you to this side and the next record tugging you in the opposite direction. Warmth, sweat, skin on skin, jostling and bumping. Timeless.
4. You. Dancing. The worst of times…
Listening to the DJ play the same record he did last week and the week before that and the crowd responding like it's the first time they've ever heard Living On A Prayer and you neck bottles of artificially flavoured alcohol packed with sugar because the other option is being alone in your room mixing together some minimal techno and you hope for a beautiful girl to come and rescue you, but it doesn't happen. In the morning you vow to give up on these crap nights but the other option is being alone in your room mixing together some minimal techno...
5. Can you give a quick tour of the different dancing scenes/times/places you’ve frequented?
As previously mentioned my first dancing experiences were among the rock and indie clubs in Hull when I was 17 or 18. The party scene in my home town was pretty non-existent with house parties an excuse to drink rather than dance. I remember DJing at a friend's house party, my only house 'gig' back then, and I was essentially playing background music.
Things changed when I started university and I began going to my first 'proper' nightclubs. These were often to see drum and bass/hip hop/breakbeat nights, usually in small, sweaty venues like the old Po Na Na or Charlotte in Leicester. Such gigs were nearly always dominated by white males, despite the cultural mix of Leicester. The large number of music technology students also contributed to the crowds at these gigs.
At the same time, I was also going to the cheesy student nights with my wider circle of friends, who tended to be fairly disinterested in dance music, especially the house and techno I love. These nights were always bigger, drink fuelled and soundtracked by chart hits and classic cheese like the Baywatch theme. There would be an even mix of girls and guys in what I could only really term a cattle market - people on the prowl for members of the opposite sex. I couldn't stand these nights out and only went along because my social life would be non-existent otherwise and I tended to depend on copious amounts of drink to get me through them.
Further in to my uni life I started working at some cool bars in Leicester, often finishing in the early hours of the morning and hitting one of a couple of late night bars until 7 or 8 in the morning. Both were fairly small places, frequented by bar staff with a nice community feel. One, the Basement, played funk, ska and soul and was a refreshing change to all the crap elsewhere. The other, Esko, started as a members only space and soon grew into a hot, underground club pulling in some of the finest drum and bass and dubstep DJs.
Working a bar every weekend often meant I missed a lot of the big gigs elsewhere. In my final year at university I started DJing out a bit more getting a set at a tiny bar in Leicester called The Hub which had a great DIY feel and regular bunch of customers. House parties, again, were danceless affairs despite asking for my services as a DJ. Around this time I started falling out with the scene. Drugs were integral and it was very cliquey. If you weren't quaffing MDMA it was hard to integrate and I found most of the people boring. I'm personally very political and found the lack of politics, the rape jokes, materialism, sexism and so on really uncomfortable. Similarly, the clubs and gigs seemed to be dominated by faddish music (tropical etc.) and were all about getting off your tits, dropping tune after tune, which I like in moderation, but I was yearning for more nuanced music and sets from techno DJs and the like.
Since then and finishing university I've been floating around following jobs or postgrad degrees and haven't really settled down yet. Subsequently the dancing has had a hit too, being few and far between.
6. When and where did you last dance?
Aside from a shuffling my hips while mixing in my bedroom, it was unfortunately a while ago now, at the Brudenell in Leeds for Jeremiah Jae, Tokimonsta, Teebs and Daedelus.
I went along with a friend who usually listens to folk, indie and punk/riot grrl so it was an eye opening experience for her and it was nice to be the one who drew her out of her comfort zone, to share some new music and experiences with her. I distinctly remember she asked during the warm-up set, while we were sat drinking, how on earth you dance to such music. But as soon as Jeremiah Jae took to the decks and the crowd swelled she just started dancing without any kind of prompt or 'education', it just came naturally. Great night!
7. You’re on your death bed. What piece of music would make your leap up for one final dance?
That's a tricky one to answer. I have many favourite pieces of music for dancing to, but with something like techno, which is some of the music I listen to and mix the most, they're not records that I'd immediately jump up and dance to. Rather, I find with a lot of techno and other electronic music that the urge to dance follows on from all the music that has come previously in the set. There has to be a groove, so to speak. So I may hear a track that I absolutely love, but if I haven't been 'warmed up', if I'm not in that dancing trance, then I might not feel that immediate urge. Saying that, I remember walking past a tent at a festival and hearing Vitalic's performing Pony live and I just left my friends and ran into the tent.
To get back to the question though, there is music that does make me jump right up and that's usually hip-hop/funk kind of stuff. So, death bed track? That would probably have to be Hip Hop by Dead Prez. Soon as I hear that bassline, my mood perks up.
All questionnaires welcome, just answer the same questions - or even make up a few of your own - and send to transpontine@btinternet.com (see previous questionnaires).
Monday, May 16, 2011
England in the Spring: police and parties
'Illegal raves thwarted by police in villages' (Bedford Today, 16 May 2011)
'Three illegal raves were thwarted by police over the bank holiday in Bedfordshire villages. The first rave was disrupted on Friday night in Lidlington at a site off Sheep Lane. The following evening officers prevented a second rave from being set up in the Steppingley area. Police intercepted a convoy of ten vehicles, three of which contained sound equipment which was seized. The drivers and passengers were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. A third rave was closed down in the early hours of Sunday morning at a site off Cobblers Lane in Ridgmont. Officers dispersed around 400 people, while organisers were told their sound system would be seized if they did not comply with the order'.
'Sussex Police deal with three raves in 12 hours' (Argus, 2 May 2011)
'Police were called out to deal with three raves in 12 hours. About 200 people started setting up equipment for a party at Devils Dyke, near Brighton, at around 6.40pm on Friday sparking a series of calls to Sussex Police. Officers went out to the scene and had eventually moved everyone on by 9pm.
The police control centre then started getting reports of a similar sized group gathering in North Road in the city centre and around the seafront just before 9pm. Officers were drafted in to monitor the area and once again started moving the party-goers on. Most were dispersed relatively quickly although a “small hard-core” group ignored requests to go and stayed in the area until midnight.
Police were then alerted at around 12.15am on Saturday that another group of around 50 people had gathered on the Downs just north of Hollingbury. Officers were sent out for the third time to investigate and order the music to be turned off and the rave abandoned. Partygoers began to drift away and police returned to the scene several times during the night. The final few people had gone by 8.30am on Saturday'.
'Police cars attacked as hundreds party at rave on Saddleworth Moor' (Manchester Evening News, 3 May 2011)
'Hundreds of revellers descended on an isolated moor for a rave – and attacked police cars when officers tried to break up the party. The ravers are thought to have travelled to Saddleworth Moor from all over the north west after details and directions were circulated on the internet. Police were called in early yesterday. But yobs smashed the windows of two patrol cars and a third vehicle – a Ford Focus – was set alight. The blaze spread to grassland before being put out by firefighters at around 3.10am. No arrests were made as the ravers fled – but a police investigation is continuing.
The party was held in the remains of an old shepherd’s cottage off the A635 Greenfield to Holmfirth road. Ravers are thought to have arrived with booze, generators to blast out music and a tarpaulin to cover the roof of the cottage. The building, which belongs to nearby Uppermill House farm, is derelict. The land is used to keep sheep'.
'Illegal Rave Shut Down' (Diss Express, 6 May 2011)
'Police disrupted and seized sound equipment and a generator at an illegalrave in Dickleburgh last Friday. The event was reported just after 8am following concerns from members of the local community. Officers attended a field off the A140 and found the event was being run illegally and not as an official street party to celebrate the Royal Wedding. Supt Stuart Gunn said: “This event was disrupted before many had arrived at the site, largely due to the vigilance of local people who contacted police with their concerns. This is in line with Norfolk Constabulary’s firm approach to policing raves, which are potentially dangerous and disrupt those communities affected.”'
'Three illegal raves were thwarted by police over the bank holiday in Bedfordshire villages. The first rave was disrupted on Friday night in Lidlington at a site off Sheep Lane. The following evening officers prevented a second rave from being set up in the Steppingley area. Police intercepted a convoy of ten vehicles, three of which contained sound equipment which was seized. The drivers and passengers were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. A third rave was closed down in the early hours of Sunday morning at a site off Cobblers Lane in Ridgmont. Officers dispersed around 400 people, while organisers were told their sound system would be seized if they did not comply with the order'.
'Sussex Police deal with three raves in 12 hours' (Argus, 2 May 2011)
'Police were called out to deal with three raves in 12 hours. About 200 people started setting up equipment for a party at Devils Dyke, near Brighton, at around 6.40pm on Friday sparking a series of calls to Sussex Police. Officers went out to the scene and had eventually moved everyone on by 9pm.
The police control centre then started getting reports of a similar sized group gathering in North Road in the city centre and around the seafront just before 9pm. Officers were drafted in to monitor the area and once again started moving the party-goers on. Most were dispersed relatively quickly although a “small hard-core” group ignored requests to go and stayed in the area until midnight.
Police were then alerted at around 12.15am on Saturday that another group of around 50 people had gathered on the Downs just north of Hollingbury. Officers were sent out for the third time to investigate and order the music to be turned off and the rave abandoned. Partygoers began to drift away and police returned to the scene several times during the night. The final few people had gone by 8.30am on Saturday'.
'Police cars attacked as hundreds party at rave on Saddleworth Moor' (Manchester Evening News, 3 May 2011)
'Hundreds of revellers descended on an isolated moor for a rave – and attacked police cars when officers tried to break up the party. The ravers are thought to have travelled to Saddleworth Moor from all over the north west after details and directions were circulated on the internet. Police were called in early yesterday. But yobs smashed the windows of two patrol cars and a third vehicle – a Ford Focus – was set alight. The blaze spread to grassland before being put out by firefighters at around 3.10am. No arrests were made as the ravers fled – but a police investigation is continuing.
The party was held in the remains of an old shepherd’s cottage off the A635 Greenfield to Holmfirth road. Ravers are thought to have arrived with booze, generators to blast out music and a tarpaulin to cover the roof of the cottage. The building, which belongs to nearby Uppermill House farm, is derelict. The land is used to keep sheep'.
'Illegal Rave Shut Down' (Diss Express, 6 May 2011)
'Police disrupted and seized sound equipment and a generator at an illegalrave in Dickleburgh last Friday. The event was reported just after 8am following concerns from members of the local community. Officers attended a field off the A140 and found the event was being run illegally and not as an official street party to celebrate the Royal Wedding. Supt Stuart Gunn said: “This event was disrupted before many had arrived at the site, largely due to the vigilance of local people who contacted police with their concerns. This is in line with Norfolk Constabulary’s firm approach to policing raves, which are potentially dangerous and disrupt those communities affected.”'
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Common Controversy
Controversy in the States about the participation of Common in a poetry night at the White House this week.
The usual Fox News right wing pundits lined up, with Karl Rove denouncing Common as a 'thug' advocating 'violence against police officers' and 'killling the former President of the United States, George W Bush' and Sarah Palin ranting 'You know, the White House's judgment on inviting someone who would glorify cop killing during Police Memorial Week, of all times, you know, the judgment, it's just so lacking of class and decency and all that's good about America'.
New Jersey cops have also been wheeled out to stir up outrage about Common's A Song for Assata from 2000. Assata Shakur was convicted of murder following a 1973 shoot out in New Jersey in which both a police officer and a member of the Black Liberation Army were killed. She protested her innocence and later escaped from prison, gaining political asylum in Cuba. The FBI still has a price on her head as 'a domestic terrorist' on the run. I don't believe the US authorities are chasing up FBI and police officers for their involvement in the murderous Cointelpro operation against the Black Panthers and others in that same period.
In the Spirit of the Black Panthers.
In the Spirit of Assata Shakur.
We make this movement towards freedom
Police questioned but shot before she answered
One Panther lost his life, the other ran for his
Scandalous the police were as they kicked and beat her
Assata had been convicted of a murder she couldna done
Medical evidence shown she couldna shot the gun
She untangled the chains and escaped the pain
How she broke out of prison I could never explain
And even to this day they try to get to her
but she's free with political asylum in Cuba.
Incidentally that Cee Lo Green singing 'I'm thinkin' of Assata... Your power and pride, so beautiful."
The strategy of the Republican Right is to present President Obama as a dangerous black radical. Would that it were true... in reality, Obama is clearly petrified of making any move that would provide ammunition for this, so historic injustices continue on his watch. Sundiata Acoli has again been refused parole after 38 years in prison for the 1973 New Jersey incident that Shakur was convicted. Mumia Abu-Jamal is still on death row.
I guess KRS-One won't be performing Free Mumia on the White House lawn anytime soon.
The usual Fox News right wing pundits lined up, with Karl Rove denouncing Common as a 'thug' advocating 'violence against police officers' and 'killling the former President of the United States, George W Bush' and Sarah Palin ranting 'You know, the White House's judgment on inviting someone who would glorify cop killing during Police Memorial Week, of all times, you know, the judgment, it's just so lacking of class and decency and all that's good about America'.
New Jersey cops have also been wheeled out to stir up outrage about Common's A Song for Assata from 2000. Assata Shakur was convicted of murder following a 1973 shoot out in New Jersey in which both a police officer and a member of the Black Liberation Army were killed. She protested her innocence and later escaped from prison, gaining political asylum in Cuba. The FBI still has a price on her head as 'a domestic terrorist' on the run. I don't believe the US authorities are chasing up FBI and police officers for their involvement in the murderous Cointelpro operation against the Black Panthers and others in that same period.
In the Spirit of the Black Panthers.
In the Spirit of Assata Shakur.
We make this movement towards freedom
Police questioned but shot before she answered
One Panther lost his life, the other ran for his
Scandalous the police were as they kicked and beat her
Assata had been convicted of a murder she couldna done
Medical evidence shown she couldna shot the gun
She untangled the chains and escaped the pain
How she broke out of prison I could never explain
And even to this day they try to get to her
but she's free with political asylum in Cuba.
Incidentally that Cee Lo Green singing 'I'm thinkin' of Assata... Your power and pride, so beautiful."
The strategy of the Republican Right is to present President Obama as a dangerous black radical. Would that it were true... in reality, Obama is clearly petrified of making any move that would provide ammunition for this, so historic injustices continue on his watch. Sundiata Acoli has again been refused parole after 38 years in prison for the 1973 New Jersey incident that Shakur was convicted. Mumia Abu-Jamal is still on death row.
I guess KRS-One won't be performing Free Mumia on the White House lawn anytime soon.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Tibetan Hip Hop
Hip hop has provided a voice for rebels in the recent uprisings in North Africa, notably in Tunisia. So perhaps not surprisingly other repressive regimes are scouring the internet for the signs of rap-borne revolt.
The Chinese government has apparently attempted to censor a recent hip hop video by Tibetans living in Switzerland, seeking to have it removed from some web platforms. The content of the Shapale song is relatively politically innocuous - it plays on the dual meaning of Shapale as a tibetan meat pie and a slap on the bum. But seemingly the fact that it expresses sentiments of Tibetan pride is enough to draw it to the attention of the state.
(the name of the artist isn't stated on this video - anybody know? Love the use of the pastry 'medallion', put me in mind of Flavor Flav - this kid certainly knows what time it is)
This is by no means the only example of Tibetan hip hop. For instance, High Peaks Pure Earth last year featured a track from a group called Green Dragon, based in the Amdo region of Tibet. Some good lines in here 'See the polluted sky and know, We can't afford to wait for tomorrow's sunrise, Now wake up...'
The Chinese government has apparently attempted to censor a recent hip hop video by Tibetans living in Switzerland, seeking to have it removed from some web platforms. The content of the Shapale song is relatively politically innocuous - it plays on the dual meaning of Shapale as a tibetan meat pie and a slap on the bum. But seemingly the fact that it expresses sentiments of Tibetan pride is enough to draw it to the attention of the state.
(the name of the artist isn't stated on this video - anybody know? Love the use of the pastry 'medallion', put me in mind of Flavor Flav - this kid certainly knows what time it is)
This is by no means the only example of Tibetan hip hop. For instance, High Peaks Pure Earth last year featured a track from a group called Green Dragon, based in the Amdo region of Tibet. Some good lines in here 'See the polluted sky and know, We can't afford to wait for tomorrow's sunrise, Now wake up...'
"New Generation" by Yudrug (Green Dragon) from HPeaks on Vimeo.
Dance before the Police Come in Datacide
My recent article for Datacide magazine, Dance Before the Police Come, has now been published on their website:
'Shut Up and Dance’s 1991 hardcore LP ‘Dance Before the Police Come’ was released at a time when the UK authorities were struggling to contain the massive explosion of raves. Thousands of people each weekend were playing a cat and mouse game with the police to party in fields and warehouses, and if the state was often outwitted by meeting points in motorway service stations and convoys of cars, it tried to keep the lid on the phenomenon by staging high profile raids. In 1990, for instance, an incredible 836 people were arrested at a Love Decade party in Gildersome near Leeds in the north of England.
Since then the global spread of Electronic Dance Music has generally been accompanied by the flashing blue light, the siren, and that moment when the music is abruptly turned off and the order given to clear the building. Indeed, let’s face it, the frisson of illegality has sometimes added a pleasurable edge to partying – the thrill of overcoming official obstacles just to get there, of getting one over on the authorities. And even the most mainstream of commercial club promoters like to pose as underground outlaws because they once got told to turn the music down by a man in uniform.
But police raids are serious business – often involving arrests which can lead to imprisonment, people losing their livelihoods and, in some parts of the world, social ostracism. People get injured, beaten and sometimes even killed. This article looks at a sample of police raids in recent times to get a sense of the current state of play between cops and dancers in different parts of the world'.
Read the full article here.
I note that Peverelist has just released a track called Dance Til the Police Come, very timely as he comes from Bristol:
Unlike the 1991 Shut Up and Dance track, Dance Before the Police Come, Peverelist doesn't sample Duran Duran in his version!
'Shut Up and Dance’s 1991 hardcore LP ‘Dance Before the Police Come’ was released at a time when the UK authorities were struggling to contain the massive explosion of raves. Thousands of people each weekend were playing a cat and mouse game with the police to party in fields and warehouses, and if the state was often outwitted by meeting points in motorway service stations and convoys of cars, it tried to keep the lid on the phenomenon by staging high profile raids. In 1990, for instance, an incredible 836 people were arrested at a Love Decade party in Gildersome near Leeds in the north of England.
Since then the global spread of Electronic Dance Music has generally been accompanied by the flashing blue light, the siren, and that moment when the music is abruptly turned off and the order given to clear the building. Indeed, let’s face it, the frisson of illegality has sometimes added a pleasurable edge to partying – the thrill of overcoming official obstacles just to get there, of getting one over on the authorities. And even the most mainstream of commercial club promoters like to pose as underground outlaws because they once got told to turn the music down by a man in uniform.
But police raids are serious business – often involving arrests which can lead to imprisonment, people losing their livelihoods and, in some parts of the world, social ostracism. People get injured, beaten and sometimes even killed. This article looks at a sample of police raids in recent times to get a sense of the current state of play between cops and dancers in different parts of the world'.
Read the full article here.
I note that Peverelist has just released a track called Dance Til the Police Come, very timely as he comes from Bristol:
Unlike the 1991 Shut Up and Dance track, Dance Before the Police Come, Peverelist doesn't sample Duran Duran in his version!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Police attempt to harrass benefit gigs in South London
FITwatch report that police officers visited two South London venues in dubious circumstances last weekend:
'On Saturday 23rd of April and Sunday 24th of April, the Metropolitan Police attempted to harass and intimidate the management of two established and fully licensed venues with intelligence gathering - or 'fishing' - exercises. The two venues, both in the Borough of Lambeth in South London, were set to host benefit parties for FITwatch and London Student Solidarity Campaign respectively.
Management at Brixton's 'Jamm' were puzzled to find Police officers arrive on Saturday 23rd April asking questions about a FITwatch benefit that they had branded an 'illegal rave'. Management soon set them straight, though - reminding them that it was a perfectly legitimate and legal venue... On Sunday 23rd of April, management at 'The Grosvenor' in Stockwell were quizzed by Police about an upcoming benefit party on Mayday (Sunday May 1st) as a fundraiser for the London Student Solidarity Campaign - who are a self-organised group of arrestees and defendants from the student demonstrations of late last year. The officers in question also seized posters for the event' (full story here).
The event at Jamm went ahead, featuring Alabama 3, and hopefully the Stockwell event will too. Both venues have a long history of hosting various benefit gigs over many years. I remember going to Poll Tax Prisoners and Irish Republican benefits at the former when it was the Old White Horse twenty years ago. The Grosvenor is south London punk central, hosting the ScumFest punk festival among many other events. It is a worrying development that the police seem to adopting the time-discredited technique of a 'quiet word' with the management to discourage such events. Given the influence that the police have on whether venues get their licenses, this kind of approach can be - and is designed to be - very intimidating.
'On Saturday 23rd of April and Sunday 24th of April, the Metropolitan Police attempted to harass and intimidate the management of two established and fully licensed venues with intelligence gathering - or 'fishing' - exercises. The two venues, both in the Borough of Lambeth in South London, were set to host benefit parties for FITwatch and London Student Solidarity Campaign respectively.
Management at Brixton's 'Jamm' were puzzled to find Police officers arrive on Saturday 23rd April asking questions about a FITwatch benefit that they had branded an 'illegal rave'. Management soon set them straight, though - reminding them that it was a perfectly legitimate and legal venue... On Sunday 23rd of April, management at 'The Grosvenor' in Stockwell were quizzed by Police about an upcoming benefit party on Mayday (Sunday May 1st) as a fundraiser for the London Student Solidarity Campaign - who are a self-organised group of arrestees and defendants from the student demonstrations of late last year. The officers in question also seized posters for the event' (full story here).
The event at Jamm went ahead, featuring Alabama 3, and hopefully the Stockwell event will too. Both venues have a long history of hosting various benefit gigs over many years. I remember going to Poll Tax Prisoners and Irish Republican benefits at the former when it was the Old White Horse twenty years ago. The Grosvenor is south London punk central, hosting the ScumFest punk festival among many other events. It is a worrying development that the police seem to adopting the time-discredited technique of a 'quiet word' with the management to discourage such events. Given the influence that the police have on whether venues get their licenses, this kind of approach can be - and is designed to be - very intimidating.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Long hot summer starts early in Berkshire and Bristol
An early start for the long hot summer of 2011, with the warm weather prompting people to head out on to the streets and thegreat outdoors.
Two weeks ago, police broke up a party at Devil's Highway on land between Bracknell and Crowthorne in Berkshire, but not until about 1 pm on the Sunday after around 1,000 people had partied all night (see report at Get Bracknell, 10 April 2011). The party was seemingly put on by Koalition sound system (looks mighty crowded on the dancefloor!):
Last weekend there was a party in the woods near Catmore in West Berkshire. The police arrived at 4 am to close it down, but were prevented from doing so and the party continued until 11 am on Sunday. According to the BBC (18 April 2011), six people were arrested and sound equipment was seized. Thames Valley police claimed: 'This was an illegal rave which at times descended into violent disorder. When our officers tried to stop the event at around 4am, lots of missiles were thrown, which included burning wood. Thirteen officers and a police dog were injured in total. Fortunately, the rave happened in a very isolated location so there was minimal impact on the neighbouring community'. In that case it would probably would have been better for all concerned if the party had been left to get on with it.
Bristol
Then there was Bristol on Thursday night this week, with a full scale riot in the Stokes Croft area after police raided the Telepathic Heights squat. Barricades were set up, a police car destroyed, and a Tesco store attacked. This film shows something of a carnival atmosphere with crowds of people milling around the street - note the bit where some people get hold of police riot shields and run up the road with them.
There was some heavy police violence, with even the local Labour MP complaining that she was shoved by a cop. As Oli Conner reports, people were injured in by police batons and dogs, with people taking photos being targeted by police (see also report at The Commune).
Apparently there were also saxophone players on a bus stop outside the squat during the riot, and the strains of Summertime could be heard...
See also: St Pauls Uprising 1980; Bristol parties 1611 and 2006.
Two weeks ago, police broke up a party at Devil's Highway on land between Bracknell and Crowthorne in Berkshire, but not until about 1 pm on the Sunday after around 1,000 people had partied all night (see report at Get Bracknell, 10 April 2011). The party was seemingly put on by Koalition sound system (looks mighty crowded on the dancefloor!):
Last weekend there was a party in the woods near Catmore in West Berkshire. The police arrived at 4 am to close it down, but were prevented from doing so and the party continued until 11 am on Sunday. According to the BBC (18 April 2011), six people were arrested and sound equipment was seized. Thames Valley police claimed: 'This was an illegal rave which at times descended into violent disorder. When our officers tried to stop the event at around 4am, lots of missiles were thrown, which included burning wood. Thirteen officers and a police dog were injured in total. Fortunately, the rave happened in a very isolated location so there was minimal impact on the neighbouring community'. In that case it would probably would have been better for all concerned if the party had been left to get on with it.
Bristol
Then there was Bristol on Thursday night this week, with a full scale riot in the Stokes Croft area after police raided the Telepathic Heights squat. Barricades were set up, a police car destroyed, and a Tesco store attacked. This film shows something of a carnival atmosphere with crowds of people milling around the street - note the bit where some people get hold of police riot shields and run up the road with them.
There was some heavy police violence, with even the local Labour MP complaining that she was shoved by a cop. As Oli Conner reports, people were injured in by police batons and dogs, with people taking photos being targeted by police (see also report at The Commune).
Apparently there were also saxophone players on a bus stop outside the squat during the riot, and the strains of Summertime could be heard...
See also: St Pauls Uprising 1980; Bristol parties 1611 and 2006.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Justice 4 Smiley Demonstration Today
Just got back from today's Justice 4 Smiley Culture demonstration in London, pretty impressive with maybe a couple of thousand people heading from Wandsworth Road, along the Albert Embankment, over the river, past Parliament and on to the Metropolitan Police HQ at New Scotland Yard. 
A striking aspect of the campaign is that they have used the higher profile death of an internationally-known reggae artist to shine a spotlight on many other less publicised deaths in police custody. The families of some of these took part in the march. Sean Rigg died in a police van at Brixton prison in 2008:
Kingsley Burrell died in Birmingham last month after being detained by police. A speaker from the Campaign 4 Justice 4 Kingsley Burrell spoke at the rally today:
Asher Senator speaking (Smiley's musical collaborator from his school days and later with Saxon Sound System):
There was a determined atmosphere on the march, the noise reminded me a bit of Notting Hill Carnival, with whistles, drums and conflicting basslines from the various sound systems.
Naturally there was lots of Smiley Culture's music, Police Officer in particular getting aired outside Parliament and Scotland Yard. This number also got people singing at the endFriday, April 01, 2011
March for the Alternative in London
Some reflections on last Saturday's anti-cuts March for the Alternative in London (March 26th)... I knew it really was going to be a big one from the moment I left home. The fact of the demonstration was everywhere, graffiti, stickers, a bus full of people talking about the demo. I knew it was going to be bigger still when I got to Kennington Park to join the South London feeder demonstration (see pictures here). This was organised independently of the main demonstration, and the police had contacted the organisers in the week to urge them to cancel it, claiming it would be a tiny failure. In fact by the time we reached Westminster Bridge there were at least two thousand people on it, and I was already noticing that it wasn't just the usual political and union activists - there was my daughter's music teacher, some random people from work, even the guy who sits drinking at the corner of my road.
Also heard reports that at Oxford Circus the crowd chanted the Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers theme at police - as widely used on the student protests before Christmas.
The size of the crowd has been estimated as half a million, significant for a number of reasons not least of which is that this big a demonstration is almost beyond the need for representation. A small protest is to an extent dependent on the media to communicate its intent to the wider public, but in this case a good proportion of the public were actually there or would know somebody else who was. Half a million is more than one per cent of the adult population of Britain, and everyone who was there can probably think of 4 or 5 people who said they intended to go but couldn't because of family commitments, illness or other reasons.
The core fact of the demonstration - that a huge number of people are opposed to the cuts and are beginning to take action against them - was viscerally felt by everybody who was there, not to mention the many other people in central London who saw it. And many other people who weren't there would have heard about if first hand from somebody who was. In this context the fact that some of the press and TV coverage may not have accurately reported what happened is arguably less significant.'Millionaire Boys Club' - 'Tax is for the little people':
Trafalgar Square - 'Strike like an Egyptian':
Much of the commentary since the march has focused on a supposed distinction between the peaceful main demonstration, the non-violent direct action of UK Uncut (including the occupation of posh food store, Fortnum and Masons in Piccadilly) and riotous 'Black Bloc' anarchists. Of course a great diversity of tactics was in evidence and not everybody agreed with everything that was going on , but things were much more fluid than a categorisation of the crowd into three distinct blocs would suggest.
There were thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of people, who headed off the main march route into the West End with a sense of wanting to take things a stage further than just a rally in Hyde Park. All round Mayfair, Oxford Street, Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square there were people in the streets. This crowd was much more diverse than just young people in black, all kinds of folk were hanging around caught up in the excitement. A sense too that while not everybody was up for it, many were glad that people younger, fitter and with less to lose than them were acting out the rage they felt.
The actual violence was fairly sporadic and limited, as was the window breaking - what was much more widespread was a diffuse sense of wanting to go beyond business as usual.
Sound Systems Lots of sound system action - ranging in sophistication from back packs, via speakers in bike baskets to sophisticated bike trailers. Thought I saw Rinky Dink Sound System, one of the original cycle powered rigs from Reclaim the Streets in the 1990s.
There was a sound system next to the line of riot police outside the occupied Fortnum and Mason's (above), and while I was there another one cycled past seemingly called the Tolpuddle 6 sound system, complete with pictures of the Dorset agricultural workers transported to Australia for starting a union in the 1830s. They were playing Got to be Real by Cheryl Lynn, great 70s disco classic and indicative of the diverse music being played on the day. I heard drum & bass, dancehall, reggae, punk, techno and dubstep - including this guy doing human beatbox wobbly bass dubstep in Trafalgar Square:
Back pack sound system:
Sound system in a push chair:
Tolpuddle 6 Sound System:
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Justice for Smiley Public Meeting
An electrifying event at Lambeth Town Hall tonight, the first public meeting of the Campaign for Justice for Smiley Culture. By 7 o'clock, when the meeting started, the hall was packed. The 300+ seats were all filled, and the sides and back full of people standing. Many more people were outside the hall unable to get in - no idea of the crowd size but it was more than 500. As it was only last week that the great reggae MC died during a police search of his house, the turn out was particularly impressive. The meeting was chaired by Lee Jasper, joined on the platform by the speakers and members of Smiley Culture/David Emmanuel's family, including his brother, son and daughter. After a minute's silence Bishop John Francis of Ruach Ministries launched the proceedings with the statement that 'Smiley's blood is crying out for justice' (incidentally Francis is a man with a musical history himself, as a member of the Inspirational Choir which sang on Madness's Wings of a Dove among many other things). 
Mike Franklin of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who is overseeing the investigation, outlined the current state of play. He confirmed that the only witnesses were four Metropolitan Police Officers with no independent witnesses at all. His claim that the most sophisticated resources would be available for the investigation was met with a cry of 'Lie detector' from the floor, which got a huge cheer. Franklin has some local credibility as a former black community activist, so was received politely if not with enthusiasm. Later a speaker from the United Friends and Families Campaign, which has supported other families of people who have died in custody, denounced the IPCC for helping the police cover up. Merlin Emmanuel, Smiley Culture's nephew, gave a powerful speech. Without speculating on exactly what happened last week, he was clear that David Emmanuel would be alive today if police hadn't searched his house, and if, having raided the house they had followed their own guidelines of keeping the person secure while they carried out the search. Like most of the speakers, he was clear that this wasn't an isolated incident but formed part of a pattern of racism and injustice. He mentioned the Brixton uprising and the New Cross Fire of thirty years ago, and described his own family's experience of moving from Brixton to Thamesmead at the time of the murders in that part of London of Rolan Adams (in 1991) and Stephen Lawrence. He offered his condolences to the family of Iain Tomlinson, killed by police on the G20 protest in 2009 - 'The people of South London and the wider community stand with you in solidarity' - and mentioned that around 400 people have died in police custody in last 10 years. He confirmed that a demonstration was planned on April 16th from Wandsworth Rd (where David Emmanuel grew up in Stockwell) to Scotland Yard police headquarters and proclaimed that 'Unity is free and by far the most potent weapon we have at our disposal'. 
Asher Senator, Smiley Culture's orginal lyrics partner and like him a Saxon Sound System MC, recalled that their first photo interview, with Black Echoes magazine, had actually taken place in the very building where the meeting was held tonight. He mentioned that a couple of Smiley Culture tribute tracks were already being recorded, one a song written by Maxi Priest with possible guest singers, the other a track called Smiley Culture's Character Reference which he recorded last night at Commander B's studio. He performed some of that tonight and it was amazing, weaving his own lyrics and memories around some of Smiley Culture's lyrics from tracks like Cockney Translation, Police Officer and Slam Bam. It got a desrvedly good response, with people banging the wooden panels of the meeting room. 
There was an emotional speech from the mother of Wayne Hamilton, found dead in a canal in Sheffield last year after being chased by police. Many other families have suffered like David Emmanuel's family are suffering now, the difference is this time the dead man is known throughout the world. This is one death the police and the IPCC aren't going to be able to sweep under the carpet.Saturday, March 19, 2011
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