How does it feel
To treat me like you do
When you’ ve laid your hands upon me
And told me who you are….
At the risk of sounding like a Marxist, or at least a Situationist, was there a link between the cultural crisis that was punk and the economic crises of the late seventies/ early eighties?
If there is a link, then I could speculate/ prophesy a DIY punk revival/ renewal. As William Blake almost said -The road of economic excess leads to the palace of punk wisdom. Or as ol’ K.Marx and the Dodgy Manifestos said in their punk classic ‘Northern Rock’ … ” Everything solid melts to air”
Nuzz
January 22, 2008 at 3:05 pmQuite possibly, especially when you added a dose of right wing politics into the mix, dunno about the revival though, is there anything musical that hasn’t been revived and repackaged ? Where do the kids go to ? for inspiration and ideas, have they got the space and ‘freedoms’ of the late 70’s and 80’s are they openeing up squats, producing fanzines, forming bands, or just clocking up myspace/ facebook friends. Music is seen as a career choice now, not as a form of self expression. I dunno
Nic
January 22, 2008 at 4:15 pmThe 1970’s witnessed a mix of economic/social and cultural crises as a result of the convergence of poles of political/economic thought which inevitability resulte in a conflict: one battleground was culture itself…
One potential issue with the possibility of a ‘revival’ is the radically altered social situation within this culture: since the 1980’s, a gradual process of erosion has conflated the extremes of political thinking in general, reducing them to a homogenous whole occupying a centre Libertarian position which utilises elements of left and right in a whole…
There seems to be less overt opposition between opinions, less social tribalism on the streets among the youth (it is there but radically muted), less focus on political engagement and more on individualistic self-fulfilment (a legacy of the Thatcherite war on community), and a consequentt diminishing of debate about political/social issues…
It is truly a representation on f the Post Modern condition: a wolrd where there are no absolutes and everything is up for grabs..
The reasons for this conflation are – as yet – uncertain and it may only be with the benefit of hindsight that we can define them…
alistairliv • Post Author •
January 22, 2008 at 7:37 pmI was thinking about physical spaces – wondering – if there was a bursting of a financial services led economy bubble, esp. in London – would that create a fresh wave of decay and dereliction, future empty spaces for future squatters/ unitary urbanists to occupy?
That the long ‘boom’ of the past 15 years or so has squeezed out alternative urbanisms and hence alternative cultures.
Found the Amsterdam Declaration which mentions unitary urbanism – but not the text I was thinking of. perhaps it has not yet been written, or rather, even actually lived. The world already possesses the dream of a time whose consciousness it must now possess in order to actually live it.
The Amsterdam Declaration of the Situationist International , 10 November 1958
1. THE SITUATIONISTS must take every opportunity to oppose retrograde forces and ideologies, in culture and wherever the question of the meaning of life arises.
4. The SI’s minimum program is the development of complete environments, which must extend to a unitary urbanism, and research into new modes of behavior in relation to these environments.
5. Unitary urbanism is defined as the complex, ongoing activity that consciously recreates man’s environment according to the most advanced conceptions in every domain.
6. The solution to problems of housing, traffic, and recreation can only be envisaged in relation to social, psychological and artistic perspectives that are combined in one synthetic hypothesis at the level of daily life.
7. Unitary urbanism, independently of all aesthetic considerations, is the fruit of a new type of collective creativity; the development of this spirit of creation is the prior condition of unitary urbanism.
8. The creation of ambiances favorable to this development is the immediate task of today’s creators.
11. A constructed situation is a means for unitary urbanism, just as unitary urbanism is the indispensable basis for the construction of situations, in both play and seriousness, in a freer society.
John Eden
January 22, 2008 at 8:50 pmAll those luxury flats which have sprung up may well end up empty if there is a recession.
Whilst that is clearly not a good thing unless you are some kind of “immiserist” I think people have a massive resentment about housing, and property these days.
So perhaps empty property + a lot of resentment + a lot of bored kids with no prospects = potential. Hopefully it won’t be a revival (or at least won’t seem like a revival) in terms of style.
Or it could all go to shit, I dunno. I think the economics will dictate a lot of people’s attitudes. If you really only have each other and there is no promise of a house or a big car or fame and fortune through reality TV then maybe behaving collectively is more appealing…
alistairliv • Post Author •
January 23, 2008 at 12:15 amDamn. Note to self : be more careful with words. “Positive Punk” – or is that too cryptic? See here http://www.scathe.demon.co.uk/posipunk.htm
Anyhow the US cut interest rates by 3/4% just before trading began today and so the predicted Wall Street crash has been delayed. Although I did hear one US economic expert saying “Recession – no way. We are heading for another Depression”.
alistairliv • Post Author •
January 23, 2008 at 11:41 pmLooking for ‘Stop the City’ found this from 2000.
He [Griffin, leader BNP] is preparing for the day when some economic catastrophe revolutionises the BNP’s political fortunes in the same way that mass unemployment facilitated Hitler’s rise to power. The BNP’s answer to this future crisis in global capitalism is novel and direct: withdraw from the European Union, whatever the economic consequences, impose import controls, and then hope to rule through the following chaos.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4019864,00.html
Kevin Toolis Guardian Saturday May 20, 2000
Is this still their plan?
Tony Puppy
January 24, 2008 at 12:49 amThe BNP might not be ready this time AL
BNP in turmoil:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/newsreleasedonations.cfm/news/691
“BNP fined for late submission of accounts
21 Dec 2007
The Electoral Commission has today issued the British National Party with a civil penalty of £1,000 for failure to submit its 2006 statement of accounts within the prescribed timescale.
Section 45 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), requires that parties with a total income or gross expenditure of more than £250,000 submit an annual statement of accounts within six months and one week of their accounting year end. The deadline for the BNP 2006 statement of accounts to be submitted to the Commission was 7 July 2007.
Where parties fail to comply with the deadline, the Electoral Commission has the power to issue a civil penalty under section 147 of PPERA.
The statement of accounts can be viewed on the Electoral Commission website, http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk
”
They are not standing in any local by-elections at the moment. Which may mean they are not now an official political party.
alistairliv • Post Author •
March 23, 2009 at 9:31 pmStop the City?
“The G20 summit in London next week will be the target of widespread protests, many of which are being organised online. City workers have been warned that they might be targeted and police are preparing a massive security operation. But who are the protesters and what are they planning?”
“G20 Meltdown
An alliance of anti-capitalist groups organising a carnival, headed by “Four Horsefolk of the Apocalypse”, which will converge in front of the Bank of England on 1 April. The organisers’ aims are set on their website: “G20 Meltdown calls for the G20 ministers to own up to their mistakes and admit that their global dominance – the dominance of finance capitalism – is the problem, not the solution to the current economic, ecological and political meltdown.”
From :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2009/mar/23/online-guide-to-g20-protests
But according to Lenin’s Tomb blogsite, G-20 Meltdown’s website:
…far from being run by hotheaded anarchists, the website is run by Camilla Power, an anthropologist based at the University of East London, a trade unionist, and a member of the CPGB. Another source for these scarifying articles is Chris Knight, cited as a member of the protest group ‘The Government of the Dead’. He is another CPGB member, and a professor of anthropology based at UEL.
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2009/03/bloodying-g20-protests.html
Nostalgia. Last time I met Chris Knight he was part of a fire breathing dragon on a march in support of the Liverpool Dockers. He has also written a great book on menstruation -“Blood Relations” which Tony Puppy gave to me. Well worth a read.
http://books.google.com/books?id=TECGMrey5UEC&dq=Blood+Relations&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=qfF0_c6op2&sig=g6Z_F_ueiyQLoRitgIREbuETUkA&hl=en&ei=c_HHSYGdDIiyjAeQ99inCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPP1,M1
Tony Puppy
March 27, 2009 at 11:39 pmChris Knight’s made the news today alright.
“Anarchist professor Chris Knight suspended”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/G20/article5982908.ece
“Professor Chris Knight suspended for ‘hang bankers’ remark”
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25254225-401,00.html
To list but two.
andus
April 2, 2009 at 12:06 pmWhat about yesterdays demonstrations then,
Silly me, you won’t be talking about that until 2028
Tony Puppy
April 2, 2009 at 11:08 pmI’m sure it can be arranged to have a chat about it.
Ian S
April 2, 2009 at 11:44 pmA sound recording, edited down to 3 minutes, made on Wednesday of one of the marches to the Bank of England, starting at London Bridge:
http://www.soundsurvey.org.uk/mp3s/categories/G20%20protests.mp3
‘Sort of’ binaural stereo (if you’re into that sort of thing).
chris
April 3, 2009 at 1:10 amIan, something wrong with your site by the way (unless you’re working on it at present)
I was trying to call you on Wednesday to see if you were about – couldn’t get through, or to Mart half the time.
By the way, some adrenalin pumped wee wank-stain of a copper walloped the woman who was playing the tuba for that brass band on your recording. Completely unprovoked & out of nowhere. Even some of his colleagues were a bit taken aback.
Ian S
April 3, 2009 at 10:26 amYeah I heard about what happened to her. People do things like that cos they know they can get away with it.
(Some of the site URLs have changed, no home page as yet, probably coming some time in May.)
andus
April 3, 2009 at 12:16 pmSo the police whack someone for playing a tuba, but make little attempt to arrest anyone during the rsb smash up, apparently the only bank that was not boarded up. mmm, now it looks like they have used the rsb smash up as an excuse to arrest innocent squatters.
4 days of meeting and they come up with another trillion, 4 days to arrange that. god they’re clever these people, how about a cap on mortgage repayments,and giving people more time to pay up. how about a central fund to bail out industry by lending money directly to them, instead of giving it straight to the banks. who so far have just sat on the money. Is this really a recession/depression or the bankers final takeover of western goverments.
chris
April 3, 2009 at 7:23 pmThe folk who attacked the RSB did get nicked. And I imagine many more arrests will follow after folk are identified from photos, as is their practice these days.
That said, I do agree that the RSB building was effectively a ‘sacrificial lamb’ – everyone knew it was the prime target, and it wasn’t boarded up. rather, police were INSIDE who charged OUT when it was attacked.
Pretty obvious that, with the majority of the other demonstrators cordoned in at the BOE building, it was a matter of letting the protestors have their fun, smash a few windows and disperse. Many back to climate camp where they were kicked to fuck later that night.
Luckily I left Rampart a short while before the old bill stormed the place, but I understand most of the folk were let free (after being detained whilst the cops had THEIR fun down the road).
andus
April 4, 2009 at 10:57 amSo they did get arrested. I didn’t know that, thought the police were engaged in a manhunt and fucking innocent people over in the process. But how do the police identify them in photographs seeing as they had masks on, or were they caught in the act, ie whilst leaving the building, the media did not show that if that was the case, seems they wanted a play on the powerless police being overrun, keep their agenda of ‘we need more power’ going. Its interesting that the police were inside waiting for them. I didn’t know that, I heard something about hard-drives being stolen from the computers. But that whole RSB thing looks like a set up to me
chris
April 4, 2009 at 2:02 pmYes, the whole masks thing I found a bit bizarre. For most it was clearly a ‘fashion statement’ more than anything else. Plus I was under the impression it was illegal to wear a mask at a demonstration? I remember folk being pulled up by the old bill for wearing masks at past events? However, as you’ll have seen from press photos of the RBS trashing many weren’t wearing anything to disguise their identities and must simply have been ‘caught up in the moment’. Most press reports DID mention that police were in the RBS building. The Evening Standard showing them visible through the smashed glass. I have no doubt it was a total ‘set up’ – but more a case of astute and tactical police work than anything more sinister and i’m sure the RBS windows would have been replaced in time for business as usual the very next day.
andus
April 4, 2009 at 3:00 pmIt is illegal to wear masks at a demo. I was under the impression that banners and placards are now illegal as well, or are going to be made illegal.
I tend to agree it was tactical police work, they left that bank looking like it was undefended, there are always extremists on demo’s that the police will provoke and then use for propaganda purposes.