Music & Politics

Anarchism

: 150 years of Libertarian… “This year, 2008, marks the 150th anniversary of the use of the word “libertarian” by anarchists.” How about that eh?

:: There’s a new anarchist-communist (Platformist) organisation in Aotearoa / New Zealand : “The Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) is an organisation working towards a classless, stateless society: anarchist-communism. We are made up of revolutionary class-struggle anarchists from across Aotearoa / New Zealand. For now, we are a small organisation with members in Wellington, Christchurch and a few smaller towns across the country…”

::: Two interesting essays. Retrieving an Asian American Anarchist tradition by Jane Mee Wong, Jalan, March 4th, 2008. “I may be old and lonely, but I have resisted in wars, agitated in movements, and marched numerous times to where the crowd gathered.” ~ Ray Jones, 1968. Also The Place of Anarchism in the Chinese Revolution: A Review Essay, by Jason Schultz, February 3rd, 2008:

The place of anarchism in the foundation and development of the many revolutions in 20th century China is largely unknown or forgotten in China and the world over. Philosophers and organizers of numerous groups under the umbrella of anarchism helped lay the cornerstones for political, social, economic, and cultural struggles in China. Their work culminated in the capture of state power in 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). From the first decade of the 20th century to the early 1930s, anarchist ideas had much currency among those individuals seeking to construct a modern Chinese nation free from the influence of the flags of the rising sun, Union Jack, Stars and Stripes, and the modern Chinese state.

:::: In modern India, ‘Adivasi’ is a term used to describe the indigenous peoples of that part of the world. Rahul Banerjee believes neither in God nor in Utopia but does believe in maintaining a blog called Anaarkali which examines ‘The saga of Bhil Tribal Adivasi Indigenous People’:

The Bhil tribal adivasi indigenous people have fought fiercely to retain their nature friendly small community based lifestyles. The Bhils’ modern day struggles thus have two sides : anarchistic – anaar and environmental – kali or flower. The Bhil women too are fighting against their own patriarchal oppression in the same way as the famous Anaarkali did.

::::: Sholom (Samuel) Schwartzbard gets a guernsey in a Jewish paper in the US: When France Embraced a Jewish Avenger, Deborah Waroff, The Jewish Daily Forward, October 23, 2008: “Some 81 years ago this month, a person in Warsaw would have enjoyed the odd spectacle of a mob of Jews surrounding France’s Polish embassy, wildly proclaiming the greatness of the French Republic. The occasion: Jews everywhere were celebrating France because, after a sensational eight-day trial (which even made the front page of The New York Times), a jury of 12 petit-bourgeois Parisians had astonishingly acquitted the Ukrainian-born Jewish immigrant and anarchist Sholom Schwartzbard of the charge of murder for shooting to death former Ukrainian president Symon Petliura in the middle of the Latin Quarter, an act the accused fully acknowledged committing.”

:::::: Finally, Josh Lees of Socialist Alternative recounts what happened ‘When anarchism was put to the test’ (Socialist Alternative, No.134, October–November 2008): “The Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky compared the theory of anarchism to an umbrella full of holes: useless precisely when it rains. The truth of this insight was forcibly demonstrated when anarchism failed the test of the Spanish Revolution.”

Muzak

::::::: Old but good. How Black is Black Metal? by Kevin Coogan:

Lords of Chaos (LOC), a recent book-length examination of the “Satanic” black metal music scene, is less concerned with sound than fury. Authors Michael Moynihan and Didrik Sederlind zero in on Norway, where a tiny clique of black metal musicians torched some churches in 1992. The church burners’ own place of worship was a small Oslo record store called Helvete (Hell). Helvete was run by the godfather of Norwegian black metal, 0ystein Aarseth (“Euronymous”, or “Prince of Death”), who first brought black metal to Norway with his group Mayhem and his Deathlike Silence record label…

“Michael Moynihan is an interesting fellow”, writes Kevin, and so are the other odds and sods associated with various forms of ‘cultural fascism’. Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, all seem to share a desire for notoriety which exists in inverse proportion to their talents.

:::::::: From London, Last Hours is a “radical culture web zine and occasional publisher. It aims to explore and promote DIY ideas and ideals, with articles, interviews, comics, columns and reviews.” Also from London: Moore Confessions: Bring on the squat-rock revival (John Moore, The Guardian, December 5, 2008):

Before wealth and fame catapulted me on to the property ladder that poverty and obscurity have since catapulted me off, I lived in squats for several years. These were soon-to-be-demolished flats near Vauxhall, and the legendary Bonnington Square; vibrant communities comprising artists, writers, bands, alternative types, and occasionally people with real jobs. The common perception of acres of feckless hippies, junkies and escaped murderers is only partly true. Many co-squattees may well now read – or write – for the Guardian. My neighbours at the time were members of Wire, the Band of Holy Joy, even the dreaded U2 had a connection to the area. Without the squats of central London, it is unlikely that any of the great antipodean bands – the Birthday Party, the Scientists or the Triffids would have hung around the capital for more than a few days … they weren’t your Earls Court types. The Sex Pistols spent much of their ascendance squatting in Hampstead – a blue plaque is now in the offing. Crass, the only band to really ruffle the establishment, used to play in abandoned buildings and plough any profits back into anarchist organizations. Imagine not being in it for the money? Terrifying.