THE CULTURAL IS POLITICAL – THE REUNIFICATION OF LEFTISM AND CULTURE

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged anti globalisation, artists, arts, comics, culture, Ellie Rowsell, escapism, feminism, film makers, Great Depression, Grime for Corbyn, Grime4Corbyn, Jason Manford, jeremy corbyn, Joey Barton, John Steinbeck, Kate Nash, Kerrang, labour party, Lily Allen, Maxine Peake, musicians, nme, Noel Fielding, novelists, personal is political, playwrights, poets, political right, politics, pro choice, rage against the machine, riot grrrl, thatcherism, vietnam war, woody guthrie, writers.

by Chris Jarvis

Culture and politics are inseparable. Culture is more than mere entertainment, more than escapism. Culture is central to how we understand the world, build our value sets and perceive our fellow people. It stirs human emotion in unique ways, pulling different levers in the brain. Sometimes overtly, sometimes with subtlety, the dominant cultural practices, institutions, icons and outputs are used to reinforce the dominant political system and defend the status quo. Establishment weaponise culture as a means of influence.

But this isn’t the sole preserve of the political right.

Looking through history, many of the most important moments of popular revolt have an accompanying soundtrack. The resistance to the Vietnam War had the protest folk singers. Rage Against the Machine were agitators of the US anti-globalisation movement. Riot Grrrl acts built feminist infrastructure, led pro-choice campaigns and brought ‘the personal is political’ sentiments to the fore of a cultural phenomenon. And so on, and so on.

This isn’t coincidental.Continue Reading

THE 20 BEST RADICAL MUSIC RELEASES OF 2016

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Music That Matters and tagged a tribe called quest, Against Me!, anohni, austerity, b-real, chris t-t, chuck d, climate change, cypress hill, drone warfare, dubstep, enter shikari, far right, fascism, folk, folk-punk, fugazi, gentrification, Green Day, hardcore, hip hop, Kate Nash, Lobster, Martha, michael kiwanuka, mischief brew, Muncie Girls, obama, OPS, petrol girls, pop punk, post-hardcore, post-punk, prophets of rage, public enemy, punk, racism, rage against the machine, rap, refused, reggae, reggae punk, Saul Williams, Ska, ska punk, sleaford mods, slyvia plath, Solange, Sonic Boom Six, soul, suffragettes, surveillance, taj weekes, The Selecter, The Tuts, tom morello, war.

By Chris Jarvis

Yes, yes, we all know that 2016 has been an unmitigated cluster-fuck, with rising fascism, worsening humanitarian crises and intensifying conflict. In moments of darkness, many of us turn to the arts world – especially music – for comfort, for release, for explanation. With David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, Glenn Frey, Paul Kantner, Maurice White, George Martin, Phife Dawg, Erik Petersen, Leonard Cohen, Nick Menza, Greg Lake, Sharon Jones, and too many others all having passed away, many have found music to have also fallen on dark times.

That notwithstanding, 2016 has been a year of some undeniably and uniquely brilliant music too, especially music that espouses messages of a better world, of political analysis, of radical alternatives. Here are the 20 best of those radical releases from the past year.

“WE’RE FIGHTING A DOUBLE BATTLE IN THIS WHITE-DOMINATED WORLD” – AN INTERVIEW WITH THE TUTS

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Music That Matters and tagged #WomeninMusic, Akala, Apple Music, billy bragg, Boris Johnson, Colour Me Wednesday, DIY, equality, EU referendum, female musicians, Free Education, grace petrie, hate crime, Itch, Kate Nash, music, music industry, music scene, music that matters, musician, musicians, NHS, petrol girls, politics, pop punk, punk, Riz Ahmed, Sonic Boom Six, the king blues, The Selecter, The Tuts, women.

by Chris Jarvis

2016 will be the year of the Tut. After a crowdfunding campaign that achieved double its original target, The Tuts are set to release their debut album – Update Your Brain – in September. The all-woman three piece from Hayes have nurtured a loyal and growing fan base in their first few years, with tours alongside UK veterans Kate Nash, The Selecter and Sonic Boom Six helping to build a wide creoss-genre appeal.Continue Reading

WOMEN AND PUNK: SHAPING THE GENRE 40 YEARS ON

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Music That Matters and tagged #WomeninMusic, Ace Bushy Striptease, Adore Life, album, autonomads, Baby Ghosts, BME, British music, Built on Our Backs, Chekhov’s Hangnail, Colour Me Wednesday, DIY, EP, From Caplan to Belsize, Goldman’s Detective Agency, hardcore, hc, In Evil Hour, Kate Nash, Kerrang! Awards, King Prawn, Laila K, Leftover Crack, Lily Allen, LP, Martha, math-rock, media, Middle Ones, MSM, Muncie Girls, music, music journalism, music that matters, No Ditching, No Man No Right, Okinawa Picture Show, Perkie, petrol girls, pop punk, post-hardcore, punk, Radiator Hospital, Resolution 242, rock, Savages, Ska, ska punk, Sonic Book Six, split, T-Shirt Weather, Tellison, The F-Bomb, the king blues, The Selecter, Treading Water.

by Chris Jarvis

Last week, Music That Matters looked at the 40^th anniversary of punk and how our understanding of its history is typically one which erases the efforts and achievements of women musicians and people of colour. Today, the scene is often still seen as a male and white space, with punk shows frequently having male dominated crowds queuing up to see white men thrashing on guitars in shabby venues.

But it looks like things are changing. 2016 feels like it is becoming a rebirth of women in punk, and critically, as if it is women of colour who often are leading the way. More women are touring, more are getting bigger stages and longer sets, and more are getting the media coverage that they deserve. Among the nostalgic reflection, this year, dozens of punk albums will be released. Some will become instant classics, others will fade from memory as quickly as they came. Here are 10 bands leading the British punk scene this year, and the women that are making them shape the future of the genre.Continue Reading

Kate Nash

THE CULTURAL IS POLITICAL – THE REUNIFICATION OF LEFTISM AND CULTURE

THE 20 BEST RADICAL MUSIC RELEASES OF 2016

“WE’RE FIGHTING A DOUBLE BATTLE IN THIS WHITE-DOMINATED WORLD” – AN INTERVIEW WITH THE TUTS

WOMEN AND PUNK: SHAPING THE GENRE 40 YEARS ON

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