From the ashes of left wing Marxist punks Crisis rose Death In June. Accusations of the band being Fascists soon began to surface, (strange as if Hitler hated any one more than the Jews it was the Communists.) It all stemmed from an article in a 1984 issue of Private Eye by James Nice, who used to write to the band a lot he'd been given information by the band, and constructed an article taking lyrics out of context and using misconstrued information. Death In June defended themselves "The new Judas worth £35. If people want to think that we are Nazis there is nothing in the world that will make them change their minds. Tunnel vision and ignorance rules supreme. What a waste of time. Cheap lies and betrayal." The band did themselves no favours as a review in NME of a gig they did at the 100 Club pointed out "The worrying thing is onstage they are frighteningly real, daggers hanging from hips, SS deathheads on shirts, far too glamorous" I can testify to that as I was there, and they were powerful not just in image but in their music as well, which was an atmospheric collage of, dark pounding rhythms with a brooding intensity in the lyrics of doom, decay and death in the world....'We paid in blood for a free Europe' So there you have it. Nazis or not ? make up yer own minds. Originally released in 1983 The Guilty Have No Pride may or may not hold the answer. But while you listen to this lost classic just remember; it can happen again if we ignore the lessons of history, or if we fail to act like the NATO peace keepers in Bosnia. The power is with the media and their propaganda, in times of social crisis voters turn to the right for answers. You only have to take a look around and read the press to see that the fight against the fascists is far from finished and how fascism manifests itself in many forms.
DEATH IN JUNE - The Guilty Have No Pride http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QC9JJJPK
5 comments:
and what about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_june
and dp colloboration with nazis like non and a.julious?
and this ?
http://www.stewarthomesociety.org/dij.htm
ok the band never said that they are fascists but also never said they are antifascists.And that is important.
in my opinion they mix fascism,"art" , and music to sell their records and earn some money.
well well well;
actually i am sick and tired of this discussion (which is going on since ... ähm ... forever?). actually douglas p had to declare himself in germany. you can find his statement in full here: http://www.deathinjune.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=70
and i definitly subscribe to this paragraph of his:
"In the 24 years of Death In June’s existence I have never explained my work. I feel that would make my art ordinary and stillborn and panders to elements within society that seek to control freedom of expression and thought, abstract or otherwise. All art, whether it be in the form of music, literature, painting etc. worth a grain of salt should be open to interpretation. In turn, this also makes it open to misinterpretation; sometimes good, sometimes bad. It is in the nature of art that ‘challenges’ or ‘confronts’ the consumer, or potential consumer, to be misunderstood."
i think that lots of good art comes from this ambiguence resulting from a play with signs and signifiers. there is no black or white there, no simple solution, you have to 'read', 'look' or 'listen' very carefully and most of all you have to use your own brain to decifer some meaning.
if you don't like this kind of art (or speciffically the work of dij) it's ok and your personal choice, but please stop preaching about mixing fascism and art and so on. especially in this case it is not that simple. (and as npw stated you have to make up your own mind)
greetings from germany, micha
ps. great post npw.
you are sick and tired but you wrote a very big comment. Yes douglas P with his nazis friends he's too clever and intellectual for us the mortals who don't understand his "art". No problem at all. We let him done a concert in our country. The second time he came here he was hiding.
"If you have a racist friend
Now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end
Be it your sister
Be it your brother
Be it your cousin or your, uncle or your lover"
SO SIMPLE
ah, the case for the defence and the case for the prosecution. Both very well argued. I have nothing more to add, but in summing up I wolud like to say that all great art/music/literature should provoke a reaction. Indifference breeds apathy, and finally everything is open to different interpretations, but we are one, regardless of race,colour or creed.(unless you are a Nazi and I deny your freedom as you would deny mine.) If we forget that the bastards have won. Case closed. Annie and Anon I thank you both.
Erm... the Flyer says "Gulity" :D
Nice Blog, thanks for the link.
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