Demonstration nation

>> The time is ripe for the return of
British anarcho-punks the Subhumans

HOLLOW, THE LEADERS: The Subhumans

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Mirror: We’re living in politically turbulent times, with right-wing Christians preaching that global warming is a hoax, an unjust war in Iraq, the U.S. commander-in-chief ignoring the will of his people and so on—a myriad of lyrical fodder for anarcho-punk bands. What are some of the issues you are currently tackling in your lyrics?

Dick Lucas: I always used to try to avoid lyrics that were time-specific, and still do, as things, especially our “leaders,” do alter over time, whereas the nature of their leadership does not. The Iraq war and the “war on terror” are unfortunately unlikely to be a short-time-span thing, and recent songs do tackle that area. Other new songs broadly revolve around the dehumanizing nature of modern commercialism, celebrity culture, media manipulation and the general fragmentation of social cohesion, as the state delivers non-stop messages of fear, which leads to vast amounts of social alienation and scapegoating.

M: Since the Patriot Act, protesting has become synonymous with terrorism and is looked at as a threat to homeland security. Being an avid protester before and after 9/11, have you noticed any changes?

DL: The ability to demonstrate legally has been vastly curtailed in the name of “security,” and gatherings of three or more people were nominally illegal before 9/11 anyway! Since then, with the Patriot Act and similar laws over here, the rights of assembly have massively diminished, the introduction of ID cards is only held back by massive public resistance—but the worst aspect of this is the general feeling that protest changes nothing, coupled with the illusion provided by forever cheaper and more insidious modes of media that life is still a bed of multi-channelled, all-access, 24/7 roses, keeping the people numbed out in a state of possession-orientated complacent contentedness where the facts of war are reduced to sound bites and talking heads. I think now, though, people should get more politically active than ever before.

M: You’ve mentioned in a previous interview that freedom has become a buzzword which has been co-opted away from its proper definition.

DL: Freedom is a buzzword inasmuch as a politician can try to justify the worst excesses of human behaviour by slipping the word into a speech as often as possible, like it was a rare product waiting to be shipped over to the godless hordes—just as soon as they stopped fighting back and getting all upset because of the bombing raids.

M: Does punk rock still possess the power to change things?

DL: It can change people’s attitudes, open people up to new ideas, and perhaps most importantly, make people aware that they are not alone in the way they see the world.

With Ripcordz, Hold a Grudge
and guests at Foufounes Électriques
on Friday, April 20, 7 p.m., $13