Norman Silver & The Gold - War Memoirs

Very often it seems that there is an urge by the wider populace to race to the bottom to get their entertainment kicks.

Especially in music.

We live in an era where the fast food aspect of buy, consume and die is king.

A time where anything of substance is passed over in favour of vacuous dance and rap tracks that are indistinguishable from each other and draw the maximum revenue regardless of quality.

The statement that 'the people get what the people want' rings loud in my ears, but as a salve I am thankful that I can reach out and drop the needle in the groove of 'War Memoirs' by Norman Sills and The Gold.

It is the polar opposite of what the market forces dictate that we should gravitate towards, and all the better for it.

A punk attitude, a country heart and an eloquent turn of phrase are all the ingredients cast into the melting pot, and the result is something that if you added it to the niche of country punk would rise rather effortlessly to the top.

There are however more strings to the bands bow than that though.

While the songs on display would sit well on a play list next to the likes of Social Distortion and the Supersuckers, they would also comfortable sit between releases by fellow Scottish east coasters Goodbye Mr McKenzie and the the west coasts The Humpff family as Norman Sills take on country lends itself to leaning towards the approach that those bands touched on.

The first subtly and the latter far more obviously.

On the surface it seems to have been a long road for lead man Norman Sills to travel from The Newtown Grunts - the punk band that he he cut his teeth with - and what we have here, but once the songs start to bed in the lyrics start to draw the connection together and it all begins to make perfect sense.

There's and earthiness and a dark sense of humour that stems from the past and sits well within the framework of how he is currently looking to artistically express himself.

Fans of old are not going to be disappointed, and anyone who is looking to expand on what they are listening to now may very well be looking for something exactly like this.

180 gram white vinyl is available direct from the band who can be contacted through facebook

The itsaxxxxthing gig guide for 2014 so far.

Well after having a little break I guess it is time to get back in the saddle.

Look here. Just to the left. Click on it if you can't read it. It will get bigger.
Yep. It's Duncan Reid who used to swing his bass about for The Boys and very recently released and utterly jaw dropping - in my opinion - power pop punk classic of an album called 'Little Big Head..
You can get it here. http://www.little-big-head.com/
I'm super chuffed to say that he's coming to Glasgow with his Big heads to do a matinee show for us.
Ooooh. A matinee show you say?
Well yes. So it's not going to clash with anything, and so that I can't be accused of misogyny I will add that if any lovely ladies out there want to let their husbands have a solo trip around the stores looking for bargains in the January sales and fancy a pint and a jump about to Duncan while their other half oohs and aaahs over the reduced price sweater in C&As, then you are all more than welcome to pop along.
The guys can come to, but if it's wall to wall with the ladies I doubt Duncan will complain.
In support are a rather excellent bill in my honest opinion.
Media Whores, Party Asylum and Monsterpop.
I think that's what you call bang for your buck.
Facebook invite page.

Then after that you can start saving your pennies up for the Eureka Machines.
Last time they were here in Glasgow the gig sold out and quite rightly so.
With a tour opening for The Wildhearts they won a legion of new fans, and then cemented their reputation with thier own headlining dates in clubs the length and breadth of the UK.

If you missed that then I could say tough titty, but instead I will offer you the hand of friendship and say here's your chance to get a second bite at the boys.

Backing them up are Debrasco, Rank Berry and once again - as you can't get too much of a good thing - Party Asylum.
I would suggest that those interested in attending watch for the tickets becoming available next week and grab them sooner rather than later.
You have been warned.
Facebook invite page

And then we come to the last of the current bookings.
It's the trashtastic DeRellas
Now if you don't know who this band are then I feel a tad sorry about that.
Not sorry as in thinking you are some sort of pathetic loser.
Oh no. Not that sort of poor you sorry.
More just the way you would feel sorry for a blind man who has never seen a sun rise.
More a pity sorry.
So don't leave me feeling like that about you.
Come to the gig. You will love it.

Of course as I've booked them for a show I am going to sing their praises, but I can honestly hand on heart state for the record that if it was someone else putting them on then I wouldn't hesitate to reach deep into my pocket and gladly hand over the cash to ensure that I wasn't going to miss out on seeing them.

While having a little google early today I noticed that the guys opened for Hanoi Rocks on the bands farewell tour and I have to say that I did get a tingle in the nether regions just at the thought of that combination.

So there you have it. Three gigs all peculating away.
Tickets for Duncan Reid and Eureka Machines will be on sale from next week from Tickets Scotland, the support bands and of course moi.
That's a fancy word for me by the way.

CBGB

CBGBs.

The name conjures up a thousand dreams.

It doesn't really matter if you never played there, failed to see a band there, or even missed out on making the pilgrimage to its hallowed doors to pay your respects to the venue that birthed so many monsters.

None of that matters as its legend cannot be diminished as every single punk fan still owes a huge debt of gratitude to Hilly for opening the doors of his bar to the bands, and fans, who took music off in a direction that few could have imagined would shake the world.

So with a biopic now available we should all be lining up to bask in the cinematic homage to the venue we all know and love, as let's be honest here and say out right that no one could fuck up a CBGBs biopic.

The place is steeped in so many stories that could jump to the screen that it's a sure fire hit, and who cares if it wasn't to be entirely one hundred percent accurate as long as its heart is in the right place.

Oh, but wait.

I just watched it and it is a pile of shit.

There's probably more shit shoveled into its 101 minutes run time than Hilly's dog ever left on the floor.

And on the subject of his dog.
I sincerely hope that the fleas it carried on its back are now being relocated to the pubic area of the director Randall Miller.

You could ask me what is wrong with it, but it would be easier to list what is right with it.

The soundtrack is great.

That's it.

I'm not even going to comment on the official soundtrack release that doesn't feature The Ramones as that's another story, but simply put you are best enjoying this film with your ears open rather than your eyelids.

No one looks like anyone we know, the dialogue is reflective of the venues toilets, and it is like an over long advert for some kids television show.

To paraphrase a comment that the front man of a band - who shall at this point remain anonymous - said to me about another act 'You know it's shit, but it wrapped up in layers of cream to disguise that. It looks good, but dig away at it and it's still shit at the center.'

Now I like Harry Potter. I'm not ashamed to admit it, but Ron Weasly as Cheetah Chrome is just too much of a leap of faith for me, and I have a sneaky suspicion that Rupert Grint knows it to.

The Debbie-alike? Bollocks.

Stiv-alike? More bollocks.

How can you fuck up the Ramones. 

There are cartoons that capture them better than this motley crew of guys in bad wigs and leather jackets.

Television, Talking Heads.....oh give me a break.

I could throw a stone out of my window and hit someone that would be more appropriate to portray these people.

Taylor Hawkins.....Get back to your drum stool and behave yourself.

Do you know how bad this is?

It hovers just below that point where a bad film manages to shake off the shackles of being really really bad and steps up to being so bad that in a perverse way it's good.

It's just at that pinnacle of simply being bad, and fails to smash the glass ceiling of badness that would bring it to cult level bad.

Right now someone is having a bowel movement that is providing them with more pleasure than this would.

In fact a proctologist is probably wrist deep in someone somewhere and as they groan in discomfort is is saying 'shut up or I will put on the CBGBs film and you will know what real pain is.'

I would tell people to avoid it at all costs, but I expect that similar to myself you will be saying that it can't be as bad as people say and you will have to learn from your own mistakes.

Do you know the worst thing about it to?

I might still buy this fuckin' waste of celluloid as there's a bit of the anally retentive punk in me that would feel that I need to get it.

I bloody don't, but the completest urge is strong.

I know I'm going to hate myself in the morning if I do.

It really is an atrocity.

A pox on everyone involved.

You pissed on my dreams.

Debrasco - The Joys of Chaos

As a genre the world of rock is pretty bulletproof.

No matter how dismissive mainstream music journalists are about it, or how unimpressed the chart following teens are, the rock acts just keep ploughing ever onwards.

I am sure somewhere someone has written a thesis about it, but for me I think its popularity is rooted in a no frills attitude and how the actual bands main focus is to make music rather than grasp for fame.

That could of course be bullshit, but do you know what isn't bullshit?

Debrasco's album 'The Joys of Chaos'.

That's right.

It sounds like the band are looking to take the eloquent power of Pearl Jam, and the gonzo approach to power pop that bands like The Wildhearts had in spades, and corral them together while sprinkling some punk fairy dust over it all.

It's a tall order, and there are times that they fall short of getting to grips with it, but over the course of the album there are far more hits than misses, and as they are aiming rather high that's not too shabby at all.

At a hefty sixteen tracks they are obviously looking to provide value for money, but maybe a better approach would have been to trim a few songs off it and then issue a ten track album of killer tunes and then use issue two four track eps' leading off with an album track and backed with three songs and in that way it could have been spaced out a bit, but then again that's just an opinion and as they say opinions are like arseholes as we all have them.

So don't let that minor brain fart of a thought detract you away from the band as it's pretty much irrelevant to the sheer magnitude of what is on offer.

What these guys need is a name producer and a few weeks in a top class studio, and I suspect that they are well aware of that, but as it stands this is the sort of album that should if there is any justice draw enough attention to them for that to happen.

It's the advert writ large in neon screaming 'look at me' and if you do then I doubt many would find much to be disappointed about.

In fact I'm struggling to think of the last band I heard that had as much of a crossover appeal as these guys.

From melodic pop punk rock to grunge-tastic anthems they have their finger in every pie and manage to keep it all on track without sounding like an ill stitched patchwork quilt of influences.

Hey. Is that The Dead Boys I hear muscling in on the Yo-Yo's?

Like I said, not too shabby at all.

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Sonic Templars - Lessons in my life

The Computers - Classic Grand Glasgow (04/12/13)

There's not a month goes past that I don't take issue with someone who claims that there is no good music out there any more.

Of course there is.

In fact there's so much of it I can't keep up.

What people really mean to say is 'I expect there is no good music out there any more as I stopped listening a decade ago, and therefore can't express a valid opinion on the matter, but I'm going to anyway as talking about things we know fuck all about is the modern day affliction that I am most comfortable with'.

Sadly those who proclaim that utter balderdash (I'm going to use balderdash more to try and wean myself off from saying utter shite in a thick Scots dialects) are the same ones who will refuse to take a recommendation from you as they feel it's always better to live in ignorance than accept being wrong.

So my thrusting The Computers in their face – in an obviously none sexual way – isn't going to change their world, but in the words of the big man in the vest 'frankly my dear, I don't give a damn' as last night I seen my latest and bestest favourite new band.

All hail The Computers.

These are the guys who show up all those people who sit at bars saying that the supports are never any good ,and never worth levering their fat backsides off a barstool for, as barefaced liars whose opinions are worth as much as Lib Dem election promise (Yep. I'm not forgetting that one).

Opening for the equally fabulous Rocket From The Crypt they got it going on early.

With a firm understanding of why rock and roll always need a little bit of soul attached they plundered the back history of music with a great deal of swaggering panache.

If there is any band right now who could give the Jim Jones Revue a run for their money then it is these guys, and as a fan of Jimmy boy that's not an opinion lightly aired.

There's no holding back from them, and while some people have the chops to deliver a solid show musicianship wise, but fall short in providing a bit of showmanship, you couldn't accuse this band of slacking on either.

From the stage to stomping across the bar to climbing up to meet and greet those at the back of the venue it would be hard to consider that anyone who was there was not impressed.

Studied indifference for the audience isn't their bag.

It's instead one big fucked up take on a fifties hop, but only where the punch bow has been laced with enough amphetamines to cure a narcoleptic.

When James Brown* said that he wasn't comfortable with being named the hardest working man in rock n roll and to find someone else to carry the torch for him I doubt he considered that it would be a bunch of delinquents from Exeter, but there you have it.

The torch is in safe hands.

This is exactly the sort of band who deserve their very own review rather than being tagged onto that of the headlining act.

The Computers....I bow to your magnificence.

*James Brown didn't say that and I made it up.

Fishbone photographs. Linked with kind permission.

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The Media Whores – Pornophonica

Opening up with a track that sounds like James Bond has arrived in town and is in no mood to take any prisoners is a bold move, but 'Affluenza' carries it well while proclaiming loudly and proudly that the band are here.

With their debut 'Starfishing' serving as an impressive introduction they clearly didn't consider for a second resting on their laurels, and instead used the intervening time to write and road test the material that we now have sprawling out and taking up room across the breadth of this album.

It's difficult to pigeon hole the band, and I have a sneaky suspicion that they they like it that way.

One minute they are firmly pounding out a beat in the power pop trenches and then they comfortably ease the listener towards something that is harder edged, a bit dirtier and altogether more meaty.

The only problem is, in the nicest possible way, that as soon as you start to get to grips with that they are off out of the starting gate again and looking to embrace the angular guitar of the post punk sound while adding some harmonies over it all that have no right to be there, but works magnificently anyway.

The whole experience is akin to shadow boxing.

Every single time you may think you have the target in arms reach they have ducked away only to pop up on the periphery and come at you from another angle.

It's wonderfully discombobulating.

A bit of jazz here and a bit of reggae there, and all still sheltering within the broad church of punk rock.

I considered that something special was on the cards, but I wasn't expecting the next step from Starfishing to be such a large one.

One small step for mankind, one giant leap for the Media Whores

Twenty Stone Blatt Records

Revelations Tour - The Mission/Fields of the Nephilim - 02 Academy Glasgow (14/12/13)

When anyone mentions the golden age of Goth then there are a few names that immediately spring to mind.

The Sisters of Mercy are the main one who to this day remain as the golden jewel in the dark crown of the movement, but The Mission - who spawned from the Sisters of Mercy and were originally called The Sisterhood - and Fields of the Nephilim, are both bands who could also be considered big hitters in their field, and equally acts who came to personify the dark character of the sub culture that they lorded over.

By the tail end of the eighties both bands had their teeth in the jugular of a rabid, and ever growing, fan base who seen their heroes as apocalyptic warriors riding in to add some romanticism to their - in the main - teenage angst.

In hindsight it could very well have been a moment in time that would have been left behind, but it's a testament to the bands themselves, and their unwavering dedication to creating music, that here in 2013 they are still relevant, and still entertaining audiences globally.

While others of their ilk are to be found gathering dust in second hand record stores and the 'where are they now' columns of the music press, both The Mission and Fields of the Nephilim are the Dorian Grey's of the scene who are forever present in the here and now regardless of how their back catalogues may look like in the attic.  

So it's no real surprise that they have finally drawn together to play a UK tour in venues that some of thier peers could only ever dream of appearing in.

It's an outing that will I suspect provide their fan base with a wet nightmare as they anticipate the forthcoming dates, and with Revelations coming to Glasgow on the 14th of December it's not long to wait for their dark desires to be met.

Ticket Link 

  

Class of 77 Tour - O2 ABC Glasgow - 08/12/13

As sure as night follows day the reaction to what can be called nostalgia tours often draws a negative response.

The voices of the naysayers are raised in outrage at the audacity of their yesteryear heroes still wanting to go out on the road and perform.

Imagine that. Oh the horror.

There's only one problem with that attitude though.

It's got nothing to do with the music.

Absolutely nothing at all.

Instead it's more about preconceived ideas.

The opinion that they guys in the band can't cut it anymore wrestles with the ludicrous attitude that it is nothing more than a cash in.

Like I said, nothing to do with the music.

Strangely enough the people who usually shout loudest are the ones who are happy to go and see a tribute band covering the songs of their heroes rather than the band themselves, or one that features members of it.

I will never understand that, but hey ho, and as 'Da Brudders' would say let's go as this Sunday the open minded are in for a real treat as Glasgow ABC hosts three acts that feature plenty of individuals who provided the soundtrack to what some would call the greatest ever example of a rebellious youth movement that the world ever seen..

One whose global impact can still be felt today. 

Earning his stripes with The Jam, and then Stiff Little Fingers, Bruce Foxton leads the charge with his band From the Jam who not only breathe life into the classics that he performed on, but also deliver some original compositions of their own which highlights that no one is ever really just standing still.

The Blockheads are of course minus their legendary front man, and many years ago I had my reservations about how the dynamic would work until I seen the band perform at The Wickerman Festival.

It was then that I had my mind opened up as to what is possible.

Before the end of the opening song I was converted to the cause, as apart from the sublime level of musicianship on display, the band were very obviously honouring the life of their fallen comrade.

This band do that every single night that they perform to.

Every show will no doubt start with a good percentage of the audience looking to be won over, and ends with fans returning to the fold.

Similarly to The Blockheads, Eddie and the Hot Rods were without the shadow of a doubt one of the bands who kicked the doors in and helped lay the foundations for punk rock.

Starting as a pub rock act they pushed that term to destruction with their adrenaline driven live performances, and to this day they haven't taken their foot off the peddle.............not once.

If you want passion delivered at one hundred miles another then this is the band for you.

Get some spotty teenager fresh from the garage looking to take on the world and put them next to Eddie and pull the trigger on the starting pistol and watch him leave them in the dust.

Less than a week to go. So grab your tickets quick.

Ticket Link

 

Christie Connor-Vernal - As good as I am

Dregen / Imperial State Electric - Glasgow Cathouse - 01/12/13

People know that Glasgow rocks.

They can't but help realize that as week after week the city hosts quality acts and warmly embraces them all.

We simply love our rock and roll.

Bands have shouted it from the rooftops, and there's been a credible amount of live albums recorded in venues across the city to back up why they just bloody love us.

Yet tonight I am mystified as to why the double header of Dregen and Imperial State Electric failed to draw a larger crowd than it did.

Maybe it's just me, but if you put Dregen and Nick Royale on a bill I would expect that they could very easily fill 250 to 350 capacity venues.

Yet that wasn't the case.

It would be easy to say that this is other peoples loss - as it is - but maybe some questions should be asked as to why such a sterling line up failed to draw an audience.

Answers on a postcard as they say.

Now regardless of the woefully poor attendance it has to be said that both bands didn't pull any punches and the sets they delivered were beyond criticizing.

On a professional level this is the sort of show that musicians aspire towards.

Dregen was on fire and his backing band are hitting the ground running.

With a very impressive solo debut under his belt he's looking to draw attention to the material and doing it in fine style.

It would be easy to just have a quick run through of the songs, but that would probably be too easy and instead everything is treated as an organic entity that is still growing.

Every song that I was thinking I had become familiar with has taken a few steps away from the studio version and are living and breathing beasts that are hungry to take over some unexplored ground.

One highlight of the performance is the blues heavy 'Flat tire on a muddy road', but for me there was a section of the set that surpassed that, and this was when Dregen took the opportunity to introduce the band and as part of that there was an off the cuff bit of guitar duelling between him and Michel Santunione that could be described as a you had to be there moment.

There was nothing really that flashy about it, and neither would be looking to be called guitar heroes based on it, but the natural flow between the two of them was a joy to behold.

Full plaudits have to go to Michel for his over all contribution to the performance and I am sure Dregen will be aware that in this young man he has a perfect foil for him to work with.

The last time I seen Nick Royale was when he was playing with the MC5, so this was a bit of a treat for me to see him opening his UK tour with Imperial State Electric, and I wasn't disappointed.

It's like KISS without the make up.

Full on rock, and unlike Simmons and Stanley, who if we are honest can be a bit hit and miss, this was all killer and no filler.

You can imagine the guys stomping onto a stadium stage as fireworks go off and nothing about that would jar with the music.

It's big, it's ballsy and it's pretty much in your face unashamedly good time rock and roll and sometimes that just exactly what we could all do with a bit of.

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't kept up to date with the band and I don;t even have their two albums, but give me a day or two and that will be rectified.

It's been a quick week that has encompassed shows from Buckcherry, Hardcore Superstar, Girlschool and Michael Monroe, bit if I was to list them in order of personal preference this one just slips in behind Michael Monroe.

Strange how Buchcherry and Hardcore Superstar can command a four figure audience when this outing very easily left both of those bands in the dust, even though there was nothing wrong with their shows.

Michael Monroe - Glasgow Cathouse - 29/11/13

The lead up to the Michael Monroe show in the Cathouse in Glasgow was rather low key with word of mouth from the fans being the main promotional push.

So it was heart warming to see so many people turn out for it, and I can only imagine what size of venue would be required if there was a real splash of the cash to promote it.

The opportunity to see them in a small venue is not one to be sniffed at though.

It is in this sort of environment that you can feel that they energy that they generate can barely be contained.

It's very doubtful that collectively there is a band right now anywhere on this planet that put so much into a show.

I've said similar often, but there's no other way to frame it.

Right now they are the act who are setting the benchmark that others need to aspire to.

As is usual now the band take to the stage individually and exude a relaxed approach that when Michael joins them is given just one second to serve as a watershed before they all explode into action.

It's akin to a starting pistol going off with the whole band racing for the finish line.

Nothing holds them back.

Got Blood isn't the opening, and is left to midway through the set, but the lyric 'GOT BLOOD IF YOU WANT IT. YOU GOT IT, I'LL BLEED IT FOR YOU EVERY NIGHT. I'LL SPILL IT OUT IN BLACK AND WHITE, BLACK AND WHITE' sums the performance up.

Like the Stones here's a band who will give you everything and spill it all out on the stage.

It's relentless.

The stereotypically named high octane show writ large in neon.

With a mixture of Hanoi Rocks fans bolstered by New York Dolls ones who are drawn to the show due to Sami and Steve participating, and added to again by a fair amount of Lemmy Kilminster fans who were seduced by Michael when they opened for Motorhead, it was certainly a broad church of rock fans in attendance, but all shared an equally high level of appreciation with songs from across Monroes whole career - and some punk covers - hitting the spot and drawing out lustily delivered responses from everyone.

Prior to the gig I had heard some grumblings about Dregens no show as he is promoting his own solo release, but Rich Jones doesn't simply hold the position as a hired gun.

Instead he's the perfect fit.

The replacement cog that slips into the machine and and refuses to let the performance slip from the grasp of the band.

Similar to when Dregen stepped in to cover the departure of Ginger you can't find one criticism to level at the guy.

He's standing shoulder to shoulder with the rest of them and delivering knock out punches in every song.

I could say the same for everyone involved.

Karl and Sami are unflagging.

Steve Contes guitar flourishes and backing vocals provide a dimension that is often missing with other bands, and his song writing contribution on the latest album provides a solid framework for the set to hang on.

As for Michael Monroe. He is the whirlwind holding court. The storm bringer casting a spell over the audience.

As limber as ever he covers every inch of the stage, the space in front of it and the barrier separating the fans from him.

He's Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger all rolled into one, and still he holds tightly to that androgynous sex appeal long after any man has any right to.

Did I say this was the best band in the world just now?

Okay. I did, but it's worth repeating.

During the set - as mentioned - pretty much every part of Michaels career is hit with the exception of his stint as Jerusalem Slim (Don't write them off and seek out the demos of the album).

Hanoi Rocks is of course well represented, but Demolition 23s take on punk rock that was such a welcome blast so many years ago is also all present and correct.

Dead, Jail or Rock and Roll from his sophomore solo release was dusted off and sounds better now than it ever done before, while the material that we could call the Michael Monroe Bands songs featured comfortably with Horns and Halos getting a solid outing.

The covers were of course sublime. A bit of The Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods is always welcome.

As the performance ended I had two thoughts.

The first was I wonder when we can do all this again, and the other was that it would be pretty cool if they all organized a rock and roll circus tour with the supports being made up from all the members other projects, as Steve Contes new album is stunning, Sami's Mad Juana would work well, Dregen has his own thing and Rich and Karl sprinkle magic over everything they do.

Now I'd pay top dollar for that.

Looking forward to Dregen now.

An open letter about Conflict

Today I had planned on reviewing the Girlschool/Raven and Michael Monroe gigs that I had attended during the week.

Events surrounding the tragedy at the Clutha Vaults bar/venue in Glasgow have however pushed that aside for the moment.

So I will start by saying that I, like so many others, are saddened and upset at what was a horrible accident.

I personally know people who were there, and if I had not attended the Michael Monroe show then it is a possibility that I would have been one of the people in the Clutha.

It's a sobering thought.

In a strange way I also feel a slight swelling of pride by proxy at the reactions displayed by those who were there.

The general public and professionals who responded and put their own lives at risk are to be commended.

It doesn't make much sense to feel pride in the actions of others who we don't know, but it's there none the less.

Unfortunately there is always an ugly side to any incident like this, and that's what I feel needs to be commented on.

As most know Katie Hopkins issued a tweet about the life expectancy of us Scots, that while it wasn't specifically aimed at the victims of this tragedy, was spectacularly mistimed.

No surprise there really.

The press have also drawn our attention to the police investigation into some tweets of jokes.

Once again that's no surprise.

The starting gate seems to be opening ever earlier for that sort of thing.

I don't feel the need to cover that ground though, and instead I want to address the opinion expressed by Colin of the punk band Conflict.

In the aftermath of the incident he publicly posted this.

I have been advised, asked and even pleaded with not to comment.
BUT, the ONLY good copper is a dead one.
We NEVER forgive-We NEVER forget-NO apologies EVER.
EXPECT US.X

The man is entitled to state his views, and as a supporter of free speech I would never consider calling out for him to be censored, but I do have a problem with this, and that problem is with the unbending fundamentalist attitude that it is soaked in.

There's no room for debate with anyone who holds an opposing view.

No effort to change a persons mind by eloquently defending a position and shedding light on why they are passionate about it.

Instead it is simply the wishing of death on complete strangers because of their employment status.

There's not even any room for making an exception in what was said.

It's a very broadly inclusive comment, and all a bit fascist I would say.

Wouldn't you agree?

It's the jackboot on the throat angle to ushering in a perceived brave new world.

You disagree with me so it's death for you.

That's it in a nutshell, and how illogical is that?

How perversely immature must someone be to cling to that sort of ideology?

Let us cut to the chase. Celebrating death is a rather ugly pastime isn't it?

I can understand how people can look at one individual who has wronged them and feel a sense of relief at their departure from this world, but general sweeping comments are a different story.

To highlight how immature and fascist the ACAB message is all you have to do is swap cop in the 'the only good cop is a dead cop' rant with anything of your choice.

The only good Jew?

Remember that one? Always popular it seems.

How about changing it to black, or child? Or plumber?

There you go.

The only good plumber is a dead plumber.

It's dangerous village idiot thinking.

Unsurprisingly on the thread Colin has his supporters who are mentioning how they have had experiences with the big bad coppers.

The rationalization of the indefensible.

Of course there are less than savoury individuals working in the police service.

As there are in every job you care to mention.

And of course there's much we can legitimately complain about, but in this instance a man and a woman died.

This is when compassion and empathy should come to the fore.

I doubt that there will be anyone who would claim we live in a perfect world and wouldn't welcome change.

Yet to go to the extremes of wanting to excise those who are not singing from the same hymn sheet from the world is an extreme that we have some experience of, and we know it offers no real solutions.

Two people started a shift and didn't come home to their families and friends.

I didn't know them and it doesn't matter.

Two lives were lost.

That's it.

The impact will be reverberating through the lives of those who know them right now.

Today, nor tomorrow is the time to celebrate that.

In fact there is no time when it would be appropriate.

Those who are feeling a little tingle of excitement at the thought of two police officers dying in such tragic circumstances should be setting a little time aside to consider why that is.

One of the most ludicrous arguments put across to defend the Conflict position on this is that the officers are deserving of their death as they participate in the oppression of us all.

Similarly anyone who buys a Conflict album, t-shirt, patch or attends a show contributes to the capitalists system that is in place, and by dint participate in the oppression of us all to.
As do they for pushing their merch onto others.

That will of course be different I suppose.

As for myself Conflict will no longer feature in my life.

I will not even go as far as to advocate a boycott of the band as that is a form of censorship, but I do sincerely hope that they can reap the reaction to their fascist attitudes and wither on the vine.

Conflict. You are dead to me, but not really dead.

I'll leave that sort of wishful thinking to you guys.