[lbo-talk] European Welfare State

[B.]

He [Jaz Coleman, singer/frontman of Killing Joke] was the Composer-in-Residence 
for the EU (related, this clip of the Czech film _Year of the Devil_ ("Rok 
Dabla") that features him conducting an orchestra: 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KR1RPCoEwM> (skip to 4:27) and on on Sept 27 
was awarded "the medal of Chevalier of Arts and Letters" in France 
(<http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/jaz-coleman-knighted-killing-joke-ticket-discount/>)

But - here's what Coleman says about the song "European Super State":

"That was a jam that we did in the studio. Youth's dad was there and  he said 
'this is great!' He started dancing with a glass of white wine  and a cigarette 
in his hand. It ran very quickly from this. If you look at the song 'Europe' on 
our fifth album [Night Time 1985_] – Geordie's a passionate admirer of Rifkind 
and the European  Dream, and we're all supporters of the European Ideal, I know 
Big Paul [drummer]  is and Geordie [guitarist] is passionately, so it's just a 
continuation of our  convictions. The origins of the European Union are Jan Huss 
from Prague  in the 1600s. His original idea is worth studying because it's 
based on  the arts, it's based on spirituality. At that time Prague was a 
bastion  of hermeticism and Rosicrucianism and alchemy against the Roman 
Catholic  church, so it's worth looking at our roots there, and that's what we  
did with this track. It's quite prophetic when you look at the second  verse – 
'why are the proud descendents of Plato paying off more debts  accommodating 
NATO?' It's what we call the triple-headed head-dress of  the jester – the 
'Shin', as we call it – which is a prophetic current  that runs through Killing 
Joke lyrics when they are accurate  transmissions."

[From: 
<http://thequietus.com/articles/04796-jaz-coleman-on-killing-joke-and-absolute-dissent>]


:O

To me, it sound way more critical and satirical than what the above would 
indicate, like it is mocking the EU.

But at this recent interview at France's Hellfest, Jaz is caught telling a 
French interviewer he prefers European (and Canadian) audiences to American 
audiences - heh: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH7e3mx_Stk> (at about 2:00)

-B.

----- Original Message ----
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Sent: Mon, October 4, 2010 3:03:00 PM
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] European Welfare State

On Oct 4, 2010, at 3:36 PM, B. wrote:


> Germaine to this topic, Doug recently played this new (!) Killing Joke song on 


> his show - "European Super State"

Have you figured out what it means? Jaz has some sorta EU gig, right?

Doug
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