Two Post Punk Guitar Pioneers Die

This November saw the death of two guitarists who would help set the stage for the next stage of Punk after the UK Punk explosion of 1976-77 known as Post Punk in the persons of Keith Levene of the original line up of Public Image Ltd and Wilko Johnson of Dr Feelgood.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD ~ "PUBLIC IMAGE";


The very name Post Punk is a bit of a misnomer as it obviously implies that it followed Punk but in fact it grew up at almost exactly the same time and by the time of that Post Punk was considered as officially kicking things off with their first single "Public Image" in 1978 several of the most important Post Punk bands had already been in the studio or would shortly do so including Siouxsie & The Banshees (with guitarist John McKay), Magazine (with John McGeogh, future guitarist for the Banshees and PIL), Joy Division, Wire, Ultravox, The Fall, The Cure, The Soft Boys, The Slits, Simple Minds, Japan and shorter lived and now largely forgotten but then important bands Subway Sect, Alternative Television and the Desperate Bicycles. By 1979 we could add in Bauhaus, Gang Of Four, Killing Joke, the Psychedelic Furs, Clock DVA, The Pop Group, A Certain Ratio, The Au Pairs, Delta 5 and early U2 among others. While Post Punk was largely a British (and more specifically English) movement there were some American bands who should be included as well both for their sound as well as general presentation and attitudes some of whom actually predate some of the above bands notably Pere Ubu, Television, Talking Heads (on their first two albums), the Motels (ditto) and possibly Devo and the hard to classify Suicide. Similarly Canada had a few more obscure but influential entries with Simply Saucer, The Scenics, Cardboard Brains, the early version of Martha & the Muffins and possibly FM, all from Toronto aside from Simply Saucer from neighbouring Hamilton.

PIL ~ "THE FLOWERS OF ROMANCE":


The difference between Punk and Post Punk then was not strictly chronological but musical as well as having a different (if related) attitude and aesthetic. Musically Punk took aggressive rejected the bloated monster Hard Rock had become in the hands of lumbering Blooze Busters like Led Zeppelin and Cream, Metal dinosaurs like Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep, Prog Rock leviathans like Emerson Lake & Palmer and Southern Rock Boogie bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, all of which relied on extended solos, long songs, shrill banshee or bellowed vocals, sluggish tempos and murky, downtuned sounds. Instead they took their inspiration from 60's Garage and Proto punk bands found on the hugely influential "Nuggets" and "Pebbles" collections with the likes of the Count Five, the Sonics, Chocolate Watchband, Shadows Of Knight, Standells and Seeds as well as later bands like the Stooges and MC5 along with more contemporary bands the New York Dolls, Flamin Groovies, Thin Lizzy and Ramones. Being British they also added influences from Glam and Glitter bands T Rex, The Sweet and Ziggy Stardust era Bowie. What they had in common was a belief in stripping the music down to its basics, three or four chords played fast with short solos, lyrics spat or sneered out between clenched teeth and boundless energy if not rage. Instead of the crushing steamroller of Metal or Blooze & Boogie bands with their heavily distorted and bass heavy fuzz sound and booming drums Punk guitars went for a buzzing high treble chainsaw guitar sound and staccato drums.

PIL ~ "DEATH DISCO";


Post Punk bands however were different. While many took their inspiration from the thrashing guitars of Punk and some even started out that way they quickly discarded it for a more brittle, choppy approach with a cleaner sound and plenty of space between the instruments. The bass became a more important feature with more prominent and catchy bass lines influenced by Funk and Dub. While most Punk bands had rejected Art Rock as snobbish and pretentious, Post Punk was happy to embrace some of the more underground Art Rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Pere Ubu and Can.

Punk rock was about energy, immediacy and emotional intensity and honesty while Post Punk was obscure, coolly detached, intellectual and moody. In its aesthetics Punk was similarly direct and in-your-face. In rejecting the long hair, flares, oversized jackets and earth tones of the late sixties and early seventies for their look Punk basically took the traditional Rockabilly leather jacket, tight jeans, boots and pompadour and crossed it with the day-glo colours and flash of Glam filtered through a Dada lens. Post Punk in turn rejected the flash of Punk in favour of somber blacks or greys, button down shirts, sweaters and short hair. The graphics for Punk records and posters were similarly flashy with bold colours and jagged cut-up graphics while Post Punk went for austere simplicity. Lyrically Punk songs were either traditional R&R songs about love, sex and partying or angry politics done in very direct no-nonsense rants while Post Punk lyrics were much more literary and willfully obscure. Punk appealed to mostly working class youths while Post Punk often came from slightly older middle class university students who studied art, design, literature, film or fashion. Punk was music for extroverts while Post Punk was for introverts.These are generalizations of course; Joe Strummer was famously well read and articulate but it was as hard to imagine Joy Division or Robert Smith slam dancing in the pit as it was to picture the Damned in a library.

PIL ~ "CAREERING";


Public Image Ltd became the face of Post Punk not because they were the first, they were not, but because singer Johnny Lydon made a point of saying so and he had been the face of Punk. After leaving the Sex pistols he emphatically rejected Punk as being as brain-dead, conformist and obsolete as the hippie stoners they despised and insisted there was a need to move on to a Post Punk future, although whatever that might mean wasn't entirley clear. And Johnny Lydon had the profile and charisma to be that face. The other reason Public Image Ltd (hereafter referred to as PIL) became the face of Post Wasn't Johnny at all but his band, specifically bassist Jah Wobble and guitarist Keith Levene. Previous Post Punk bands hadn't quite figured out a distinctive enough sound yet. At this point most still sounded like artsy Punk bands with slower, more angular songs and obscure lyrics. Jah Wobble provided the missing catalyst with his deep, rumbling but crystal clear basslines influenced by Dub Reggae (hence the name Jah) and Funk. PIL may have been annoyingly impenetrable and pretentious but they were often irresistibly danceable as well and this would become the trademark for the likes of Joy Division, Bauhuas and Gang Of Four. Almost as important as Wobble's bass was Keith Levene's guitar. He had actually started out in the original five piece line-up of the Clash but they fired him citing his drug use and unreliability. Unlike the early lineups of the Banshees, Wire, Joy Division, Ultravox, Simple Minds, Japan or Clock DVA this Clash lineup sadly did not record so we do not know how his sound evolved but by the time he was recruited to join Lydon's post Pistols project he too had developed a distinctive sound. Instead of the buzzsaw power-chord riffs of Punk he added sheets of even simpler chords weaving in and out or crashing over Wobble's simple but impossibly catchy bass lines for a sound that was far away from the turbo-charged Garage rock of the Pistols and other first generation but even more challenging. Wobble's basslines at least had obvious if unexpected precedents in Dub and Funk but Levene's (who also cited as influences the very Prog Rock guitarists scorned by all right thinking Punks) cascading shards of incredibly tense fragments of Glam riffs seemed as far removed from the direct simplicity of Punk as they were from the Blues of Country riffs all Rock is based on and yet somehow still related.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD ~ "THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG";


Perhaps predicatably PIL turned out to be only slightly more stable than the infamously fractious Sex Pistols and after two brilliant and groundbreaking albums with "First Issue" (1978) and "Metal Box" (1979) that essentially codified Post Punk as a genre they started to fall apart. After a 1980 live album ("Paris Au Printemps") Wobble was out along with the drummer. Becoming even more experimental and willfully obscure Lydon decided not to replace Wobble at all and Levene switched to synthesizer for the next album "The Flowers Of Romance" (1981) which dabbled in the sort of Post Industrial Rock that Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA and the Virgin Prunes had also been exploring with mixed results. The sessions for the next album (tentatively called "The Commercial Zone") turned into an even more fraught affair and ended up being scrapped forcing the band to kill time with another mediocre live album "Live In Tokyo" (1983) by which time Levene was out as well taking with him the demo tapes for the aborted fourth album which he would release in 1984 under the PIL name much to the fury of Lydon who would head back into the studio and re record some of the same songs under under the title "This Is What You Want This Is What You Get" in 1984 which actually did score a mild hit with "This Is Not A Love Song" but got mixed reviews with most critics preferring the Levene versions. Lydon accused Levene of never forgave Levene (or Wobble) and PIL took a few years off before returning with the strong but surprisingly mainstream "Album" which became PIL's biggest hit and led to four more albums of fairly straightforward New Wave with a band that included guitarist John McGeogh, formerly of the Banshees, Magazine and Visage. McGeogh was a fine guitarist and had also done some groundbreaking and even breathtaking work in his previous bands but by this point he was burned out and perhaps so was Lydon who now lacked partners to challenge him. Or perhaps he had tired of banging his head against the wall making experimental albums few people now wanted while watching some of his contemporaries like the Cure, Banshees, New Order, Simple Minds and U2 scoring hits and filling stadiums. At any rate the late 80's PIL albums sound little different from the bands they were now opening for like INXS and New Order with little standing out aside from Lydon's now tamed but still impossible to miss voice. But while these latter albums were solid and successful enough at the time they have not dated particularly well. PIL broke up for good in 1992. John McGeogh retired from music and died in 2004 aged only 48. Lydon released an electronic solo album 1997 that went nowhere (Note; I actually interviewed him at that time and can report that in spite of his reputation for being difficult he was in a good mood and quite chatty) and that was basically it. The Sex Pistols would do a reunion tour in 1996 to mixed but reasonably friendly reviews (I saw that tour and interviewed guitarist Steve Jones who was also perfectly nice). For the past several years he has written his well received memoirs, taken part in the excellent Sex Pistols bio film, dabbled with PIL reunions, the inevitable Broadway show (aborted of course) appeared on "The Masked Singer", feuded with various former bandmate and journalist (I once saw him chewout a paticulaly smug reporter), got fat and become a supporter of Brexit and worse, Trump. To be fair, unlike fellow Brexit and Trump supporting eighties Post Punk singer Morrissey, Lydon hasn't endorsed white nationalism or fascism. He just seems like a cantankerous old troll at this point although he has disappointed more than a few people (song reference!).  

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD ~ "THE ORDER OF DEATH";


Levene's post PIL was more low key. After releasing his "Commercial Zone" tapes he moved to LA and dropped out of sight for a while aside from producing some tracks for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers "The Uplift Mojo Party Plan" in 1986. In 1989 he recorded a solo album backed up by the Chilli Peppers that attracted little attention. He also made a few more obscure recordings and produced some demos for Ice T and Tone Loc. In 2010 he reunited with Jah Wobble to play some gigs and re-record some instrumental songs off of "Metal Box" for an EP and then another album of instrumental songs from "Commercial Zone" in 2014 and that was about it. He died of liver cancer aged 65.

 

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Wilko Johnson was the guitarist for Dr Feelgood, a band that never got much, if any, attention in North America but scored a number of hits in the early days of Punk. Dr Feelgood were not really a punk band themselves, let alone a post Punk band. Instead they were one of the greatest of a peculiar English genre known as Pub Rock that slightly prestaged and co-existed alongside Punk in the mid-seventies. Pub Rock, which included the likes of Nick Lowe and Dave Demunds and the band Rockpile along with Chris Spedding and more obscure bands the Inmates, Nine Below Zero, Ducks Deluxe and the early Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and even Dire Straits played traditional Blues based Rock & Roll, without any frills but usually with some energy. Although essentially musically conservative in the 1970's they were rebelling against the same bloated and scloratic music industry that Punk was and shared some of the same clubs and independent labels and thus saw a fair amount of crossover appeal in early days of the Punk revolution which they largely sympathized with.

DR FEELGOOD ~ "ROXETTE";


Dr Feelgood were particularly noted for their high energy shows but even more for Wilko Johnson's guitar work. While other Pub Rock guitarists like Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Chris Spedding played energetic and stripped down but basically traditional sixties Rock & Roll guitar Johnson developed his own style noted for his choppy, staccato runs and short sharp spidery solos and his crisp tense sound. By offering a viable alternative to the three power chord thrash of Punk that still had real bite and drive while allowing plenty of space for the bass to drive the song Johnson would give Post Punk guitarists room to experiment and would be cited as an influence by bands that did not at first glance seem to share much with the resolutely not artsy Feelgoods especially Gang Of Four, The Delta 5, and even early Banshees, Joy Division, Wire and the Cure.

DR FEELGOOD ~ "SHE DOES IT RIGHT";


Dr Feelgood would have another thing in common with Punk bands in being a fractious unit and after four albums stretching from 1975 to 1977 Johnson stomped out in a huff. The band would replace him and carry on recording several albums with lead singer Lee Brillaux being the only constant member until he died in 1994. In fact a version continues to tour today having had no original members for almost thirty years. Johnson would record several albums of his own along with working with Ian Dury and Roger Daltrey but he would get the most attention in America appearing in "Game Of Thrones" as the mute executioner. He died, also of cancer aged 75.

DR FEELGOOD ~ "BOOM BOOM";

Who Was Really The Shortest Serving Prime Minister?

With UK PM Liz Truss (who?) out after 44 days people are asking; "So who was the shortest serving PM in history under the British Parliamentary System anyway"? And by “people” I of course mean “Nerds”. And who likes pointless historical trivia and has two thumbs to type with? This guy! So lets do this. Note by British Parliamentary System I am including those countries that inherited the same basic system (albeit with some changes over the years) which would include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Israel, Malta, the Anglo Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana etc), some former African colonies like South Africa and Zimbabwe as well as Newfoundland when it was briefly independent. So with that in mind I give you George Brown; Prime Minister of Pre-Confederation Canada for 4 days in 1858. Here's the story; Brown was the leader of the Liberal Party in the 1850's and 60's and his rival and leader of the Tory Party was John A MacDonald. Brown and MacDonald, in spite of both being Scottish immigrants (like many of Canada's early leaders) loathed each other, with Brown resembling his contemporary British Liberal leader William Gladstone (and most Victorian Liberals); a dour, grimly honest, puritanical, utterly humourless, hot tempered, teetotaler. Meanwhile MacDonald resembled his British counterpart Tory leader Benjamin Disraeli; a charming, clever, flashy, witty, charismatic, hard drinking rogue who took great delight in constantly out maneuvering the Liberals. Besides politics Brown was also the owner of the largest newspaper in the country, the Globe and one of the richest men in the country while MacDonald was a lawyer of modest means.


GEORGE BROWN

The burning issue in 1850's Pre-Confederation Canada (then consisting mostly of southern Ontario and Quebec) was where the capital would be. Toronto? Montreal? Kingston? Quebec City? Nobody would compromise. So the capital would rotate and every few years go from city to city. Eventually the Governor General tired of this colonial silliness and stepped in and suggested Ottawa, then a muddy logging town and trading post in the middle of nowhere (but notably the farthest from the US border and it had an army base) and MacDonald, then Prime Minister, agreed even though he was the MP from Kingston. But nobody else did so he resigned & instead of calling an election (there had just been one) the Governor General asked Brown to form a government which was sworn in on Aug 2 1858. Then the wily MacDonald staged a quick non-confidence vote that brought Brown down on Aug 6 and the Governor General invited MacDonald back in after 4 days in office. There's a record that will never be broken. Brown was predictably furious about being outfoxed by the dastardly MacDonald yet again and during the debate yelled out the MacDonald was playing tricks to “Avoid talking about his duplicity”. To which MacDonald blithely stated “Well we can hardly discuss yours, you weren’t in power long enough to do any”. The capital ended up moving to Ottawa permanently and Brown lost the next election and stepped down as Liberal leader. Then Brown came back and he and MacDonald put aside their rivalry long enough to oversee the Confederation of the four original provinces into a united Canada in 1867. In the subsequent general election Brown, in a shocking turn of events, quickly lost again to MacDonald and resigned once more. He would never get to be Prime Minister again and never forgave MacDonald saying that obviously to be Prime Minster one must have spent time as a “horse thief or similar profession”. To which MacDonald would shrug "Obviously the country prefers John A drunk to George Brown sober".



While extremely wealthy Brown was a staunch Presbyterian Scot and abolitionist who disdained the idle nobility and turned down a knighthood and returned to running his newspaper until he was assassinated by a laid-off Globe employee in 1880. The "Globe" still exists today albeit now as the "Globe & Mail". MacDonald put aside his own distaste for the snooty English to accept his knighthood and died, still in office in 1891.


OTTAWA IN 1858

Upcoming Moondog's Ballroom Shows

THIS TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 13;

MISS GINGER ST JAMES & SNOWHEEL SLIM;

GINGER ST JAMES ~ "FURIOUS";


GINGER ST JAMES & SNOWHEEL SLIM ~ "FOLSUM PRISON BLUES";



JOHNNY GUNNER (UK Rockabilly);

JOHNNY GUNNER ~ "THE GRIM REAPER";


JOHNNY GUNNER & GINGER ST JAMES ~ "JACKSON TENNESSEE";



PAUL CAFCAE & 20 FLIGHT ROCKERS ~ "HATE TO SEE YOU LEAVE";


AT THE LINSMORE TAVERN 1298 DANFORTH (at Greenwood)

===================================================




HALLOWEEN CREATURE WITH SILENT CLASSIC "HP LOVECRAFT'S CALL OF CTHULHU" WITH LIVE SOUNDTRACK BY HAMILTON HORROR SURF PUNKS NIGHTCHILL;

"CALL OF CTHULHU"


NIGHT CHILL ~ "QUEEN OF BLOOD";


NIGHT CHILL ~ "7 DOORS TO DEATH";


NIGHT CHILL ~ "LONDON FOG";


NIGHT CHILL ~ "CAGED PANTHERS";



WITH CLASSIC SURF PUNKS MARK MAILBU & THE WASAGAS;

MARK MALIBU & THE WASAGAS ~ "ASTROBOTS";


MARK MALIBU & THE WASAGAS ~ "PET SEMETARY";



AND HORROR GARAGE PUNKS THE SCREAMAGERS;

THE SCREAMAGERS ~ "VIMPIRA IST TODT";


THE SCREAMAGERS ~ "DAY OF THE CENTIPEDES";



At the Hardluck Bar 772 Dundas west
Presented by Moondog's Ballroom & CIUT 89.5fm in association with Rue Morgue Magazine

Toronto Radio Time Machine; Live Aid 1985

QUEEN ~ "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS";




THE WHO ~ "LOVE REIGN OVER ME";


37 years ago this week on July 13 1985; Live Aid, a benefit concert for the people of Ethiopia then suffering through a terrible famine and the largest benefit concert in the world at the time, took place with two simultaneous shows in London and Philadelphia as well as being broadcast worldwide in TV. Smaller concerts were also held in the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia and West Germany and parts of these shows were also aired.

DIRE STRAITS & STING ~ "MONEY FOR NOTHING";


Best known now (musically at least) for sets by Queen (that kicked off their comeback), a Black Sabbath reunion with Ozzy, a Led Zeppelin reunion (with Phill Collins), a Who reunion, Dire Straits (with Sting) and U2. The sets by U2, Dire Straits and Simple Minds helped make them major stadium stars, although in the case of Simple Minds it would not last. In checking out the line-up I see there were several last minute additions not on the poster including Black Sabbath (with Ozzy), Tom Petty, Madonna, The Hooters, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard, Four Tops, RUN DMC, George Thorogood w/Bo Diddly & Albert Collins, BB King (via satellite from Holland) Prince (ditto), Loudness (from Tokyo), Autograph (from Russia), Kool & The Gang (from a studio), Pat Metheny, CSNY, The Beach Boys, Joan Baez, Teddy Pendergrast (in his first appearance aftr being paralyzed in a car accident) and Dylan with Keith Richards & Ron Wood closing the show. Most acts did from one to three songs bout a few got slightly longer sets. Phill Collins actually played both shows as he palyed London then hopped on the Concorde and flew to America to play with Zeppelin. As I recall the set with Dylan, Keith Richard and Ron Wood was a complete trainwreck as was the Zeppelin set as it was obvious none of them had bothered to rehearse.

U2 ~ "SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY";


The concert was a by-product of the "Do They Know It's Christmas" single the previous year arranged by Bob Geldoff and Midge Ure and the following singles in America ("We Are The World") and Canada "Tears Are No Enough"). I was too young to have actually seen any of these bands but as a New Wave kid watching on TV I was primarily there for U2, Simple Minds, Pretenders, Ultravox and Adam Ant in that order.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME";


In Toronto one oddity was that the only radio station that simulcast the entire concert was the tiny campus station CKLN (rival CIUT did not go on air until the next year) using their cable feed. CKLN had been on air since 1981 and was by this point known as a station which played underground and avant garde music and most of the bill was totally mainstream but among the New Wave acts who had been on the CKLN/campus charts only a few years earlier; U2, Simple Minds, the Pretenders, Ultravox, the Boomtown Rats, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Style Council, Adam Ant, Sting (in the Police), the Cars, Alison Moyet (in Yazoo), Paul Young (in the Q-Tips), Tears For Fears (including as the Graduates), Run DMC and Judas Priest plus Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Paul Simon's "Graceland" & Neil Young's "Trans" albums. Although by 1985 some of these acts certainly still got some airplay on CKLN along with other campus stations that were less aggressively avant garde than CKLN.

THE PRETENDERS ~ "MIDDLE OF THE ROAD";




By contrast here are the actual CKLN Charts for July/85; The Jesus & Mary Chain (and it's early wall-of-feedback era too, Hell Yeah!), Nick Cave, Black Flag, the Barracudas, Deja Voodoo, REM, Talking Heads (their last decent album), Discharge, Robert Fripp, Jah Wobble, Psychic TV, Rain Parade, Primal Scream, A Certain Ratio, Del Amitri, the Redskins (best name for a Marxist Mod band ever), Slaughter (the Toronto Thrash band not the later US Hair Metal band), Living Proof, Suzanne Vega, Roy Orbison's comeback album and the soundtracks for "Repo Man" & "Return Of The Living Dead". About the only bands here that could have possibly been asked to play Live Aid would have been Talking Heads if they had not essentially stopped touring by that point and maybe Robert Fripp with King Crimson who also were not touring. I could possibly see Suzanne Vega doing "Luka" in a studio via satellite. REM had not yet made the jump to stadium status by that point. Mind you it would have been cool if early Jesus & Mary Chain and Deja Voodoo had played. And by cool I mean a glorious clusterfuck of historic proportions. I don't think the TV audience was ready for that.

THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN ~ "NEVER UNDERSTAND";


BLACK FLAG ~ "NOTHING LEFT INSIDE";


BLACK FLAG ~ "LOOSE NUT";


DISCHARGE ~ "NEVER AGAIN";


THE BARRACUDAS ~ "SUMMER FUN";


THE REDSKINS ~ "KEEP ON KEEPING ON";


A CERTAIN RATIO ~ "SHACK UP";


DEJA VOODOO;




DEJA VOODOO ~ "STRANGE";


DEJA VOODOO ~ "CEMETARY";


BLACK SABBATH ~ "WICKED WORLD";

BLACK SABBATH ~ "THE WRIT";


BLACK SABBATH ~ "WARNING";


BLACK SABBATH ~ "F/X";

Raging On Behalf Of The Machine

By now we've all enjoyed the story about the radio station in Vancouver, Canada (KISS FM) which laid off it's staff so in protest someone has been playing Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name Of" ever since 4AM. "Rolling Stone" covered it followed by other international news and news even reached Rage's Tom Morrello who Twitter posted about it. I hate to be a killjoy because I'd dearly love for this to be true but it's fake. Oh they've been playing Rage alright, in fact I checked the feed and as of late last night they still were although they aren’t now (more on that in a bit), but this is no protest.

I've worked in radio for over twenty years so here's the deal; Is it possible for the host to lock himself in the studio and play Rage over and over again? Well yes up to a point, and if it started overnight they might even get away with for a few hours before anybody noticed and rushed down to the station but once they did the fun & games would be over. There is no way management wouldn't have keys to the studio or that if they somehow didn't security couldn't and wouldn't just bust down the door and drag him off. It's obvious that hosts are in fact there because they keep taking calls on the air and bantering with callers.

Also there is something called a "dump button" that will take the station off the air. There is one in the booth but there is also at least one more in the separate EQ closet where they keep the servers and relays plus another at the transmitter tower any one of which would have been pressed by now ending the feed and then they would replace it with a prerecorded one. I don’t know if KISS FM has more than one studio but since it’s owned by Rogers (Canada’s largest radio and TV conglomerate) I assume so and they could cut also the feed from one and transfer to another. Management doesn't even need access to the on-air studio to do so. This sort of thing actually where someone hijacks the booth has happened before in Canada more than once (I can personally think of at least a half dozen times times, all but one at campus stations), and it never goes on this long even if this were some understaffed campus station let alone a corporate one owned by Rogers which this is because it simply would not happen.

I looked into this and and the story about Rogers laying off the "entire staff" is wrong. They did layoff two hosts of a morning show but not everybody and again there were clearly hosts in there taking calls. Both former hosts have since posted on Twitter with anodyne "looking forward to new projects" type posts with no sign of any protests. In fact the real story appears to be that the station, which has had a soft rock & pop hits format, is changing to a Rock Alternative format and by this morning (after thirty hours) they had indeed pulled down their original page and live feed and replaced it with a new one in which they have rebranded themselves as “Sonic; The New Alternative” with the new website obviously ready to go along with new social media pages. Note that regardless of the classic episode of the beloved “WKRP”, stations in Canada at least can not just abruptly change formats without informing the CRTC (our equivalent of the FCC) although for their purposes this would be considered a minor change, so this has been in the works for weeks if not months.

Finally I listened in and it's revealing that the version of "Killing In The Name Of" which they were playing was the censored radio-friendly no profanity version. A real protest would proudly play the "Fuck You I Won't Do What You Tell Me" version. A corporate PR stunt that didn't want to piss-off the CRTC would not.

This is what is known as "stunting". It's not a cool protest giving the finger to our corporate bosses. I truly wish it was, seriously, that would fucking rule. But it's actually a PR stunt FROM our corporate masters. Sorry, really, but it isn't just Rage that's getting played, you are.

The World According to Tankies

Recently I spotted a Facebook post about the Russia-Ukraine War that seems to be floating around and it's such a perfect (if poorly written) example of the sort of revisonist propaganda put out by Russian reactionaries and their useful idiots here that I couldn't pass up the chance to respond. Also I had free time.

First here's the original post;
"A Finnish blogger surprised Facebook when she posted this article:
Half of Europe and part of Asia got their state condition in the hands of Russia.
Let's remember who exactly:
- *Finland* in 1802 and 1918.. (until 1802 it never had a state of its own).
- *Letonia* in 1918 (until 1918 it never had its own state).
- *Estonia* in 1918 (until 1918 it never had a state of its own).
- *Lithuania* restored the state in 1918 thanks to Russia.
- *Poland* restored the state with the help of Russia twice, in 1918 and 1944. *Poland division between USSR and Germany is just a short period! *
- *Romania* was born as a result of the Russian-Turkish wars and became sovereign by the will of *Russia* in 1877-1878.
- *Moldavia* as a state was born within the USSR.
- *Bulgaria* liberated itself from the oppression of the Ottoman Empire and restored its independence as a result of the victory of Russian weapons in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which had this objective. As a thank you, the state of *Bulgaria* participated in two world wars as part of the anti-Russian coalitions. *Bulgaria* is now a member of NATO and has American bases on its territory. After 1945, there was not a single Russian soldier in their territory...
-As a result of this war, *Serbia* was born as a sovereign state.
- *Azerbaijan* as a state formed for the first time as part of the USSR.
- *Armenia* has been physically preserved and revitalized as a state only within the USSR.
- *Georgia* has been physically preserved and revitalized as a state thanks to the Russian Empire.
- *Turkmenistan* has never had a state and formed it only as part of the USSR.
- *Kyrguistan* never had the state condition and formed it only as part of the USSR.
- *Kazajstan* never had the state condition and formed it only as part of the USSR.
- *Mongolia* never had a state and formed it only with the help of the USSR.
- *Belarus and Ukraine* also got the state condition for the first time as a result of the Great October Revolution within the USSR republics. And it wasn't until 1991 (also from Russia) that they gained total independence.
The role of Russia-US in the birth and formation of states such as China, Vietnam, North Korea, India, Greece (in 1821, Russia recovered it from the Turks), Algeria, Cuba, Israel, Angola, Mozambique, etc. it's also worth considering.
* Such a strange "aggression" has historically been manifested by the Russians! * With the important contribution of this country, Switzerland has achieved even the independence of France. In better words, thanks to Suvorov (217 years ago), Switzerland never (! ) has fought since;
The following was also carried out:
- the liberation of Austria from the Third Reich in 1945;
- liberation of Czechoslovakia from the Third Reich in 1945;
- Catalina II's position in 1780 with the creation of the League of Armed Neutrality and the real support of the United States of America in the fight for its independence from Britain. Russia has granted independence to most European states twice in the last 2 centuries after destroying Hitler and Napoleon;
- Stalin's position in negotiations with the United States and England, which gave Germany a chance to maintain its state condition after the defeat in 1945;
- the position of Gorbachov, which made it possible to unite the two Germans in 1990 without too much difficulty;
- Soviet aid to Egypt, after which it was able to resist and consolidate its independence in the war with Israel, Britain and France in 1956-57.
- The USSR intervention in 1967, which stopped the war between Israel and Egypt (it actually saved the Arabs from defeat in two wars in 1967-74).
- The crucial role of the Union secured Angola's independence in 1975. And finally the main thing. It was the USSR that, after winning the Second World War, played a key role in ensuring the independence of most Western European colonies in the global decolonization process initiated by the Union. Russia's history suggests that within any power and system, it has been constant in defending the principles of independence and self-determination of nations and nations. She was the one who, in every possible way, helped create a multipolar world at any time and at all times.
Unfortunately, he often sacrificed his own interests at the same time, and if Mother Russia’s politics, although a fraction, were similar to Britain, half of the world would now be part of the Russian imperial Commonwealth. and the Russian people would bathe in luxury, like the sheikhs of Saudi Arabia, at the expense of states, countries and their capitals freed from other colonialists. Now, more than ever, it is fundamental to do everything possible to make the world never forget this, always remember how the Soviet people contributed to the liberation of Europe from fascism.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And now my response;
This is the most frankly jawdropping revisionist propaganda I've seen since the days of Pravda that completely denies the histories of other countries and there is no way anyone from Eastern or Central Europe would not find this ahistorical whitewash of Russia's historical, well documented and often brutal imperialism deeply delusional and offensive.
Finland; As a province and Duchy of Sweden they were conquered by Peter The Great in the early 1700's. Although they were first promised their local autonomy as a Duchy would be preserved under Russian rule, under the policy of Russification the Finnish nobility and intellectuals were banished and the Finnish language was essentially banned while Russian practices of serfdom, censorship and conscription were imposed over Finnish resistance. During the Russian Revolution and Civil War Finland declared it's independence which Lenin had little choice but accept as he was busy fighting a civil war but soon thereafter sponsored a coup attempt to install a puppet government which failed. In 1940 Stalin invaded which resulted in the famous Winter War in which the Soviet Army were repeatedly humiliated by the much smaller Finnish Army which this blogger "forgets" to mention. I can understand why Russians would want to forget getting their asses handed to them by a much smaller neighbour in a war of aggression they started but everyone else remembers it.
The Baltic States; Saying they "never had their own state" is false as Lithuania and Latvia did exist as states into the late middle ages when Latvia and Estonia became Swedish provinces while Lithuania was part of a unified Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom all of which was conquered by Peter The Great (yes him again) when they were also subject to the same policy of repressive forced Russification. Saying they got their independence "Thanks to Russia" is only true if if you think Russia losing WW1 and being too preoccupied by their own Civil War to stop them from declaring independence until Stalin (yes him again) conquered them again in 1940 worthy of thanks but I doubt they would agree.
Poland; "Restored with the help of Russia"? Are you fucking kidding me? Poland was an independent state going back to Medieval times when Russia was Mongol tributary losing its independence after being invaded and partitioned in the 18th century between Russia, Prussia and Austria under Catherine The Great whereupon Poland was subject to the same Russification policies. If by saying Poland was "restored with the help of Russia in 1918" you mean Russia lost WW1 then failed in their 1920 invasion then sure. Nice job. But breezing past the 1939 Hitler-Stalin Pact and subsequent Soviet invasion and repartitioning of Poland with the well documented genocide of Polish leadership, educated and middle-classes as "Just a short period!" (with an added exclamation point to show he's serious) is nothing short of Holocaust denial. The fucking nerve. This is going to be quite a slog isn't it?
Romania; Saying they were "born as a result of the Russian-Turkish Wars" willfully ignores the existence of the Wallachian State which had existed since Medieval times and had been fighting the Turks since the days of Vlad The Impaler (he's kind of famous you know). Yes they were allied with Russia in the 1877 war which the Turks lost and had to recognize their already de-facto independence (they had their own army and ruling class but paying taxes to the Ottomans) but to say that they "became sovereign by the will of Russia" is exactly the kind of patronizing arrogance that make Russians so beloved in Central and Eastern Europe. As for Moldavia, saying it was "born within the USSR" is a funny way of saying "annexed by force from Romania in 1940 by Stalin" (yes him again).
Bulgaria; "Liberated itself from the oppression of the Ottoman Empire''. Hey look at you actually giving credit to a smaller nation for its own independence. That's nice. Wonder how long that will last. This is basically the same story as Romania, a small de-facto independent state allied to Russia in the 1877 war after which Russia expected to impose a king of their choosing and make it a client state only to be kicked out by the Bulgarians who among other things resented Russian favoritism towards their other client state Serbia who they were at war with in 1885. However to say that Bulgaria "As a thank you" participated in "two world wars against Russia" is misleading to the point of falsehood. It's true that Bulgaria allied with Germany in WW1 but they spent the war attacking their old rivals Serbia and Greece, they did not declare war on Russia. In WW2 Bulgaria was bullied by Hitler into allowing German troops to pass through the country but refused to send any troops to fight Russia or help deport Jews. Once again no Bulgarian troops saw action in Russia. In 1944 they kicked out the retreating Germans and declared neutrality but Stalin (yes him again) invaded anyway and imposed a communist dictatorship.
Georgia; An independent state with its own king since ancient times, Georgia is actually older than Russia and was an ally against Turkey and Persia until the Russians simply annexed it during the reign of Alexander 1 in the 1800's after which it underwent the same policy of Russification as Finland and the Baltics. Like them Georgia declared their independence in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution but unlike them they were unable to resist being reconquered soon thereafter by the Soviets. I don't know how you can call this being "preserved and revitalized as a state thanks to the Russian Empire" but thanks I guess? But at least you are now admitting it was indeed an "Empire". Baby steps.
Armenia; Another ancient kingdom much older than Russia that also declared independence in 1918 only to be reconquered by the Soviets. So thanks again.
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan; I don't know what you think "never had the state condition" means but they had existed as Islamic Khanates as long as Russia had before being conquered by Catherine The Great in the 1700's. Russians may not recognize that as being a "State Condition" but I imagine that they have other thoughts on the matter. BTW you spelled all these countries wrong and you forgot Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan.
Mongolia; "Never had a state". Wow. Just wow. I could almost forgive a westerner for not knowing shit about Uzbekistan but have you seriously never heard of Genghis Khan? I mean really. Russia was actually a Mongol client tributary state for a few centuries. The Mongols literally had the world's largest empire. It's pretty well documented. What books have you been reading anyway?
Ukraine; Another weird "Got the state condition" reference again. Russians hate to admit this but Ukraine is actually older than Russia. In fact Kiev was the capital of the Eastern Orthodox Slavs in the Medieval period and was one of the richest cities in Europe while Moscow was a muddy Viking trading post paying tribute to Kiev and St Petersburg was a tiny fishing village in a swamp. Kiev was destroyed by the Mongols (remember them?) which is the only reason Russia was able to rise in it's place as the Eastern Slavic capital and that's only after they bought the Mongols off by paying tribute and acting as mercenaries for a couple hundred years. Saying they "got the state condition as a result of the Great October Revolution '' is a funny way of saying that like Georgia and Armenia they declared independence during the 1918 Russian Revolution only to be reconquered. Under the Soviets literally millions of people died in forced famines and mass deportations in what was one of the worst genocides of modern times which this blogger once again "forgets" about. In Ukraine they even have a name for this. It's called the Holodomor. You should google it. In Russia they apparently call this "Getting The State Condition".
Belarus; OK unlike the others Belarus was never previously independent, I mean except for a brief independent republic after WW1 until it was crushed by Lenin (yes him again) if that counts which you probably think it doesn't. So I guess I'll sorta give you that one but so what? Other colonized nations never had a "State Condition" either until they did. Ireland comes to mind. Or Bosnia. Or Slovakia. Or Namibia. Don't they have that right? Why is that your call to make?
Next we have a mixed bag of states that Russia's "role in the birth and formation of" which "must be considered". Must it really though? Some of these are just countries the USSR sent weapons to during the Cold War sometimes getting bases in return. It's true that Russia did play a role in Greek liberation from Turkey in 1821 but so did Britain which also guaranteed Greek independence along with other European powers. Adding China in is funny since Russia was one of the major Imperial powers grabbing huge swathes of territory in Manchuria in the 1890's until getting their asses kicked by Japan in the 1904-05 War. The USSR played no role at all in India's independence while Tsarist Russia had actually made abortive attempts to seize Indian territory via Afghanistan, a nation which this blogger "forgets" to mention at all. That's odd. I mean it was in the news recently. The USSR also played no role in Israeli independence either except for recognizing it, thereafter they were firm allies of enemies like Syria. On the other hand Tsarist Russia was known for it's violent Anti-Semitic pogroms which created thousands of Jewish refugees that would settle there so perhaps that's what you mean. Saying Russia's role in Angola's independence was "crucial" denies the real credit where it's due. The USSR sent weapons but it was the Cubans who did the actual fighting along with the Angolans themselves. They're quite proud of it too. As for North Korea, you can have that one. Congrats.
The "Liberation of Czechoslovakia"; Well yes I'm sure we all agree defeating the Nazis was good thing but leaving Soviet troops there to create a puppet state dictatorship can hardly be called "liberation". That's certainly what the Czechs thought which led to a Soviet invasion in 1968 you again "forget" to mention.
We're getting wildly off topic now as you switch to talking about Catherine The Great backing American independence from Britain which has a grain of truth but is wildly exaggerated. Yes she did recognize American independence but did not send any "real support" as you claim, unlike France which did send troops, money and ships. Also Swiss independence as a result of the defeat of Napoleon which a few other countries also played a role in. You may have heard of Lords Nelson and Wellington and the Battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo. Really, you can google this stuff you know.
And we're back to WW2 again and Germany. Did you proofread this? I mean just for narrative structure if nothing else. Yes, Stalin agreed to have Germany "maintain its state condition" after WW2 but given that Western and Southern Germany and Austria were also then occupied by Allied troops he had little choice. And that's only assuming you would call the puppet state of East Germany truly independent. The Germans didn't and you know who else didn't? The Soviets who sent in tanks to crush a revolt in 1953 which you again "forget" about.
Now we're back to the Middle East so you can brag about Soviet support for Egypt and Syria which is kind of strange as it directly contradicts your claims about the USSR supporting Israel but whatever. BTW Sadat later kicked the Soviets out of Egypt so he could make peace with Israel which leaves you with Assad in Syria as your only friend and I wouldn't brag about that if I were you. And lastly we have some over-the-top boilerplate praise for the endless benevolence of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union which I don't need to belabour but I did enjoy your claim that if Russia were a real empire they would "Bathe in luxury like the sheikhs of Saudi Arabia". That anybody could say that with a presumably straight face after seeing the "yachts" the size of aircraft carriers owned by Russian oligarchs and multiple sprawling dacha estates where they keep their mistresses shows a level of willful delusion that is downright surreal. It may be true that the "Russian People" may not have benefitted very much from all this stolen wealth but that's not how imperialism works whether you choose to call it that or not. Note to Tankies; It's not only Imperialism if it's done by countries you don't like.
Note; I don't know who the original blogger was. It popped up in my feed as reposted by a Russian dude who in turn reposted from some guy with a Spanish name. It's worth noting the blogger is named as being not Russian but Finnish, a nation that was a victim of Russian imperialism and had to fight a bloody war after being invaded in 1940, something every Finn would know by heart. Just shows how much this blatantly self-serving nonsense has been absorbed by some in the west either by the cynical Fascist right like Steve Bannon, Steven Miller, Tucker Carlson and Ron Paul or by far left Tankies like Jimmy Dore, Jill Stein the Greyzone and whatever the Hell Tulsi Gabbard and Glenn Greenwald are supposed to be. Judging by the writing and some of the countries mentioned I suspect this writer is the latter.



BTW; That's awfully big talk for a guy who looks like he regularly gets beaten up for his lunch moneyand stuffed in a locker.

A Day With The Flu Trux Klan In Toronto

So I went out & covered the Toronto Trailerban protest today & took photos of the registration numbers of most of the trucks in case they should be needed in that future class action lawsuit which I had planned be to pass on although to be honest it was pretty tame. Unlike in Ottawa where there have been documented threats, assaults, vandalism, smashed windows, and at least really scary arson attempt. I mean except for the guy who was arrested for throwing literal shit. At any rate I'll post them here and you can decide if you want to business with them.



First unlike Ottawa the cops here did an effective job of funneling them away from any place like Hospital Row, Queen's Park & City Hall leaving them confined to a few blocks on Bloor from Bay to Spadina and on Queen from Spadina to University and that's really it.



Also I don't know about Ottawa or Calgary but downtown Toronto is basically a confusing warren of narrow one way streets. Because Fuck You and your stupid truck that's why.



Seriously; People have broken down in tears trying to navigate or find parking downtown so if the Trailerban thought they were going to roar up & down the streets blaring their horns they were in for a rude awakening.



Apparently some of them also thought they could get around the cops by using the Gardiner Expressway. Tee-Hee. I hope you brought a lunch Jethro.



This is why we ride the subway you goobers. Also we have streetcars. And as the Ford Bros found out when they tried to scrap them we love our streetcars. We especially enjoy watching you get stuck behind one. Also Fuck You again.



All this means that I saw dozens of trucks, not hundreds and certainly not thousands. There were also a lot of SUV's & pickups and hundreds of people on foot who had to park their cars a dozen blocks away where I saw them. Enjoy the hike to Bloor.



Seriously we have bigger traffic jams during the FIFA World Cup Finals and we're not even in that. There was also a moderately large rally behind Queen's Park, but I've seen bigger turnout for Pride Week. Also tougher looking cowboys.



Later I headed down to Queen st where there were maybe a dozen more trucks & few dozen vans etc. One guy blocked a truck for several minutes giving it the finger while it blared a super loud foghorn. Seriously it was deafening and I've seen Motorhead.



Then I walked over to City Hall where I was expecting another protest and...nothing. Just the usual crowd happily using the ice rink. Not a sign in sight. Zero. Nada.



Next I strolled over to Dundas Square. There's literally always somebody protesting something at Dundas Square right? All I found was a single bored security guard. Pathetic. I don't think these people are from around here.



These People Aren't from around here pt2; Pronouncing the second "T" in Toronto. I knew it! Fucking tourists.



These People Aren't from around here pt3; Overheard at the Royal Ontario Museum; "I think this is where they have the dinosaurs". To be fair he wasn't wrong.



Also outside the ROM; A dude yelling through a bullhorn that he has God & that's why he don't need no stinking vaccines. I should ask him about the dinosaurs. I bet he has some thoughts.



Bloor st; A line of trucks blaring horns along with an SUV with a dinky Beep-Beep horn. Hold-Renfrew's doorman yells out; "Get a louder horn loser!" Welcome to Toronto BTW.



Bay & Bloor; Trucks blocking the intersection so a twenty-something girl crosses the street by scampering UNDER the trailer. I actually yelled & reached out to grab her because even though she's a fucking moron and probably a terrible person that was damn dangerous.



I mean unless you think God gives you natural immunity from being crushed to death under the wheels of an idling semi. JFC I can't handle these fucking people.



I saw at least two rental trucks. So now we're just gonna rent a truck to join a "trucker" protest? Posers.



Kensington Market; Is easily the most left wing neighbourhood in Toronto, full of old school anarchist punks, vegan hippies, reggae shops and Chinese markets. Virtually impossible to drive through at the best of times so the residents put up barricades like it's "Les Miserables" or something. I mean assuming the ones in "Les Mis" were festooned with signs saying “Honk If You Have A Tiny Dick”, I haven't actually seen it. So some Trailerbanners got out and held a march through the street to be greeted by jeers. Honestly I’m surprised they got off so easy, even Nazi skinheads stay clear of the place. I was expecting eggs at least.

Random dude wearing a brand spanking new Infowars jacket. Dress for excess amIright?



Oh and don't have a truck? Just make your own out of a cardboard box and wear it down the street. That's cute.



Got to admit they put some work into that giant sheep on a flatbed. What are they going to do with it once they're done though? I'm picturing some sort of Wicker Man deal.



Clearly they have given some thought to messaging, I saw no Nazi or Confederate flags this time, although there were US flags, Gadsen flags & Trump flags because "Patriots".



What we do have is lots of vaccines = Communism type signs comparing Trudeau to Mao and Ceausescu and calling him a murderer. And some Holocaust signs & Yellow Stars. Nice to see the classics.



We also have a guy with a sign blaming vaccines on a Jewish Cabal. Because we certainly can't have a "Freedom Rally" without some old school conspiracy hate. Note this is not my pic but I did see him on Bloor.



He called himself Greg from New Brunswick and he's since been indentified;



I'd call this confirmation;



Also a truck with an Albanian flag. Yes I'm sure you have some deep thoughts about how Trudeau is just like Enver Hoxha. Sigh. These people are so exhausting.



What is this hippie shit?



Folks; I think he's on to me. Can he even cover up like that? What am I saying, what even are rules anyway?



Another one covering up. Does your boss know you're doing this instead of being at work?



BTW; Truckers bragging about a supportive tweet from Elon Musk, a billionaire trying to market a technology that assuming it worked would put them out of work, is peak 21st century populism.



Amidst all the "Fuck Trudeau" flags it's worth mentioning that in the last three elections the Tories won a grand total of zero seats in the entire city and it wasn't even close. These jerks do not speak for us. Here's the Toronto I know; Kensington Market. No trucks here. And Nazi Punks don't dare show up here.



And here's a Provaxx rally put on by healthcare workers at U of T which somehow the media missed.



In the interest of fairness I saw no violence and really this was just a mildly annoying Saturday afternoon that most of Toronto could easily ignore like we usually ignore you. Cry harder next time.




Note; At least one of the Trailerban didn't enjoy their trip to Toronto posting;"We were given the finger and told to fuck off more than we have in our entire lives". They should totally put that in the tourism ads.