Posts by DexterX
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Hard News: Friday Music: More Finding, in reply to Sacha,
what kind of clubs do you think they were hanging out in?
CBGB and the Mud Club probably – but what does it matter they and the Clash aren’t disco bands. In the words of Talking Heads:
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco.”
I would have to ask them to be sure, “Did you want to be a or where you trying to be a disco band?” I don’t think the answer would be in the affirmative – but that is just my opinion..
I am not meaning to be “discotinuous”.. but maybe they just wanted to be in a band and make great music and they did.
The touring Talking Heads did promoting “Remian in Light” from which once in a Lifetime came from – was no disco swing party – though it is brilliant.
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Hard News: Friday Music: More Finding, in reply to Simon Grigg,
If any band embraced disco it was The Clash. Same with Talking Heads...
The clash and talking heads embracing the disco age is just heresy and just plain wrong to say so IMHO.
What The Clash and Talking Heads and lots of others sourced, was more funk, latin, reggae and manifestly more rhythmically complex and much wider in scope sonically than just the straight four on the floor, quavering high hat with prominent (octive) bass lines - of disco.
To others - I mention those bands as BANDS that I got a buzz out of - it is interesting that Talking Heads first gig, as a fast heavy outfit, was opening for the Ramones in 1975 - The Only Ones are associated with the Punk Period.
But this talk is mostly guys focused on Cock Rock - so take this:
without further debate the gift of ISIS. -
Hard News: Friday Music: More Finding, in reply to Russell Brown,
Dear Simon and Dearest Russell,
Ahem –if the Johnny Rotten,Sex Pistols brand is marketed as Punk being rebellion against bloated rockers (at a time in his life whilst he stays up for several days listening to Foreigner taking speed) and it gets bought as such then that is cool for people who buy it. Punk is much more than that.
Speaking for myself, in relation to my life in NZ, Punk’s gift to me and my immediate peer group was the timely death of Disco.
Example - In the Mid 1970s we went to a dance in Palmerston North and all these people (kids) got up in lines and did the Hustle or whatever the Saturday Night Fever bollocks was. We had to go outside it was disturbing to others and me. Lines of people all doing the same moves. My thoughts then, there and now - brain-dead mass conformity, hadn't the mind control machines of the fascists been defeated in WWII?
Living in Auckland - before the advent of Punk - disco was everywhere you went and there were no or scant live venues. The renascence of live music in my viewfinder through what I saw at local halls, pubs and small gritty inner city cafes was bought about by the advent of Punk Rock and the flourishing of local bands.
People in their reminisce of “Punk” get misty eyed looking at it through a Clash, Sex Pistols eyeglass – it was much wider than just them – examples of the music that turned me on Talking Heads, The Only Ones, The Members, The Undertones, Devo, Graham Parker and the Rumour, The Ruts. Muddy Waters, The Stones, The Clash – great songs, great bands, great live acts and great players - a lot of "The" going down.
In Pop Music History punk advent was a brief flourish – a door that opened and all these people ran through it - and then all those 1980s Synth pop dominated haircut bands evolved and life was made hard for guitar bands once more. It was however more than that to me.
In the British Punk Doco I like how Mick Jones makes a point of saying he speaks of what it “it” was for “him” and what "he" was watning to do and not anyone else. His point is my point.
To all those people hanging out in the upper circle of the Mandalay Ballroom wanting to be down the front doing the hustle - stiff shit ya know:.
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Reminiscence is a fine thing; but seeing what "Punk" was encircled by makes one feel profoundly unsteady:
http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/1976.html
http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/1977.html
http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/1978top.htmlThe gift Punk Rock gave the world was that it killed Disco.
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Speaker: The Voyage: On Interpreting and…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
The class size back downs came as a result of bad press, the organisation of the diverse strands of the education sector, and perhaps measures of public opinions and National's own polling - I cannot seem to see a major opposition presence/voice in this - correct me if I am wrong?
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NZ is presently shit out of luck as regards leadership with Key and English - this is becoming apparent in MFAT, Class Size, Handling of Pike River and the other fiascos, which are becoming indicative of the hallmark of their administrative incompetence.
Taking the major govt budget announcement of increases in class size and the rapid backpedalling that yesterday left the witless Hekia Parata floating adrift in hyperspace.
The education spend is $9.5 Billion - and all this bullshit to save $43 million - i the motivation was to bring in savings I am sure that the Govt could take the initiative and form a working group with all the interested parties in education (including the unions) to look at savings in excess of $43 million whilst preserving the quality of education and the teacher to student ratios.
What is likely behind this zero budget "F minus" effort is the government preparing its ground to run with "Charter Schools" and more PPP roll out of schools and the future delivery of "education services".
A part of the shambles that did not get reported, as I understand it through talking to teachers, was that in addition to technology teachers the government were also removing funding for reading support/special education.
This has implications when you consider a school in Auckland, which I won't name, has a roll of approx 650 pupils with over 100 pupils receiving help with reading - the bulk of these students come from homes where English is a second language – they are the children of recent migrants. The planned abolition of reading support would have far reaching negative present and future consequences – this would be further compounded by increased class size.
Calling ti as I see it - the way this government is formulating and executing policy is just bullshit.
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Speaker: The Voyage: On Interpreting and…, in reply to Angus Robertson,
I think you may be missing the point I am trying to make as regards stimulus - that it isn’t applied to the bankers but elsewhere.
Until the bottom hits private business (especially banks) will soak the government for every cent it is willing to provide.
Problems are created by seeing the banking sector as critical "business" and quite often it is the only banking that seems to matter in the management of the economy - the problems it creates take precedence over everything else..
The productive base of the economy needs to be treated differently - there needs to be a separation between how central governments treat financial intermediaries and “business” that actually makes things and "other enterprises" that actually do things.
Financial Intermediaries need to be kept on a tight leash.
NZ is presently shit out of luck as regards leadership with Key and English - this is becoming apparent in MFAT, Class Size, Handling of Pike River and the other fiascos, which are becoming indicative of the hallmark of their administrative incompetence – more on this elsewhere.
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Speaker: The Voyage: On Interpreting and…, in reply to Scott Chris,
consider a mad scientist’s lab with an elaborate construction of millions of glass tubes, bubbling beakers and valves, all interconnected. Turn up the heat here, adjust a regulator there, release a valve here, add some ingredients there. That’s how I see things.
So you work for treasury making forecasts, No?
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Speaker: The Voyage: On Interpreting and…, in reply to Scott Chris,
I’m suggesting a constructive countermeasure to balance the possible inflationary pressure caused by an increase in the money supply. A land tax is desirable anyway imo.
This is odd - how and why would a land tax translate to countering increased liquidity, a land tax is not a tool to control liquidity/the money supply.
The assumption that the amounts of money supply/the liquidity are a primary cause of inflation is flawed – inflation results from the dynamics that are interacting in the economy.
The reserve bank seeks a low inflation target and a low level of unemployment.
The reserve bank influences the sale and purchase of goods and services through attempting to increase or decrease the money supply having regard to the the “deemed” inflation at the time against the “desired” inflation target. It does this using the Offical Cash Rate.
The OCR influences the cost of borrowing money which in turn affects the decision people and business make on the sale and purchase of goods.
As a control this approach or any other will only works so far, people in the end do what they want and can afford to do.
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Speaker: The Voyage: On Interpreting and…, in reply to Angus Robertson,
If you can see a way forward that prevents suffering for everybody - please share.
The US is looking at QEIII, and will then look to QEIV, Then QEV etc etc – In my view they should have bitten the bullet when the shit hit the fan and bailed out individuals and not the financial institutions which are now less regulated than before – go figure.
It should be noted that when the value of financial instruments “falters” it is not as if assets that are there as security are damaged or fail to function – someone else gets to buy those assets and use them for their purpose.
There is something that had been ignored - In the same way that households have differed their expenditure since 2008/2009 so to have businesses/corporations.
Globally corporations/businesses (Non Banking and Non Financial Institutions) have not been embarking on capital spending (plant and equipment) or research and development – their concern is about survival in a contracting economic environment – an environment which first shrunk rapidly and then contraction further but at a slower rate.
There needs to be stimulus undertaken by Govts to moderate the contraction of economic activity by providing incentives for capital expenditure and research and development. With out this expenditure the economy becomes less efficient and it drags.
Eventually all the differed spending will circulate through the economies of the world as households will still need to have the work done on their homes and cars and spend on their children in the same way that business will need to replace plant and equipment and spend on research and development. It needs to be encouraged.
In NZ the Nats are waiting on the Chch rebuild to kick-start the recovery – that is all – they are doing waiting, waiting, waiting – they are effectively doing nothing – hence a zero budget.
If you consider the economy is like a hot air balloon – if it is left alone the air cools and it begins to sink – if you want to keep it buoyant you need to keep heating the air inside – provide a stimulus – IMHO that is what needs to happen – stimulus needs to be provided to the productive sectors and it needs to be more than just "hot air".