SEX OF THE ANGELS - DEATH IN VENICE

A FEW WORDS ABOUT

NATIONAL BOLSHEVIK MOVEMENT

 A few years ago I performed a journey throughout the european part of Russia. I wanted to have a glance at Siberia and Asia too, so I headed to Ekaterinburg. Walking around this nice and clean city, I learned two things. First, at the beginning of september Siberia can be unexpectedly warm. Second, Russian Workers' Communist Party (RKRP) was still alive, and fighting. Up there in the great north, they take communism seriously; those people do not just fight for some social issues and free drugs. They want Soviet Union back with the 15 republics and everything else, cold war and nuclear threat. What could easily be said is that what we have here is a bunch of old nostalgic of no meaning. This is not true. Young lads are coming up, strong, determined and willing; they are the National Bolshevik Movement (NBM).

 The idea of joining nationalistic claims with communism is all but new. The roots of National Bolshevism is usually said to be found in World War I Germany; the fact is that communist issues get along well with populistic and nationalistic pourposes. Both are variations on the utopic discourse, both hypotesize a general, definitive and global solution for people's deseases, both are built on a trescendent, epic and mysthical imaginary. Both aim at oversimplify complex issues like the ones that characterized first XXth century Europe to give easy solution and gain people's consent.

 Eduard Limonov, is commonly recognized as the founder of National Bolshevik Party (NBP). In the 70's he wrote as a poet, then was banned from USSR, moved to New York, discoverd the New York punk and avantgard scene, moved again this time to Paris, kept on writing and returned in Russia after Soviet Union disbanded. Limonov founded NBP in 1991, toghether with his newspaper Limonka.

As every utopian and intimately totalitarian political movement, also National Bolshevism is quite boring, from an aesthetic point of view embarassing. The flag is a rough mix of straightforwarded symbolism: red background (nazi and communist), white circle (nazi), hammer and sickle (communist) but shifted in black (nazi). Politically NBP offers the usual nationalist receipt: aggressive foreign policy + a strong social and people oriented inner policy + rethoric, unity and tragedy.

 The really interesting thing about NBP is Eurasianism. Eurasianism is strongly linked with the slavophile wing of russian cultural debate of the late XIX century. Slavophilism is based on the statement that Russia and russian cultural complex do not belong either to the european or asiatic world. Strongly linked with the religious and mysthical slavic feel, slavophilism merges with the athavic mission of the Holy Mother Russia: unite Europe, Asia and the whole world in a sacred realm, waiting for the divine advent. [Ivan]

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING - A.D.1984

ANDALUSIAN!

1989-2009

NEW EUROPEANS

A CULTURE FOR TODAY

remembering the Fall of the Berlin Wall 

THE XX ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL IS SUCH AN EVOCATIVE EVENT FOR US YOUNG (NEW) EUROPEANS. HERE'S A VERY SPECIAL POST ABOUT COLD WAR, SOMETHING BETWEEN DIPLOMACY AND MUSIC, TO REMEMBER A NONSENSE AND MENACING HISTORICAL PERIOD FOR EUROPE. THE FOLLOWING LINK WILL AUTHORIZE YOU TO DOWNLOAD A SILLY REINTERPRETATION AND MERGING OF URSS AND U.S.A. NATIONAL ANTHEMS AS THEY WERE A  COMMON ENEMY OF THE COLD WAR'S YOUNG EUROPEANS
 
UrsSA - Prhemm

KIMONO PUNK 1989 II

KIMONO PUNK 1989 "SARDONIC REGIME"

STEAL IT HERE  

1. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
2. ORDINARY LEATHERISM
3. MENISCO GRRRLS TELEPHONE

4. MODERN FLOOR TOM INCHES
5. REJYKIAVIK ANTIFUHRER GESTAPO 
6. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

7. THE MARCHHCRAM EHT
8. UGRO-AUSTRIAN FASHION WEEK

9. XOXOXO

10. 80s ENERGI MEGA DISTRICT

11. HUMAN YOUNG RACE
12. HITCHCOCK LOGORRHEIC CRICKET 

LION ROOL SHAKA FOOL

FRANCO ROSSO, BORN OF ITALIAN PARANTAGE, WENT TO LONDON AT THE AGE OF NINE AND EXPERIENCED MUCH OF THE HOSTILITY AND DISTRUST BLACK IMMIGRANTS WERE EXPERIENCING TOO. AFTER ENTERING CAMBERWELL SCHOOL OF ART, HIS INTEREST IN FILM DEVELOPED. IN 1980, AFTER HIS FIRST CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE WITH JAMAICAN POET LINTON KWESI JOHNSON, HE DIRECTED A FILM ABOUT BLACK YOUTH GROWING UP IN SOUTH LONDON, CALLED BABYLON. SET IN ON THE STREETS OF LEWISHAM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THATCHER ERA, THE MOVIE CAPTURES THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF A REGGAE SOUND SYSTEM CONSISTING OF BLUE (BRINDSLEY FORDE OF ASWAD) AND HIS MATES. 

THE MOVIE WAS CO-WRITTEN BY MARTIN STELLMAN (WRITER OF QUADROPHENIA) AND STARRED BRIAN BOVELL, VICTOR ROMERO EVANS AND TREVOR LAIRD (THE "BLUES' PUSHER" IN QUADROPHENIA) AS "BEEFY". THE MOVIE PRESENTS A PORTAIT OF THE YOUNG BLACK COMMUNITY IN LONDON, WIDELY DIFFERENT FROM THE TABLOID STEREOTYPE AND IT'S THE STORY OF ITAL LION, THE FILM'S FICTIONAL SOUND SYSTEM RUN BY A GROUP OF FRIENDS, VS. SHAKA'S SOUND SYTEM (THE BEST IN REAL 80S BRITISH REGGAE MUSIC).

"TO THE EAST AFRICA, TO THE WEST JAMAICA, FIRST BABYLON. TO THE NORTH, ENGLAND, SECOND BABYLON. BABYLONIAN  TRIANGLE OFCAPTIVITY"

THE WORD "BABYLON" IS A MNEMONIC FOR OPRESSION, IN ALL ITS MANIFESTATIONS, SPIRALLING DOWN FROM A MONETARIST, MIDDLE-CALSS GOVERNMENT, THROUGH SUSPICIOUS POLICE PATROL CARS, INTOLERANT AND UNDULY VIOLENT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO SOMETHING AS GLUM AS A DOCKED WAGE PACKET. ROSSO DOES NOT ONLY PORTRAITS BLACK YOUTH CONDITION IN 1980, BUT ALSO UNDERLINES THE CONTRADDICTIONS AND INTERNAL FIGHTS OF THEIR COMMUNITY.

 (WHITE LADY): "LOOK AT YOU ALL, GOOD FOR NOTHING, NOISY, STINKING FILTH, LAZY, YOU'RE EVERYWHERE, JUNGLEBUNNIES. THIS WAS A LOVELY AREA BEFORE YOU CAME HERE, LOVELY...FUCK OFF BACK TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY, JUNGLEBUNNIES" 

WARRIOR CHARGE - ASWAD

 

BEEFY: "THIS IS MY FUCKING COUNTRY LADY AND IT'S NEVER BEEN FUCKING LOVELY, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A TIP FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, SO DON'T FUCKING TELL ME, RIGHT, 'CAUSE I NEVER DONE IT, IT WASN'T MY RIGHT...