Farrah Fawcett was sad enough, and of course everyone will be talking about the death of Michael Jackson for approximately the next fifteen years or so, but for my money the true tragedy is that Sky Saxon died on the same day as two people nearly impossible to compete with media attention for. He is the runt of the litter of dead celebrities, June 25, 2009.

For those of you who have been living under a fucking rock, Sky Saxon was the mad psychedelic genius behind The Seeds. The Seeds were one of the weirder bands from a weird genre of music. The Seeds didn’t play the remembered, rockist cannon psychedelic of The Doors, The Jefferson Airplane, or Jimi Hendrix. The Seeds were part of the dirtier, more disdained scene of psychedelic garage punk that only really started getting its due when Jack White started ripping it off before moving on to Jimmy Page.

My dad liked The Seeds a lot. It doesn’t sound all that interesting until I tell this full story the way I tell it after a couple beers at the bar. My dad spent most of the late 60s, if my grandmother’s photo album is to be believed, in a white t-shirt, hard blue jeans, and Red Ball Jet sneakers with a pack of Luckies in his sleeve and one behind his ear. Apparently he was a big fan of The Seeds. One day, after getting a copy of Nuggets- not the Lenny Kaye compiled masterpiece, but the Rhino version produced while the former lay in legal limbo- I walked into my bedroom to see my father intently playing Windows solitaire and jamming along with “Pushin’ Too Hard.”

Not a lot of point to the story, though it was one of the few times that my dad and I ever connected before the age of about 18. So thanks for that, Sky Saxon. I’m sorry that you had to pick the worst day possible to die.

Powerviolence, strange as it may seem for a genre with such a creative name, did not spring from the Abyss fully formed and ready-made for mutant consumption in half pipes from Encitas to Oakland. There is approximately ten years of pre-history compressed before the late-80’s non-scene that gave birth to ten thousand angry Despise You clones.

I would like to take for granted that powerviolence is more or less influenced by the entire genres of hardcore and thrash. In some ways, powerviolence is little more than the reassimilation of thrash back into the hardcore fold. The third element in all of this is, of course, heavy metal, though only a dash. Another way of talking about powerviolence by talking about what it is not, is by saying that is in many ways a reaction against crossover thrash, NYHC, and crust incorporating elements of metal into hardcore. However, the mosh breakdowns of powerviolence always have a sludgy intensity that can’t be laid quite anywhere but at the foot of heavy metal.

However, there are some bands that are more inspirational to the genre than others. Certain elements of the above idioms can be more clearly heard in powerviolence than others. What follows is a short, chronological assessment of the players in what can be loosely termed “proto-powerviolence.” It is not my intention to ex post facto create a “scene” where there was none. It is my intention to highlight those bands that were most influential to the sound and attitude of powerviolence, over and above the contributions of the various genres mentioned earlier.

The first band to really pay attention to are Vancouver, BC’s The Neos. The Neos were a band that declared early on their intention to be the fastest band in the world. They belong perhaps more accurately to that most obscure of idioms “proto-hardcore” than anything else. At a time when most punk rock bands were trying to the lunatic fringe of hard rock, The Neos- who aren’t terribly good- made their ethos about speed, power, and, well… violence. They released only two EPs that included twenty-five songs. The number of songs that could be fit onto a single record reached its zenith in powerviolence, where compilations were put together with the express purpose of getting as many songs as possible in.

The Boston scene in general seems to have had special influence on powerviolence. Boston hardcore is generally known as the meanest, ugliest, most nihilistic, hate-fueled scene in all of early hardcore. There is an apocryphal story about the singer of SSD declaring to the other members of the band “No one is allowed to have any fun on this trip” as they loaded up the van for their first tour. But one band above all sticks out as having both the ethos (loud, fast, fuck you) and the sound (loud, fast, fuck you) down at an early stage. I am speaking, of course, of the best band to ever be fronted by a future Vidal Sassoon colorist, Jack “Choke” Kelly’s first outfit, Negative FX. NFX not only pioneered fast for fast’s sake, keeping most of their songs under the one minute (and many times under the thirty second) mark. They were also known for being the surliest bunch of motherfuckers ever to lead mosh warriors in ritual. Their song “Punch in the Face” no only sounds like a powerviolence song, it also sounds like it could be the name of a powerviolence band.

Of course, there was another band from Boston who had far more influence on the sound, style, and ethos of powerviolence than Choke and his band of hockey jocks. Weymouth’s Siege were, along with Deep Wound the vanguard of Boston hardcore, pushing the boundaries of what people thought was possible with rules that said that loud and fast ruled. While Deep Wound are cool and everything, Siege are probably the band that most made the later development of powerviolence possible. Providence, RI’s hardcore legends who associated with much of the powerviolence scene, are, of course, named after Siege’s most famous album and song. A bunch of kids from Weymouth, their performance on cable access was mercifully saved for posterity, however their Battle of the Bands performance at WHS where they were disqualified for smashing their instruments has not.

While not infuencing the sound of powerviolence as much as the aforementioned bands there is one bands from the 1980s hardcore scene worth mentioning because of their influence on the style and aesthetics of powerviolence. The Midwest’s Negative Approach wrote anthems to hate and self-loathing that have yet to be replicated by even the most angry of powerviolence bands. While not having the speed and intensity of the above bands, if anyone can be credited with writing the “riffs” that became identified with powerviolence (and isn’t called “Despise You”) it’s Negative Approach.

That about wraps it up for the titans of hardcore who helped to spur the creation of powerviolence. Again, it seems worth stating that there are a thousand other bands from the U.S. and abroad that can be considered as antecedents to the style, but these bands seem to stand head and shoulders above the rest in pioneering a style of hardcore that is faster than fast, built for brutality, and completely stripped of all elements of heavy metal. Next time I’ll talk about the other side of the coin- thrash.

As I am tired of straining my thoughts about Iran into under 140 characters and adding more noise than signal, I would like to briefly summarize my position on Iran. After this, I am done discussing the issue, though I will probably repost WSWS articles, as I think that they represent an important perspective.

0. I make absolutely no claim to know the actual results of the election, nor do I question the personal motives of sincere parties involved.

1. Rigged elections are the norm, and not the exception in the Western world. Much crocodile tears is being shed by the mainstream American media over this particular election. Why? What are the politics and social forces behind it? Accusations of voter fraud are common, particularly in the developing world. Why is so much attention being placed on this one? What evidence has been presented in the Western media that the election was rigged other than the say so of the opposition?

2. The people currently demonstrating against the government of Iran are certainly brave. Braver than I can boast to be. But bravery alone is not enough of a quality to warrant my political support. To be clear- I find the repressive actions against the Iranian population disgusting and reprehensible. I also know that the opposition leader, whose base is largely an upper middle class English-speaking urban minority, was also the Prime Minister during the Iran-Iraq War of 1981-1989, and participated in the murder of thousands of Iranian workers and peasants during the 1980s. His current politics aren’t terribly important to me, though I do have some familiarity with them. His deeds speak more than his words.

3. The history of the 20th century is largely the history of people getting butchered after fake “left” conciliators hitch the star of the working class to “the broader movement.” The examples of this are so common, that it seems like a waste of time to repeat a laundry list here. However, an obvious and relevant example is both during the 1953 CIA-backed coup d’etat and the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In both cases, the kind of “ally building” and papering over of political differences (under the auspices of the Stalinist mass party, the Tudeh) led to the working class behind misled behind, respectively, a popular front government which did nothing to defend the working class against the CIA-backed coup and the mullahs who currently oppress all Iranians, but particularly homosexuals, non-Twelver Shi’a and other religious minorities, and women.

4. I support a working-class politics that stands up for the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and the most oppressed layers of society. The Iranian working class is, historically speaking, one of the most militant and revolutionary in the world. Whatever other things may have happened later, the Iranian working class were the driving force behind the destruction of the brutal, U.S. backed SAVAK / Shah regime. There is absolutely no reason that they are not capable of leading a similar revolution, along socialist lines except for a lack of political leadership inside the country. Getting behind anything that moves isn’t the answer. There needs to be leadership in Iran. Chasing the tail of the left is a race to the bottom.

5. History matters. My thoughts on the opposition leader are outlined above. But the history of American involvement in the region matters too. Barack Obama has as one of his senior advisors Zbigniew Bzezinski, one of the most dedicated backers of the Shah during the 1979 revolution. The character of the American government did not change because the guys in the white hats got elected. The same geopolitical goals of the Bush regime are being acted upon by the Obama regime, albeit through guile and subterfuge rather than overt force. I oppose these aims regardless of their perpatrators or ideological cover.

6. Any revolution which leaves the mullahs in power is not a revolution I will support. Period, the end.

On a totally personal note, I hope that a good Persian friend of mine is able to walk the streets of Tehran one day, a beer in each hand, and a scantily clad girl on each arm without fear of repression or terror. And I hope the people of Iran rise up and give the mullahs what they’ve had coming for the last thirty years.

UPDATE:

Recent events, as well as a correspondence this morning have forced me to amend this document.

0. The situation in Iran is currently highly precarious. Politics aside, I am deeply moved by the Iranian people, and barring the revolution that won’t happen, wish for nothing but the personal safety of those involved and their families.

1. Part of my shrill tone about this stems precisely from a deep seated emotional attachment to the people of Iran. I do not wish to seem them led into a slaughter by leadership which lacks the political will to carry out the necessary fight against the mullahs and the Islamic Republic. There seem to be two options on the table at this point:

A) The Assembly of Experts will remove Khamenei from the post of Supreme Leader. This looks so distant as to be an impossibility, if recent reports that the AoE has explicitly backed Khamenei.

B) The protesters will be cut down in a bloody confrontation with state security apparatus that they are ill-organized and equipped to fight. They will fight heroically, and valiantly, but without proper political leadership and organization, they will lose.

3) (B) seems to be the crux of the matter. The current standoff is what I have dreaded for the last several days. Mousavi is too close to the clerical establishment to mount the kind of struggle that is needed in Iran right now. He has imperiled the lives of thousands of Iranians who have stuck their neck out for him.

4) I will be gladly be wrong if it means that Iranians get to live. But if I am correct it is worth considering that giving support to “anything that moves” is not the most amazing strategic track to take.

5) At no time, and in no way during this crisis have I ever provided political support to the Islamic Republic of Iran. I remain skeptical of the claims in the Western press and question the special attention paid to accusations of electoral irregularities. The Western press is generally woefully silent or explicitly opposed to opposition claims of voter fraud. Why are they concerned now? Qui bono? Even if the election were wholesale stolen as the opposition claims, this question remains. Moreover, why does press coverage intersect with American military and economic interests there?

6) Entirely unrelated to the above: I am deeply troubled by the presence of iconography associated with the Shah being used by the protesters. More as this unfolds.

Further Worthwhile Reading:

Western Misconceptions Meet Iranian Realities - Stratfor

The New York Times and Iran: Journalism as State Provocation - World Socialist Web Site

For Workers’ Power and a Socialist Iran - WSWS

The New Great Game - Wikipedia

I knew the old man was dying for awhile. In my previous life as an occulture impresario, I had contacted him through his office about a possible appearance at Esozone. His publicist informed me that due to health concerns, Mr. Ballard was unable to leave the Anglian coast. I knew he was in hospice just from the sound of it. I was glad, in a strange way. That a chainsmoking former prisoner of the Empire of the Sun, James Graham Ballard did a pretty good job, kicking around to be almost 80 years old. In that time he saw not only the collapse of the old imperial order, but the resurrection of a new on in its place, the rise and fall of the space age, deindustrialization, the surveillance society, a stolen U.S. election, 9/11, and Chuck Palahniuk. All in all not bad for a man who very easily could never have made it past the age of thirteen.

Separating Ballard the myth from Ballard the man is an impossible a task as other men of genius and vision such as James Joyce, William Burroughs, and, of course, the last man standing, Thomas Pynchon. It is quite literally impossible to verify or falsify any of his claims from the internment camp. However, the world should perhaps be thankful for the core elements of his life’s narrative, which doubtless shaped his fiction, if nothing else. It’s almost a cliche and a stock phrase in 2009 to refer to apocalyptic, “Ballardian” visions of not the distant future, but a lost tomorrow or the present perfect.

While I will not speak ill of this dead body, I will say that there are some novels of his I prefer to others. While The Atrocity Exhibition is an interesting exercise in literary forms, and contains a number of cute turns of phrase- if your idea of “cute” is Boyd Rice in a “RAPE” t-shirt- the fact that it’s just a bunch of vignettes and short stories edited to kind of, sort of, maybe work together matters to me. The apocraphyal story about Nelson Doubleday having it pulped is probably cooler than the book itself. There is, of course, Crash, the most famous of his works made into an unwatchable movie by the world’s first Ballardian director, David Cronenberg. This book is notable for having a paragraph about pelvic injuries so graphic I had to put the book down for several months. High Rise is a neat little retelling of Lord of the Flies. It’s not very subtle, but it’s an unsung gem, and while not having the sublime mastery of Wesetern culture demonstrated in Crash it does lay bare the subtle nuances of British class regimentation and the attendant inferiority complex / passive-aggresive communication cycles.

But for my money the Man really shined in his short stories. His collected short stories is finally seeing the light of day in the states. The Umass library had a copy, and so did the library in my neighborhood in London. So there was a good three year period where I basically owned the book, which clocks in at just sligtly over 1200 pages. Here you have not only the trial runs for a number of his novels, large chunks of proto-Atrocity Exhibition work, and the standard issue sci-fi shockers, you also have brilliant explorations of literary form (”The Index” and “Theater of War” are brilliant, as is “Notes Toward A Mental Breakdown”) and some prescient visions of the future that eerily on point in the age of webcams, “Internet people,” social isolation, and socio-economic decay.

Oh yeah, and PS: in Ballard’s day the pervasive narrative was about the ever expanding abilities of capitalism to solve the world’s problems. Specifically, hegemonic American capitalism. Ballard was perhaps the only writer of his day to present the truth about where capitalism was headed with resorting to cute jokes or whinging at the edge of the void like many others of his generation and literary persuasion. Ballard saw what underlies the modern world. He saw what happens when you give a binobo a bigger brain and better thumbs. You get Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Ronald Reagan, reality television, and a masturbation superhighway.

The worst part about his death? Now I have to pick between him and Burroughs. Sorry Bill, Ballard wins. If you want to know about the 20’s you read The Great Gatsby. If you want to know about the 80’s you read American Psycho. If you want to know about the 21st century, you read J.G. Ballard. See you in the Western Lands, Jim.