Gag Salon – Man’s An Artist
What do you like to imagine that this era will be remembered for? Surely, you’ve dreamt of being able to tell future generations that it was during this time that people finally became serious about universal rights, environmental issues, and, simply, being nice to each other.
But, you’d, of course, be wrong. Just as some of the aforementioned things have started to weigh on the minds of a minority of people, so have some of the things that have obsessed our race throughout history – violence, cruelty, and the accumulation of an obscene amount of power. Gag Salon are also taking an interest and documenting our unhealthy pastimes.
Documentaries about the era ought to include news clippings of creative new serial killers, terrible military conflicts, and whatever fan fiction on the subject that regular people write. And if that all needs a soundtrack, the artsy psychosis of post-punk band Gag Salon and the single “Man’s An Artist” ought to fit the bill. The singer’s paranoid screams feel like they belong to someone made to curate the modern art collection of some of the world’s most gruesome murderers. And if you claim that you wouldn’t buy a ticket to such an event, how dare you lie this way?
Dead Tooth – Song of the Weak
If seeing grinning pictures of authors telling you how to discover the best version of yourself, typically, sends you into mad fits, you’re not alone. And, arguably, those in your party are not insane either. You’ve just adopted a typical, healthy response to the self-improvement craze that tries to make the best of our time by reducing our tendencies to be ourselves.
Dead Tooth has felt this while taking on the task of producing compositions according to a calendar. And, indeed, for many other people, the truth about their worst selves has been revealed while trying to reinvent themselves for the better. When everything gets optimised for maximum efficiency, all of the things done for little else than comfort, relief and relaxation get tossed aside.
Dead Tooth’s “Song of the Weak” is an indie-rock anthem of strain, anxiety and paranoia. It’s the real confession of someone who has forced themselves to attend a wellness seminar. It’s what they’d tell you once you allow them to have a drink and share their story. And in those strong lines by Dead Tooth, you can hear the internal fight of the modern artist who is part deadbeat angel and part on-the-clock factory worker.
