Pnoom – John Machine
Hypnosis works! Nah, it ain’t no myth. The guy clucking like a chicken in the circus show might well have been paid. But a hypnotist can certainly get you to go deep in your psyche, even make you do unexpected things.
No, this isn’t the premise of a Hitchcock movie! No, you won’t assassinate the president and forget you’ve done it. Hypnosis only works if two conditions are met – you need to be really relaxed, and you just want to be hypnotised (or, at least, broken down to the point where you’re not actively resisting).
The modern world, and every marketing department worth its salt, knows that and is trying to hypnotise you. They do it by lulling you into a state of false security while they reach out for your wallet.
We need the opposite! We need music that pins us up against the wall, makes us feel uncomfortable and forces us to run out screaming. Pnoom’s “John Machine” will do. Like the aforementioned process, this music also relies on a groove and repetition. But it’s as impossible to be hypnotised by this sound as it is to fall asleep while having an ice-cold shower. Some things are not designed to please but to help us wake up. This post-punk assault does the trick.
Bag Of Cans – Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps 2
It must be quite frustrating being born at the very heart of an empire and being misunderstood. It can’t be easy being there when the empire expanding. But it has to be even more frustrating to be stuck inside when it’s part of an opposite motion.
The world thinks of Britain as the highly educated who brought cricket and afternoon tea to the world, who stole Cadbury Fingers from French supermarkets only to incite civil unrest, and who gave us some of the greatest artists in the history of mankind. But out on the London streets, lager, crisps and 1996 jersey of the England national team are the currency.
And the people on the streets move fast. And they talk fast, too. There’s no time for waiting around, chatting about the weather. It always rains anyway. Best you can do is get prepared. Do it quickly! Something‘s bound to happen. Get a nice crisp and onion sandwich before you go out! Have your pantry stuffed with cans and packets!
In the eventful year of 2024, it’s not “God Save the King” that best represents the Empire on which the Sun never sets. I propose adopting “Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps 2” by Bag Of Cans. It’s the work of a post-punk who must’ve started out writing a song meant to reveal deep truths about life on the old rain-soaked island. In the end, quite brilliantly, the musicians opted to record the conversation they had earlier in the evening with the barman. It’s brilliant and funny. But it’s just a bit misleading if you are a German looking for a nice Pilsner. Your best bet in London is cider that comes out of a plastic bottle.
