Shadowing – Alive
The world’s finally come around to what Ramones figured out all along, namely that violence is hilarious. I mean, of course, it’s not the same kind of experience as pissing yourself laughing from being tickled by a feather, or listening to a great comedian.
Nah, violence is such an abhorrent thing, and one that’s always been present during the history of mankind, that not to laugh at it would be insane. The original punks gave us the combativeness, the humour, and the power chords that you could learn in ten minutes if you wanted to strum along.
You’d have to work really hard to create another Satanic Panic nowadays! We just don’t get scared of things like we used to. Shadowing has noticed this and is concerned. And, doing their job as citizens, the punk-rock group wants to encourage you to feel some kind of fear, develop some debilitating anxiety, anything that will make you feel something.
“Alive” is a great, shouty, but melodic, old-school punk-rock song about going through life without really living. You’re best enjoying this along with the music video composed of retro horror clips that, if caught with them in your possession decades ago, might have gotten you barred from Sunday service. Do serial killers celebrate Christmas? Or, is it all just a bore to them? That’s what “Alive” dares to ask, really.
Membership – BANG!
I won’t buy a television because, inevitably, I’ll start yelling at it. And, from there, it’s down that slippery slope that I go, like everybody does. Pretty soon, I’ll start watching news about politics, and really get a place to direct my screams. And, after a while, I’m day drinking while learning to engage my diaphragm when doing the screaming. And, before you know it, I’m just one more of those miserable people walking around in the park and looking for someone to listen to me complain about the good ol’ days.
Complaining is natural, but for the majority of us, it’s a pastime that just eats up energy and resources and doesn’t actually give anything to the world or produce a solution. And, in fact, if you’ve managed to blend complaining with work ethic, protest with action, and propaganda with art, you’re certainly way ahead of the game compared to the vast majority of us, as is Membership.
Membership’s “BANG!” is just what you’d expect – angry and melodic punk-rock music, the soundtrack to not being able to take it anymore. It’s a tune about having to wake up every day and fight against the morons of the world, and somehow finding the strength to do it all again. But, guess what? Membership managed to put all that frustration into something that, when listened to at a volume that actually makes you feel hopeful. That’s something that improves the world even if just a little. What’s our excuse then?
