The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
Best2011Vote-1000x50

Gang of Four roar back with post-punk fury

Still in uniform
By DANIEL BROCKMAN  |  February 2, 2011

gang
DAMAGED GOODS, SEND IT BACK “I think when we write songs, we’re always asking questions,” says Jon King (left), “and I think the big question that we ask ourselves is, ‘How far do we collaborate in our own situations?’ ”

The history of popular music is littered with musical questioning, from "Why must I be a teenager in love?" to "Who put the bomp in the bomp buh-bomp buh-bomp?" But when pop turned to rock and artists began to attempt to wield their popular might in order to do right, that inquisitiveness often turned into telling people what to do and think. It's an aspect of the politics of rock and roll that's always troubled Jon King, singer and co-theorist for UK post-punk legends Gang of Four. King's band have long been pegged as purveyors of political music, and he is clearly not crazy about the distinction. To him, being "political" means claiming to have the answers instead of being willing to ask the important questions.

"The thing is, I find politics, with a capital P, quite boring," he quips from his home in London, where he is preparing for GoF's world tour in support of Content (Yelp Roc Records), the band's first album of new material in 16 years. (It'll bring them to the Paradise on Monday.) "I'm not a member of a political party, and I don't advocate the point of view of an organized movement. I mean, I'm obviously left wing, and I believe in a fair society. But I still think that it would be boring to put that into songs, to write songs that advocate, for example, higher minimum wages or better care for the elderly. It's just not interesting, artistically. I think when we write songs, we're always asking questions, and I think the big question that we ask ourselves is, 'How far do we collaborate in our own situations?' "

Yet Gang of Four have often phrased their questions in the form of exclamations. Their debut, 1979's Entertainment!, is a masterful synthesis of aggression, yearning, and existential angst, each tune a Gordian knot of volleying vocals and rhythms cut through by the lacerating guitar contortions of Andy Gill. "I think that Andy and I approached each song like an art project," King explains, "because we were very interested with what things meant, arguing and debating. I found that I'd walk down the street and see something and think, 'That's ridiculous,' and that would be an inspiration."

Entertainment!'s inquiry continued with 1981's Solid Gold, a stark and bewildering cycle where the space between musical elements laid bare lyrical unease and at times outright panic. "With that record," King continues, "musically, we were standing side by side. Rather than on most commercial music, which is stacked, like a layer cake. You know, you take one layer off and there's another, and there's tracks and tracks on top of each other like a cake. With our stuff, it kind of has its own logic."

1  |  2  |   next >
Related: Photos: The xx at the Paradise, White Lies | Ritual, Photos: Tokyo Police Club and Two Door Cinema Club at the Paradise, More more >
  Topics: Music Features , Politics, Paradise Rock Club, London,  More more >
| More
1 Comments / Add Comment

Anonymous

The band is still vital and necessary as it was 35 years ago. I was amazed by the new material as well as how refreshing the older songs were presented. To listen to the GOF requires you to listen to the songs.
Posted: February 11 2011 at 9:38 AM
Add Comment
HTML Prohibited

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 02/21 ]   Easter Vomit + Ming Ming + Rene + Free Pizza  @ Great Scott
[ 02/21 ]   Humanoids + Uncomfortables  @ Charlie's Kitchen
[ 02/21 ]   Joe Fig: "Inside the Painter's Studio"  @ Massachusetts College of Art and Design
ARTICLES BY DANIEL BROCKMAN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   PJ HARVEY | LET ENGLAND SHAKE  |  February 16, 2011
    Polly Jean Harvey's newest manages to be a song cycle about the soldier's perspective on armed combat without being a typical anti-war diatribe — and is all the better for it.
  •   THE SOUND OF TYRANNY  |  February 18, 2011
    There are musicians, and then there are polymath musicians. How to tell the difference?  
  •   GANG OF FOUR ROAR BACK WITH POST-PUNK FURY  |  February 02, 2011
    The history of popular music is littered with musical questioning, from "Why must I be a teenager in love?" to "Who put the bomp in the bomp buh-bomp buh-bomp?" But when pop turned to rock and artists began to attempt to wield their popular might in order to do right, that inquisitiveness often turned into telling people what to do and think.
  •   THE PERFECTIONIST PERSONA OF NATALIA KILLS  |  January 26, 2011
    The British-born Natalia acted in BBC television and radio comedies (starting at age nine) before morphing into a musical career that has seen her adopt the stage name Natalia Kills — which describes her lethal combination of dark themes and anthemic synthpop.
  •   ROBYN RECLAIMS HER IDENTITY EN ROUTE TO POP STARDOM  |  January 26, 2011
    There are some pop stars for whom every record requires a reinvention of their persona. But what if your persona is just yourself, and you've spent your career rejecting the urge to create controversy to make people pay attention to you? For pop chanteuse Robin Carlsson, a/k/a Robyn, the R-word itself causes consternation.

 See all articles by: DANIEL BROCKMAN

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group