Freedom! ForeVer!

Russell, oh dear sweet Russell...

As many of you are no doubt aware by now, Jeremy Paxman recently played host to Russell Brand, that former DJ, current actor, and modern day dandy. If you're not, that's the video of it, right there above this paragraph.

It was an interview that spoke of "voter apathy" and "revolution".  Powerful sentiments, and ones I share. The integrity of his words, however, remains somewhat sketchy.

A few days later, Brand was one of many who participated in the Million Mask March, an event that saw thousands, if not the target million, of people in countries around the world, march through the streets as a collective, each wearing replicas of the Guy Fawkes mask worn by the eponymous protagonist in V For Vendetta.  Late in the evening, Brand stopped to sign autographs for fans who recognised him.

Wait, what?

Yep, you guessed it, Brand unmasked.  Which, on the face of it, somewhat undermines the very purpose of the mask itself.  V wore the mask for practical reasons, yes.  His entire body was horrifically burned in the fire at Larkhill, and it was suggested there was little left of his face.  But any mask can cover those wounds. V wore that particular mask symbolically, in remembrance of the previous attempt to destroy the Houses of Parliament.  V was big on symbolism.

So what was the symbolism of the mask?  V said it himself: "Ideas are bulletproof."  V himself was killed as a result of the final climactic showdown with Creedy and his goons, but that was just the man beneath the mask.  The idea he fought and died for, however, lived, and thousands descended on the centre of London, past military barricades, to watch Parliament blow up.  And all of them wore the mask.  They were all as one at that moment, unified in a common belief: that it was time for a change.  A removal of the old guard, of the crippling constraints and fears, of the oppression and tyranny, of an establishment that had long since lost the faith and conviction of those it claimed to serve.

The mask itself represented that idea, and it has grown beyond a simple movie prop or comic book device. The mask has become a symbol of a desire for change in a real sense.  The hacktivist collective Anonymous is perhaps the most renowned for its use of the mask, but it's not alone.  In fact, it's arguable that Anonymous are partly responsible for making the mask as iconic as it has become.  It has, in fact, become the very symbol it was meant to be in the comic and movie.

The Million Mask March is evidence of the power of a symbol.  That people in many countries marched as one while wearing the mask shows that there is a growing, and powerful, voice of dissension and disenfranchisement with the state of the world. Thanks to a level of communication unprecedented in human history, there is a very strong sense of a global community, through social media, blogs such as this, and instant news.  And as a global community, we have become more aware of the actions of our leaders, governments, corporations and financial institutions, and the effects of those actions on the rest of us - the 99%, as the general populace has become known. Moreover, there is a strong feeling that we, the 99%, are increasingly being marginalised by an elite caste whose overriding concern is with its own interests and avarice, the rest of us be damned.

The London part of the Million Mask March

Russell Brand's interview suggested to me a man who knows there is a major problem with the system in place, but doesn't have a solution beyond crying "revolution!"  I can understand that. I think many of us see a system in freefall, and desperately want to see it change dramatically and fundamentally, but don't know how to make it happen.  Marches, protests, petitions, campaigns and such are all powerful tools, but more needs to be done.  Then there's what comes after.  After the revolution, after the dismantling of the old guard, what do we do? Do we appoint a new leader, someone who truly represents the people?  And then how do we know they'll stay the course? And above all, how will we manage a change as massive as the one we need, after corporations, financial institutions, governments and military regimes are brought down?

The revolution for which Brand calls is one I believe is coming.  But it's not nearly as easy as a simple jingoistic war cry from a celebrity fop.  We have become so accustomed to the way of things - governments making decisions for us, banks telling us how important it is to have money, corporations reminding us daily that we need their products and services, only for us to capitulate like good little consumers - that removing it all from our lives could be too much to take all at once.  Panic would flood the streets, chaos would ensue.

Change needs to occur.  But not all at once.  We simply wouldn't cope with it.  And the truth of the matter is that, like Brand, I don't have an answer.  I don't know how this change should occur, what should replace the current order, and how we carry on beyond it.  But I do know that, jingoistic and ego-driven though he may be, Russell Brand spoke to a lot of people on several levels in that interview, and in some ways made sense.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The whole thing about him taking off his mask.  Well, he wanted to sign autographs for his fans, didn't he?  Make of that what you will, dear reader. But he wasn't the only one to unmask - indeed, there were many who didn't even have so much as a scarf to cover their face. But making the lack or removal of a mask the focus of this matter is a merely a diversion.  It's not the messenger, or the words, we should focus on, but the spirit and substance of the message.  The symbolism embodied by thousands of people worldwide congregating in a common cause.  The mask is a powerful symbol, but one does not need to be reliant upon it to deliver the message.

As for the revolution? Well, it will be more than televised, it will be on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and if you look hard enough, probably even the news.  But the aftermath of said revolution? That's the grey area we need to clear up.

Comments and discussion more than welcome, they are encouraged.

Lest we forget...

Remembrance Sunday. It is one of our more sombre traditions, observed on or about the 11th of November.  The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a moment in history that shall not soon be forgotten.  It was the moment of the Armistice, when a ceasefire was officially declared, which effectively and symbolically saw the end of the first World War, one of the most brutal and horrific conflicts in humanity's history.

The field of battle

At this time of year, at 11:00 on the nearest Sunday to the 11th of November, people observe a moment's silence, in remembrance of those who died in the service of their country during the two World Wars. Thousands of men and women who fought on the mud-plagued battlefields and waterlogged trenches of the front lines of Europe, and gave their lives defending their nation.

It's never, ever, that simple.  Aside from the legal and official side of things - different nations ratified peace at different times and for different conditions, months after the Armistice began - there was the more personal aspect.  Soldiers died for the cause both sides were propagating.  And every single soldier was somebody's son or daughter, or someone's mother or father, brother or sister, husband or wife, friend, neighbour.

And it wasn't just soldiers.  Civilians lost their lives too.  Men, women and children who had neither part or place in the war, were killed by the enemy, and sometimes by friendly fire.  Families of soldiers and civilians alike were left devastated by the loss of a loved one. In some families entire generations were wiped out. Fathers and sons killed side by side in battle.  Homes destroyed. Towns devastated.

And this happened on both sides of the battlefield.  German families, towns and communities were damaged in the wars too.  Russia perhaps suffered the most losses of the entire Second World War.  Two cities in Japan were virtually wiped out by, to date, the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare.  The world as a whole was irrevocably changed by possibly the most devastating wars in human history.  Nobody escaped unscathed.

A moment's peace: Allied and German troops together during
the Christmas Truce of 1914. Picture taken from the Daily Mirror

Yet even in time of war, there is still hope.  This is best exemplified by the Christmas Truce, a series of unofficial ceasefires over the Christmas period of 1914.  During this time, at numerous locations, soldiers on both sides of the conflict put down their guns and walked into No Man's Land.  Instead of fighting, they met, shook hands, and exchanged gifts and souvenirs.  Carols were sung and decorations put up in both trenches. Some exchanged buttons from each other's jackets. The cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather, who served during the war, reported seeing one German soldier sitting calmly while a British gunner cut his hair.  And perhaps most famously, the two sides engaged in a less bloody conflict - a mass game of football that saw as many as 50 participants kicking a pigskin around the battlefield.  It was an uneasy truce - there were more than a few who were openly hostile to the idea, and warned that if the enemy left their trench and attempted to fraternise, they would be shot. But in some of these cases at least, their reticence proved unfounded.  For just a brief moment and in just a few places, peace won out.

I have never and will ever condone the act of war.  There is always a better solution.  And there are some within the military who glory in warfare, who court it - those who, in simple terms, are spoiling for a fight. But there are others. Those soldiers who signed up to protect and defend those who could not defend themselves.  The ones who held to a code of honour. The ones who carried the stretchers to take their fallen away from the battlefield.  The ones who remained home, trying to keep their house and family going through terrible times.  I don't agree with those who sign up for military action, but neither do I agree that their deaths should be ignored.

I continue to hope for a better world. I'm not convinced I will see an end to war in my lifetime, but I keep hoping that if nothing else, it will fade away.  And sometimes, while war is always the wrong outcome, it may be for the right reasons, or at least burdened with good intentions.  But then, isn't that what the road to Hell is paved with?

And so, on this day, I choose to remember all of those who have lost their lives because of war.  Be they friend or foe, soldier or civilian, everybody matters.  We're all only human.

Rock is dead? Trillians Rockbar shuts its doors.

On 31st October 2013, Trillians Rockbar celebrated the first night of a two-part Hallowe'en event.  There was music, beer, face-painting and all manner of spooky goings-on, and I imagine a fun time was had by all.  And many left that night looking forward to the second part the next day.

It never happened.

At 8:40 am the following morning, the following message appeared on Trillians' official Facebook page:

Just like that, one of Newcastle's most popular pubs, and a focal point for the rock community of the North East, was gone.  A pub that had seen thousands of bands, including more than a few big names, perform on the little stage opposite the bar, and held dear memories for so many of its patrons young and old, was snuffed out.

Maybe.

The reason for the closure? Trillians was part of the Bramwell Pub Company (formerly Barracuda), who went into administration the same day.  The administrators, Zolfo Cooper, immediately set about closing 25 pubs. Although it hasn't officially been stated yet which ones have been shut, it's fairly safe to assume one of them is Trillians, seeing as how it's suddenly closed for business.

Trillians has been a part of Newcastle, and its rock scene in particular, for many years. From its early days in the 1960s as the Man In The Moon, through Jubilee 77/The Jubilee, to its most recent incarnation, it's seen all manner of performers ply their trade, including the Damned, Napalm Death, At The Gates, Diamond Head, Saxon, Blaze Bayley, All About Eve and who knows how many more, as well as being a prominent venue for local talent to play.

But its more than that.  There are memories in those walls.  From the tables that had tickets, CD covers, flyers and patches of bands like Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Black Sabbath, to the seemingly pointless spiral staircase that went nowhere; from squeezing through an immovable jam-packed throng on a Saturday night for half an hour just to get a drink at the bar, to sitting quietly at a table tucking into some chips in the mid afternoon; meeting friends, making new ones - some people, including "Mrs. Loud", the singer on Meat Loaf's hit "I'd Do Anything For Love", apparently found their future spouses inside the confines of the place.

And in the blink of an eye, it's gone.

Well, I did say maybe.

Not long after the announcement was made, a new group was founded: Save Trillians. And in the space of less than a day, it acquired almost 10,000 members.  So many people who had a lot of memories of Trillians (under any name), or just expressing their sorrow at its closure, or wondering if a new owner would keep it as a rock bar.  One member had even spoken to the administrators about the pub.  There's a large contingent of people who want to keep Trillians alive, and it only takes one to actually start the ball rolling.  But 10,000 can roll it so much quicker.

We've already lost the Mayfair. Let's not lose this as well.