Does anyone here listen to Killing Joke? I'm kind of shocked nobody brought up Jaz Coleman yet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaz_Coleman
You've obviously got a lot that you want to inform people about.
JC: Well, there are many things that concern me as a citizen. As you know, Killing Joke is about catharsis, and it's about confronting fears. And we do this collectively, almost literally. Or at least we aspire to.
Routine purging?
JC: [Laughs] Yes. There you go. I find that it's good for me. It's good for my health, Killing Joke, and it's good for my psychological wellbeing. I mean, it's a social function, and it's stopped us fucking murdering people. You know? Basically. It's a way of... it's the most sublime system of anger management you could find.
What's increasingly occurring in terms of today's political situation is that more and more kids are going to be denied the right to that kind of artistic expression, forced into functional, very dry careers, without that outlet.
JC: That's right. And it makes me despair. I'm very much involved in the arts on all levels. My feeling is this - there are going to be more and more and more people out of work with time on their hands. And the arts is the simple answer to this. Epicurus tells us this. He says all we need to do is tend the garden so we have a food supply, and the rest of the time we should spend thinking about philosophy and the arts. I tend to agree!
My vision for our European Union, if we think about the things that are missing now, would be coffee bars where loud music is played, where you can smoke anything you want, get a reasonably priced meal. Outside of the coffee bar is a farmer's market, where you just use local produce, so there are no petro-dollars used in importing vegetables, etc. 75% of the vegetables we currently eat are imported using petro-dollars. I'd try to get New Zealanders thinking about a New Zealand [where Jaz is domiciled] where there is no import or export, where we become totally self-sufficient. Because if we are going to get away from oil dependency, that's what has to happen. Oil's one part of the problem that needs debate, the other is international bankers, and the whole nasty, insidious cabal that's been running for the best part of 150 or 200 years - Rothschild, more lately the Rockefeller families... that one family can have so much power I find unacceptable. One family own 52% of the Federal Reserve. I find that incredible. Incredible that people are so stupid that they fucking buy it![Laughs]
It's the ultimate in pyramid economics.
JC: My point is, even at the bottom of the pyramid, we go through biometrics - everything is known about us. ID chips, fine. I'd like to see transparency right the way to the top. The thing is, any super elite would feel a little nervous under current conditions, because with the internet as a global brain, everybody knows where everybody is. We should take it one step further. The next thing would be to identify the majority shareholders of the top 100 companies.
Would it take the complete collapse of capitalism...
JC: The collapse has already occurred.
Well, we're somewhere along the line...
JC: It's just a charade, what we're seeing now, of virtual gold that doesn't exist.
In order to formalise these ideas, do you actually have to follow economics quite closely; do you keep a beady eye?
JC: Yeah. I'm very much involved with some of those big banking families I just mentioned. Two of us are. One member of Killing Joke looks after the Rockerfeller art collection, works in the same house as David Rockerfeller! [Laughs uproariously]
What tensions arise from this?
JC: No tensions at all. We're all of one mind. In fact, I'm the most Ghandi-like in my concept of revolution. Other members of my band believe in more strident forms of revolution.
That's interesting, because English people don't generally use the 'R' word.
JC: There's no history of it in this country. Cromwell was a limp dick who put the fucking king back on the throne. You know? There's no history of revolution. That's another reason why I cleared out early. I can remember being a teenager in Killing Joke and thinking, 'I'm going to use this to get the fuck out of this shithole'. That was back then.
Was that there right at the outset?
JC: At the outset. I wanted out. I wanted out before I'd started the band.
Was it that singular?
JC: Oh, for me.
That this country can't change itself?
JC: Yeah, exactly. There are too many vested interests. I personally think that this country should NOT be in the European Union. Absolutely. I consider this [to be] part of the Atlantic empire. Until England decides... it's torn between European ideals and Atlantic interests at the moment. And it can't make its mind up. The other day in Paris there were three million people on the street. We had one million people saying we don't want to go to war here. There's another reason why I don't live here. The English always do things at the last minute when it's too late.
And yet, aren't Killing Joke a quintessentially English band?
JC: Absolutely.
So what is there, for someone bringing up kids in England, aware of these things, ashamed of some of our recent acts...
JC: Became more opinionated, more outspoken, and take a stand on what's right and wrong. If you want NATO and the Americans in this country, then let the people decide it. If you want to be in the European Union... the thing is, while I'm largely pro-European, the British people weren't asked whether they wanted to be part of it all. And I have a problem with that. And I don't think these islands are conducive to a European super state. So while I think it's good for mainland Europe, I don't think it's good for the United Kingdom. These are my personal feelings.
Look, France and Germany were the only countries that took a stance on the bullying of America on the weapons of mass destruction and the false invasion and a clearly illegal war. They said no; they were the only ones with the courage to do it. This whimpering little nation, what's become of us? I want to see Blair in the dock. If we can't try him, history must judge him.
History has.
JC: Much harsher. He's a traitor, he's a traitor!
He's still flogging his book.
JC: He's making a fortune. He's a greedy, greedy traitor. He must be held to account. There's my problem - there's no justice. Then this [Gary] McKinnon case. That a British national can be extradited to a foreign power - that we should even allow this, you know?
...
But what I'd always say about that is the top 5% of people who have innate intelligence and ability will always find a way through. What's cruel and unfair is that the 20% below that, who are bright and capable, unless they come from a certain background, won't be allowed to achieve in equal terms to those that do have that privilege.
JC: Yeah. And I believe in the best education for every strata of society, I really, really do. Education is the way out of all our problems. But I've seen papers that explain the current thinking on... areas where the overall economic worth is zero. And the kind of syllabus and curriculum that are applied in these areas in order to control population, rather than enlighten them. I've seen these papers. If you look at the standard of education since 1960, it's gone down and down and down. That's no accident. That's planning. That's probably part of the East Sussex University Tavistock Institute planning, I guess. [Laughs]
That's the whole Pavlovian experiment effectively, where people are kept in the moment of stress...
JC: Oh, shock is very important. That was a Tavistock invention. If you provide perpetual shocks, people become docile. 9/11 was a very good example. Pearl Harbour was another example.
From here the discussion becomes rather more heated, as Jaz delivers a sermon on your correspondent's infantility in querying some of his statements - specifically, I make the mistake of using the 'C' word - conspiracy. He is not best pleased and during a torrid ten minutes or so he decides that I "personify the cowardice in this nation, by just saying that in my room".
JC: Like I say, now that I'm so involved with the European Union, the sooner I get a European passport, the better. Because it's a shame on this nation that the Germans and the French had more balls than the British.
LMFAO @ Jaz turning on the interviewer. He usually does because he's just way too real for the music biz paradigm.
The Empire Never Ended....
