Dancing and having a good time don’t necessarily go hand in hand with socialism and revolution. Don’t tell that to Inge Johannson, bass player for critically acclaimed punk band The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Having just released their second album on Epitaph, A New Morning, Changing Weather, and embarking on a five-week North American tour, the world may not be entirely ready for the message that T(I)NC are towing along.
Formed out of the ashes of the now much-talked about Refused, T(I)NC don’t borrow much from their hardcore roots other than the same lead singer. Always ready and willing to bring a new danceable sound to the punk scene, A New Morning, Changing Weather gives credit to a far reaching number of influences, from old-school punk and mod to groups like the Kinks and James Brown. After plans for showcasing their talents at the CMJ conference in New York starting September 12 were cancelled for obvious reasons, Johannson and the rest of the band are wary of stepping on people’s toes with this latest tour.
“It’s a bit scary, but on the other hand it’s forced people with alternative views of the international situation to stand up and talk about these things and try to understand them and try to ask the questions that George W. Bush isn’t talking about.”
With anti-globalization protests reaching a fever pitch over the past few years, escalating to the shooting death of a protestor in Genoa earlier this year, Johannson still has a positive out-look on the movement.
“I’m pretty positive about the things that have happened. People are marching together, not against a government or a big corporation, but against a political and economic structure. That means that people have actually been thinking about how this affects their life and people of different backgrounds are gathering against one common enemy. I think that we’re seeing the start to something very exciting, powerful and positive.”
Listening to the music that T(I)NC create (without the lyrics), it’s hard to imagine that something based so much on having fun and dancing could be so revolutionary in its message. Anarchist icon Emma Goldman once said, “If there’s no dancing, I don’t want your revolution,” and it’s this quote that best sums up the mantra of T(I)NC.
“The revolution should be a lot of dancing and firecrackers and laser-tagging and things like that. I really believe that. I hate the leftist and Christian idea of the bitter struggle. The only potential that we have is that we can actually make socialism look funny, danceable, sexy, smart and attractive. And that may be what Emma Goldman meant by that quote.”
But, if the group is so interested in making things fun and exciting for the impending revolution, why don’t they just write catchy, fun lyrics to coincide with their music, and leave the theorizing about how hospitals are going to run after the revolution to some Marxist academic?
“By putting those ideas that we have into music gives it context. You can say that music is the vehicle for the message but we still love to play music, and we’re not ashamed to admit that. At the same time it would feel like a waste to not be political. There are too many bands out there singing about their skateboards, drugs and girls.”
After such an obvious dig at so-called “punk” bands like Blink 182 and many other of the pop-punk bands that grace the stage at the Warped Tour every summer, it’s surprising to hear Johannson talk so unequivocally about how much good mainstream music and art are being released. It’s just that most of the positives aren’t being seen in guitar-rock/pop.
“I think there’s a lot of good mainstream music coming out. I like Missy Elliott a lot, I think she’s really something. I like everything that Dr. Dre is involved in—he’s fantastic. Mainstream guitar pop doesn’t really rock my boat. Some is okay, like Weezer, but most guitar rock bands these days are really really boring. People have been doing it for fifty years, and what is it, like fourteen notes to pick from? Everything has been done already.”
