This article is part two of a two part series. Give the first part a read here.
As part of his newest publication, The Terror of the Unforeseen, McMaster professor Henry Giroux enlisted the help of his friend Julian Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes, to provide some insight on the rise of various right-winged movements throughout the world. We had the chance to catch up with Casablancas to talk about music and politics.
Q: So in the early Strokes days, the music scene in general was saturated with songs about politics, but now, it’s been critiqued as being too “pop-y”. Why do you think it’s kind of sloped down?
I’m not sure I necessarily agree with that. If anything, [for me] personally, [it’s] probably more overtly political now. I think political music has not really been in the mainstream for a long time other than I guess, maybe like hip hop or hardcore punk. But if we’re talking just like mainstream, yeah I guess, I don’t know, I would say that the corporate confusion about what the real problems are has kind of saturated all minds, that there’s not really a . . . I don’t wanna say there isn’t an outlet, but maybe there hasn’t been an outlet yet that is connected, like a mainstream political concept that is connected in a mainstream way. I think the people who are truth-saying are crazy on the margins and essentially kind of mocked by corporate culture and news and therefore society at large . . . So I think truth is on the margins and it’s been like that as far as I can tell since 1971, maybe ‘69.
Q: Do you think it’s important for music to be used in a political way?
I think that it is important if you are to kind of create some kind of a movement towards any kind of philosophical, spiritual awakening in terms of human culture taking a forward progress-type step. It’s something like Buddhism or someone like Martin Luther King or Gandhi, I think inspiring is a key element to that. I think great books and works of art have inspired changes. I would say art tends to have more of a “further down the road” generational change. Politics is maybe more direct, or you know, action. People like Gandhi and MLK, it’s more kind of direct progress and art is more, kind of inspires the minds of tomorrow or generations that will make the change happen, more so than a song changes everything.
Also, it’s a fine line because there’s different kinds of art. Sometimes people seek art, it’s like watching a documentary or a rom com. Sometimes people want to be inspired and educated, and sometimes people want to just have fun. So I think all of mainstream music is basically designed that way and so being serious doesn’t really connect and you got to be careful not to bum people out who are maybe there to learn but want to also have a good time. So it’s a delicate dance and, short story long, I would say it doesn’t have to be. I think sometimes even a light song, if it’s well done and powerful, can have a politically-inspiring emotional power. So I just think quality is maybe the most inspiring thing because it could be an album like Thriller or Star Wars. I feel like when something is really good and popular, that tends to inspire people that things that are true and good can be widespread through society.
(Casablancas paused)
So there’s another library for you. Am I failing this?
No, I don’t think so!
(Pretends to be a reporter) “So, we were looking for a one word answer . . .” (everybody in the room laughs).
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4BsleBAv47/
Q: What would you say that your political work looks like now with your music? You wrote the forward [for Giroux’s book]? Would you even describe your work in that way?
To be honest, it’s probably more similar to when I was working on music before I even put anything out. I’ve spent so many years reading and learning and it’s a little more . . . I’m gonna say a lot more intense than the music world because I think whatever you say people are going to come at you from all [angles], especially in this day and age. I think in the long run, it’s a good thing, but you’re expected to kind of understand every situation from all angles so perfectly that you gotta be careful with everything.
So I think I’m more in the process of getting my thoughts together and organizing ideas and stuff; and sure, I put it in songs and I put out a little, like the forward . . . I’m meeting people, talking to people, I’m kind of like “the battle is yet to happen” and I think that you need a very clear, sexy, simple ideology and philosophy, an exciting, inspiring thing if you’re going to unite all people to create separation of wealth and state.
Q: How did you meet Professor Henry Giroux? You guys did a sit down interview in 2016 for Rolling Stone magazine, how did that come about? And then how did you get involved with The Terror of the Unforeseen?
That’s kind of how we met. I’d seen him on Bill Moyers, was a fan of his mind and he’s one of the few truth-sayers around. I think he’s one of the people that I kind of would meet, talk to, and we did the interview and then he was writing a book, asked me to do the forward, told him that I’d come up to Toronto whenever the book came out. So yeah, we’re buds.
Q: How would you describe what The Terror of the Unforeseen is about?
He focuses a lot on fascism and neoliberalism and I think he’s got a really good knack for describing how things are malfunctioning and I think that’s a very important thing. It kind of reminds me of, like Malcolm X too, he’s good at holding the mirror up [and] saying the truth plainly. And I think that he does that really well.
Then the forward, not that I [wrote] it in the forward, but I guess, yeah. The counterbalance, team, superfriends, interview tour is about, for me, always kind of keeping that goal of like a simple strategy and solutions. I think they’re both part of the equation and I think people being informed is probably the first step in anything. Weirdly, the truth is not a tactic. I think people who try to fight for justice or whatever, think that it’s enough to value truth — even though I think it is something that should be valued higher than anything almost — I think it’s not a strategy, it’s almost a handicap. So you should still use it because the ends are inherent in the means or the means are inherent in the ends so you almost have to kind of fight with one hand tied behind your back and not cheat and do things the right way. Fighting against people who are cheating is what the fight looks like, I think, but my point is you need to be informed first and foremost. I think Henry’s one of the ideal. He’s a professor and one of the ideal people to teach the children to sing.
Q: Would you think that applies to the current political climate in the United States right now going into the next election?
I mean, it’s the world. The iPhone world, all the news. It’s interesting. Whether it’s Spotify and Netflix, the news on your phone, as soon as it asks you for your preferences, you’re screwed. It’s already funneling stuff towards you and limiting what you hear and even the options. The news options . . . it’s like this magic trick. It’s like pick a card, but really you only have — you know, it’s like in Canada, for example, you have these two options [Conservatives or Liberals]. You only have corporate options, you don’t have a non-corporate option. There should only be non-corporate options. Maybe there could be one in a future utopia or something, but right now, that’s the only option [Canadians] have.
Like, I remember when I had to select the news on my phone, I couldn’t . . . the websites I go to, you couldn’t even select that. You could only select the CNN type. I mean, even though more liberal ones, they’re still owned by these big companies and they’re all controlling the argument and it’s dark. If you really go deep and analyze it detective style, it’s extremely dark.
But my general point is it’s a worldwide issue that I think, corporations are fine and should thrive and we all want a world where companies are trying to make good products that help people’s lives be easier — unemployed people and all that, so it’s not about down with capitalism. For me, it’s about just separating capitalism and government. Basically keeping capitalism in the private sector and separating wealth and power. It’s a pretty simple concept and it’s not just money out of politics, it’s a worldwide thing. America, Europe.
In more oppressive dictatorships, the problem goes beyond [separating capitalism and government], they need separation of church and state still — they’re missing that step. So I think there’s a couple of things you need. You need separation of church and state, separation of wealth and state, all these kinds of power structures that are incentivized to manipulate and exploit people for their own benefit. They can exist, but they can’t secretly take over governments which they have done everywhere in the world.
The Terror of the Unforeseen is the 71st book by Henry Giroux and features a forward by Julian Casablancas. Casablancas’ new album with rock band The Strokes entitled, The New Abnormal, comes out April 10.
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This article has been edited as of Feb. 27, 2020
A previously published version of this article stated that Giroux phoned his daughter to ask about Casablancas. This has been corrected to state that he asked his son.
This article is part one of a two part series. Read part two here.
The latter half of the 2010 decade brought with it the rise of various right-winged movements throughout the world. Henry Giroux, a McMaster professor in the department of English and cultural studies, felt a sense of urgency; that the public needed to be educated in order to advance our democracy and combat the right side of politics. We recently had the chance to catch up with Giroux after he published his newest book, The Terror of the Unforeseen, which includes a forward by Julian Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes.
INTRODUCTION TO CASABLANCAS:
In 2016, Giroux received a phone call from an agent asking if he knew who Julian Casablancas was, to which he responded, “No, I don’t”. He then phoned his son to ask who the mysterious rock star was.
Casablancas brought a film crew to Giroux’s Hamilton home and interviewed the professor about his work. This was the start of the duo’s friendship. Giroux then asked Casablancas if he wanted to write a forward in The Terror of the Unforeseen to open up his narrative to a much-wider audience.
After the forward was written, Casablancas interviewed Giroux in front of a live audience at a McMaster Library event at The Westdale Theatre (1014 King St. W.) on Oct. 24, 2019. The event was entitled “The Looming Threat of Fascist Politics”.
EARLY YEARS:
Giroux was born in Providence, Rhode Island, living in a working-class neighbourhood. He obtained a basketball scholarship from the University of Southern Maine and graduated from the university to become a high school teacher. He received a scholarship to complete his schooling at Carnegie-Mellon University, graduating with a PhD in 1977.
After becoming a professor at Boston University, Giroux began researching what education looks like at universities; what does it mean to get a university education?
In 1981, Giroux’s research inspired his second book, Theory and Resistance in Education: a Pedagogy for the Opposition. In Theory and Resistance, he defends that education has become a privatized endeavour that does not prioritizes the public’s best interests, including the interests of students. This privatization has become apparent through the promotion of maths and sciences, and the undermining of social and behavioural teachings. Giroux concludes that universities are no longer producing public intellectuals, people who think and reason critically, with the absence of humanities and social sciences.
When Giroux went up for tenure at Boston University, everyone but the president of the University wanted to give him the teaching position.
“[The president] was the east coast equivalent of Ronald Reagan, and a really ruthless guy.. he was denying tenure to everybody on the left [side of the political spectrum],” said Giroux.
Giroux moved to Miami University where he started the first cultural studies centre in the United States. He was then offered an endowed chair at Pennsylvania State University. When the opportunity came to apply to McMaster University, Giroux leapt at the offer and was hired in 2004.
THE TERROR OF THE UNFORESEEN:
Casablancas joined Giroux’s project because he saw the value in Giroux’s ideology.
“The idea for the book came out of a certain sense of incredible urgency . . . motivated by the election of Donald Trump and the rise of right-winged movements throughout the world,” said Giroux.
The author coined the term “neoliberal fascism”: a cross between racist ideology and a ruling financial elite class that disregards lower classes. This term is the basis of Giroux’s book, which describes how neoliberal fascism affects universities and media, along with how it has contributed to the creation of alt-right culture.
“I tried to take seriously the notion that politics follows culture, meaning that, you can’t really talk about politics unless you talk about the way in which people are experiencing their everyday lives and the problems that confront them,” said Giroux.
He believes that fascism never goes away, that it will always manifest itself in some context. Giroux used the U.S. as an example. The wealth and power held by the governing financial elite has created a state that does not care about the inequalities faced by most of its citizens.
Giroux links the above issues to the war on youth that much of his work has focused on, with the belief that youth are a long-term investment that are being written out of democracy.
CAMPUS POLITICS:
Giroux sees elements of youth being written out of democracy on our own campus. He also recognized that neoliberal ideology could have been a contributing cause to the province’s financial cuts to universities.
“The [ideal] model for education is now patterned after a business culture and with that, it seems to me, comes with an enormous set of dangers and anxieties,” stated Giroux.
According to Giroux, universities used to operate as public good; however, this is no longer their priority. Instead, universities are constantly worried about their bottom line, due in part to neoliberalism. This is especially evident in the elimination of or lack of funding for programs and courses that bring in less money for universities. Giroux cites the example of liberal arts education, which he believes is vital for every student to obtain. He believes this field teaches students a general understanding of our interactions with the world and how to become a socially responsible citizen; however, Giroux believes that liberal arts are being neglected in favour of teaching science and math.
While he understands that universities run deficits, this need to meet the bottom line can open the door for them to become influenced to opt-in to privatization and corporate influence. Giroux believes the only type of influence major corporations should have on campus are in the forms of sponsorships to allow the university to carry out its business as students are neither clients nor products.
“We have an obligation as educators, not to prepare students for just the work, but to prepare them for the world and what it means.”
When asked about the Ford government’s stance on OSAP cuts, Giroux believes that the government has a limited notion of investment, likely stemming from neoliberalist ideals.
“You don’t invest in students, for them to return profits . . . you invest in students and do everything you can to make sure that they can distinguish between meaningful work and meaningless work; that they can have some vision of the future that’s rooted in democratic values, that has some sense of compassion for what it means to live in a world in which we’re completely interdependent.
The Terror of the Unforeseen is the 71st book by Henry Giroux.
“I write because I believe that writing matters, I believe that elevating ideas into the public realm may help change the way people view the world,” said Giroux.
Stay tuned for part two of this series featuring our interview with Julian Casablancas.
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Features Editor
AHJ
Artist: Albert Hammond Jr.
Discovering Albert Hammond Jr.’s solo material after cutting your teeth on his work with The Strokes was a breath of fresh air. Songs like “Everyone Gets A Star” and “In Transit” revealed him to have a keen songwriting instinct and an irresistible voice.
But the sweet melodies found on his two albums Yours To Keep and ¿Cómo Te Llama? came in stark contrast to his dangerous drug addiction of which Hammond shared the scary particulars in a recent interview with NME. “I used to shoot cocaine, heroin and ketamine. All together. Morning, night, 20 times a day. You know, I was a mess. I look back and I don’t even recognise myself,” he revealed.
Having kicked that habit - kudos to him - he set about crafting what has become a tight little EP simply titled AHJ. Released on bandmate Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records, the collection spans five songs and is an example of Hammond at his buoyant best.
Far from unappealing, the stuttering riffs on opener “St. Justice” invite you in while Hammond experiments with a higher register. “Rude Customer” hurtles forward at a frenetic pace that will excite any fans of early Strokes jams. Though nothing could rival his moment in the spotlight on “Last Nite,” Hammond has a delightful guitar solo on every track.
If left wanting more at the conclusion of “Cooker Ship,” take heart in the fact that Hammond is currently at work on more material and be sure check out his Toronto show at The Phoenix on 10 Nov.
Review of Untogether by Blue Hawaii.
It’s crazy to think that at one point in time there were only really a handful of viable and appreciated genres of music. It’s even more absurd that these genres became so versatile at some point in the last decade that bands like Blue Hawaii have made a name for themselves without having to subscribe to any particular style. Untogether is the Canadian band’s first official album, a careful blend of dreampop, dance music, and spacey, reverb-laden beats. Although the female vocals are breathy and sparse, they work well with the minimalistic production. If the beat were more demanding I would have found the vocalist to be underwhelming, but the genre (whatever it may be) does not call for Ellie Goulding-style powerhouse melodies.
If you’ve never strayed far from your musical safe zone, start by listening to the song “Try To Be,” as it is one of a select few tracks that does have some sense of order. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; “Sweet Tooth” and “Flammarion” bring beauty out of disarray by shifting the focus to the very impressive and unique sampling rather than the structure of the song.
This is not an album for everybody. In fact, the target audience for this album is probably smaller than most of your tutorials. Personally, I’m filing this one under “interesting.”
3/5
By: Brody Weld
Review of Bankrupt! by Phoenix
On Bankrupt!, the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix delivers an album that does not disappoint. Although Bankrupt! sees Phoenix reducing the role of their trademark guitars to expand upon the keyboard-heavy sound first introduced on Wolfgang, the transition, for the most part, seems natural. Songs like "The Real Thing" and "Oblique City" justify the progression, displaying an infectious combination of keyboard riffs and driving rhythms. However, what cements the agreeableness of this keyboard-driven style is its synergy with Thomas Mars' voice. This is done best on "Bourgeois", a song with a backing track that would sound right at home on a Daft Punk album. Mars' voice perfectly accentuates the music, captivating the listener.
Although keyboards compliment many of the songs, the title track sees an excessive use of programming, creating a forgettable seven-minute interlude. “Bankrupt!”, however, is an exception, and for the majority of this ten-track album the programming does not overwhelm the listener.
Keyboards may be the most prominent instrument on the album, but when Phoenix returns to guitar-driven music like on lead single "Entertainment," the result is satisfying. "Entertainment" shows Phoenix experimenting with an East-Asian sound, and when combined with the song's strong hooks, the end result should remind us why we first paid attention to this band when they released “1901.”
4/5
By: Spencer Jones
Review of Reach Beyond the Sun by Shai Hulud
Eleven hardcore anthems comprise Shai Hulud's newest full-length Reach Beyond the Sun — and what a fantastic eleven they are. The album is an exercise in consistency, with its first half being a particularly rock-solid collection of frantic guitar playing, breakneck drumming, and aggressive shouted vocals. And while this is certainly a heavy and intense record, it never fails to be catchy as well. Many of the album's leads and vocal melodies will be stuck in your head for days.
At only 34 minutes, Reach Beyond the Sun is not a long album, but it doesn't need to be. There is not a second wasted here, and while the record's pissed off demeanor never really changes, there is enough variation in terms of songwriting and tempo to keep things from getting boring.
As of right now, this is my album of the year, and it's going to take something pretty incredible to change that. Recommended for fans of Converge, Refused, Gaza, and the hardcore/progressive metal genres.
4.5/5
By: Alex Sallas
Review of Comeback Machine by The Strokes
For detractors of the Strokes — yes, they seem to come out of the woodwork whenever a new album is released — the jabs about the New York rockers’ latest offering write themselves (i.e. Comedown Machine isn’t a Comeback Machine). But what is perplexing is the number of reviews that turned into savage ad hominem attacks of the Fab Five. It’s been a while since Julian Casablanca, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr., Nikolai Fraiture, and Fab Moretti released what were arguably their best works in Is This It and Room On Fire. The first of the two defined a generation who oozed antipathy towards an increasingly neoliberal society and vented their frustration, some of it sexual, on tracks like “New York City Cops” and “Take It Or Leave It." The latter album saw them expound on their raw, unfiltered sound but with more finesse and wherewithal, cementing them as the music world’s darlings.
Suddenly, it became “uncool” to like the Strokes. Perhaps it was due to something inconsequential — maybe Julian snubbed Ryan Schrieber at a bar — but “tastemakers” (cough, cough) like Pitchfork have turned their backs on the Strokes, or rather have gotten off their knees and tried to dust their pride off.
Sure, the Strokes may have suffered some soap opera-like problems of late (Angles was made with Julian emailing vocals to the rest of the band, who worked without him in the studio). But it seems like the boys have let bygones be bygones and agreed to keep things professional. “Tap Out” is rousing piece of funk that challenges the media’s authoritative tone — “Decide my past, Define my life, Don’t ask questions, Cause I don’t know why” — and manages to sound inviting and foreboding at the same time. “All The Time” seems like a laboured attempt to reproduce the magic of their early heyday and appease naysayers, but it falls flat. The song is interesting enough, with clever chord changes, a tight solo and a vintage Casablancas verse, but the band seems better off with their new sound.
Speaking of fresh sounds, “One Way Trigger” befuddled listeners when it was released earlier this year. It finds Casablancas indulging in his passion for retro synths and even features the frontman singing in falsetto. The track wouldn’t appear at odds with the lead singer’s solo work, but Fraiture’s distinctive bass acts as a constant reminder that this is indeed a Strokes song, and a good one, even if it does demand an acquired taste.
“Welcome To Japan” is a standout that captures the rawness of the band’s old days with its loose rendition. Even though Casablancas has a fairly limited vocal range, the same can’t be said for his creative lyrics and the manner in which he manages to alter the inflection of his voice to evoke emotion. And how can you not nod in agreement when Casablancas at his sardonic best ponders, “what kind of asshole drives a Lotus?”
The Strokes don’t need to be making music, but the laughter that punctuates the end of “Slow Animals” reveals that at least they’re having fun doing it. The same can’t be said for some of these miserable, sadistic music critics whose writing perspective has been jaded by what seems like a hatred of the world. Besides, maybe we should all take a cue from Julian, who sings “we don’t have to know each other’s names” on “Tapout” and just listen to what we like without judging its makers’ personality (except for Chris Brown - be ruthless with that scum).
4/5
By: Tomi Milos
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” might have some meaning, but we all still makes judgments based on first impressions. Fortunately for The Strokes, first impressions totally work to their advantage with the classic album cover from the classic album Is This It.
The shot of black leather gloved hands on a women’s naked backside is enough to convince any alternative fan that this’ll be a trip worth taking. That, along with a title suggesting dissatisfaction, is one of the most enticing covers for a rock album to come out of the 2000s.
Album designer Colin Lane took the iconic photograph, but at the time it wasn’t meant for the album. His girlfriend had just left the shower and Lane took the initiative to capture her apparent charm with a pair of gloves left over from a friend. “I was just trying to take a sexy picture,” Lane later explained. Well, you sure did Lane, and rock music thanks you for it.
By: Spencer Semianiw
