For this, and a number of other ills, I blame Bono and Geldof. They may not have started it, but they certainly perfected the art of peak activist artist (artivist?) wankery.
Read 'No Surrender' & you may have a different opinion about how involved Bono got into walking the walk while he was talking the talk with his activism.
My pet theory for the prevalence of the "social responsibility to be activists"-vibe is related to what is called cultural acupuncture, which was an intentional framing of media as activist tools. I suspect a lot of the present day writers/showrunners were aware of this and ascribe to that approach, and it's definitely in music as well. Billboard was writing about how having causes was good for business for performers, so it's definitely pushed from some corners.
On the one hand, this sounds like a bad idea from a marketing perspective: as an entertainer, loudly trumpeting your support for a particular political cause runs the risk of alienating any potential fan who is opposed to that cause.
On the other hand, many modern Anglophone nations are so politically (and hence culturally) stratified that the number of musicians with truly bi-partisan appeal is vanishingly small (you won't encounter many Blue Tribers at a country music festival, or Tories at a Shoreditch post-punk gig; the recently announced Oasis reunion gigs might be one musical event where the attendees have a legitimate chance of being fifty-fifty Leave:Remain). In such an environment, maybe it's a sensible branding decision to go all-in on being beloved by exactly one tribe, rather than avoiding taking sides and ending up consigned to ignominy (as being a fan of your music is useless from the perspective of tribal signalling).
The studio behind Hunger Games tried to get fans to stop using the IP for their activism, but that backfired spectacularly! In general though, think a lot of branding decisions these days are quite short-sighted, but that's also from my perspective so who knows.
I mostly don't like artists to get outright political, but I recently read Serj Tankian's autobiography, and in his case I understand the political focus, but simultaneously part of his "message" was that communication and keeping ties with people of different political affiliations. Which seems to go against what the vibe is presently.
What continues to bemuse me about #FreePalestine musicians is that they are exactly the kind of people who sincerely claim that trans people are suffering a genocide in the West, while supporting a genuinely patriarchal, sexist, racist and queerphobic country. I'm not saying they should want Palestine to be bombed, but it's not like they really want the country to continue existing either.
"To put it another way, if “full” doesn’t mean “demand for accommodation in this country is vastly in excess of supply” - what on earth does it mean?"
Feel free to chalk this up to another American Cultural Export, but this tends to mean that capacity for supply has not yet been met, ie build more housing. Supply is not being framed as housing that currently exists but rather as housing that could exist.
Fair enough, but you believe that supply is insufficient to meet demand and also that the Irish government lacks the political capital to correct for this by increasing the rate of housing construction to meet demand (as Chubb certainly seems to), then all that increased immigration will accomplish is to exacerbate an existing shortage.
I remember going to see Cake at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and the lead singer spent the whole time ranting about George Bush. We just wanted them to play Short Skirt/ Long Jacket but they didn't.
Musicians sell an overall aesthetic so while I'm not a fan of this soapbox trend, it's unfortunately unavoidable. The good news is that AI music will fix this! I can then enjoy something that is as raucous and enjoyable as a band like Refused but without their simpleton Marxism.
I believe you're referring to Ashling Murphy, who to my understanding was murdered but not raped by Jozef Puska. I've toyed with the idea of writing a detailed post about that specific case, in particular how it was discussed on social media and what it did or didn't say about Irish culture more broadly. The first few weeks of 2022 it was the only thing anyone in Ireland could talk about, with feminists on Instagram excoriating Irish men for fostering a culture in which rape and violence against women are overlooked, tolerated or even implicitly promoted. The SECOND it was determined that the killer was a Slovak Romani, all these people promptly shut their mouths.
It's funny that you mention Markiewicz: the single most prominent gender-critical organisation in Ireland is called The Countess (https://thecountess.ie/); their logo is a stylised representation of Countess Markiewicz and their slogan is "The Countess didn't die for this".
Ireland is a nation of emigrants
If that's what she meant, I'd have no objection!
For this, and a number of other ills, I blame Bono and Geldof. They may not have started it, but they certainly perfected the art of peak activist artist (artivist?) wankery.
Every Christmas, I dread the first time I will hear that loathsome paean to ethnocentrism, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Read 'No Surrender' & you may have a different opinion about how involved Bono got into walking the walk while he was talking the talk with his activism.
Scummy tax-dodger.
My pet theory for the prevalence of the "social responsibility to be activists"-vibe is related to what is called cultural acupuncture, which was an intentional framing of media as activist tools. I suspect a lot of the present day writers/showrunners were aware of this and ascribe to that approach, and it's definitely in music as well. Billboard was writing about how having causes was good for business for performers, so it's definitely pushed from some corners.
On the one hand, this sounds like a bad idea from a marketing perspective: as an entertainer, loudly trumpeting your support for a particular political cause runs the risk of alienating any potential fan who is opposed to that cause.
On the other hand, many modern Anglophone nations are so politically (and hence culturally) stratified that the number of musicians with truly bi-partisan appeal is vanishingly small (you won't encounter many Blue Tribers at a country music festival, or Tories at a Shoreditch post-punk gig; the recently announced Oasis reunion gigs might be one musical event where the attendees have a legitimate chance of being fifty-fifty Leave:Remain). In such an environment, maybe it's a sensible branding decision to go all-in on being beloved by exactly one tribe, rather than avoiding taking sides and ending up consigned to ignominy (as being a fan of your music is useless from the perspective of tribal signalling).
The studio behind Hunger Games tried to get fans to stop using the IP for their activism, but that backfired spectacularly! In general though, think a lot of branding decisions these days are quite short-sighted, but that's also from my perspective so who knows.
I mostly don't like artists to get outright political, but I recently read Serj Tankian's autobiography, and in his case I understand the political focus, but simultaneously part of his "message" was that communication and keeping ties with people of different political affiliations. Which seems to go against what the vibe is presently.
Oh man, I'm gonna have WAKEUPGRABABRUSHANDPUTALITTLEMAKEUP stuck in my head for the next day now.
What continues to bemuse me about #FreePalestine musicians is that they are exactly the kind of people who sincerely claim that trans people are suffering a genocide in the West, while supporting a genuinely patriarchal, sexist, racist and queerphobic country. I'm not saying they should want Palestine to be bombed, but it's not like they really want the country to continue existing either.
You’re wrong and your thoughts on this are bad.
Lol okay.
"To put it another way, if “full” doesn’t mean “demand for accommodation in this country is vastly in excess of supply” - what on earth does it mean?"
Feel free to chalk this up to another American Cultural Export, but this tends to mean that capacity for supply has not yet been met, ie build more housing. Supply is not being framed as housing that currently exists but rather as housing that could exist.
Fair enough, but you believe that supply is insufficient to meet demand and also that the Irish government lacks the political capital to correct for this by increasing the rate of housing construction to meet demand (as Chubb certainly seems to), then all that increased immigration will accomplish is to exacerbate an existing shortage.
I remember going to see Cake at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and the lead singer spent the whole time ranting about George Bush. We just wanted them to play Short Skirt/ Long Jacket but they didn't.
Musicians sell an overall aesthetic so while I'm not a fan of this soapbox trend, it's unfortunately unavoidable. The good news is that AI music will fix this! I can then enjoy something that is as raucous and enjoyable as a band like Refused but without their simpleton Marxism.
What, you're telling me you DON'T see the penetrating insight in a lyric like "I've got a bone to pick with capitalism and a few to break"?
if this isn't sarcasm then this is an utterly dystopian take
I believe you're referring to Ashling Murphy, who to my understanding was murdered but not raped by Jozef Puska. I've toyed with the idea of writing a detailed post about that specific case, in particular how it was discussed on social media and what it did or didn't say about Irish culture more broadly. The first few weeks of 2022 it was the only thing anyone in Ireland could talk about, with feminists on Instagram excoriating Irish men for fostering a culture in which rape and violence against women are overlooked, tolerated or even implicitly promoted. The SECOND it was determined that the killer was a Slovak Romani, all these people promptly shut their mouths.
It's funny that you mention Markiewicz: the single most prominent gender-critical organisation in Ireland is called The Countess (https://thecountess.ie/); their logo is a stylised representation of Countess Markiewicz and their slogan is "The Countess didn't die for this".