A while ago I ran into something. A fascist synth pop song from the 80s.
At first I thought it was maybe ironic, a joke, a parody... but no, it was of real fascist intent.
This took me by surprise. I didn't expect that . I wondered... why did it surprise me... ? The fascist idiots are everywhere... they can be teachers, preachers, businessmen, presidents... but then I realized something. Nope.
They are *not* everywhere. The original Synth Pop scene, 70s to late 80s, was *very* clear of fascist songs, messages.
And this really is a reason to be surprised. Because synth pop was centered on great Britain, and Britain had a large fascist contingent in that period - enhanced by that awful mean lady at the top of the government. Why did this not creep into the synth pop scene too, then?
1age of love
And then I realized that there are some other music genres that are (or were) quite free of fascism. 70s disco. 80s euro pop / disco / dance. house. acid. jungle. breakbeat. happy gabber. hard trance.
If you look at genres like extreme metal, harsh industrial, and so on, you can see some fascist projects there (even if they're few).
But can you name one disco song from the 70s that openly and undeniably is pro-nazi? from the jungle era? from happy hardcore?
It's almost non-existent.
2felix dont you want me
I started to wonder about this. and this was a quite hard cookie to crack.
Because, where is the connection between these genres? sure, there are some similarities... but they're still very far apart.
And then it hit me like a nail on the head.
There was something that connected all these seemingly different genres.
They were centers of subcultures, cultural scenes and movements that embraced a fun, playful, life-embracing form of sensuality.
Life positive. Body positive. Intimacy positive. And even masochism and sadism were included as game only, as a form of role-play.
3 celebration generation
And that's something all these nazis, racists, and fascists, don't get, won't get, and will never get. genuine nazi music is almost never about physical love, and if it is, it's in a mean-spirited, cruel, destructive way.
Because that's one of the original cornerstones of fascism. The denial of the self. The denial of pleasure. The denial of romantic pleasure.
So... could it be possible that we discovered one of the antidotes against fascism? A very powerful antidote?
I think this is verily the case.
4 never stop that feeling
So let's be life positive. Body positive. Fun positive. Intimacy positive.
Let us not be afraid of the good things in life. Enjoying one self. Relaxing. Dancing. Desire, passion, play.
And it might be a good idea to make this a central part of our music and music scenes, too.
Because life should not be about misery, tragedy, cruelty, tyrants and fascists.
It should be about happiness and fun.
5 legend b - lost in love