"Killing an Arab" is the first single by the Cure. It was recorded at the same time as their first album Three Imaginary Boys (1979), but not included on the album. However, it was included on the band's first US album, Boys Don't Cry (1980).. It was inspired by the pivotal moment in the 1942 novel The Stranger by Albert Camus where the protagonist shoots his friend’s mistress' brother, a man identified in the book only as ‘the Arab’. It is the apathy of the main character that is the focus of this song.

The song has been controversial since 1979, when a college asked the band not to perform it as it sounded racist.

Shortly after its release, Smith said, "It just happened that the main character in the book had actually killed an Arab, but it could have been a Scandinavian or an English bloke."

In 1986, its inclusion on the band’s singles collection Standing On A Beach was protested by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. A compromise was reached when the band agreed to label each unit with a sticker announcing the following:

The song ‘Killing an Arab’ has absolutely no racist overtones whatsoever. It is a song which decries the existence of all prejudice and consequent violence. The Cure condemn its use in furthering anti-Arab feeling.

In 1987, Smith shared his opinion of the controversy in a fanzine:

i felt the whole ‘issue’ absurd and unnecessary and i am relieved that it has been concluded (and forgotten?) imaginatively and intelligently and with mutual satisfaction….(almost…)

In 1991, this song (along with “Rock The Casbah” by The Clash) unofficially became war-rallying cries for the US invasion of Iraq, much to the band’s dislike.

In 2003, Smith acknowledged that, "If I knew it before, I would have called it 'Standing on the Beach'. It would have avoided many troubles."

In 2016, Lol Tolhurst was asked if he thought releasing “Killing An Arab” as the band’s first single was a bold move. He responded:

I didn’t think it was so bold back when we wrote it. It was about alienation and existentialism – things more relevant to us then. Obviously events of the last two decades have changed the perception of the song’s meaning. Totally erroneously I might add, as it has nothing to do with racism or killing at all.

Killing An Arab (Tracklist 7")

A. Killing an Arab
B. 10:15 Saturday Night

The Cure (1979):
Michael Dempsey – bass guitar
Robert Smith – guitar, vocals
Lol Tolhurst – drums

Cleveland, Ohio-based electro-industrial project, 2 Forks recently unveiled their debut album, Quanticode.

A concept album, Quanticode was written partly from the perspective of an agent trying to catch a serial killer and partly from the perspective of the killer themselves, including their multiple personalities. ‘The album’s title, meanwhile, is a nod to Quantico, Virginia; the FBI laboratory and facility for various military and government agencies.

As focal member, Danny 2 Forks’ alias Daniel C. explained to Side-Line Magazine: “The songs are not so much about the acts of a serial killer or the agents trying to apprehend the criminal but are more about the thoughts and feelings behind these deeds.”

Prior to the release of Quanticode, 2 Forks revealed the album's first two singles/videos: the industrial rock track, "Take It" and the disco/dark synth, "I Feel Lost". November yielded Quanticode album’s third video-single, ‘Bad Fukker Un Sub’, which returns to heavier industrial rock territory.

Quanticode is available on CD and digitally on all major platforms including Bandcamp.

open.spotify.com/artist/1haBov3dHxuInl0YaolU57

In December 1981, 42 years ago, American Punk rock band Dead Kennedys released their infamous In God We Trust, Inc. EP. It was their first release featuring their new drummer D.H. Peligro. The record is a screed against things ranging from organized religion and Neo-Nazis, to the use of pesticide and government indifference that worsened the effects of chemical catastrophes. In God We Trust, Inc. is also the first Dead Kennedys album released after the presidential election of Ronald Reagan and features the band's aversion towards Reagan, for which they would become notorious.

The EP features also "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" which is actually a rewritten version of their early “hitsingle” single "California über alles". Originally a rant against California governor Jerry Brown, the band reworked the song addressing the newly elected president Ronald Reagan. Most songs were based on previous unreleased songs and were recorded live in the studio on 19 June 1981, without any overdubs.

Disaster struck when it was discovered the mastertape containing the whole recording sessions turned out to be malfunctioning so the band was forced to re-record all eight songs on 22 August thats same year.

However in 2003 enhanced restoration techniques allowed for five tracks to be recovered from the master tapes. They were released on DVD together with recorded video footage of those original recording sessions.

Dead Kennedys – In God We Trust, Inc. (12" EP)

A1. 2. 3. 4. 5. B1. 2. 3.

DISCOGS

Dead Kennedys (Line-up 1981)
Jello Biafra – lead vocals, artwork
East Bay Ray – guitar, backing vocals on "Moral Majority", producer
Klaus Flouride – bass, backing vocals
D.H. Peligro – drums

Today, 52 years ago (17.12.1971) the late David Bowie released his first masterwork, Hunky Dory.

“Look out, you rock & rollers."

Following on from the garage-rock of “The Man Who Sold The World” the formula was now in place for Bowie to push the boundaries that bit further and make the world sit up and take notice, his travels to America had inspired the writing of his first masterpiece, the culture and the music soaked into his songs, from the Velvet Underground to Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol, all would play a role in the dynamic of David Bowie’s creativity.

From the infectious opener “Changes”, an instant pop-classic with the catchy chorus which would foretell Bowie’s career, the path he would take and the warning to the music world of his arrival.

“Oh! You Pretty Things”, this was “Starman” part-one, the full lineup of the Spiders coming into their own for the first time with the aid of Rick Wakeman on piano.
As “Life On Mars?” became the pivotal Bowie track of the day, the transcendent chorus, the uplifting piano working in partnership with the guitar solos, images of America and childhood dreams:

“It's on America's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Now the workers have struck for fame
'Cause Lennon's on sale again”.

On “Quicksand” he went shoulder to shoulder with the songwriting greats of the day in this tale which dealt with the occult, the Second World War and most surprisingly Aleister Crowley and The Golden Dawn. Bowie was at his darkest, pulling images and characters from the abyss and casting them in his latest play;

“I'm the twisted name on Garbo's eyes,Living proof of Churchill's lies, I'm destiny. I'm torn between the light and dark, Where others see their targets, divine symmetry”

The driving acoustic guitar of “Andy Warhol”, a psychedelic-ballad, an ode to art and it’s creator, though being able to sum up Bob Dylan in one line is an accomplishment all of its own, in his tribute to the folk-troubadour Bowie nailed it perfectly on “Song For Dylan”;
“With a voice like sand and glue”

“Queen Bitch”, was the template for the following albums, Bowie on acoustic guitar, Ronson tearing up a riff similar to The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane”, the melodic bass-run by Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey hammering out the drums, Bowie went at a sonic pace into area of a Glam-Rock.

The sinister folk of “The Bewlay Brothers”, a nightmare which would have fit in on the “The Man Who Sold The World”, the schizophrenic lyrics are terrifying, closing the album in a weirdness, to leave fans and critics warped;
“With our backs on the arch
And if the Devil may be here
But he can't sing about that
Oh, and we were gone”.

The songs were refined so well the album only took two-weeks to record at Trident Studios, he always worked at a frantic speed, creating the cabaret melodrama set the course for his career, his partnership with The Spiders and a world ready for the name Bowie.
A year later the glamrock-alien Ziggy Stardust would land to earth, taking the guitar driven elements of ‘Hunky Dory’ and releasing an album which would change music forever.

Hunkt Dory (1972 LP Tracklist)
01 “Changes”
02 “Oh! You Pretty Things”
03 “Eight Line Poem”
04 “Life on Mars?”
05 “Kooks”
06 “Quicksand”
07 “Fill Your Heart”
08 “Andy Warhol”
09 “Song for Bob Dylan”
10 “Queen Bitch”
11 “The Bewlay Brothers”

DISCOGS

[KB]

This day 45 ago was The Fall entered the Sound Suite In Camden, Greater London and recorded their first long-player:
“Live At The Witch Trials”.
Although recorded in one day on the fifteenth of December and mixed the following day, the album would not hit the shops until mid March 1979.
This however was the very moment the alternative, indie and punk scene exploded under a collision curated by the late Mark E. Smith, the Mancunian rebellious wordsmith, one part Johnny Rotten and one part Ian Dury.

The man who steered this ship of alternative post-punk was as scathing as he was intelligent, not yet the commander and chief but his dominance was already in its infancy and rearing its head.
The fearless nature of the collective unit was the original mark of brilliance which made this a standout release in the late-seventies punk movement, its acts as a time capsule of both the social and economic state of Britain forty-years ago, a narrative of council estates, unemployment;”Rebellious Jukebox”,”No Xmas for John Quays”, “Industrial Estate” and of course the opener, the claustrophobic masterpiece “Frightened”.

Martin Bramah, the original guitarist is solid, melodic and at times the centerpiece, he effortlessly provides a backdrop of intensity, as for Marc Riley and his solid bass which holds the band’s direction together but it is the drumming of Karl Burn which was as wild and ramshackle as they come when it came to providing that extra menacing aspect to the music, this was the classic Fall lineup.
The extra ambiance of keyboards by that unsung hero Yvonne Pawlett was the perfect balance to Smith who, is at the very front on the mix, every word and syllable is clear, unlike later recordings, but here they are friends and comrades which adds to the easy flow of “Live At The Witch Trials”, it was never again this relaxed, this brilliant.


Frightened (Smith/Friel)
Someone's always on my tracks
And in a dark room you'd see more than you think
I'm out of my place, got to get back
I sweated a lot, you could feel the violence
I've got shears pointed straight at my chest
And time moves slow when you count it
I'm better than them, and I think I'm the best
But I'll appear at midnight when the films close
'Cause I'm in a trance
Oh, and I sweat
I don't want to dance
I want to go home
I couldn't live in those people places
Oh, they might get to know my actions
I'd run away from toilets and feces
I'd run away to a non-date on the street
'Cause I'm in a trance
Oh, and I sweat
I don't want to dance
I want to go home
I feel trapped by mutual affection
And I don't know how to use freedom
I spend hours looking sideways
To the time when I was sixteen
'Cause I'm in a trance
Oh, and I sweat
I don't wanna dance
I wanna go home
I'm frightened
Amphetamine frightened
I go to the top of the street
I go to the bottom of the street
I look to the sky, my lips are dry
I'm frightened, frightened, frightened.

Original 1979 Track List;
Frightened
Crap Rap 2 / Like To Blow
Rebellious Jukebox
No Xmas For John Quays
Mother-Sister!
Industrial Estate
Underground Medecin
Two Steps Back
Live At The Witch Trials
Futures And Pasts
Music Scene

DISCOGS

[KB]