It’s interesting (and by interesting, we mean kind of a fucked up letdown) that a prolific, longtime animal activist such as Morrissey continues to partner with perhaps the shittiest animal-rights organisation in existence in PETA but hey, that’s the world we live in and now we have a video game to remind us of it.
In a new venture, The Smiths have teamed up with PETA to develop a vintage arcade-inspired video game interpretation of the band’s 1985 song Meat Is Murder. The game takes a line from the song for it’s title, This Beautiful Creature Must Die and is available for download from the PETA website for free. The action within the game is simple enough: save animals from slaughter. Players save chickens, cows, pigs and turkeys from their impending death by tapping them before they hit the bottom of the screen, while also avoiding being hit by falling bombs because reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xacRTqk5QFM
According to the Vice President of Marketing over at PETA, Joel Bartlett, the hopes for the game are that it will motivate people to turn vegan. “After mastering the game, players can save animals and the Earth in real life by going vegan.” Morrissey meanwhile views things a little differently, stating that the game is perhaps “the biggest social crusade of all… as we safeguard the weak and helpless from violent human aggression,” adding “you don’t get that from Pokémon Go.”
This isn’t PETA’s first foray into video games, having previously released a number of in-browser games on their website much like This Beautiful Creature Must Die, as well as weighing in on the treatment of animals in existing video games, (the killing of whales in Assassin’s Creed 4, as well as setting up an animal safety area in Minecraft.
Still, vows of veganism seem an unlikely outcome from a video game with an 8-bit version of a Smiths song in it, so for good measure there is, naturally, also a new PETA campaign video out which features The Smiths as the soundtrack.
Image: Consequence of Sound
James Franco is a man of many trades. He’s spent considerable time within both the film and publishing industry (who could forget the NY times op-ed he wrote on fellow actor Shia Lebouf?), and now he’s trying his hand at music.
Franco, along with his old schoolmate Tim O’Keefe have started a band called Daddy, and are currently gearing up to release an album entitled Let Me Get What I Want next year. The LP is based on The Smiths-inspired lyrics, penned by Franco in his book Directing Herbert White: Poems. Just this week, the band dropped a sneak peek of the album in the form of new track, You Are Mine.
According to a press release, the album and film follow “three characters as they weave through the dark ways of high school: love, death, and dreams.”
In a statement, Franco described the meaning behind the album’s lyrics, “High school is a time of longing for the unattainable. We dream big, but we’re still too young to make anything significant happen. At least I was too immature and sensitive to be the person I wanted to be. You Are Mine is about one teenager dreaming about another, even though they’ll never be together.”
Tim O’Keefe also added, “Transforming James’ poems to songs took on it’s own creative process which was a new direction for me. Because the words weren’t written by me, I had to take on the character of the individual whose perspective I was singing from. You Are Mine like many of the songs on Let Me Get What I Want expresses experiences that were relatable to my own high school experience, and therefore I had a lot of my own emotions to pull from.”
Franco also somehow managed to get actual The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke on board for the project, which lends a little bit more integrity to the project that could have easily been written off as a poorly executed side-project of Franco’s (think his Lana Del Rey novel). You Are Mine is a new wave, garage-esque track that showcases Franco’s vocals as he harmonises with O’Keefe. It’s surprisingly not too shabby.
Take a listen for yourself below.
The 15 finalists for 2016’s Rock’n’Roll hall of fame class have been announced, with a stellar list of nominees including The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, Janet Jackson, and hip hop pioneers N.W.A among others.
Having appeared on the ballot four times already, many people have wondered how the legendary group has yet to ascend to the ranks of those honoured by the rock hall. Last year saw a litany of praise for the group, as well as a growing movement to get them into the hall – not to mention retrospective disbelief at the subsequent failure of their nomination.
Alongside N.W.A, nominees The Smiths have also missed out on the hall despite previous nominations, sparking sharp debate about the influence of these two bands and what they have to do to be recognised by their peers and rock critics.
A decade ago, some may have argued that hip hop artists perhaps had no place in an institution dedicated to rock ‘n roll, but we of course know that’s not true in the least. With Beastie Boys, Grandmaster Flash, and Run DMC already representing our favourite genre, it has become increasingly noticeable that one of hip hop’s most important, influential groups are still getting the door slammed in their face.
Surely, the success and massive media spotlight placed on the group thanks to the massively successful biopic Straight Outta Compton, the international momentum will reinvigorate and encourage audiences and successfully placed N.W.A in the public consciousness, enough so, that surely they will finally be inducted into the hall of fame.
There is a fan ballot component to this year’s hall, so let’s make sure we all do our part and express ourselves, and express our disbelief that these legendary artists have yet to be recognised by the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as easily some of the most important musicians of all time.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u31FO_4d9TY]
The full list of nominees are:
The Cars
Chic
Chicago
Cheap Trick
Deep Purple
Janet Jackson
The J.B’a
Chaka Khan
Los Lobos
Steve Miller
Nine Inch Nails
N.W.A
The Smiths
The Spinners
Yes
This week, the Abbott government has disappointed us once again. After more than five hours in a meeting, Tony Abbott and the Coalition have once again left Australia in the world’s ‘traditionalist’ shadow, denying the decision for a conscious vote for Marriage Equality. If you’re on any form of social media, you’d know people are not happy about this news. They can’t understand how places like the USA and Ireland can pass similar laws, but Australians can’t even get a foot in the chapel door.
It may seem hopeless now but, as an optimist, I still believe that one day we will have marriage equality for all Australians. And so, we’ve put together a little playlist from proud LGBTQI artists to keep our spirits up. We need to fight for those who are going unheard. Like these artists, we have a platform to express a certain view and have a voice above the rest of the community. Here are some of their stories.
Mykki Blanco – Wavvy
Mykki Blanco has been one of the most outspoken rappers within the LGBTQI community. The rapper bravely revealed that she was HIV positive, having also previously announced that she would quit music to become an investigative journalist, concentrating on LGBT issues. We refer to her as ‘she’ as per her wishes as she embarks on what she calls the beginning of a transgendered life. “You may not know it yet, but Mykki Blanco isn’t just female Mykki. Mykki Blanco is Mykki Blanco ‘female,’ Mykki Blanco ‘male,’ Mykki Blanco with blue eyes, Mykki Blanco with three eyes. I’m probably eventually going to do a video where it’s not Mykki, where it’s completely genderless, where it won’t be Mykki ‘boy’ or ‘girl,” she tells Dummy Magazine.
Her break out 2012 track Wavvy is said to be one of the most influential in emerging LGBTQI community within rap culture. When you look at the music video, you can see both sides of Blanco’s identity. The fact that she decided to make this clear so early in her career is inspiring.
St Vincent – Cruel
St Vincent has kept talk of her sexuality low key. It’s not that she’s hiding it; rather, she doesn’t want to be defined by it – and she doesn’t want to define it. In an interview with Rolling Stone she says, “I believe in gender fluidity and sexual fluidity. I don’t really identify as anything… I don’t have anything to hide, but I’d rather the emphasis be on music.”
Her music reflects on her personal experiences, so if you listen closely to can hear the little hidden messages. Cruel is one of the most obvious ones, with lines like “Bodies, can’t you see what everybody wants from you? f you could want that, too, then you’ll be happy.”
The music video also gives away a political undertone, where is she kidnapped and forced to be a wife and mother – a traditionalist notion that can often come head-to-head with some in the LGBTQI community.
Angel Haze – Battle Cry
Angel Haze is one of the newest LGBTQI rappers on the scene. In an interview with Fusion TV, Haze identified herself as a pansexual, otherwise known as people “who love across a spectrum.”
Her 2014 track Battle Cry featuring Sia (who is also apart of the LGBTQI community) tackles the darkness every LGBTQI person feels when they are told that the way they feel is wrong. The powerful video illustrates her pain and suffering – having been pushed around, her whole life, being told how to feel. Religion is one of the biggest obstacles for marriage equality, with the notion of a man and woman in marriage being the only one acceptable. According to them, all other forms of love are wrong.
Haze gives these people strength. Her emotional story tells those who listen that they can survive, even when it all seems hopeless. Even through the dark times, “You take it all and you still go/Take the sun and you still grow/ Lose the light and you still glow”.
Years and Years – Real
Years and Years Frontman Olly Alexander has been an advocate for gay artists using gender specific pronouns in their songs. As an openly gay musician, he has in two tracks on their last album, Real and Memo. “I’d like to hear a gay artist express their sexuality in a really open way. That’s something I’ve sort of tried to do a little bit on this album, but to be able to talk about sex is possibly new for gay artists, so I’d like to see that in the mainstream. I think you’re right – music does feel like it’s in a much more accepted, tolerant place; even with Miley Cyrus, when she doesn’t identify with either gender, and we’re getting used to these ideas of about non-binary gender, which is a good thing,” he told Digital Spy.
Real is about loving someone and attempting to peruse them, but you can’t have them. While it sounds like it’s a take on unrequited love on the surface, it could be taken another way. While some people are out and proud about showing who they are to the world, others aren’t quite there yet. They will deny who they are and reject others’ advances, even if they don’t want to.
Frank Ocean – Forrest Gump
When Frank Ocean came out in 2012, many musicians refused to work with him. T-Pain told Vlad TV, “”I know n***as that will not do a song with Frank Ocean just because he gay, but they need him on the f**king song and that’s so terrible to me, man… What I do ain’t going to affect nothing that you got going on.”
There are a few songs that hint Ocean’s sexuality, including Forrest Gump. Like Years and Years, he uses male pronouns instead of female ones. Lines like “my fingertips, and my lips, they burn” imply that it was about a relationship that feels wrong. So wrong, it hurts.
Laura Jane Grace and Miley Cyrus – True Trans Soul Rebel
Both Laura Jane Grace and Miley Cyrus have come out as transsexual and bisexual respectively. They performed True Trans Soul Rebel together to launch the Happy Hippie Foundation. The Foundation promotes awareness of LGBTQI issues, among many others. The lyrics of the song portray the thoughts many transgender people have while they are stuck in the wrong body, including that they “should be living a different life.”
Mary Lambert – She Keeps Me Warm
Mary Lambert is one of the few openly gay female musicians in the music industry. Being both a Christian and lesbian, the internal and external conflicts have, of course, been prevalent. Before it was featured as the chorus of Ryan Lewis and Macklemore’s Same Love with her as the female vocals, the lyrics were a part of the singer’s own track She Keeps Me Warm. The slow, folk-like song was a heartfelt ballad saying that this is simply who she is and she “can’t change, even if [she] wanted to.”
Azealia Banks – 212
Azealia Banks is one of the most controversial of those on this list. Despite being bisexual and using female pronouns in 212, she is often called homophobic due to her gay slurs on social media. This might just be another example of others lacking in understanding of what homophobia is. When you read her tweets, you may see what I mean. For instance, her tweet about men being proud of their sexuality could be taken as others missing the fact that women can be gay as well, however, this isn’t as publicised.
The Internet – Girl
The Internet’s frontwoman Syd The Kyd came out in the Odd Future’s music video for Cocaine. Her sexuality is made explicitly obvious in Girl. She sings about the passion LGBTQI people feel in their relationship, implying they are exactly the same as those in heterosexual relationships. They have the same fire and lust that eventually grows into love. So why shouldn’t they have the same rights as we do?
The Smiths – Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Many people over the years have thought Morrissey was gay. In his own words he is asexual, meaning he feels no sexual feelings toward men or women. He explained this in a post on his fansite True To You: “Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans. But, of course … not many”.
It’s one of the more forgotten and misunderstood forms of sexuality that is disregarded by many. That’s why this song is regarded as the perfect example of a song about the solitary life of an asexual person; away from the noise and all alone. They hope one day someone would understand, but it’s “just another false alarm”.