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Civility​=​Complicity

by Ghost Signs

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about

Even if change is futile, not trying, not believing, not attempting to change the world is a far more dangerous enterprise because it requires looking at the darkness and saying “This too is good”

There is no worse transgression for the white middle class than rudeness

Fuck the Tories
Fuck the GOP
Fuck the DUP
Fuck Keir Starmer

Civility=Complicity is a release of frustration and anger at politics and systems both here in the UK and throughout the world. It was released during the BLM protests around the death of George Floyd, but it wasn’t written about them, and all the tracks existed before his tragic death, the protests were a catalyst to bring them together, as it showed this anger and frustration flowed through many different people and places.

Civility is often used to stifle debate with an “Ahh, you don’t talk to people like that.” It seems so often that the middle-class treats rudeness as the greatest sin in the world, their offence at how the message is delivered, rather than the actual situation shows that they value their comfort over the lives of other people. Celebrities with their messages of peace love unity respect, “why can’t we all just be nice and get along with each other”, while one half has a knee on the throat of the other.

Fence sitting, civility, remaining apolitical are all political choices. They are the choice of the status quo, they are complicit in all this.

Black lives matter. Abolish the police, abolish prisons, healthcare, housing, food and water are a human rights.

1: Civility=Complicity

Opening with a great quote from No Country For Old Men, the ringing phone fading into drones. This is one of the first Ghost Signs tracks that wasn’t actually just recorded live, each part recorded separately and then mixed after the fact. Still lots of relooped guitars and tape loops passed through a lot of reverb.

2: Tear Gas and Plate Glass

Inspired by Charlemagne Palestine’s Strumming on piano. 4 tape loops of different pairs of notes being bashed on the piano as hard and as fast as I can manage, then faded between. I saw Charlemagne Palestine play it once, and after about 40minutes someone walked past me to leave telling a friend on the phone “He’s just been playing the same two fucking notes for an hour”.

The title comes from a line in one of my favourite Silver Mt. Zion songs - Movie Never Made.

Let our crowds be fed on
Tear gas and plate glass
Because a people united
Is a wonderful thing

These protests have brought many different organisations and people together, perhaps realising that our struggles are largely the same throughout the world.

3: Threnody for Freedom

The normal Ghost Signs’ brand of melancholic cacophonies. Guitar, recorded live, looped, and relooped over itself again.

4: State Sanctioned Serial Killers

Some evil tape loops that could go in the soundtrack of a horror about serial killers.

One of the things I like about tape loops is that you can slow them down and they just sound so dark. I put them all through on old broken 80s Midiverb II I had lying around given to me from some guy who used to do sound for a church.

5: 2005-07-22 / 2009-04-01 FUCKKEIRSTARMER

Keir Starmer (“sir” if you believe in honorific addresses, as corrupt as they are) is the leader of the Labour Party in the UK. Before being an MP he was the Director of Public Prosecutions.

On the 22nd July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician was shot in the head seven times at point blank range by members of the Metropolitan Police in London. Keir Starmer refused to prosecute the police officers. Fuck Keir Starmer

On the 1st April 2009, Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor in London, was attacked from behind by a member of the Metropolitan Police as he was making his way home. He died later due to internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma to the abdomen. Keir Starmer initially refused to prosecute the police officer involved for two years. Fuck Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer did however prosecute someone for making a joke on Twitter. Fuck Keir Starmer.
Keir Starmer did however prosecute several gay men, accusing them of obscenity and pedophilia. Fuck Keir Starmer.

In short. Fuck Keir Starmer.

Guitars, looped, relooped, distortion, delays, reverb.

credits

released May 29, 2020

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Ghost Signs Belfast, UK

Collected works of a dying civilisation.

Ghost Signs: Drones, noise, experimental

Vermont Republic: Middle aged angst

XIX: Electronic experiments

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