|
|
|
|
|
Public Relations or Propaganda? The Media Campaign Against Iran
|
|
|
"He who dictates and formulates the words and phrases we use, he who is master of the press and radio, is master of the mind. Repeat mechanically your assumptions and suggestions, diminish the opportunity for communicating dissent and opposition. This is the formula for political conditioning of the masses." -Joost Meerloo The Rape of the Mind
Opinions
Everyone has opinions.
According to the definition in my on-line dictionary, an opinion is:
- a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
- a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
The dictionary also very helpfully provides a quote, from Friedrich Nietzsche: "One sticks to an opinion because he prides himself on having come to it on his own, and another because he has taken great pains to learn it and is proud to have grasped it: and so both do so out of vanity."
That’s a good quote and worth keeping in mind.
The word is from the Latin opinan, to think.
Thus an opinion is a thought, but not one based on fact.
It is one of my observations that people will give their opinions freely without necessarily knowing the source. They think the source is in their own head. It istheir opinion, after all. They own it, like a piece of property. But then, when you question them about it, you discover that they cannot tell you how they arrived at their opinion. They cannot tell you where it comes from. They cannot even tell you the facts behind their opinion. Very often what facts they can cite are wrong, or questionable in some way.
What’s more, you soon learn that almost everyone you speak to on any one topic has exactly the same opinion. The same thought exists in everyone’s head. So everyone has an opinion, everyone thinks it’s their opinion, and yet they share the opinion with everyone else. This is what is referred to as Public Opinion. It’s like a virus: the mind-flu. Only it’s not an airborne virus which you catch when someone sneezes, it’s a thought-borne virus which you catch by listening to other people’s opinions.
Edward Louis Bernays pioneer of the modern Public Relations Industry
Public Relations
The problem with opinions is that, once having arrived at them, we then think we know all there is to know about a situation, and that no further thought is required. We are all guilty of this, on the left as well as on the right.
People in the Public Relations Industry refer to themselves as “opinion makersâ€. They work through people they call opinion leaders.Opinion leaders are people who are able to influence other people in their thinking. In other words, their job is to implant opinions into other people’s heads.
The pioneer of the modern Public Relations Industry, Edward Bernays, said: "If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it... In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons ... who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind."
In fact even the term “Public Relations†is a public relations exercise. What Bernays meant was propaganda, but he recognised that that word had negative connotations, so invented the term “public relations†to cover it.
An early success for Bernays’ newly conceived industry was a campaign to persuade women to smoke. This was in the early 1920s. There was already a great social movement towards women’s emancipation, but Bernays managed to link this to the idea of women smoking. Smoking in public was interpreted as an act of personal and political emancipation.
You can see from this example that the industry is both opportunistic and clever. The movement toward women’s emancipation already existed. Bernays’ great achievement was to link this to a specific product. It was to take a thought that already existed and to turn it to particular ends. So cigarettes became a symbol of individual emancipation. Women adopted the symbol en masse without realising that they were being manipulated.
Read on...
|
|
|
NOW AVAILABLE FROM GONZO MULTIMEDIA
"Stone writes with intelligence, wit and sensitivity."
Times Literary Supplement
"Wry, acute, and sometimes hellishly entertaining essays in squalor and rebellion."
Herald
"The best guide to the Underground since Charon ferried dead souls across the Styx."
Independent on Sunday
|
|
|
|
SOME OTHER BOOKS BY C.J.STONE
|
|
|
|
- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd (7 Nov 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1781310777
- ISBN-13: 978-1781310779
|
|
This really is an extraordinary book, but then again Alan Moore is an extraordinary man who has lived a life that - on several levels - is completely far out, but on other levels is surprisingly parochial, never having lived outside Northampton.
It is this dichotomy which really makes the enigma of Alan Moore. He hates all the films (successful or not) that have been made of his books (even Watchmen which I thought was a near masterpiece. He has a long history of falling out with his publishers, and even with long term collaborators and friends. And he is a self proclaimed magician who worships an Ancient Roman sockpuppet. (And here I would like to stress that I am using the word 'sockpuppet' in its traditional sense rather than in its more colloquial, post internet meaning).
The opening lines of John Lennon's Julia on 'The White Album' by The Beatles proclaims that "half of what I say is meaningless". Half of what Alan Moore does is ludicrous, or seemingly so, but this does not stop him being one of the more important contemporary British authors, and furthermore, an author who has had more commercial success than most of his peers.
His output has ranged from dark comedy (The Bo-Jeffries saga) to science fiction (Halo Jones) to horror tinged with a dystopian political satire (V for Vendetta) to a Götterdämmerung of superheroes (Watchmen) to occult theorising (Promethea) to pornography (The Lost Girls), and that is just the fiction. It is far beyond the scope of a brief book review like this to even start trying to describe his magickal workings, although a brief critique of his theories about Ideaspace have been included in previous issues of this magazine.
Some of his work is - to my eyes - more successful than others: I love Watchmen, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for example, was intrigued by V for Vendetta and Promethea, but found The Lost Girls disappointing and anti-climatic (no pun intended).
Does this massively entertaining, well researched and enjoyable book tell you a lot that you wouldn't otherwise know about the life (so far) of Alan Moore? Yes, of course it does. Does it do anything to provide a full explanation of what makes this ridiculously complex man do what he does?
What do you think?
|
|
HAWKWIND NEWS
(The Masters of the Universe do seem to have a steady stream of interesting stories featuring them, their various friends and relations, and alumni). Each week Graham Inglis keeps us up to date with the latest news from the Hawkverse..
|
|
|
Preparations for Hawkwind's "indoor festival" at Seaton next year, known as Hawkeaster, are continuing, and, with hotels and guesthouses already fully booked, the accommodation squeeze looms again.
An intriguing option is bookable through an outfit called Eve's Tipis, though... a campsite where one can "holiday in a tipi" and some basic embellishments can be hired also - various sorts of rugs, floor cushions, a small table and LED light or lantern.
Of course, tipis are structurally prone to a bit of leaking at the top, where all the slanting poles are tied together and poke out of the cladding, and the providers are careful to point out that they can't guarantee a dry or weather-proof experience! A somewhat alarming thought, given the British weather.
And, with an eye to those who've never set foot in such a structure before, they advise that their tipis lack cellphone charging facilities.
A weekend without Facebook? Back to Nature with a vengeance!
http://www.eves-tipis.co.uk/
|
|
|
Just in time for Christmas, Black Sabbath take their most recent tour to the NIA Birmingham on 22 December. I caught the band in stellar form just this last August in California and filed this report:
When I was discovering classic and progressive rock music back in the 70′s, Black Sabbath was on the outs in my circle of friends. Their lyrics, presence and brand all shouted ‘satanism’ and ‘occult.’ The fantasy elements of Yes, Genesis, Camel and their ilk seemed more welcoming to our young minds. So, I never collected Sabbath recordings and did not attend any of their shows, nor did I know anyone who did. As their influence spread and drove the heavy metal movement over time I also stayed away, even though I became enamored of the goth movement in the ’80′s, and even later, knowing that Ozzy Ozbourne actually had become quite an entertaining front man and TV personality and that Dio had become one of the best metal vocalists ever, not to mention the fact that Toni Iommi kept showing at the top of guitar players popularity polls.
All of that changed for me earlier this year when I read of Toni’s illness, recovery, and the rebirth of his classic guitar techniques on the new recording ‘13‘ – hailed as a metal masterpiece and return to form from these survivors. I downloaded the tracks and instantly loved the album. This led me to look into their past work to discover what I had missed. In fact, while several of their most popular tracks present the occult, more of them are about other topics well suited to aggressive rock – the folly of war, drug addition and other social ills. Heck they even sang about fairies with boots! Often there were long instrumental breaks with a clear blues-rock vein, at times reminiscent of early blues based Jethro Tull, with a sometimes ‘progressive’ approach to songwriting, as many of their best tracks switch keys and rhythm as they unfold.
Read on...
|
|
|
THE YES CIRCULAR - FRIED GREEN TORMATOES
|
|
|
The Court Circular tells interested readers about the comings and goings of members of The Royal Family. However, readers of this periodical seem interested in the comings and goings of Yes and of various alumni of this magnificent and long-standing band. Give the people what they want, I say
|
|
|
Golly. Two weeks in a row where there are lots of stories from the Yes camp and from the camps of the various alumni who have played in the band over the years (nearly as many as the ex-members of Spinal Tap). We start off with an article about how Chris Squire would like Rush members to induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sadly, they don't appear to be on the list for this year despite their recent campaign. I personally wouldn't be too sad, guys. Rock and Roll is supposed to challenge the establishment, not become part of it. Remember what the Sex Pistols wrote when they were invited.
|
|
|
Next is a look at the latest heritage version of Close to the Edge followed by a feature on their 1987 track Shoot High, Aim Low and a rather intriguing cover version. Then we have an article praising the band's "bombast" and an angry Rick Wakeman on the lack of music education in schools. More Rick Wakeman coming up with a technical hitch causing a venue change on next year's tour and finally Rick Wakeman's guide to buying electric pianos.
I am probably getting a bit OCD about all of this, but I find the Yes soap opera of sound to be absolutely enthralling, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next!
|
|
MY CYCLES ROUND ONE SUN
have been logged in nightly dream poems-
open mikes,Festivals,readings,publications
All of which were tinged with celebration
Now that this year is drained of days
Eye turn back into night and play
with consciousness and images
None of which can be adequately conveyed
unless with friends who already know
how our little lives are luminous glows
like those fish who stay within the deep
to dream new visions,and sometimes sleep...
|
|
|
In Victorian times every well-bred Gentleman had a 'Cabinet of Curiosities'; a collection of peculiar odds and sods, usually housed in a finely made cabinet with a glass door. These could include anything from Natural History specimens to historical artefacts. There has always been something of the Victorian amateur naturalist about me, and I have a houseful of arcane objects; some completely worthless, others decidedly not, but all precious to me for the memories they hold.
But people send me lots of pictures of interesting, and, may I say, peculiar things. But once again this week it is over to my lovely wife...
|
|
ANGUS YOUNG - A SCHOOLBOY IN DISGRACE...
Corinna here, sheepishly admitting that I am back to eBay to look for this week’s item for the cabinet, and today we shall be looking through the square window, where my gaze fell upon this programme that is for sale. The price is shocking, although to an AC/DC collector it may be as cheap as chips for all I know, but the real reason that I have selected this particular item is because of its cover.
Okay so this guy is probably supposed to look like a thuggish schoolboy, but paleeese. Those shorts do not go with those knees; not to mention the socks (unless you are a young lad at primary school, it is not cool to wear socks with shorts in my humble opinion – or, to show off my aptitude for text speak, IMHO). And as for diagonal stripes on the tie, mixed with horizontal stripes on the T-shirt, don’t get me started on that.
Next week we shall look through the rectangular window, and methinks I have a rather good one to share. Why not share it now instead of rabbiting on about a fashion faux pas from the past? Because ‘im in the tater shed is throwing tater peelings at me and hassling me to get this finished, that’s why.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-DC-POWERAGE-GENUINE-HAND-SIGNED-UK-CONCERT-TOUR-PROGRAMME-1978-BON-SCOTT-/370933475272?pt=UK_Music_Music_Memorabilia_LE&hash=item565d5ba7c8
|
|
|
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION TIME
Just in case you are interested, here is yer beloved Editor at iTunes
   
Check it out now...
|
|
|
|
INTRODUCING THE NINE HENRYS
|
|
|
There are nine Henrys, purported to be the world’s first cloned cartoon character. They live in a strange lo-fi domestic surrealist world peopled by talking rock buns and elephants on wobbly stilts. They mooch around in their minimalist universe suffering from an existential crisis with some genetically modified humour thrown in. I think Peter McAdam is one of the funniest people around, and I cannot recommend his book The Nine Henrys highly enough. Check it out at Amazon.
Each issue we shall be running a series of Henrybits that are not found in his book about the nine cloned cartoon characters who inhabit a surreal world nearly as insane as mine...
|
|
|
|
The Weird Weekend is the largest yearly gathering of mystery animal investigators in the English-speaking world. Now in its fifteenth year, the convention attracts speakers and visitors from all over the world and showcases the findings of investigators into strange phenomena.
Cryptozoologists, parapsychologists, ufologists, and folklorists are descending on Woolfardisworthy Community Centre to share their findings and insights. Unlike other events, the Weird Weekend will also include workshops giving tips to budding paranormal investigators, and even a programme of special events for children. The Weird Weekend is the only fortean conference in the world that is truly a family event, although those veterans of previous events should be reassured that it is still as anarchically silly as ever!
The event is raising money for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the world’s only full time, professional cryptozoological organisation. The profit from food and beverages goes to a selection of village charities, mostly working with children.
|
|
|
the running order (so far) for the 2014 event
|
|
DAVID HUSSEY FROM XNA WRITES:
Wow--thanks so much for all the support in the latest edition!
We're blown away and truly appreciative! We spent yesterday doing the main shooting of a video for THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, and had a blast! After pick-up shots this week, we'll get it all put together, and I'll let you know where you can see it.
Thanks so much again, and Happy Holidays to you and yours (especially Archie!),
David
|
|
|
Thank you for that, David. And so in honour of the occasion here -especially for you - is a genuine signed photograph of Archie himself...
|
|
|
THE WORLD OF KEV
Kev Rowland
|
|
|
|
DEVIN TOWNSEND The Retinal Circus (INSIDE OUT)
|
|
|
Over the years I have been lucky enough to hear most of what this mad Canadian has released, and what I have learned to expect is actually not to expect anything but just go along for the ride. His mind obviously works on a totally different plane to the rest of us, and the only person I have ever compared him to is Phil Spector, as here is yet another genius who creates a wall of sound all of his own making. So when I heard that there was going to be a double CD (plus associated blue-ray and DVD versions) released of his ‘musical’ I knew that I was going to be in for a treat. The word ‘musical’ is in inverted commas, as there is no real storyline and to be honest it is just a whole load of songs put
|
|
|
together from different periods (including the mighty Strapping Young Lad) that gave him excuse to put together a stage show quite different from anything he had undertaken previously.
Devin actually admits as much during the performance, but he takes it all to a new level with the use of loads of guests outside of the core band, but not all of these are musical. And it is this that is so frustrating with this album for me, and the clue is right there in the title of this. ‘Retinal’ is an adjective pertaining to the word ‘retina’, which is a delicate, multilayered, light-sensitive membrane lining the inner eyeball and connected by the optic nerve to the brain. All the time I am playing this I keep feeling that I am missing out on something visually, so I went onto YouTube and checked out the official video for “Graceâ€. Some time later I managed to get my jaw back into place from where it had dislocated while I sat there open mouthed not quite believing what I was seeing. As well as a top metal band, he has brought Anneke van Giersbergen back, and although I can hear that on the CD, I wasn’t able to see the video of Steve Vai providing the verbal introduction, the double jointed acrobats on stage, the gospel choir, the guys with angle grinders shooting sparks over the stage and so very much more.
I went back to the CD feeling a little disappointed, but to be honest I soon got over it as I put “Planet Smasher†on at speaker damaging volumes (I’ve always been a sucker for Ziltoid). Once I had accepted that there was more to it than I could hear I instead concentrated on just the music instead of what I might be missing, and what we have here is an aural feast. Anneke has a wonderful voice, and relishes playing the part of being the light against all of the shade. This music is really heavy, very bottom end, and she plays a huge part in making it sound complete.
What we have here are 25 songs, more than 2 hours in length, and a show that must have created huge waves when it was performed last year. This is a masterpiece, and I am sure that the full blu-ray (which I have yet to buy, but is now definitely on my list) is stunning. Somehow, even though I feel that part of it is missing, I can’t bring myself to score this any less than 5 *’s, as it truly is one of the most remarkable live albums I have ever come across.
|
|
|
EYES SET TO KILL Masks (CENTURY MEDIA)
|
|
|
This is the fifth album from these guys, but somehow it is the first time I have come across them. I have seen their music described as metalcore, post-hardcore and emo amongst others, but there are times when they have an almost symphonic feel to what they are doing as well, even with just a small amount of keys. This quartet comprises Alexia Rodriguez (vocals, guitar & keyboards), her sister Anissa Rodriguez (bass), Cisko Miranda (screams, live guitar) and Caleb Clifton - drums & samples. What sets this album apart from the rest, is not that there are sisters in a metal band (which is somewhat unusual it has to be said, I can’t think of it happening very often – and the Wilson girls don’t count)
|
|
|
but what we have here is a group that is somehow mixing melodic metal with extreme stylings and creating something that is quite different.
These guys rock, I mean they really rock, but Alexia sings like an angel over the top of them with plenty of power and passion and when Cisko comes to the party they turn into a different animal altogether. Here is a band that sound totally genuine whatever they are doing, and they manage to bring a groove and catchiness to the music that is going to definitely be picked up by fans of bands as diverse as Lacuna Coil and Sepultura. They have taken the female/male vocal interplay to a whole new level and have delivered an album that is polished, immediate, with hidden depths and real sense of sincerity. If like me you haven’t come across these guys before then now is the time to discover them.
|
|
|
GRAVE Morbid Ascent (EP) (CENTURY MEDIA)
|
|
|
Grave have over the years become one of the most consistent brutal death metal bands around, and this new EP shows no signs of them slowing down yet. It includes just two brand new tracks, but we also get a cover version of Satyricon’s “Possessedâ€, a remix version of “Epos†as well as the newly recorded version of “Reality Of Lifeâ€, a classic Grave demo track from 1989’s “Sexual Mutilation†demo. “Venial Sinâ€, the opening track, also features some guest solos by Autopsy’s Eric Cutler. It is punchy, it is surprisingly long for a 5 track death metal EP (just over 26 minutes), and in many ways is the perfect appendix to last year’s ‘The Endless Procession of Souls’. If you see the name Grave on the outside, then you know that there is going to be some mighty powerful music on the inside.
|
|
|
|
MOON SAFARI Himlabacken Vol. 1 (BLOMLJUD)
|
|
The very first time I came across Moon Safari I just couldn’t believe my ears, as I felt that I had stumbled across the musical vocal harmonies of The Carpenters put into a progressive arrangement and it was a whole new ball game. Since then the Swedes have been incredibly consistent, producing one well crafted album after another, so when this arrived in the post it jumped to the top of the queue and was put straight into the player. While there are still some strong elements of Richard and Karen in their vocal arrangements, the guys have also moved into areas more commonly
|
|
|
associated with Gentle Giant, as well as Spock’s Beard. In fact the last of these has had an influence on some of the music as well, along with The Beatles, City Boy, and a whole host of 70’s soft rock and progressive bands. There is a clarity of thought and approach that is sadly missing from some progressive music, and while it can be incredibly complex they also understand that at times simple is just as good.
The moog has its’ part to play, and there are some wonderful interplays between that and the guitars, but Moon Safari have their vocals to the fore and the instrumentation playing the supporting role, which is not always the case in this type of music. All six musicians are singers, with Petter and Simon sharing lead duties between them. The arrangements are incredibly well-layered with a separation and use of space and quiet that really adds to the whole. Just play “Red White Blues†and I can guarantee that you will find it hard to believe that this isn’t some long-lost song from nearly forty years ago, as opposed to brand new release. Also, the choice of country origin will be between America and the UK, with the latter likely to just edge it out, not Sweden.
This is a superb album, as Moon Safari continue to meet their own exceptional high standards. This is a concept album, and is only part one of the idea; so I can only hope that the second part will follow soon as I am getting impatient already. www.moonsafari.se
|
|
|
|
|
COMING SOON: All About Eve "Ultraviolet"
|
|
|
|
All About Eve were a British rock/pop band who somehow fused the genres of Goth and folk-rock. The creative core consisted of the Coventry born Julianne Regan (vocals), and the Huddersfield born Andy Cousin (bass guitar), with other members changing over the years. Their biggest commercial success was "Martha's Harbour" (1988), although the band's tenure ran between 1984 and 2004, and included four UK Top 50 albums.
Julianne Regan, a former journalist, played bass in an early line-up of the gothic rock group Gene Loves Jezebel. before leaving to join All About Eve, previously known as the Swarm. The initial core of All About Eve was Regan, guitarist Tim Bricheno, and bassist Andy Cousin. As a three-piece (plus a drum machine), they released a series of independent singles in the mid-1980s including "D for Desire", "In the Clouds" and "Flowers In Our Hair". After Regan sang backing vocals for The Mission's "God's Own Medicine" album, the band received greater attention and were signed to Phonogram. Drummer Mark Price was added around this time.
"Ultraviolet" is the fourth studio album by All About Eve. Despite positive reviews at the time this album was in the wrong place at the wrong time and sadly slipped through the commercial net despite containing one of their most iconic songs - "Outshine the Sun" which is frequently used at the band's gigs for a finale.
Preorder UK
Preorder USA
|
|
|
|
THE BEST LAID PLANS...
It has been another nice, but hectic week here in the potato shed where my deputy editor and I plot world domination whilst surrounded by various tanks of fish, teetering piles of books, guitars and CDs and a small Indian frog called 'Chubby Checker'.
|
|
Mother, Graham and I went Christmas shopping in Barnstaple yesterday and pretty well did everything that we set out to do. I am now sitting in the office typing away merrily, listening to Lou Reed and John Cale's 'Songs for Drella' slightly too loud, realising happily that I don't have to leave the village for the rest of the year.
Apart from that my Yuletide festivities will mainly involve playing with the dogs and reading Cold War era thrillers by the fire. A modicum of port may also be consumed. Yesterday in Lidl I found two sorts of cheese I had never heard of before, and buying those made me a happy fellow. As I get older my needs become far more simple.
An old friend of mine contacted me via Facebook the other day. I had hardly seen him in about thirty years, but he only lives a few miles away, and is still getting over the death of his wife a few years back. So he will be turning up here sometime over Christmas with a guitar in his hand. Mike Davis will also be here for several days recording, and we also have a visit from another recently divorced female friend of mine and Corinna's on Boxing Day.
That is what I think this time of year should be about, and so rarely is. It is not about how much money you can spend or how you can impress someone with the latest gadget. It is about human contact, about reaching out to make connections with your fellow human beings especially those who are lonely or in need at this - often terrifying and forbidding - time of year.
God bless you all, and see you next week for our New Year's edition.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
