Ramallah - But a Whimper
Recently I saw Promises, a documentary that I highly recommend. In it, the filmmaker arranges for Israeli and Palestinian children to meet and hang out, which is an unheard of phenomenon. He documents the meetings, interviews the children and their families, and tracks the children as they get older. It's amazing how extremist the kids can be, just because of what they're told. It's also amazing how articulate they are, and how much they can change, just by meeting the other side and discovering they're humans, too.Unsurprisingly, the narrative meets with tragedy that threatens to reinforce extremist tendencies. It damn near choked me up seeing these beautiful children (a) spout frightening dogma, (b) regain their innocence temporarily to play as children, and (c) struggle with the horrible reality their elders handed them. If the region's powers that be watched this film, it would be a better place.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict pisses me off to no end. It's complex, deeply-rooted, and seemingly only filled with bad guys. Both sides act like jackasses, the body count rises weekly, and no one seems to notice. Not like I can do anything about it - but maybe posting some tangentially related MP3's can be my measly contribution.
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One of my favorite records of the past five years is Ramallah's But a Whimper (Bridge Nine, 2002). I don't understand why a white guy from Boston would name his band after a Palestinian town and write songs about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But notwithstanding his drug problems, his "White Trash" moniker, and his history in Blood for Blood, Rob Lind is a friggin' genius in my book.
Playing all instruments except for drums (and getting backup vox from Converge's Jacob Bannon), Lind crunches out heavy, metallic hardcore that's mastered loud as hell. I don't mind, though - it works for this material, which is a thoughtful boot to the face. The songs are powerful, the tones are filthy, and it all ends too quickly after 14 minutes. However, this EP has evidently gotten the reissue treatment with two new songs and new Bannon artwork. It's available on CD and various vinyl flavors from Bridge Nine and Interpunk.
Labels: clee, hardcore punk, usa
6 Comments:
Pretty much everything Rob Lind does is fuckin' awesome, and I've called him a genius many times myself. I liked the full-length better than the EP, though. But still, it's all gold. It's been too long since he released something with on project or another, too! Ha...
"...one project or another..." that is...
Yeah, sadly Ramallah's MySpace says that it's on indefinite hiatus, and that Rob's "personal issues" are keeping him from touring. Hope he gets the monkey off his back...
A great post, IO. Sometimes, I watch the world and just wonder...where's that asteroid?
I haven't yet heard Ramallah (now on the list, as well as "Promises"). In line with your next post, should metal have a politically serious side? Or, will it just turn off a lot of people that look to metal as an escape and an outlet?
Dave,
Metal is big and deep enough so that it can be both escapist and confrontational. Sometimes I want black metal oblivion, sometimes I want Nasum. But for a music that claims to be rebellious, lyrically it plays it safe all too often.
Thus, I don't get "war metal." I get it in the sense that there are certain histories (Nordic, Germanic, etc.) which yield fruitful artistic depictions. But what the hell is, say, Bolt Thrower really saying? Anything? War is the status quo and an oppressive force. If metalheads were truly so alternative and rebellious, I think they'd actually be pacifists.
I WAS ONE OF THE 800 PEOPLE IN ANTWERP(belgium)when there played their set,and i still thinking about his lyrics,i just hope rob is doing well........much respect to rob and his close ones!!!!!
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