#i wanna do it as my first american traditional style tattoo

[dogpumpkin]

I still need to draw some kind of mustelid with ram horns bc. That's my version of a jackalope

[ineffabildaddy]

thank u so much for the tags @queer-reader-07 @flashbastards @celestialcrowley @sabotage-on-mercury @voluptatiscausa !!! i very much enjoyed learning more about u all<3

1) were you named after anyone?

i named myself after sam winchester dflkjljfdk

2) when was the last time you cried?

properly? about a week ago when i was having a Girls With Low Self Esteem moment <3

3) do you have kids?

naurrr i am an Adult With Training Wheels myself as my dad says (i'm 24)

4) what sports do you play/have you played?

oh i love swimming. stopped years ago because Trans. wanna get back into it now i've had top surgery. also i used to be on the netball team at school lmao compulsory sapphic and sapphic-adjacent expeirence

5) do you use sarcasm?

yes lol

6) what's the first thing you notice about people?

oh god ermmm probably the way they speak? like their tone and cadence

7) what's your eye color?

greeeen

8) scary movies or happy endings?

happy endings ofc

9) any talents?

okay i'm gonna say writing bc i know you'll all shout at me if i don't kldjgkjldf

10) where were you born?

north london:-)

11) what are your hobbies?

reading, collecting vinyl, gigs/following tours, writing ofc, animal crossing, and when the mood strikes me, getting american traditional style tattoos lol

12) do you have any pets?

nope:-((( one day!!!

13) how tall are you?

5'9:-)

14) favorite subject in school?

twas always english and religious studies (are we shocked lmfao)

15) dream job?

i don't dream of labour BUT i'd love to either work in a radical bookshop or a record shop:-)

tagging people who i personally haven't seen tagged yet: @sad-chaos-goblin @greenthena @tangerine-ginger @ineffable-rohese @omens-for-ophelia

[memecucker]

idk if you've already talked about this but what do you think of the idea of cultural appropriation when it comes to closed practices? like when white people wanna wear war bonnets or claim they're doing voodoo

So the issue here isn’t “cultural appropriation” as people use the term but rather respect of particular practices. For example war bonnets have been given to non-Natives as formal gifts from, during WW2 the Indian Confederation of America voted to gift war bonnets to Joseh Stalin as well as Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas Macarthur. The NY Times article in particular is interesting because it talks about how it was a Mohawk war bonnet that was in the possession of a Mohawk chief named Fallen Trees and that it was originally planned to be given to Major Gen. Alexander Repin who was in charge of the Soviet military mission to the US and it was felt that since obviously Stalin couldn’t accept it in person another man who was himself a war leader could accept in his place. However Repin had to abruptly return to the Soviet Union and the Indian Confederation of America did not wish to hand it off to a subordinate officer because only another leader of warriors should accept in in place of the ultimate recipient so instead they modified the ceremony and handed it to the civilian Edward Carter of the Russian War Relief charity group and presented not as Carter “accepting” it but rather being tasked with the role of a “messenger” who would deliver it to Stalin (rather than if Repin was still in the US in which case he’d accept for Stalin in abstenstia with a ceremony looking more like the ones for American generals rather than a more low-key handoff). The reason I focused on that for a bit is that it shows how the ICA wasn’t just some random group that handed out war bonnets to random famous people as favors but was an organization of native people that took these cultural traditions very seriously and specifically the act of gifting it to an outsider was part of it and came with its own set of rules.

If your intent is to be respectful of other cultural practices then this involves understanding the rules, not making up and blankety applying them which is what contemporary CA discourse does. My issue with the way “closed cultural practice” (and especially “closed culture”) is often used is that it’s assumed it’s only a “do not touch” sign like in a museum when in fact there are particular rules and traditions and oftentimes competing ones. So in the above example the war bonnets were given to non-natives but after a process of deliberation and decision by a group representing various tribes from the northeast. This is important because CA discourse has a habit of focusing on the what’s styled as the “transgressors” and I remember weird articles with titles like “How To Know If Your Comitting Cultural Appropriation” which tends to focus on the “intent” of the (implicitly white) reader rather than understanding the particular rules that go into a culture because it puts all the “rules” on the outsider and doesn’t emphasize that if your intent is to respect traditional customs then you learn what the traditional rules for the custom in question is (thus you get kimono and henna discourse which have never had any kind of rule about outsider wearing but people wanna distract you from that).

Another example i often use for this sorta question is Whang-od of the Butbut tribe of the Kalinga people and the last surviving master of traditional indigenous Kalinga tattooing. Traditionally the tattoos have been reserved for members of the same tribe (not simply “reserved for other Kalinga” as ive seen some people say, or even worse “reserved for other Filipinos”). The reason for this closed practice wasn’t “just because” but because of the particular meanings conveyed by the tattoos. Tattoos whose art designs are intended to represent ones ancestry in the tribe don’t make sense for outsiders to have because designs signify lines of ancestry within the tribe so if you aren’t descended from the tattoo artists tribe those don’t make sense to have. A large eagle tattoo was among most prestigious tattoos only to be given a brave warrior of the tribe who killed and decapitated an enemy and Whang-od not only doesn’t do that for outsiders but no one because she believes the design is reserved specifically for warriors who either participated in or defended the tribe from head-hunting raids rather than a general idea of a brave soldier but the traditional Kalinga practice of headhunting ended decades ago (IIRC the last confirmed headhuntting raid was in the 1970s) and thus the meaning the tattoo conveys has fallen into disuse and thus it is no longer to be given. However Whang-od did open up other designs to people not of the Butbut tribe if they’re willing to make the long difficult trek to her village and undergo the long and painful process of traditional tattooing. The designs she uses with outsiders aren’t things that relate to being a member of her tribe but rather other designs that convey a magical meaning. So for example a tattoo that’s meant the bless the bearer with fertility/virility or to ward off evil spirits.

So are these “closed” or “open” practices? I think that’s a bad framework to approach the issue from the outset. It tries to encourage respect but without encouraging learning first.

[havatabanca]

Is Eddie Grant the true inventor of Soca?

by Jo-Ann Greene

 Eddy Grant stands among an elite group of artists as one who has not just merely moved successfully across the musical spectrum, but has actually been at the forefront of genres and even created one of his own. From pop star to reggae radical, musical entrepreneur to the inventor of ringbang, the artist has cut a swath through the world of music and made it his own.

Born in Plaisance, Guyana, on March 5, 1948, the young Edmond Grant grew up on the sound of his homeland, tan singing, an Indo-Caribbean vocal style whose roots lay in South Asia and are the backbone of modern chutney. Then in 1960, the Grant family emigrated to England, taking up residence in the working-class Stoke Newington area of London. The young teen's musical horizons swiftly expanded, embracing the R&B, blues, and rock that percolated across his new island home.

In 1965, Grant formed his first band, the Equals, and long before the days of 2-Tone, the group was unique in being the first of Britain's multi-racial bands to receive any recognition. The West Indian contingent comprised Jamaican-born singer Lincoln Gordon, with his twin brother Derv and Grant both on guitar, while the rhythm section of bassist Patrick Lloyd and drummer John Hall were native-born white Englishmen. Like most of the teenaged bands roaming the capital at the time, the Equals cut their teeth on the club and pub circuit and finally inked a label deal with President Records in early 1967. Their debut single, "I Won't Be There," didn't crack the charts but did receive major radio support. This, alongside an expanding fan base wowed by their live shows, pushed their first album, Unequaled Equals, into the U.K. Top Ten. At the request of his label, Grant had also been working with the Pyramids, the British group who had backed Prince Buster on his recent U.K. tour. Besides composing songs for the band (and one for Buster himself, the rude classic "Rough Rider"), Grant also produced several tracks, including the band's debut single and sole hit, "Train to Rainbow City." In 1968, the Equals scored their own hit with "I Get So Excited," the group's debut into the Top 50. Although their follow-up album, Equals Explosion, proved less successful than its predecessor, as did the next single, the quintet's career was indeed about to explode. "Hold Me Closer" may have disappointed in the U.K., where it stalled at a lowly number 50, but in Germany, the single was flipped over and "Baby Come Back" released as the A-side. It swiftly soared to the top of the German charts, a feat repeated across Europe. Later that spring, a reissued British single finally received its just due and reached number one. Even the U.S. took notice, sending the single into the lower reaches of the Top 40. Sadly, this turned out to be a flash in the pan. The Equals' follow-up single, "Laurel and Hardy" died at number 35; its successor did even worse, while their new album, Sensational Equals, didn't even make the charts. New hope arrived when "Viva Bobby Joe" shot into the Top Ten in the summer of 1969, but its follow-up, "Rub a Dub Dub," just scraped into the Top 35. Understandable, considering the Equals' roller coaster of ups and downs, Grant now turned his attention elsewhere.

In 1970, he started up his own specialty record label, Torpedo, concentrating on British reggae artists. He also utilized the label as a home for a brief solo career under the alias Little Grant, releasing the single "Let's Do It Together." But the artist hadn't given up on the Equals yet, and good thing too. Later that year, their new 45, "Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys," slammed the group back into the Top Ten. And then, the unimaginable happened. On New Year's day in 1971, Grant, all of 23 years old, suffered a heart attack and a collapsed lung. If lifestyle played a part, it wasn't because he drank, took drugs, smoked, or ate meat; it was due to Grant's only vice -- a hectic schedule. He quit the group at this point and the Equals soldiered on into the shadows without him. He sold Torpedo as well and with the proceeds opened up his own recording studio, The Coach House, in 1972. Grant continued to produce other artists and release their records through his newly launched Ice label, but his own musical talents were seemingly left behind. It wasn't until 1977 when Grant finally released a record of his own, the Message Man album. It was three years in the making and a stunning about-face from his previous pop persona, even if "Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys" had suggested a change was imminent. Tracks like "Cockney Black," "Race Hate," and "Curfew" were politicized dark masterpieces laced with aggression and anger.

But the album also included some lighter moments, including "Hello Africa," which featured a sound that the media hadn't even invented a word for yet. Grant dubbed it "kaisoul," an amalgamation of kaiso (the traditional word for calypso) and soul. Caribbean legend Lord Shorty, the acknowledged inventor of this new crossover hybrid, labeled it solka. Neither term stuck, however, once the Trinidad and Tobago press came up with their own label: soca. But regardless of what it was called, the style was just one of many hybrids that Grant was entertaining.

Message Man may have proved a commercial failure, but that didn't dim the artist's vision for one second.

Two more years passed while Grant wrestled with its follow-up in the studio, composing, producing, and performing virtually the entire album himself. The end result was 1979's Walking on Sunshine, one of the greatest albums of the decade. While the B-side featured a clutch of seminal musical hybrids, the centerpiece of the album's A-side was "Living on the Frontline," a dancefloor classic that blended tough lyrics with an electronic sheen, a sense of optimism, and a funk-fired sound. Released as a single, the song roared up the British chart, while becoming a cult hit in U.K. clubs. Inexplicably, the album itself didn't chart at all, nor did its follow-up, 1980's Love in Exile. However, in the next year, Grant finally cracked the market wide open with Can't Get Enough, which finally breached the Top 40. His singles' success had continued uninterrupted across "Do You Feel My Love," "Can't Get Enough of You," and "I Love You, Yes I Love You." A phenomenal live album, Live at Notting Hill, was recorded in August 1981 during London's Notting Hill Carnival. The following year's Killer on the Rampage slew its way into both the British and American charts, where it landed at number ten. The album spun off "I Don't Wanna Dance," which topped the chart in the U.K., while the exhilarating "Electric Avenue," from his next album, Going for Broke, landed at number two on both sides of the Atlantic.

Nothing else would equal these dizzying heights. Three more singles followed by the end of 1984, but none managed to break into the Top 40. In the U.S., only one, "Romancing the Stone," actually made the chart, charming its way into a respectable berth just outside the Top 25. That was his final showing in the U.S. On both sides of the Atlantic, 1987's Born Tuff and the following year's File Under Rock were passed over by the record-buying public. However, the British gave the artist one last Top Ten hit in 1988 with "Gimme Hope Jo'anna," a highlight of his 1990 Barefoot Soldier album. Unfortunately, its 1992 follow-up, Painting of the Soul, went the way of its last few predecessors. 

By then, the artist had long ago left the U.K., having emigrated to Barbados a decade earlier. Even as his own career had taken off back in England, Grant was spending much of his time mentoring a new generation of soca talent. He opened a new studio, Blue Wave, and lavished most of his attention on it, which explains the gap in his output between 1984 and 1987. By the time "Jo'anna" had fallen off the chart, Grant was well on the way to creating his own mini-empire. Besides giving new stars-to-be a helping hand, Grant also moved into music publishing, specializing in calypso's legends. Over the years, Ice has thrilled the world by making the back catalog of multitudes of stars available: Lord Kitchener, Roaring Lion, and Mighty Sparrow, to name a few. And almost uniquely among Caribbean artists, Grant has maintained control over his own music, and Ice, of course, has kept it available. Across Grant's solo career, the artist has continued to experiment with different styles in ever-changing combinations. Pop, funk, new wave, reggae, Caribbean, African, and even country have all been melded into his sound. 1992's Painting of the Soul was heavy with island influences, while the next year's Soca Baptism is a collection of covers, from hits to obscurities, all dosed with a modern sound.

By this time, Grant was hard at work in the evolution of yet another hybrid style: ringbang. Many of the genre's elements are easily found in the artist's earlier recordings, from African rhythms to military tattoos, alongside soca itself and dancehall rhythms, many of the latter influenced by Grant's own previous work. The new style debuted in 1994 at the Barbados Crop Over festival. Since then, the style has continued to intrigue, but has yet to create the international success that it's always threatened. Much of this can be laid at Grant's own door, through a simmering dispute with other artists and the legal ramifications of the genre's trademark. A vociferous supporter of artists' rights, Grant first ran into trouble in 1996 when he demanded his label's artists receive adequate copyright fees from Trinidad and Tobabgo's Carnival. A heroic stance that infuriated the festival's organizers, this was quickly overshadowed by the public outcry over soca itself. As far as T&T was concerned, the inventor of soca was island native Lord Shorty, who announced its birth in 1978 with the Soca Explosion album. However, Grant insists otherwise, crediting his own "Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys" as the first-ever soca record. Needless to say, his public proclamations of this fact continue to infuriate T&T and other Shorty supporters. But politics aside, the greater factor may be in ringbang's trademark. Once Grant filed it, the word could no longer be used by other artists without express permission. A perusal of any soca, calypso, or chutney hits collection shows the importance of the use of the genre term to the actual song, and just how many titles feature the term. By preventing artists from using the word ringbang, few outside the Ice stable were willing to explore the genre.

Even so, Grant managed to organize the Ringbang Celebration 2000 as part of T&T's millennium festivities. The event, which went off without a hitch, created further ill will due to its price tag, a whopping 41 million (6.5 million dollars in U.S. currency). The artist himself performed two songs at the event.

In the new year, he recorded a new version of one of them, "East Dry River," while in Jamaica, appropriately enough in a ska style. The previous year, the artist released the Hearts & Diamonds album, with Reparation following in 2006. Grant continues to make an impact on both sides of the studio, with his music always an intriguing concoction of sound and his studio work equally innovative. Ice itself is equally instrumental in the music world, both in its preservation of past legacies and its attention to new artists.

via island mix backchat http://www.islandmix.com/backchat/threads/is-eddie-grant-the-true-creator-inventor-of-soca.247725/

[rumsoakedtattoos]

I love your tattoos, they look amazing 🤩 !! Do you have any tips for someone who's planning their first tattoo? I'm stuck on trying to decide on what I want and where I want it, especially since I wanna get a ton more and I'm not sure how they'd mesh together.

So, if you have a general idea of what you want I'd find an artist who is willing to help you decide what you think does and doesn't look good. Most importantly, speak up for yourself. This is going on you forever and if there's a detail you're not sure of speak up.

As far as the future tattoos meshing together, the only advice I can give is come up with a theme for whatever part of your body. Like, my right arm will be traditional american style, and my left is going to turn into a night sky/outer space theme. I will say though, as you get more and more you care less lol.

Can't wait to see your first tattoo!!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #133

“i closed my eyes and she slipped away.”

Do you wear a ring on your finger?  Yes, a friendship one with Sara. Do you expect to be married in the next two years?  There's a small chance I'd be engaged, but I doubt married. What is your favorite type of cookie?  Chocolate chip. Are you allergic to pollen?  I actually don't know if I am anymore??  So far this season, I haven't had any issues... Do you have more upper or lower body strength?  Lower like most females. Do you like hot tubs?  Yaaaaaas. Do you know anyone who is battling cancer?  Not currently, thank God. Have you ever donated money to a charity?  Yes. What was the last movie you’ve seen in theaters? Jumanji.  Excellent movie, so funny. Do you prefer Apple or Android?  Apple, but I have an Android currently. Do you like the color lime green?  Ye. Do you like the Silent Hill movies? First one's fantastic, second is a train wreck plot-wise.  I still like it, it's hard for me to not like something SH, but all things considered it's not a great movie. What movie scared you the most out of any other movies?  The only movie that's ever scared me is The Rite, but only because it played on a fear. Tell me something you’ve been made fun of for in the past.  Uhhhh... I'm sure there's something, but I can't remember. Do you support war?  Nope. Have you ever wanted to be on American Idol? When was this?  No. Do you like kissing lightly better than just making out?  No. You get a text from someone saying that they want to hang out - who would you most like it to be from?  Summer. Do you attend school, college, or university?  First I went to a community college, then a university. Name 5 things you don’t believe in.  1.) Destiny, 2.) Reincarnation (although I actually think it'd be quite cool...), 3.) Karma, 4.) Prayer actually affects anything (maybe), 5.) No free healthcare in America. If you could have any friend that you’ve lost back, who would you pick?  Megan. When was the last time you did something for the first time?  Listened to an audiobook. Do you have blinds in your bedroom?  Yes. When was the last time you had an interview? How did it go?  2016.  It went well, but I didn't get the job.  But now I look back and I'm glad lol. What was the most damaging relationship (romantic or not) that you’ve ever been a part of?  Jason. Who was the last person you cut out of your life? Do you regret it?  Colleen.  Nope. Who is the most attractive person you know personally? Not to be sappy, but the longer I date her, the more and more beautiful Sara becomes. Do you remember the first time you truly enjoyed sex? Or have you always?  He was good from the start. Have you ever done anything sexual in a car?  Maybe briefly make out while saying bye, but I dun remember for certain. What do you wish you had been better prepared for?  Adulthood. Do you know anyone with a semicolon tattoo?  Me. Who knows you best, excluding romantic partners?  My mom. The last news you got that shocked you, what was it, and was it good news or bad news?  My little sister may be developing depression.  Obviously awful news. If you have pets, who normally puts food and water in their dish?  Me or Mom. Do you organize the pictures on your computer into different folders or are they all just under “My Pictures”?  The latter. Do you think if someone is in a relationship, that it is acceptable to have sleepovers with other people of their preferred sex? Yes, so long you're not in the same bed. Would you shoot a gun if given the chance? If you’ve shot a gun before, how many different types of guns have you shot?  aajsfsjwoejieoqo NO. Do you feel uncomfortable sharing things like artwork or poetry you’ve written? Is it because you don’t think it’s good enough to show off or because it’s too personal?  OMFG YES I DON'T SHARE SHIT BECAUSE IT'S PERSONAL AND I GET EMBARRASSED TOO EASILY. For those who have anxiety, has anyone ever told you that you just need to calm down and actually face your fears? Were you insulted or frustrated by this comment? OH HI COLLEEN AND NO SHIT. Do you have any siblings you absolutely despise? Why do you despise them?  No. Do knives scare you? Is it from watching scary movies?  Yes, and no.  Their pain/torture capability is terrifying. Say lyrics from the song currently playing?  "It's more than a feeling, more than a feeling when I hear that old song they used to play." If you HAD to get a piercing (not ears) what would you get?  At this very moment, nose.  Once you can see my collarbones again, I'm getting them pierced. How many closets does your house have?
  Three. What has been your most epic cooking failure?
  Uhhhh maybe when I completely split a hot dog open in the microwave lmao. What was the last single item you spent over $100 on?
  A plane ticket. Have you ever climbed a chain-link fence?  Yes. What is your LEAST favorite Disney animated movie? I've never liked The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Who was the last person’s house you went to besides your own? Nicole and Allison's new place. Do you enjoy the birds' singing in the morning?  Yesssss<3 List these apple types from greatest to worst: green, red, yellow.  Red, yellow, green. On YouTube, who are two people you find hilarious?  GameGrumps are fucking hysterical, then one can probably guess Markiplier is an absolute hilarious goof to me. If you had to live in a palace, what would be the color scheme?  Black and pink because #aesthetic. Favorite dinosaur?  SPINOSAURUS. What is the best part of fall?  The colors. <3 Favorite style of hat? No fucking shame I love fedoras. How do you eat Oreos?  Split them apart to eat the center first.  Or dip them in milk.  Now I want Oreos. Name the first vine that you can think of. I cOuLd'Ve dRopPeD mY cRoIsSaNt. Beyonce vs Rihanna?  Beyonce is a Queen. What’s fake about you? Like extensions, fake nails, botox etc.  Hair color? Have you ever gotten into a Facebook fight?  Yup, with an ignorant woman regarding depression. What are your favorite smells? Lilac, honeysuckle, bakeries, coffee... Do you shave your pits?  Yes. Do you know anyone who has been on life support, and survived?  No. What light in your house was the last to have a bulb burn out?  Living room. Have you ever been in an abandoned house?  Yes. What is your favorite phase of the moon? Full. What season do you want to get married in?  Autumn. Besides the USA, what is your favorite country?  Maybe Scotland?  I wanna visittt. Would you rather go to Europe or Asia? Europe. Would you rather go to Africa or Australia?  Africa. Would you rather go to Mexico or Canada?  Canada. Are there such things as stupid questions?  Yes. Did you get in trouble for cussing on accident when you were a kid? Yes I literally yelled "HOLY SHIT" in the car lmao. What’s the highest you can count in a different language? 11 in German.  Don't remember 12... Where would you like to be buried?  I would rather be cremated and have a good bit of my ashes returned to the earth while my loved ones keep some. Do you think emo/scene hair is attractive? I'm fucking weak for that shit. Have you ever had yourself drawn in caricature?  No. Have you ever seen a ghost orb picture?  Yes. Do you think abortion should be illegal? No. How many keys are on your key-ring?  One. What are some piercings you want?  Collarbones, nose, TONS more in ears, maybe bellybutton once I'm a skinny legend again.  Maybe dermals in my lower back... maybe. Dogs or cats? Why?  Cats.  More chill, less maintenance. Do any of your pets have strange habits? Explain?  Teddy likes to dig and go in a thousand circles before lying down. Have you ever told an extremely inappropriate joke?  Lmao yes. What is your favorite non-traditional fruit? Pomegranate, probs. What's your favorite older film? The Outsiders. Aliens or unicorns?  Unicorns. Where did you meet your current or last significant other?  YouTube. Would you ever get a face tattoo? There's a small chance I'll get a small, red heart at the corner/below my left eye. If you asked your mom to describe you, what do you think she’d say? I've got a pretty good idea what she'd say: I'm very smart (yeah right, Mom), super creative, unique, and quiet. What is the one thing you'd most like to change about the world? LESS VIOLENCE. What are you most grateful for? My recovery, my girlfriend, my mom, my dad, my psychiatrist and therapist, my improving physical and mental health, my resilience... I have a lot to be grateful for. Who is the most interesting person you've ever met?  My Sara Jane. When do you love yourself most? When people tell me I help them. What would you most readily die for?  Sara. What single word do you hate most?  The "f" word regarding gays. Who in life have you felt the strongest need to protect? Sara. What would you most like to be remembered for after you die?  My mental endurance. What's the biggest surprise you've ever had in bed? Waking up because Jason was caressing my breasts. What is the most sacred thing in your life?  My mental health. Who have you most feared in your life? My dad.  Thank goodness that's not something I have to fear anymore. What was the quickest friendship you ever made? Maybe Priscilla. What single word would you use to most accurately describe your parents?  Dedicated. What is the worst word anyone ever used to describe you? A martyr, but not in the "I'll die for what I believe" way.

[paralleljulieverse]

Julie Andrews Fantasy LPs #9

Super-cool-Dame-Julie-sings-the-punk-songs-of-Sid-Vicious! Even though the sound of it is something quite suspicious, If you play it loud enough you’ll always sound seditious, Super-cool-Dame-Julie-sings-the-punk-songs-of-Sid-Vicious! Um diddle diddle diddle, um diddle oi! Um diddle diddle diddle, um diddle oi!

                           ____________________________________

When Julie Andrews was honoured with a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd Annual Grammys in 2011, media reports took considerable delight in the incongruous sight of the genteel Dame alongside fellow honorees, pioneering US punk band, The Ramones. Photos of Julie sandwiched between Tommy and Marky Ramone, the latter draping his bared, tattooed arm proudly around her shoulder, featured in online and print news stories around the world with commentaries typically drawing amused attention to the “diversity” of the year’s honorees.

Despite the apparent novelty of the odd juxtaposition of “Mary Poppins” and a hardcore punk rock band whose catalogue of hits include numbers like “I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”and “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment,” there is in fact something of a history of associations between Julie and punk rock.

One of the earliest recorded instances is a parody piece from 1980 by British comedian Mel Smith, made in collaboration with Queen drummer, Roger Taylor. Titled “Mel Smith’s Greatest Hits”, the song is a comic pastiche of the angry male punk anthems of the time with Smith growling about wanting to “jump up and down to my favourite sound...Julie Andrews Greatest Hits.” Elsewhere in the song, he snarls:

Julie drives me frantic Cos I'm a bit of an old romantic And she sounds so nice and she's so precise I'm in paradise with me Edelweiss

Released as a 7″ single, the front sleeve featured cover art of Smith dressed in full Adam Ant-style punk regalia, striking an air guitar pose in the middle of a bedroom bedecked with Julie Andrews memorabilia. The rear sleeve had a similar shot of Smith drooling in mock-lasciviousness over a poster of a beatifically smiling Julie. While clearly tongue-in-cheek, the Smith song signalled an irreverent collocation of Julie and punk culture that would find other, more authentic, expressions as well.

Indeed, in the very same year of 1980, a post-punk experimental outfit “The 49 Americans” released a self-titled EP with a brief track called, simply, “Julie Andrews (A Tribute)” (1980). Engineered by Andrew "Giblet" Brenner, “The 49 Americans” was a collaborative group that developed out of the London Musicians Collective in Camden (Reynolds, 187-188). Inspired by the DIY experimentalism of punk, the group placed a premium on unregulated improvisation with an open, fluid membership and a single rule that players had to swap instruments -- which could be anything from a piano to saucepan lids -- from number to number with the result that they’d often be performing with little or no technical proficiency. The “Julie Andrews” track was allegedly inspired after the group spent an evening watching tapes of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music and consists of a discordant version of “Do Re Mi” played on a children’s xylophone with non-verbal vocals, (Masters, 112). It was re-released as part of the group’s debut 1982 LP,  “Too Young To Be Ideal”, which was honoured in The Wire magazine’s list of “100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)” (Barker et al, 1998).

Other examples of Julie references in punk rock include: “Topless Mary Poppins”, recorded in 2004 by London-based Celtic punk group, Neck; the summarily titled “Julie Andrews” by the Liverpool pop-punk outfit, The Down and Outs, released as a limited run single in 2007; and, most recently, a 2017 release also called “Julie Andrews” by Noose, a self-described four piece rock punk band from Nottingham. Sporting lyrics like, “I wished my baby was like the girlies in the porno movies, But it turns out she was just like Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music,” these songs turn on a kind of shock tactic of mixing the sacred and the profane, arguably something of a stylistic signature of punk. 

Dick Hebdige (1979) famously theorises punk as a “revolting style” whose subcultural disaffection was expressed through a spectacular “bricolage” of appropriated cultural “signs” (106-112). The disordered cacophony of punk music or the riotous mish-mash of punk fashion effect a representational rebellion of “semantic disorder,” he asserts, wherein categorical boundaries are dissolved and ordinarily discrete elements are thrown together in perverse combinations that contravene received “rules” of taste and decency (90). Like a portrait of the Queen with a safety pin through her lip, the family-friendly wholesomeness of Julie Andrews was a resonant symbol of mainstream culture ripe for punk subversion.

There is however another, possibly more interesting, reading of punk’s incorporation of Julie Andrews as other than a simple target for  anti-establishment iconoclasm. In a fascinating article, Ruth Adams (2008) argues for punk, at least in its influential British forms, as part of a long history of populist English cultural dissent. In punk, she writes,“[b]its and pieces of both officially sanctioned and popular English culture, of politics and history were brought together in a chaotic, uneasy admixture...that arguably spot lit the very institutions that it nominally sought to destroy” (469-70). The Sex Pistols, in particular, are interpreted by Adams as “inheritors of the English music hall tradition -- the heirs to the crowns of Arthur Askey and Max Wall, operating outside the ‘legitimate theatre’ and characterized by clownish outfits, silly walks, smutty jokes and cocking a snook at the Establishment” (470).

Far from seeing them as antithetical opposites, this reading places punk and Julie Andrews on something of an artistic continuum -- albeit at divergent extremes -- with both drawing performative and professional energies from the riotous traditions of popular English carnivalesque and working-class musical theatre. Indeed, it’s instructive that the two music hall comics cited by Adams as historical precedents for the Sex Pistols -- Arthur Askey and Max Wall -- actually performed alongside Julie during her long juvenile career on the British variety circuit (Andrews, 150-51). Even after she made the leap to “legit” theatre and Hollywood stardom, the topsy-turvy irreverence of music hall continued to form an integral part of her oeuvre and persona, as evidenced from My Fair Lady to STAR! to Victor/Victoria, from Heartrending Ballads and Raucous Ditties to The Julie Andrews Hour to Julie and Dick at Covent Garden.

It’s possibly for this reason that, alongside the more predictable deployments of Julie as object of punk’s anarchic negationism, she also features as a subject of acknowledged admiration, even inspiration. This seems particularly true of female punk artists, many of whom regularly cite Julie as an important influence. Gina Birch, founding member of post-punk British band, The Raincoats, singles out Julie as a major formative inspiration (Reddington, 27), as does Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill (Juno, 89). In her memoir, Laurie Lindeen (2007), lead vocalist for 1990s grrl punk band, Zuzu’s Petals, even jokes:

“‘What women have influenced you?’ is a very broad question that we are asked every day. We yawn the usual: ‘Patti Smith, Chrissie Hynde, Deborah Harry, and Exene,’ when I should say, “Louisa May Alcott, Julie Andrews, and Carly Simon’” (202)

Pop superstar, Gwen Stefani, who rose to fame as lead singer of ska-punk band, No Doubt, makes no bones about her lifelong adoration of Julie Andrews. She loudly proclaims The Sound of Music as “her one true love” and is said to have cried with joy when Julie granted permission for her to riff vocals from “The Lonely Goatherd” for the 2007 hit single, “Wind It Up” (Apter, 27). Another current pop superstar, Lady Gaga -- who though not directly punk certainly draws heavily from traditions of punk rock -- is equally fulsome in her enthusiasm for Julie, as profiled in an earlier post here in the Parallel Julieverse.

All of which ultimately suggests that this imaginary LP of Julie singing the songs of the Sex Pistols is possibly not as far-fetched as it might at first seem! Oi!

Sources:

Adams, Ruth, 'The Englishness of English Punk: Sex Pistols, Subcultures, and Nostalgia.” Popular Music and Society. 31: 4 (2008): 469–88.

Andrews, Julie. Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. New York: Hyperion, 2008.

Apter, Jeff. Gwen Stefani and No Doubt: Simple Kind of Life. London: Omnibus Press, 2007.

Barker, Steve et al. “100 Records That Set The World On Fire (While No One Was Listening).” The Wire. 175, September 1998: 22-40.

Hebdige, Dick. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen, 1979.

Juno, Andrea, ed. Angry Women in Rock, Vol. 1. San Francisco: Juno Books: 1996.

Lindeen, Laurie. Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007.

Masters, Marc. No Wave. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007.

Reddington, Helen. The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era. London: Ashgate, 2007.

Reynold, Simon. Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. London: Faber and Faber, 2009.

© 2017, Brett Farmer. All Rights Reserved

[becauseithrewgasandamatchonher]

And you fucking do? You’re allowed to decide who is allowed to experience what and where for everyone on the planet? Language and clothing are as much a part of any cultural identity as a hai style. And only close minded assholes like you think they shouldn’t be experienced by anyone but the culture that made them.

In a general sense, I don’t get to decide the definition of cultural appropriation because I’m simply a college student who is studying it. None of my work has been tested against peer review from a cultural sense as a Black person if you aren’t Black I have more of a fucking say what is and isn’t cultural appropriation in regards to my own fucking culture. And even if we are both Black you don’t get to decide something isn’t cultural appropriation if it ignores the fucking definition!

But since you obviously have never taken the time to look up the definition of cultural appropriation lets give it a fucking look:

Cultural appropriation is “taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else’s culture without permission … when the source community is a minority group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways.” -  from Who Owns Culture?: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law by Fordham law professor Susan Scafidi

“Two ways in which cultural appropriation can be harmful are easily identified. The first sort of harm is violation of a property right … The second sort of harm is an attack on the viability or identity of the cultures or their members. Appropriation that undermines a culture in these ways would certainly cause devastating and clearly wrongful harm to members of the culture … Other acts of appropriation potentially leave members of a culture exposed to discrimination, poverty and lack of opportunity.” - from The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation (edited by Young and Brunk)

So please tell me where’s the cultural appropriation in learning a language? Last time I checked languages have been shared between people, now I’m not gonna ignore that some languages [at least english] have been forcibly driven onto people but languages have been shared so it wouldn’t fall under cultural appropriation.

I can talk about the harm of letting white folk and other non-Black PoC where dreadlocs. The use of dreadlocs has become culturally significant to our community in the sense that it’s Black people’s rejection of Eurocentric beauty styles that continuously bombard us. It’s a celebration of BLACKNESS and our hair and the deep connection we have to our fucking hair.

Not to mention when we as Black people try to wear our own fucking hairstyles we are demonized and discriminated against versus when others wear it they are praised even though whatever the hell is going on in their head is a cheap disgusting bastardization of dreadlocs.

Ya wanna know what cultural appropriation is? It’s black face and Native American Halloween costumes. It’s having the “Redskins” as a mascot, and getting a random Kanji that you can’t even read tattooed on your arm. It’s the complete erasure of historical context and the total disregard of oppression experienced and endured throughout history.

I already provided you with the definition so no, just no.

Ya wanna know what’s not appropriation? It’s immersing yourself on another culture respectfully. It’s learning the history and sharing the knowledge of another people. It’s understanding and respecting the origins of what you’re experiencing in a foreign culture, and why it is significant to them. It’s knowing that a bindi isn’t just a cool thing to wear, and learning the history and significance behind a Japanese Tea Ceremony before you take part in one. It’s taking time to understand the deeper meaning of a historical folk song, and realizing that you experiencing these things does not make them YOUR culture, it’s merely you learning about another cultures facets the respectful and correct way.

Even if you are doing all that in regards to dreadlocks you are still devaluing the point of us fucking wearing them AND no matter how fucking respectful you are as a non-Black person you still get treated better than we do for wearing our own fucking hairstyles. Like what you said can be true for a lot of things but NOT dreadlocks. Or for another non-Black cultural example no matter how respectful you are there is no respectful way for a non-NA to wear a fucking headdress. 

And no one, least of all a close minded fucktard like you has ANY right to tell ANYONE what they are allowed to try and honestly, appropriately experience. Least of all because you don’t feel their skin tone matches a hair style, that’s ethnic origin is openly debatable.

I mean from a moral standpoint and as one of the people who suffers from this as a Black person who is starting to grow dreads I can and do have the right to tell people that their actions contribute to cultural appropriation and therefore racism and therefore systematic oppression like what the fuck.

Also, this shit is not openly debatable. Y’all fucks don’t even bother trying to dig deeper and learn about this stuff. Like you’ve literally got people who are ACTUALLY descended from Vikings and Celts debunking this bullshit not to fucking mention there is so much stuff on tumblr that talks about this with fucking sources!

You want everything anyone can or can’t do sorted and labelled then you can put yourself in that corner, but you don’t have the right to demand that the rest if the world has to do the same. Because that’s a HUGE part of the whole “Make America Great Again” mindset that’s running about, and I’ll have no part of that.

I mean I have every right to demand people not contribute to CA and racism and systematic oppression and you have every right to refuse me but you’re gonna do so with the fucking understanding you contributing to these issues and are therefore no better than other fucking racist. 

Like I have no problem with cultural EXCHANGE which involves people willingly sharing culture in a non-harmful fucking way but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let anyone appropriate my culture and harm MY fucking people.

It is so funny and by funny I mean disgusting and racist that you are comparing the people of a culture that are having their shit appropriated and bastardized while being punished for wearing their own hairstyles calling for people to stop doing this shit to the racist rhetoric of Make America Great Again especially since people like myself are some of the ones targeted by this shit. 

You’re having a part in being a racist.

[child-of-feathersandwings-blog]

Appropriation and Me

I’m sorry for this, but I have to rant, and vent this out, cause I’m tired of seeing this everywhere I look and no one actually understands how this works, or what it actually means, and It’s driving me up the wall. This and the fact that it’s literally on everything, like what next if I take a shit the wrong way I’m gonna get in trouble cause that’s how someone else does it in another culture and I can’t do that, cause that’s what it’s turning into. And hate me all you wish, but holy hell in a hand basket this has to stop. So if you wanna see my rant below, go for it, but it’s a rant, it’s my opinion on it, and if you got something to say, be civil. 

PS: examples used are due to personal connection

Dear god the amount of explaining and concepts and ideologies behind this one thing is enough to blow someones brains out worse than a 16 gauge shotgun goes through rabbits. In other words, it just blows my mind. Now don’t get me wrong there are just some things one shouldn’t do, which is disrespect a culture, be it the colour of their skin, their religion, or just something that is specific to that culture. It’s just wrong to do. If you don’t know anything about a culture, just walk away from it, leave it alone, no touchy the culture. However there is a very real misconception about what is appropriation and what isn’t. Cultural Appropriation:  The unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another. Now I don’t see anywhere in that definition from the Oxford Dictionary  where it states that using something from another culture is the problem. The problem is not the use of what is being appropriated, but not giving credit where credit is due, and not understanding its origins and how its is to be used. Again if you do not know about the culture, stay away from it. Then again, other things like terms and words that are used to describe certain things, it depends all on context of what you are using. For example, Smudging is specifically a Native American term so using smoke cleansing would be more appropriate, but a dream catcher, though having roots in Native American tradition and practice, is a literal term for the object described. It catches dreams, therefore it is a dream-catcher. You can make it out of sticks and twine, add some trinkets and say “hocus pocus, sleepy brain focus, bad dreams are bad and good dreams are good, and only good dreams can enter my minds neighbourhood” (literally an on the spot rhyme) its still being asked to catch bad dreams and thus its intent is to... catch dreams, making it a... dream catcher. you can call it by 50 other names and its still a bloody dream catcher. Having one or making one, does not make it a bad thing, calling it what it is, is not a bad thing. Saying you have no idea what its used for or the background behind it you just like it cause its pretty makes it a bad thing. Art is another one, especially for tattoos, there are styles and designs that have a very specific style to them, notably, Tribal, Hawaiian, Native American, etc. Now here’s the thing, Hawaiian, Native American and a few others, have a very specific design aspect and you can always tell when its done the right way, and the wrong way. Tribal, is a term used for a specific style of design, much like traditional and new wave, it can also be used to describe a Tribes own style of design. Mandala is another one with the same concept, it is a term for a specific design style but also used as a traditional sacred design. With both Mandala and Tribal, you can always tell when the design has been done properly to portray its correct heritage and meaning or when the artist has produced it from their own concept using the style it is named for. Using these art styles is neither wrong and should not be considered wrong for the person to have. If a person were to get say a Hawaiian tattoo in the specific style of Hawaiian tattoo design and was disrespectful towards its meaning, then its wrong, if its a bold lined with little dots and a gem wolf, done in a tribal style of the artists own hand, its neither disrespectful nor is it appropriating a culture, it is what it is. Be upset when its disrespectful, not when a person knows what it is they’re doing. If someone goes out and gets/makes one of those jingle dresses (I don’t know the name, I’m sorry, I just call them jingle dresses cause they jingle) that Native women and men wear while dancing, cause they like the look and cause of the sound, be mad and say something, not because they use a term from another culture, not because they own something from another culture, or do something or wear something. If you don’t know if they know anything about it, ask don’t just assume they are doing it because they are privileged and trying to take it. Some cultures, would rather we learn about them by doing. For example, the First Nations tribes of Canada, you can take a class and learn the culture and languages, partake in powwows, I even asked a Black foot lady (that’s the name of the tribe) if she could show me how to say see you again in Black foot, so I could speak to her in her language, and she was very happy that I asked. The Asian culture for a long time took a large interest in Anne of Green Gables enough to visit PEI and learn more about the history of the island and its culture. Many people that I know take classes from Japanese teachers to learn not only the language, but the culture also, and frequently speak and follow aspects of the culture. Most people of these cultures, don’t actually mind others learning about and using terms and languages from their culture as long as we are respecting where it’s originally from. So stop getting hurt over someone using a term, or having something from another culture, or doing something similar, they may know exactly what they’re doing. So a bit of advice, ask questions or shut up, and stop being a bunch of whiny brats who get hurt over everything. There are worse things in this world, like child abuse and molestation and animal abuse. 

[nofomoartworld]

[NSFW] Kitsch Meets Cat Lactation in Tslil Tsemet's Giant Oil Paintings

In the late 19th century, Southern California attracted misfits, idealists, and entrepreneurs with few ties to anyone or anything. Swamis, spiritualists, and other self-proclaimed religious authorities quickly made their way out West to forge new faiths. Independent book publishers, motivational speakers, and metaphysical-minded artists and writers then became part of the Los Angeles landscape. City of the Seekers examines how the legacy of this spiritual freedom enables artists to make creative work as part of their practices.

Childhood Memories. All images courtesy of the artist.

As a kid growing up in Nahariya, Israel, artist Tslil Tsemet wasn't breast-fed. Curious about how it felt, she and her older sister decided to use drinking straws in order to try to drink milk from a stray cat who just had kittens. It didn't work, but the amusing yet creepy experience remained with the artist and influenced her body of work as an adult. Just like her unusual memory, Tsemet's art is at once weird, imaginative, and disturbing—serving as a commentary on the delicate yet crucial balance between innocence and cruelty.

DNA

Tsemet's (mostly) large oil paintings have been described as everything from surreal and visionary to tactless and kinky. The artist herself isn't sure what to call her style, vaguely describing it as "a sort of realism." So rather than try to define it for others, Tsemet invites viewers to better define it for themselves. However it's labeled, her oeuvre clearly has shades of lowbrow mixed with a hefty dose of 21st century allegory, reminiscent of the work of Alex Gross, for whom Tsemet worked as an intern after moving to Los Angeles two years ago.

Green Carpet

Inspired by different cultures, religions, mythologies, and philosophies, Tsemet's paintings come from the artist's inherent need to illustrate what she sees in her mind. "My thoughts and wonders about life are always interpreted in visual metaphors and images," she tells Creators. "It's painting, but it's never just about being pretty or doing things to satisfy the viewer. It's much more conceptual. I like to create art that is stimulating many parts of the brain at the same time: that is funny, disgusting, attractive, twisted, sad, happy, scary, mysterious, confusing, beautiful, and ugly — just like life."

No Free Meals

The artist attributes much of her creative force to being female, and the idea that society requires women to fulfill certain roles. "In my art, I get to break many walls and do whatever the fuck I want, and say whatever I think," she explains. "Many of my works are there to start a conversation and ask questions. I think it's more interesting and challenging for the viewer this way."

Notes from the Inner Child 1

After growing up in the northernmost coastal city in Israel near the border of Lebanon, Tsemet earned a degree in Fine Arts at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. "Many of my teachers in art school told me [during] the final semester's critiques that I should go to the west coast," Tsemet recalls. "There is a lot of censorship about culture and art in Israel—like in many other places in the world—and California is much more open."

Tsemet relocated to Tel Aviv before eventually settling in the Golden State, and she currently works as a sculptor and tattoo artist, in addition to building her career as a painter. From her experience so far, Tsemet believes that the galleries in Los Angeles are comparatively inviting. "They are more willing to look at my work and to give me an honest opinion," she says. "They seem to be way more open to present weird stuff. I'm deeply in love with the art scene here, and very grateful about how welcoming it has been to my work so far."

Alex and Ronan

Captivated by LA's singular culture, Tsemet finds herself constantly exposed to different perspectives and techniques, which fuels her creativity. "I studied fine art in Israel, where there is more emphasis on abstract and video art. So personally, for me, it's great that in Los Angeles I get to learn more technical tools about painting and colors. I feel like I'm still in my beginning here, and that my first year in LA was an introduction to American culture for me in so many ways. This city is a giant mix of all kinds of cultures and beliefs. I just keep getting more and more inspiration here."

Check out more of Tsemet's remarkable work below.

Circumcision in Space

Ever After

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Tsemet's solo show Outliers, curated by Dulce Stein, opened at the Neutra Institute Gallery & Museum March 11. Tsemet also has paintings on view in the High Priestess group show at Art Share L.A. through April 2. Follow Tslil Tsemet on Facebook and Instagram, and visit her website here.

Related:

'Antisocial Network' Oil Paintings Address the Irony of Alienation in the Age of Social Media

Movies and Memes Meet in Abstract-Neosurrealist Paintings | City of the Seekers

Queer Femme Fatales Redefine Traditional Portraiture | City of the Seekers

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