This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

Disturbed is how one should be

"Ten Thousand Fists"
Disturbed
2005

Disturbed is touring with System of a Down in heavy-metal "Ozzfest" and that is good, because System of a Down is politically progressive to the point of working with Tom Morello in politics.

This album is about the best we can expect from the monopoly capitalist music industry. It's about 75% narcissism and 25% political and social commentary. The key is in the pronouns. "Me" and "you" are the pronouns of narcissism in the songs indicating some kind of vague inter-persynal conflict.

If Amerika had a revolution by itself without a proletarian invasion, it would look like the album cover. A ghoulish and symbolic black face of death in chains depicted with white arm raised with a fist is the center. The rest of the mostly white people are also obviously decaying with moth-eaten clothes. One is literally a skeleton in the back of the crowd. Although one fat persyn is up front, an Amerikan Revolution at this time would inevitably redistribute the super-profits among Amerikkkans. As such, an Amerikan Revolution right now would have even more fat people than the album cover shows.

So the album art was promising and so are the song titles, "Ten Thousand Fists," "Deify," "Sons of Plunder," "Decadence," "Sacred Lie," "Avarice" and "Land of Confusion." The Phil Collins version of "Land of Confusion" is one of the few good songs he did. It is literally a marching song calling forth a generation to social engagement, though we do not agree that the problem is "not enough love to go 'round."

"Ten Thousand Fists" (raised in the air) is vaguely rebellious. "Deify" is about persynality cults and realizing "how much you've stolen from me." Thus far, the album sounds like good anarchist-style individualism.

"Sons of Plunder" appears to be talking about musicians doing unoriginal music, but then the song develops a little more in a potentially political direction.

"Decadence" is again an internal psychological take. "Decadence isn't easy/is it?"

"Sacred Lie" is an anti-war song. Again it fits well into anarchist thinking.

Finally at the end it all comes out in "Avarice," where we hear that "politics and evil/all one and the same." Such is a view of some anarchists who believe what they are doing is creating social change without politics. Some even believe they are convincing people one-at-a-time to take up cooperative living necessary for anarchism, with no coordinated assault on the state necessary and no politics.

To the extent that people believe there needs to be a psychology of political or social engagement, they may also believe that this album attempted such a project. If so, however, we would have to say the psychological or internal approach to anarchism is a failure.

Disturbed has a consistent heavy-metal sound.

Notes: http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002540646

MIM has explained that one might even "like" this music while knowing rationally that there is something wrong with it, maybe even profoundly wrong and evil. Being a Maoist means being a revolutionary scientist and that means having the ability to question everything that we like.

See MIM Theory on feminism and gender issues.