Antillectual

In this second episode we present (surprise surprise!) the second song of our new album: Buyer’s Remorse, a bittersweet song about consumerism. The song features a good friend of ours doing guest vocals. People who saw us at the Groezrock fest will know who. This weeks Special Guest is David Finke. He runs Fairtademerch.com, prints all of our merch and is the designer of the artwork for our album. Curious to know what he has to say about this song? Please read on, enjoy the song and feel free to share it with your friends.

Skip to: Special Guest / Lyrics / Liner Notes

David Finke says

Could there be a better time to drop some lines on this song? Well I guess any time is right, but this song kinda sums it all up. These days BP are the lucky ones to have their s**t in the public focus, but the list of these companies is long. Outsourcing for cheap labor & less restrictions on their ways of operating, massive environmental pollution, private armed security services to protect their profitable factories in the world’s poorest countries. These people indeed put their hunger for benefit above others’ lives & get away with it.

Everybody knows & in the end it only takes one well-done shiny commercial campaign plus a friendly image and we’re most likely to continue buying their stuff. I guess it’s all thanks to our lame asses and our comfort in indifference that circumstances like these even exist…

I’m really beginning to sound desperate here, eh? The bottom line is I truly believe that even a small difference IS a difference! Don’t let yourself get too depressed when you’re thrown back to the fact that this planet is inhabited by 1% greedy opinion-making hate mongers and 99% careless population (okay, now I’m desperate). It’s all about using our heads and being aware of how and what we consume, what we believe in and what we’d better reject.

I got to know Tom, Willem and Riekus (and Yvo, even though only through some mails) as an outstandingly active band with a whole lot to say and to convey to their audiences. Their live shows kick ass and Tom doesn’t even need a mic to burst your eardrums! And just in case you got a little skeptic about consuming things, buying this LP definitely is a good thing to do, please trust me on that one. I’m really grateful to be given the opportunity to do the artwork for this record. Support these guys & go see ’em live!

Lyrics

Stop calling me sick
This is not the disease I meant
Healthcare for all
This is not the cure I need
Swallow it whole
Who doesn’t want to become a doctor
I will tongue your pills
Don’t want to be a healthy consumer

Built to resist
Challenge everything
I can’t believe it’s not out yet, how come we buy it, time after time
Maybe we’re born with it, maybe it’s make-believe, but I’m lovin’ it

I object, practically and principally
Supported by overpriced products and underpaid temp jobs
I hope our backs didn’t hurt your knives

On your profit crusade
Selling the biggest dwarf alive
Despise the converted
Selling the smallest giant alive
Where is our money?
Bailing out all the sinners
Where is our lobby?
What happened to our voice, our vote?

Where dreams begin
Let’s make things better
The best a man can get
Make the most of now
Impossible is nothing
Just do it, yes we can
Because you’re worth it
Be all that you can be

Liner Notes

Have you ever regret a purchase? Maybe you didn’t appreciate the quality of what you bought, or you were tricked into buying something you didn’t really need after all? The media (unconsciously) persuade us to become “healthy consumers”, maintaining a vibrant economy. But healthy for who and what? Us, or the economy?
When you buy a product you support the company that produces it, its methods of production, its distribution and marketing. This support is not only financial support, but also moral approval. And not only for that one company: the whole process of commercial production, distribution and promotion exists because of our support. We keep them healthy, even though they like to make us believe it’s the other way around.
Are light cigarettes healthy? No, not smoking is better. Are “sales” good for your wallet? No, not buying stuff you don’t need is better. Are “sustainable products” good for the environment? No, not buying stuff you don’t need is still better.
Without our support as buyers and workers this process would not be able to persist. Would that be a revolution? Yes. Would that require revolutionary actions? Not really: just don’t buy things from companies or brands that you think don’t have the right policies when it comes to the environment, the treatment of workers or animals. Just think about what you buy, from whom. It will make a difference.

Guest vocals by Heleen Tichelaar of Midnight Menace – check them out!

That’s it for this week, folks. Next week we’ll be back with a song some of you may already know. And a new Special Guest from the sunny South. Stay tuned!

Continue Reading

In this first one of 12 weekly episodes, we present the first song off our new record “Start From Scratch!”: Every Crisis Is a Moral Crisis, with lyrics, liner notes and a sneak peek of the artwork. Greg Rekus, singer and guitarist of Winnipeg Canada’s High Five Drive and day job sound engineer, is our guest this week. The first time I (Riekus) met him was a midnight encounter in a Paris gay bar, don’t ask! We got to know each other better when High Five Drive and Antillectual toured the UK, Belgium, France and our home country this April. In this week’s episode, Greg talks about the sound of our record, veggie beef and Uma Thurman. Confusing, isn’t it? Read on, figure out what Greg is about, enjoy the song and give us your feedback.

Skip to: Special Guest / Lyrics / Liner Notes / Artwork preview / Confirmed labels

Greg Rekus says

One of my favourite elements of Antillectual is the guitar work. This song is packed with tasty little riffs and guitar parts that ignite the impulse to reach for a guitar and attempt to decode the combination of fingering, palm muting, picking and other assorted tricks Willem hides up his frayed hoodie sleeves. The lyrics hit you right away like an anthem you had on the tip of your tongue but just couldn’t spit it out. “Bring it on! Let’s start from scratch!”. Hear it once and you are singing it immediately. The recording is big. Huge guitar tones, gritty, beefy (veggie beef of course) bass sounds, nice crack to the snare. Riekus’ drum sounds are killer. They don’t have the super triggered, robotic sound that some people were sure was the key to good records several years ago.

High five drive played with them live a bunch this past April. Many bands just aren’t the same live as on record or vice versa. Either the record is lacking the energy of a band losing their shit on stage or the live show is missing the precision and polish of a good recording. Antillectual is one of those rare bands that straddle that line of energetic live performance while maintaining the tightness usually reserved exclusively for wet knots and Uma Thurman costumes. I’m super pumped on this recording and can’t wait to share the stage with them again!

Lyrics

Bring it on
Let’s start from scratch

We need a reality check
Armed with second opinions
Not afraid to use them
Now it is time, time for plan B

My First Crisis
This is not a drill
Too true to be good
Think outside the box, it’s time for plan B

Every crisis is a moral crisis
Now we can become what we want to be
Let’s start from scratch

The system broke
Repairing is not possible
Replacing the only option
Recycling what is useful

Now the dust has settled
It’s up to us
We want regime change

Let’s start from scratch

Liner Notes

We have reached another breaking point in history. The current financial crisis has made an enormous impact on so many people that it seems things are going to change. If things are going to change, we have to make sure they change for the better. Political and financial systems are extremely slow when it comes to change. People, on the other hand, can change their ideas and behavior overnight.
Whether a crisis is about the financial world, immigration, the role of the media and youth culture, how to treat whistle blowers, animals, political themes in general, or the upcoming influence of “new” powers like China and India; all crises should lead to an evaluation of how we deal with these topics in the future. What we think is right and wrong about it. What moral standards should apply for any of these topics. Every crisis is a moral crisis.
Now that the old balance is unstable it is time to tip it over and install a new balance. This is the time where people are up for trying new, better ideas. Now we can be the architects of our own world. For real change to occur, we need more than just a new messiah. We need people to believe in themselves and each (each!) other instead of a new president or a new financial system to improve the quality of life.
We should not be afraid to take a closer look at things when it gets hot under our feet. There is a lot to improve in the world. If we want this crisis, and more importantly the reaction to this crisis, to be fruitful, it is up to us to give directions. So bring on these crises and take those chances. Let’s start over, let’s start from scratch.

Artwork preview

Artwork by David Finke of FairTradeMerch

Confirmed Labels so far:

Discos Rayados Records (Spain)
Effervescence Records (France)
Infected Records (Portugal)
Lockjaw Records (United Kingdom)
Shield Recordings (Benelux)
Square of Opposition Records (USA)
No Reason Records (Italy)
5 Feet Under Records (Scandinavia)

That’s it for this week’s album preview. We’ll be back next Monday with the second song: Buyer’s Remorse. Expect some candy-sweet guest vocals and another Special Guest.

Continue Reading