Unrepentant Marxist and former linchpin of revered Swedish anarcho-punks the Refused, Dennis Lyxzen now heads The (International) Noise Conspiracy. On their kickass, Rick Rubin-produced major-label debut, Armed Love, the Conspiracy wed soul-fueled, poppy garage with rumbling punk and witty sloganeering. “Bigger Cages, Longer Chains” and “Capitalism Stole My Virginity” are songs more than treatises — though the lyric sheet sports footnoted references to French philosophers! (Boy, the kids sure love that.) Lyxzen (dig his swell “solo” Lost Patrol albums) gives MT his nagging monomanias.
5. Ny Våg (Lyxzen’s new label): I know it is funny to wish the downfall of the record industry and then be setting up a label. But you know, sometimes you just need to do it, DIY.
4. Support your library: My obsession lately has been biographies. I just love reading about people like Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Neil Young, Manson and Pol Pot.
3. Documentaries: Some days you are just too lazy to read and then movies like The Cooperation, One Day in September, The Weather Underground, Dig, etc., come well in hand.
2. The Regulations: Their self-titled debut is the best thing to come out of Sweden in years, and the best Black Flag/Circle Jerks record in 20 years. Great.
1. Snake handler: Political struggles take on many shapes. The record industry has never cared about the artists before and it’s a joke that they claim they are doing it now by suing 14-year-old kids. After years of being bloated and self-centered, maybe the record industry will crumble.
Saturday, Dec. 17, at Alvin’s, 5756 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-831-4577.
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