Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 01:00:07 -0700
From: Joshua Houk <jlhouk-AT-mindspring.com>
Subject: New Revised Edition of Berkman's "ABCs of Anarchism"


I hope the dry title of this email doesn't preclude y'all from opening it, for
this is simply the most delightfully baffling thing I've ever come across. And
that includes Fred Lane.

Turn off your computer, run out immediately, and buy the newly released CD
single by Negativland/Chumbawamba, entitled, suitably, "The ABCs of Anarchism".

...or at least tape it off someone who has it...

The key concept. Some lousy British pop band collaborates with some lousy
American noise band to make three songs revolving around the lousy theme of
anarchism.

The first song is entitled, well, "The ABCs of Anarchism" and true to its name,
Berkman's introduction to his book of the same name constitutes the main source
material. Well, that, and "Tubthumping", the Spice Girls, the Teletubbies, the
M*A*S*H theme song, Noam Chomsky, the Sex Pistols, Grandmaster Flash, Doris
Lessing, talk radio, PBS...

Second is about smelly water and your cup of joe. Perplexing, fer sure, unless
you read the liner notes of the CD, of which I have this excerpt...

<<"What dat?" asked Tipsy. "Multinational corporation," answered Palsy Walsy.>>

Thus proving that Andy is the most prescient persona on this list when he stated
that the tubbies had anarch leanings....

Third is a short remix of the first song, and showing Negativland's renown love
of copyright law, it's called "(C) is for Stupid".

(Oh, the freaking coincidences! Negativland was sued in 1992 by Island Records
for N's "U2" single, which sampled a lot of, you guessed it, U2. The -AT--list
coincidence? Island was tipped off by... REM's lawyer!!!)

Check out http://negativland.com/nmol/cds.html for more details. You can hear a
sample in Realaudio via www.cdnow.com fer each song. (Ha ha... they subtly
sampled the Beastie Boys' "So Whatcha Want".)

Chumba I don't care for normally, but Negativland has always been a favorite of
mine. This CD is something else. Pick it up. Trust me.

joshua h