Reclaim the Streets - what happened??

[Blagsta]

There was no gabba played at the Brum RTS. Acid techno and hard techno, but no gabba.

Although, tbf, Heretic could bang the techno out pretty hard!

 

[laptop]

me too, do you think we've been laying low long enough to regain the elements of surprise?

Quite soon, I think

Though I rather expect it to be people who were conceived at the M41 afterparty who come up with the surprises

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

erm nope, not at all, the vast majority of that style of music at that time was being produced, and released by artists and labels that were linked directly with the RTS scene, and had the same or similar DIY ethos as RTS was espousing. A few of the records that got played were also probably on major labels, but this would be the minority.

If it was RnB getting played, the vast majority of the music would be from artists on major labels, with very very little available on small scale diy labels.

Most acid techno doesn't have a message, except that saying ketamine is great.

free spririt has a good point you know, Laurie Immersion and the Liberators and Gizelle and one of the Desert Storm(?) rigs were all involved at the start, London Acid City really did feel like where it was at. Acid techno was a definite backdrop and as much as i love listening to other music, you can't getaway from the fact that it energised people, before k came along and fucked tings up royally....

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

It wasn't just the cops.

I was at J18 and some absolute cunt toytown anarchists in their little black hoodies and masks started randomly lobbing bottles about. The bottles were bouncing off people, or smashing against walls with the shattering glass spraying the crowd

There was a woman with a small child next to me and she was in tears, she was so scared.

It seemed like all the humour and innovation was fast draining out of the day to be replaced by twats hell bent on pointless vandalism and, err, 'smashing the system'. Or a nearby window. Or scraping someone's car. Anyone/anything would do.

I'm not going to disagree with what you remember but i would point out too that this was the party when the cops basically ran over some young women in a riot van, there was baton charges that provoked a great deal of anger and the stockbrokers in their jackets had been joining in with the fun until it got quite heavy. I didn't enjoy J18, it was when the sense of fun got lost and suddenly it all became very confrontational. And boys is black masks, for all the problems, were essential in basically getting the space on the streets, ime.

 

[editor]

And boys is black masks, for all the problems, were essential in basically getting the space on the streets, ime.

Maybe some of them were - I didn't see it - but the cunts near me were just mindless cowardly morons.

Seeing that woman with her kid in tears because of their stupid actions was when the fun really went out of it for me that day.

And your time line is confused: the tossers were lobbing bottles way before the woman got hit.

Horrible picture here: http://www.urban75.org/j18/Img/j18_15.jpg
Report here: http://www.urban75.org/j18/j18_r6.html

PS I used to go out with the girl who was charged with attempted murder that day!

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

Maybe some of them were - I didn't see it - but the cunts near me were just mindless cowardly morons.

Seeing that woman with her kid in tears because of their stupid actions was when the fun really went out of it for me that day.

And your time line is confused: the tossers were lobbing bottles way before the woman got hit.

Horrible picture here: http://www.urban75.org/j18/Img/j18_15.jpg
Report here: http://www.urban75.org/j18/j18_r6.html

PS I used to go out with the girl who was charged with attempted murder that day!

If you remember, there was a right mix-up of party people, footie fans, hunt sabs, all the CJA people as well as loads of random ravers, then a confused bunch of masked-up young uns. i'm not condemning the people who do that cos lately, and beforehand, you've needed people to stand up for everyone. unfortunately, and almost inevitably, that means there'll be an idiot or 2, and that's without agents provocateurs, which you either accept or become deeply paranoid after a while. but i've seen chelsea and millwalll fans getting stuck right in and doing everyone proud at these things and if you believed the stereotypes, that wouldn't happen. but it did, i saw it.

 

[editor]

But these were like little 17 year olds who weren't 'standing up' for anyone.
They were just being arseholes and the protest was all the worse for them being there. They threw bottles, people got hit by the shattering glass and the they ran away and hid in the crowd.

Wankers.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

But these were like little 17 year olds who weren't 'standing up' for anyone.
They were just being arseholes and the protest was all the worse for them being there. They threw bottles, people got hit by the shattering glass and the they ran away and hid in the crowd.

Wankers.

I think we got the picture already.

Good night

 

[editor]

I think we got the picture already.

Can't I rant a little bit more?

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

Can't I rant a little bit more?

Feel free, i've got one more beerio to go

 

[editor]

Feel free, i've got one more beerio to go

Aw. I've lost my momentum and run out of rant now.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

Aw. I've lost my momentum and run out of rant now.

S'old age innit I got the same ting meself.......i generally reclaim the armchair these daze

 

[free spirit]

But I'm not talking about pop, Oasis etc. Not all r'n'b is commercial pop music. What I'm saying is that there is room for eclectic music. R'n'b can fit in a set with reggae, hip hop, funk, soul etc. Hip hop, reggae, soul and funk have produced some quite subversive records in their time. I want DJ's and crews to have some imagination with what they play. Heck, I'm not a great DJ but even I can play a set that spans from Sister Sledge to KRS1, that incorporates punk and soul. The free party scene can be very narrow minded with music sometimes and I don't like that.

ok, so other than the RnB bit, which I entirely disagree with you about, I don't think there'd have been any problem with a rig turning up playing hiphip, reggae, funk, soul style stuff. IIRC there quite often was a 12 volt bike pa kicking around playing that kind of stuff anyway.

point is though that it's a DIY thing innit, you want that sort of music at RTS, then go off and sort it out - don't expect someone else to do it then complain when it doesn't happen.

btwI love the way we seem to be talking about this as if RTS is still happening... I do prefer to think of it as just sleeping rather than defunct

 

[editor]

On some Critical Masses, I've heard RAAAWCK blasting out from a cycle trailer and no one seemed to complain.

free spirit: yep. RTS is gone and it ain't coming back again - least not it any form recognisable to how it was. That's a real shame too: they were some of the best parties ever - the M41 event was awesome.

 

[Blagsta]

free spririt has a good point you know, Laurie Immersion and the Liberators and Gizelle and one of the Desert Storm(?) rigs were all involved at the start, London Acid City really did feel like where it was at. Acid techno was a definite backdrop and as much as i love listening to other music, you can't getaway from the fact that it energised people, before k came along and fucked tings up royally....

Oh yeah, I already admitted he has a point. Our rig was playing acid techno at that time, we were the first crew to bring that sound to Birmingham. However, this thread is rather Londoncentric. The first RTS in Birmingham in 95 had a pub rock/rhythm and blues (old meaning) band playing from the back of a truck!

Anyhow, we were talking about what music could be played now...not then.

 

[Blagsta]

ok, so other than the RnB bit, which I entirely disagree with you about, I don't think there'd have been any problem with a rig turning up playing hiphip, reggae, funk, soul style stuff. IIRC there quite often was a 12 volt bike pa kicking around playing that kind of stuff anyway.

point is though that it's a DIY thing innit, you want that sort of music at RTS, then go off and sort it out - don't expect someone else to do it then complain when it doesn't happen.

btwI love the way we seem to be talking about this as if RTS is still happening... I do prefer to think of it as just sleeping rather than defunct

We seemed to have wondered off the point - I'm not complaining about something not happening for a hypothetical RTS that isn't happening. I'm complaining about narrow minded musical attitudes.

 

[Blagsta]

On some Critical Masses, I've heard RAAAWCK blasting out from a cycle trailer and no one seemed to complain.

free spirit: yep. RTS is gone and it ain't coming back again - least not it any form recognisable to how it was. That's a real shame too: they were some of the best parties ever - the M41 event was awesome.

Yep. That M41 RTS was one of the best days out ever.

 

[editor]

Yep. That M41 RTS was one of the best days out ever.

It had the lot: a strong, focussed political message, an audacious action, humour, innovation, barely a whiff o'trouble, bags of fun for all the family and the joy of completely wrongfooting the police.

Planting trees in the concrete by drilling under the cover of the giant ball gowns was an act of absolute genius.

It was an awesome day out.

 

[Blagsta]

You can see me in one of the videos, sat on top of the Unsound truck, wearing an orange t-shirt.

 

[free spirit]

We seemed to have wondered off the point - I'm not complaining about something not happening for a hypothetical RTS that isn't happening. I'm complaining about narrow minded musical attitudes.

If it's decent underground music with a bit of bite then I'd be happy, in fact I'd be up for sorting a non acid techno rig should an rts ever happen again

 

[editor]

As an aside, how many people do you think would have turned up for something like this ten years ago?
http://www.urban75.org/photos/protest/starbucks-protest.html

 

[free spirit]

I'm not sure we ever even managed any actual amplified music at the 2 newcastle rts attempts due to some slightly comic mistakes in setting up the pa (standing there holding the decks going 'where the fucks the table' only to spot the table sat at the other side of the road etc), plus not enough numbers to protect it from the police.

It mostly ended up being a load of peeps dancing around to some drumming, the odd sax, a guitar and some random beatboxing when the police had snaffled the instruments.

was all good fun though, and we always got the rig back and even the tripod.... lock up sergeant 'is this your scafolding I keep tripping over? can you take it with you please or I'll be tripping over it all year...'

 

[free spirit]

free spirit: yep. RTS is gone and it ain't coming back again - least not it any form recognisable to how it was. That's a real shame too: they were some of the best parties ever - the M41 event was awesome.

nooooooo - say it ain't so

 

[Dan U]

the M41 event was awesome.

i'll never forget that day.

by pure luck my friends and i were some of the first people to run up the motorway. when the curtain came back on the truck and the tunes started blaring and everyone went to help the stuff coming over the wall was amazing.

there is a fantastic panoramic pic on the net somewhere but i cant remember where

 

[Nixon]

Ok, 10 learning experiences for you, off the top of my head:

1) it can be fairly straightforward to organise single issue political events initially and create impacts that far outweigh the effort needed to create that action.
2) it is a good thing to do 'politics' in different ways that attract the attention of people who would otherwise run a mile from anything political - see the Westway RTS, for eg, whereby many of the local residents from along the M40 came along and joined in and enjoyed their area without fumes and noise and traffic.
3) music is a rallying point for people, always has been, always will be (see the Samba band now as mentioned before).
4) surprise is your biggest ally. taking the piss completely isn't far behind.
5) too many cooks can spoil the broth, when making and taking decisions.
6) joining forces with other sympathetic people is obviously worthwhile (see the Trafalgar demo with the dockers and others).
7) you will be tolerated for a while, then if you become too good, you'll be stamped on, repeatedly.
8) external forces, issues and motivations change over time, which is why political bodies need to evolve or die. RTS was about reclaiming the streets for people primarily, making people open their eyes a bit and think about where they were living and how. It spawned many more offshoots and in that sense, simply cannot be held to have failed.
9) infiltrators, egoists, arseholes are, unfortunately, a fact of life.
10) make it fun and people want to participate, become dogmatic and turn into a swappie.

good points..good thread.

i wasn't around when this was all gwanning so i can't say much.i just think it's a shame the group lost it's focus.however a lot of good seems to have evolved out of it.

reclaim the future is about nowadays though.it's not the same,but it's got similar ethics and they throw a raw party

 

[Dan U]

reclaim the future is about nowadays though.it's not the same,but it's got similar ethics and they throw a raw party

they do indeed.

 

[Blagsta]

If it's decent underground music with a bit of bite then I'd be happy, in fact I'd be up for sorting a non acid techno rig should an rts ever happen again

Could you make a list of idealogically sound music? Just so as I know, like.

 

[free spirit]

Could you make a list of idealogically sound music? Just so as I know, like.

I'm trying to fucking agree with you, you daft radgee.

funk, soul, hip hop (though I'd prob steer clear of the more bling stuff), reggae, dub, electro, breaks, dubstep, punk, ska, ragga, doowop, jive, house, jungle, drum & bass.

basically anything that'll get people dancing, has a bit of attitude and doesn't sound like the sound track to daytime commercial radio / galaxy would be ok by me.

I'd still have a techno rig as well if possible mind

 

[e19896]

Can't I rant a little bit more?

ha please do what fun what joy..

 

[chilango]

It wasn't just the cops.

I was at J18 and some absolute cunt toytown anarchists in their little black hoodies and masks started randomly lobbing bottles about. The bottles were bouncing off people, or smashing against walls with the shattering glass spraying the crowd

There was a woman with a small child next to me and she was in tears, she was so scared.

It seemed like all the humour and innovation was fast draining out of the day to be replaced by twats hell bent on pointless vandalism and, err, 'smashing the system'. Or a nearby window. Or scraping someone's car. Anyone/anything would do.

Well, yeah...and no.

In hindsight, it seems that such scenes were very much a symptom of the problems within the movement(s) mentioned above.

On the one hand, for a few years prior the police had been getting heavier and heavier with the peaceful/non-violent protests and some folk had had enough. J18 was seen by some within the movement as a chance to hit back...sadly quite literally. There were many within the movements who had originally been committed to nonviolence who by that point no longer were.

Also within the movement there was a big push towards a more "hardcore" (ych, I hate that term) political praxis, the moere confrontational froms of action (drawn from the european scene) mirroring an equally "insurrectionary" idae of theory. As one of those responsible for pushing these ideas of revolutionary anticapitalism, I now think I was wrong, very wrong. But at the time it seemed both logical and necessary as the older nvda strategy was already stalling at that point. A rethink was needed, but many of us got it wrong sadly.

However, whatever the reasons I think the Eds point does some up a scene that did really illustrate the end of that era. J18 was the end, not the beginning.