{"id":349,"date":"2019-02-21T22:46:49","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T21:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fr-nt.nl\/?p=349"},"modified":"2022-06-07T22:52:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T21:52:41","slug":"kebabspinnen-en-dikke-darmen-de-dichterlijke-vrijheid-van-sleaford-mods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fr-nt.nl\/en\/2019\/02\/21\/kebabspinnen-en-dikke-darmen-de-dichterlijke-vrijheid-van-sleaford-mods\/","title":{"rendered":"Kebab spiders: Sleaford Mods' poetic liberty"},"content":{"rendered":"

You blink twice and Sleaford Mods has been in the business for over a decade. Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn have been making angry British music for angry British people since 2007. From Austerity Dogs<\/em> to English Tapas<\/em>: the proven formula of the duo from Nottingham has never really changed much. But now? Now Theresa May & co. ensured that every mediocre punk band suddenly makes angry protest music about political misery. In other words, in 2019, Sleaford Mods must do its best not to become a parody of itself and the working class. And so Williamson and Fearn take refuge in surrealism on their fifth album Eton Alive<\/em>, although they secretly still sound like Sleaford Mods.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by:<\/strong> Dirk Baart
Illustrations:<\/strong> Melcher Oosterman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just listen to lead single 'Flipside', where Williamson shrills and sings hilarious phrases about one of the hardest beats his buddy Fearn has made in a long time. \u201cGraham Coxon looks like a left wing Boris Johnson\"<\/em>, and more of that ilk. Vintage Sleaford Mods. But still, on Eton Alive<\/em>, Williamson also looks further than he has before. He doesn't (just) ridicule politicians in a similar fashion to drunkards in the pub, but describes them in a way that is more original and imaginative. In the world of Eton Alive<\/em>, the rich are monsters who eat kebabs with spiders on them, digest the people in their colons and finally shit them out. \u201cStraight from the arse of rulee,\" Williamson jokes. The record\u2019s title refers to the elite boys' school that educated, among others, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, and Princes William and Harry. \"Just about the entire policy that has been causing misery for years was devised there\u201d, Williamson explains. His sharp accent crackles on the phone line. \"People are now being mentally eaten by it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During the conversation, it is clear that Brexit has influenced the new Sleaford Mods album, but the word itself is only mentioned once. The subject is so ubiquitous that it simply no longer provides fertile ground for an interesting record. \"The idea was to make an album about the atmosphere in this country, not necessarily explicitly about what creates that atmosphere.\" Williamson prefers to focus on the underlying problems, the causes of the discontent that led to the infamous referendum. The fact that one in five Britons lives in poverty<\/a>, for example, or the continued use of cocaine among young people<\/a> or the increased murder rate in the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe press are only occupied with one thing right now, because it's easy to build a narrative around that,\u201d Williamson says. \u201cOf course we all use narratives in our lives, supposedly logical stories to bring order to our heads. The narrative chosen by the press is simply very influential. An important part of the media here also still consists of the so-called red tops, tabloids such as The Sun and the Daily Mail. They use that narrative to preach nationalism and convince the working class that it has something to do with pride. The usual press bullshit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n