MusicJournoJihad Against America
June 5th 2006 06:02
Jihad Against America
The controversially named Jihad Against America formed 'out of the ashes' (so to speak) of September 11's tragic events in 2001/2002. A six piece consisting of three singers (allegedly including twins dubbed 'The Twin Towers'), a guitarist, a strap-on casio keyboard player and a drummer, they managed to stir up a bit of a hornet's nest in their brief lifetime in Melbourne - as you could imagine. Their sound has been described as 'death-pop' and 'the B52s on acid'. Some of the members were previously from Tasmanian black metal band The Grimm.
Some MP3s (right click and save)...
Terrorism is the New Black - from 'Soul Bludger'
I Want to Sniff Your Undies - from 'Soul Bludger'
Promotional material related to the release of their 7" 'Soul Bludger' (I think this is the title, I haven't seen a copy - it may simply be a self-titled record) featuring planes flying over various American landmarks (including the White House) were prominently displayed out the front of Melbourne record store Missing Link, leading to much teeth-gnashing and consternation on the part of an American ex-pat who happened to be passing the store. He apparently quickly found himself a public telephone box and rang in to Derryn Hinch's talkback show on 3AW to let Hinch and his typically ultra-right wing conservative listeners know about the offensive use of the word 'Jihad' in relation to 'America' and this in turn led to a brief hubbub of various listeners calling in and complaining... it took a while for Hinch and co. to even work out what 'Jihad Against America' was (they originally assumed it was some kind of offensive brand name). One caller called in defending the band's right to free speech, and made mention of New Zealand band Shihad. This apparently led to Shihad's management sending letters of complaint to the band Jihad Against America, though I can't imagine whatever for.
You can listen to the entire 3AW exchange here -
Derryn Hinch VS. Jihad Against America MP3 (right click and save)
Jihad Against America seemed unaffected by all the commotion, and they even receieved letters of support from American celebrities such as Chuck D (Public Enemy) and Ian Mackay (Minor Threat/Fugazi)! They soldiered on until 2004, playing their last show at the Tote in Melbourne on the 22nd of May. This was recorded and is now being released as a live 12" in about a month's time at a special one-off reunion show (see flyer).
Jihad Against America's upcoming final show.
After breaking up (and also during their lifetime) the various members went on to play in the bands Baseball, The Assassination Collective, Thee Stagg Knights and Love of Diagrams.
DISCOGRAPHY
'Soul Bludger' - 7" (7 tracks)
'Live After Deth' - 12" (14 tracks)
Their website - Jihad Against America website
Their myspace page (which features further MP3s if you're interested) - Jihad Against America myspace
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