A one-off statement

We noticed that we have a few racists, nazis, white nationalists, or whatever they call themselves are following our page and leaving comments. Partly that’s a just fact of life: anything skinhead-related will attract them. We’re also aware that the history of this subculture has always been complicated, and we think we’re doing a decent job accounting for this. We have no intention of spinning fairytales about some harmonious ‘spirit of 69’ past that was suddenly upset when Ian Stuart started singing for the National Front. This past never existed: whether in 1968, 1977 or 1982, there were always skinheads who were bigots, and there were always skinheads who weren’t.

It has also come to our attention that some people think our blog is ‘ambiguous’. It’s true: we don’t run the kind of blog that bombards you with crossed-out swastikas, reminds you every five minutes that “boots & braces don’t make you a racist”, or shouts “nazi” at you because you listen to dodgy bands. When we started the website, we thought there were smarter and funnier ways to make clear where we stand. We also know that life isn’t simply the guys with the white hats vs the guys with the black hats. There are shades of grey in between, and if you think you can steer clear of that ‘greyzone’, good luck with that – the world is a greyzone.

This week we interviewed Philippe Nicolas, who with his band Skinkorps made some poor decisions in the past. We don’t think it’s inadmissible to talk to the impure, and we believe our readers are intelligent enough to form their own opinions without our benign guidance. What’s more, we thought it was fairly clear from our questions where we stand – it’s hardly an interview along the lines of “let’s leave politics out of it, Oi Oi”.

In fact, we’re proud of the interview because we think it helps to illuminate a chapter of 80s French skinhead history. We also think that Philippe is an excellent guy who deserves our friendship. He’s putting his face out there and tells you exactly what he thinks, whether you’re far-right or a so-called ‘antiracist skinhead’ who uses every opportunity to voice his ‘concerns’ about Muslims. If you don’t believe us, visit his Skinkorps Facebook page.

In other words, we’ve been fairly relaxed, and we’ve been moderating our Facebook page with a light touch. We aren’t Stasi types who investigate other people’s friends lists like others comb beaches with metal detectors. But it has occurred to us that maybe our relaxed approach has blurred the lines somewhat – to the point where RAC types think that we should interview their bands, or who remind us that Serge Gainsbourg was “a Jew” when we post something about his hairstyle back in the 60s (as far as we’re concerned, such people aren’t good enough to shine Gainsbourg’s shoes).

So, just to clear things up: all Creases Like Knives contributors lean to the left to varying degrees. We aren’t apolitical, neutral, centre, or right-wing – we’re left-wing. We won’t rub it in your face all the time, but that’s what we are. Moreover, we’re children of the Enlightenment: we believe in people’s ability to reason and in their ability to change. That being said, on our page it’s us who make the rules. We won’t promote stuff that we think is moronic just to prove to a bunch of cretins that we aren’t “snowflakes” or  “crybabies”. We couldn’t care less what these people think.

The cue is partly in our choice of interview partners. If your record isn’t squeaky-clean but we believe that you’re a decent person, we’ll talk to you. If you’re ‘ambiguous’, we might talk to you anyway and get to know you. But no, there won’t be any interviews with overt nazis or racists. There will be no pin-up galleries of the fat bassist from Brutal Combat – there are plenty of websites and FB groups for that, and this ain’t one. We won’t interview the new breed of ‘libertarian’ RAC lite garbage – as far as we’re concerned, these guys have nothing interesting to say and their music sucks. We’ll go further: if your sole lyrical concern is whinging about people on benefits, if you only kick down without ever bothering to punch up, you’re free to do that outside – but not in our pages.

If you’re an RAC type reading our blog, fine – maybe you’ll learn something in the end. But be aware that we don’t owe you shit. If that’s a problem, go bother someone else. Attend your crappy festivals with 12 sad old men standing somewhere in a field in the Midlands. Do your own band interviews and share them with your two or three mates. You won’t be missed.

Hope this makes things clear.

Matt Crombieboy