I really liked the format, and the songs within. Sure, a mixtape is pretty old-school. Sure as hell pre-dates my time. But video-explanation-video just seems like a really flowing experience - it's essentially a way of solving this problem without turning music off.
So, what am I writing/ Mix Taping about? Well, in essence, it's my take on Gamergate. Why is that not in the title? Well, if someone comes across this sometime in the future, I don't want to explain what the fuck Gamergate is, and I don't want to come up in any kind of search engine for that bullshit.
I don't like Gamergate, and I should make this perfectly clear. I'm a Socialist and a Feminist. I believe everything is inherently political (just read anything I've written. Seriously, anything). Sure, I SHOULD hate Gamergate for its terrorist tactics, its misogyny and its entitled bullshitery, and I do, but first and foremost I don't like reactionary conservatives who want the things I believe in taken out of a medium I appreciate. These guys were never going to "succeed" anyway, for the simple reason they never communicated what they actually wanted very well, but they can still fuck right off for trying to keep people with my politics out of games merely for being women.
So, although this is nominally about Misogyny and the Cult of the Angry Young man, know that in many ways this is about Gamergate. Shall we begin?
Angry Young Man - Billy Joel
I have to admit upfront, I'm damn guilty of so much of what Joel lampoons in this fantastic song. I'm angry. I'm young. I'm male. Sure, and I in no way would accept any interpretation of this song as a call to political apathy or a rejection of becoming involved with a cause you believe in.
But this song is much more about the Cult of the Angry Young man. I swear I've read a paper on this somewhere, and if I haven't I should, and if there isn't one, there should be. All through history idea of the "angry young man" has been equal parts elevated and condemned. He is a hero or a villain. I don't mean the vague concept - I mean specific examples. Take probably the most famous angry young man of all time:
Also, outside of Cuba, Guevara could run neck and neck with General Haig and Lord Cardigan for "worst military strategist ever", so keep that in mind when you drape him over yourself.
Guevara isn't alone. I could give you an endless array of examples of young men who either died young or are for some reason are frozen in time, who are held up as justification for pointless rage. Emile Henry, Ali La Pointe, Andreas Baader, Henry Ross, Toussaint L'Ouverture, and, well, Jesus. I mean, isn't he the obvious example? A young man who forced the moneylenders from the temple and died young. Say he preached peace all you like, he still has been the justification for so much youthful anger. In fact, I'll say it again, these people didn't necessarily have unjustified anger. Many of them fought and died for an important cause, but have become symbols.
It's not just those who died young who are part of the cult. Hitler, Lenin, Castro, Ho Chi Minh, de Gaulle and so many more have been able to mobilise the Utopian ability of the angry young men of the world. There are also figures such as Gudrun Ensslin, Ulrike Meinhof, Sophia Perovskaya, Patty Hearst and Alice Lakwena who demonstrate this is not an inherently male thing to do, but I would still argue that there is something inherent with masculinity as it is most often discussed that makes men so much more likely to be part of this.
Joel is coming at this as a former-angry young man, who now sees the error of his lifestyle. Interestingly, he thinks that the character the song is about will never grow out of it, and will die an angry old man. I find that undisclosed point of change, which Joel says only he will have fascinating. It demonstrates he hasn't changed that much. He still sees himself as having something no-one else has. The connection to Gamergate, a bunch of angry young (predominantly) men who fight for a "pointless point of view" which they never convey, should be pretty obvious. Well, I should probably move on to the next song. Goddamn I hope I have nearly this much to say about it.
Here it Comes Again - The Proclaimers
The person who posted this video calls it a takedown of rap, but I don't agree with that. Sure, rap is pretty obvious as a target genre, as it is almost inarguably among the most misogynistic areas of music in modern music. Sure, it's probably not the worst - I'd have to give Country or Pop that particular mantle - but it certainly is prominent. I like rap quite a lot, and I don't want anyone to think I'm putting this video in this list to attack it.
Misogyny in music is pretty fucking obvious. I have a game where you replace "girl" with "car", and find a similar replacement for any other female-gendered words. It works horribly well. Give it a try with Jesse's Girl, or pretty much every Beatles song ever. Misogyny is not new in music, or in any other medium, really.
This song is what I think Lorde's "Royals" really ought to have been. Royals is meandering, filled with strange metaphors and although it makes a general point and outlines a problem, it doesn't really provide a solution. It's not bad by any means, and I do really like it, but this song is so much more on point in getting a message across. And yes, these are the "500 Miles" guys. I know, right?
So, "The Angry Young Man" theme is less obvious here, but it still is damn present. Just listen to some of the language. "But what kind of man puts down women?", "Another hint of violence" and the like. This song addresses toxic masculinity without abandoning a masculine tone. This is meant to be men talking to other men about being men. I'm not usually much of a supporter of that angle, but I see a definite use for it. If the kind of man who sees casual misogyny as part of being a man is called up on it by a woman or someone like myself who doesn't want to perpetuate this iron-clad idea of gender, the message is not going to come across as clearly. Not many conversations on sexism should be two men talking, but perhaps there's room for it somewhere, because who else is a hardcore misogynist going to listen to?
So, Gamergate. You want a movement drenched in the kind of pointless, self-destructive, repugnant hate this song so clearly outlines? Bingo. Sexism and violence do nothing but make you appear juvenile, as it demonstrates how little you actually know about the words you're using, or the message you're conveying. This is the dark-side of the Angry Young Man. It comes back to the reactionary fundamentalism. "It's not Adam and Steve" and it's not "Ernesta Guevara" (I know nobody has ever said that last one). The thought process is that women have done nothing significant in this field, and as such it is justified to expel them. It's similar to the idea that women could only be involved in Civil Rights or Anti-Vietnam marches to make coffee and be available for sex. A revolting mindset.
A hint of violence? Give me silence.
Woman Wants To Drink - Astronomy Class
OK, so there isn't actually a video for this specific song...anywhere...so this is a link to a link to a Spotify version of the song. If you don't have Spotify/can't be bothered, here's a link to the English lyrics. Yeah, a lot of this one's in (I presume) Khmer. I don't speak Khmer, nor is it particularly important to the point I want to make about it.
The song, for those who clicked neither link, is about a woman going out to drink in Phnom Penh, dressed very nicely. The verses outline various perspectives of guys (presumably guys) in the club. They all make presumptions about why she's here. The first one presumes she must be lonely, possibly recovering from a breakup. The second one claims that she must be a prostitute, dressed like that. The third one figures she's just toying with the patrons by being so well dressed, and might need protection in case something happens. The last onlooker figures she's in the same position as him, just out to grab a drink for fun, not pushing any agenda at all.
Although the song doesn't say any perspective is the correct one, the comments of the group regarding the song makes it pretty clear that the last one is accurate. They go as far as to say the song is meant to be feminist, which I respect for a hip-hop group.
Well, this shouldn't need a thesis to explain. Gamergaters: not every woman playing video games is pushing an agenda. They aren't "fake gamer girls" just trying to be popular with the boys, they aren't pushing a secret plan to destroy video games, and they don't have any less right to play these games and talk about them than you do.
The Angry Young Man and Misogyny angles are pretty light in this tune, but these casual presumptions about why this woman is drinking is very revealing. This is a woman in a male space. She therefore must want a man, or be attempting to be mean to men. There is no potential that, like everyone else in this room, she just wants a drink.
This song is a fantastic metaphor for the situation and the Cambodian flavour really brings out the slightly shady, melancholy nature of the club and the city.
Repetition - David Bowie
OK, this is a kinda rough one. I mean, yes, the song itself. I mean, fucking oath. But I more refer to the implications to Gamergate. It may seem a little bit of a jump to some people - brutally blunt domestic abuse being akin to online harassment? My response is that you clearly haven't been keeping up with the constant threats, written abuse and general terror that Gamergaters have been subjecting even moderate critics to (if they're female that is. Men get off much lighter. Funny that.).
So why am I including this song in this Mix Tape, other than to make a point? Well, it's the blame that I find so important, the first half of the song. The part that isn't a violent punch to the gut. It's always someone elses fault. John could have had a Cadillac, but his education fucked him over. He could have married Anne with the blue silk blouse, but it wasn't his fault. He didn't want to hurt her, but what's the point of working if she can't even cook?
'It's not Gamergate's fault that a few "trolls", indistinguishable from the movement as a whole did horrible things to female critics...but they kinda deserved it for provoking them, right? And women can have their own spaces, so why did they have to invade OURS? What's the point of being male if women are going to have opinions? I bet Anne with the blue silk blouse wouldn't have tried to invade a male space. Anne was good like that.'
That last paragraph was meant to be sarcastic, just to make sure. This song is an excellent angle on the entitlement side of misogyny and the Angry Young Man. Someone has done the Angry Young Man wrong, and he has to behave the only way he knows how. He can't communicate with reasonable words, engaging people in reasonable conversation, because that's not masculine. The masculine thing is to get mad. And get mad at everything, everything that has wronged him. If that anger is violence, so be it. And if that violence is unleashed on people who don't deserve it, they come to have deserved it by receiving it. "They shouldn't have provoked him. They shouldn't have gotten involved. What's the point of working if you can't even damn cook? They're just professional victims. The bruise won't show if she wears long sleeves." It's their fault now, even if it wasn't before.
Gamergate is an abuse organisation, whatever they say, however they phrase it, and misogyny is inherent throughout it. The justifications rife in any movement started by the Angry Young Men are present and brutally presented at their worst throughout this song.
Good Excuse - John Butler Trio
Hmm. I somewhat feel my list is drifting off-topic slightly, focusing a little more to the "fuck you, dickheads" angle. Still, the casual entitlement is here. For Gamergate, I think this is the perfect anthem. Just absolutely perfect. "Boy would you turn your Gameboy off? Stop pretending it's you against the world." Fucking brilliant.
This builds on the more blunt approach to excusing the behaviour of the Angry Young Man of Repetition. It's more gentle, although taking a more condemning angle. Bowie sang in a purposefully emotionless tone to give his song more punch, while Butler seems to style his song in a more relaxed way. He's not as angry as the tone of Bowie's suggests, but treats the target of his song as a joke more than a threat. In reality, I'd say he's both.
"Good Excuse" came out at the tail end of the Howard government, and as such had quite a range of targets it could be satirising. Whatever the original aim, it certainly applies to the Angry Young Man. Look at how the character in the song behaves. He brings up petty personal tragedies to shield himself from claims of being removed from reality. He thinks he's "hardcore", despite being cloistered and lacking in life experience. This character is a little prick, who thinks that being white and male entitles him to having a respected opinion, having done nothing to earn it.
I've been that kid. I can't pretend otherwise. There's probably a part of me that still is. It's the part of me that thinks I have any real right or perspective to talk about misogyny. I like to think I've grown up, but you never know. Maybe I haven't. What little perspective I can claim to have, however, is based around a different angle to Butler. The best advice Butler gives is to just walk away and get some understanding: "Step out side...in the real world." I'd add, look at the entitled kid and how he behaves. Make sure you're not emulating him. It's easy to see the differences, and it's hard to see the similarities, but try all the same. Yes, once again, I'm specifically talking to Gamergaters. Don't think I really have to say that, but I'll do it again just in case.
Yes, I've been that entitled white boy before, worse than I am now. Thank God I didn't have the internet then.
Fuck You (Very Much) - Lily Allen
I'm perfectly aware a massive problem with this list so far is that, bar the singer on the Astronomy Class track, every singer has been male. On a playlist about misogyny. Yeah, that looks pretty bullshit. Let me try to remedy that.
The reason, to make petty excuses, is that it's actually really hard to find songs ABOUT misogyny. Sure, I can find plenty of songs that ARE misogynist, but that isn't what I want. Sure, I can write about them, but I don't want to listen to them, nor do I want them to be what Red Television sounds like. It's also easy enough to find songs that are Feminist, but they normally are songs which break or subvert gender stereotypes. That's fantastic, and the world needs more of them, but that isn't really what this list is about. So, in the end, I'm after a niche subsection of songs that are un-googleable. I've just been listening to the same music I always do, just keeping an internal catalogue of songs which would go great on this list. I've then put them on this list in the order I thought of them. They just ended up mostly being male. I honestly don't know why, and I'm aware that's a shitty excuse, but it's the truth.
Anyway, Fuck You. OK, it's kind of a juvenile attack on misogyny and conservatism. The song is literally called "Fuck You Very Much". It's a release of anger in a smarmy, up-yours kinda way. I fucking love it. But I'm not just saying misogyny should get fucked (although it should). This song touches upon the idea of the Angry Young Man not as a necessarily progressive manner.
In the Billy Joel song discussion, I talked about a list of Angry Young Men. Most of these were progressives or revolutionaries. The "Young" bit tends to favour that, in my opinion. Allen presents the idea of the Angry Young Man as a conservative force, fighting for the preservation of the existing social dynamic. Gamergate, which I'm just giving up the ghost and admitting this list is obviously about, is this kind of force. Gamergate is not the 26 Julio Movement. It's not the Rote Armee Fraktion. It's the Westboro Baptist Church, or the Ku Klux Klan, or the Palmer United Party. It's a force that wants to enforce conservatism, or send the world backwards politically. Say what you will about Nazis and Fascists, but they at least wanted to change the system. To a much WORSE system, certainly, but still wanted to change it. The KKK or Gamergate (who have more than a few similarities) aren't fighting for change. They're Angry Young Men fighting for a culture of fear that prevents anyone, regardless of motivation, age or gender, attempting to change the world that the Angry Young Man feels is the best for him.
The Fucker in Lily Allen's song isn't fighting for change, or progress, or a better world. He's fighting for bigotry, hatred and violence. He's not fighting for a new world. He's fighting for his father's world. Although the Joel's Guevaran Angry Young Man sheds some light on the mindset of misogyny, Allen's Fucker Angry Young Man (who, for the record, isn't necessarily young, but I like the phrase) is a better image into the ideology of misogyny. He doesn't have "working class ties and a radical plan". He's like his "father, who's approval [he's] after" and he's "losing control of it". That last "it", for the record, is never specified, but my presumption is that it's the world.
I can't think of a better metaphor for Gamergate. They're losing control of "it" and it's really distasteful.
Revolution - The Beatles
I know this is kinda cliche, but I couldn't stop thinking of it during the last one. It also is a little to specific to be of any use, seemingly specifically attacking Maoism, for some damned reason.
So I'll make this quick: What the Beatles are spot on about is that you're gonna want a plan, and you also actually are going to want CHANGE. A Revolution that keeps things the way they are is fucking pointless and really goddamn stupid. Which is exactly what Gamergate is: pointless and stupid.
An interesting thought to leave with is: Do the Beatles and the nameless revolutionary want the same thing, beneath the trappings? Can they meet each other halfway, or is their division too fundamental?
I've got to say that I can't decide which half of this duo is more symbolic of Gamergate. The Beatles take some imagined moral high-ground, and don't seem to actually want change, both clear factors in Gamergate. The other side, however, is violent, angry and unable to easily explain what they actually want, which may be a more accurate depiction of Gamergate.
If the two sides could work together, things would be interesting. But, in the case of Gamergate, that seems unlikely. Because the people they hate and attack are the people most interested in what they actually want. Nobody ever said Angry Young Men were intelligent.
Come and Check Your Head - Blue King Brown
As with most of the songs on this list, I must admit that this is far more dramatic, about war, death and revolution, than a group of angry kids who like videogames throwing a hissy-fit. The last thing I would like to do is to glorify misogyny, the Angry Young Man or Gamergate. Despite this, I feel this song is a great way to end this list. Mainly because it's a fucking brilliant tune, whatever you think of the lyrics.
Although I just said it has themes a little overblown for this discussion, it has plenty that are spot on. It lambasts those who have selective hearing to the will of a majority (and Gamergate is obviously a noisy minority, whatever they would like to have you believe) and the idea of waking up to what is happening. Alternately, you can read this as a subversion of the ultra-militaristic, dramatic language used by Gamergate in pathetic pranks that hurt people that didn't deserve it.
The message I want to leave this song is its title. Just that alone justifies this song. Music is one of the most powerful mediums out there, and when a talented musician takes down the Angry Young Man, or misogyny, or just generally being an arsehole, it tends to be fantastic. I loved making this list, and I'll be sure to do it again, perhaps on a less controversial topic.
To Gamergaters reading this: I'm not going to "negotiate" or "debate" or anything. Grow the fuck up. Games you like aren't going anywhere. Sexism in games isn't going anywhere, unfortunately, because people still buy those games. Gamergate is attacking down to earth people who give a shit about games, when they shouldn't be attacking ANYONE, no matter what perceived crime they commit.
If you walk away from a faceless, aimless, pointlessly angry cluster of Angry Young Men no-one is going to miss you. At all. You can walk away, learn something about how grown adults address their concerns (hint: without ruining anyones livelihoods) and be a better person because of it. No one likes and Angry Young Man. The trick is to calm down and grow up. Come and check your head.
Thanks for reading,
H. Rourke
P.S. Because I took a lot of inspiration for the format of this post from Campster, I didn't want to steal any of the same songs. But for the love of God take a listen to "This is Why we Videogaming" by Leigh Alexander and Jonathan Mann. It's fucking amazing.
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