Set the Controls
"PREMISE THIRTEEN: Those in power rule by force, and the sooner we break ourselves of illusions to the contrary, the sooner we can at least begin to make reasonable decisions about whether, when, and how we are going to resist.
PREMISE SIXTEEN: The material world is primary. This does not mean that the spirit does not exist, nor that the material world is all there is. It means that the spirit mixes with flesh. It means also that the real world actions have real world consequences. It means we cannot rely on Jesus, Santa Claus, the Great Mother, or even the Easter Bunny to get us out of this mess. It means this mess really is a mess, and not just the movement of God's eyebrows. It means we have to face this mess ourselves. It means that for the time we are hear on Earth--whether or not we end up somewhere else after we die, and whether we are condemned or privileged to live here--the Earth is the point. It is primary. It is our home. It is everything. It is silly to think or act or be as though this world is not real and primary. It is silly and pathetic not to live our lives as though our lives are real." -Derrick Jensen, Endgame Vol. 1, The Problem of Civilization
Set the Controls
From Chiapas to Greece, from the Arctic to Antarctica, we are witnessing changes that are unique to our generation. From global movements of consciousness and rebellion to the breakdown of the ecosphere, there is no doubt that we are witnessing fundamental changes, changes that will determine the fate of thousands of species and billions of human lives. And the fact is we as a species have the power to affect the future of nearly all life on the planet.
In what is now called the Anthropocene, or the time in which humans have had the capacity to change the Earth's climate and have significant global impacts, it isn't simple enough to say that it is our species that is responsible. It is necessary to zoom in and look at structures of power, class, hierarchy, and economics. We aren't one mass acting together, but a collection of nation-states run by tiny minorities whose interests dominate the direction in which we head, as though they are steering hundreds of Titanics towards thousands of icebergs, and run by careless madmen with nuclear weapons and a sadistic desire to torture, maim and kill.
Relying on those in power to alter our course is wishful thinking. Those that benefit most from a rapacious economic system, designed for limitless growth on a finite planet, will not stop until every last tree and seedling has been privatized and sold. As new Desires™ are manufactured by advertisers, corporations redefine and homogenize our culture in their own image, leaving us vulnerable to their narrow world view.
Reality and illusion are slippery slopes. Propaganda, indoctrination, and more subtle forms of misdirection and obfuscation are real. We live in one of the most violent empires the world has ever seen, yet we are bombarded daily by distraction and self-hatred. We need to develop our intellectual self-defense; Kung Fu for the mind. It is no simple matter to overcome years of ‘schooling’ and think critically, but it is one of the most difficult tasks ahead of us, because conventional thinking is leading us towards those icebergs and into a watery grave. So how do we develop an ethical basis for action? What is our logic for transformation?
It is dark times for a generation that has to shoulder the burden of inevitable transformation and mass species extinctions. But, it is a burden and a challenge that we all must confront; the kind of challenge that each individual must face, whether we choose to hide in a box or face up to reality: we will all have a choice to make.
Many of us grew up with "Wild West" ideas of individualism, top-down "democracy", and the shunning of social responsibility as an antiquated notion in a time of techno-fetishism. While there is much value in self-reliance and the DIY culture, and something we need more of on some levels, it is not enough. How do we tap into a global consciousness from the front porch on our own streets? Will we simply feel it? Will we know it when we see it? Is it possible for all freedom loving people to move in the same direction to mitigate the catastrophe ahead?
At what point do we do away with the captains of industry and the state? When's the mutiny?! At what point do we stop the powerful from abusing the powerless? At what point do we take on the responsibility for this planet and the set the controls for the future? At what point?
Songs:
1. The Son
2. Set the Controls for the Sun
3. Take the Past Again (and run it through a pen)
4. The Faces of a Thousand Heroes
5. Sunday Times
6. Cuarenta y Siete
7. Greenlighting the Architects of Destruction
8. Black Magic
On this Record:
Guitar, vocals: Aaron Farley
Bass, vocals: Chris Burnett
Drums: Dave Ferrara
Recordings:
Produced by Sabertooth Tiger and Marcus Samperio. All songs written by Sabertooth Tiger, except track #8 by Slayer (Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman), published 1983 by Slayer. Engineered by Marcus Samperio. Mixed by Ryan Williams. Mastered by Pete Lyman. Recorded at Pulse Recording. Alaina Alexander sings on Caurenta y Siete.
Artwork: Sabertooth Tiger. Layout by Sonny Kay
Photos: Chris Burnett, Aaron Farley, special thanks to Louisa Gouliamaki for the photos from Greece. Thanks to http://www.majorityworld.com for photo assistance.
Thanks:
Marcus Samperio, Jeff Phillips, Ryan Williams, Alaina Alexander, Pulse Recording, Jadie Kadletz, Michelle, Lyla, all of our friends and family, The Naiton Blue, Sonny Kay, James and Luis, Duke, Sarah B, Joanne, Marco, Danny, Alex and Mark Asselin-Hernandez, and the 3 kids who come to all our shows. Black Magic mixed by The Gifted.
info@sabertoothtiger.net
http://www.sabertoothtiger.net
http://www.extinctmusic.com
