Foreigners in Foreign Lands, Part I: Exotic Orientals
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Foreigners in Foreign Lands, Part I: Exotic Orientals
Author: Jon Campbell
Publication: Foreign Devil column in PopMatters
Publication on: 31 July 2006
url: http://www.popmatters.com/music/columns/campbell/060731.shtml
Article about the European tour of Subs
Abstract
Last year, in an attempt to at once appease and mock those who wanted to ensure people knew from whence they came, Beijing-based garage punk band Subs designed a European tour poster whose background was covered with traditional Chinese calligraphy. It was a striking bit of visual tension: The punk aesthetic of the foreground's band image and typeface against the quietude of the brushstroked calligraphy. The calligraphy, though, spelled out a stream of invective, cursing the viewer as well as his family and ancestry. It was a nice touch, and a great way to simultaneously agree to and punk the conditions of their first overseas jaunt. Subs know that being from China helps them get gigs in the West. But it pisses them off. (...)
