Post-Punk.com
  • Home
    • Contact Us
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Terms Of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Bands
    • Revival Bands
    • Labels
  • Reviews
  • Fashion
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Bands
  • Reviews
  • Fashion
  • Log In
247K Likes
12K Followers
74K Followers
Subscribe
Post-Punk.com
Post-Punk.com Post-Punk.com
  • Home
    • Contact Us
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Terms Of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Bands
    • Revival Bands
    • Labels
  • Reviews
  • Fashion
  • Log In
  • Band of the Day
  • Collaborations
  • Electronic Music
  • Fashion
  • New Releases
  • Singles

Hennessey Tears Apart The 1% With “8 Men”

  • January 31, 2021
  • Alice Teeple
16
0
0

Eight men have all the money. Eight men have more than half of all the money than everyone else in the world, combined.

Yuck. NYC dance-punk queen Leah Hennessey is, quite rightly, pissed off. Hennessey’s latest release, 8 Men, is a fiery call-to-arms, hi-tempo protest song, name-checking the Bastions of Greed hoarding the planet’s resources. Part electroclash, part Bertholt Brecht, part ZE Records, Hennessey rips their material from the headlines and fuses topicality with sharp wit and a very real passion for the betterment of humanity.

The release is verily crackling with synchronicity, dropping mere days after a Wall Street scandal where savvy Redditors brought devious hedgefunders to their knees and exposed the utter sham controlling the economy. Synth artist EJ O’Hara and guitarists Noah Chevan/Malachy O’Neil, sharing duties, bang out tasty hooks over Leah Hennessey’s droll delivery of a call for wealth redistribution. She paints a cosy picture of a calmer world with simple joys and equality for everyone.

Eight stinkin’ men, friends. Out of 7.8 billion Earthlings.

Photo: Ruby McCollister

“The brutal fact of that insane wealth inequality can sometimes make any kind of faith or hope feel futile: how can I believe in ideals of fairness and equality when things are so corrupt and distorted and beyond the repair of revolution?” She wryly adds, “I’m too poor to have a dog, let alone ever dream of owning property! But it’s funny. The song is funny.”

It certainly is, but despite a call for the guillotine, the song reflects an exasperation bordering on the absurd, felt by multiple generations hitting wall after wall.  “But Bill Gates paid for my high school” is an especially poignant lyric. Selective philanthropy to ease guilty consciences, exploiting vulnerable populations with free software in a thinly-disguised push for brand loyalty. We could all have high school. We don’t need to be bribed into technological slavery. But as the homeless population soars in her hometown, a direct correlation to corrupt values and Profits Over People, as the pandemic has forced millions of young unemployed back home with parents, as dreams lay dormant and dying, the words of 8 Men hit our weary souls hard. And really, all she’s doing here is reciting the news to a high energy backbeat.

Hennessey, daughter of legendary New York Doll David Johansen, carries on the family tradition of trashing the status quo with persistent hopes of a brighter future. An artist through and through, she frequently collaborates with a collective of intellectual, creative minds (including Ruby McCollister, who contributed to the video), fusing together performance, visual art, avant-garde theatre, fashion, and Absurdist influences. 8 Men is no exception: the video was also shot as a collaboration with designer Lou Dallas.

The accompanying video, directed by Max Lakner and filmed at The Freehand Hotel, is a fabulous pisstake on  the glamour and artifice of fashion magazine shoots celebrating the 1%.  Headshots of über-billionaires are torn to pieces between shots of the trio posing hammily for the camera as one would for Vogue.  The messages are constructed like sinister ransom notes…indeed, these eight men have the entire world held hostage. Band members wear shirts emblazoned with “Think Otherwise,” riffing off of the long-retired Apple slogan, “Think Different.” The track is smart, snarky, and a welcome anthem of hope and justice for all.

Tear that shit up, Hennessey.

The single is out now via Velvet Elk Records.

 

Advertisement

Please support Post-Punk.com! You can do so via
  • Patreon:
  • or directly via Paypal:
  • Or by using our new Contact form here:

Total
16
Shares
Share 16
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • EJ O'Hara
  • Hennessey
  • Leah Hennessey
  • New York Dolls
  • Ruby McCollister
Avatar
Alice Teeple

Alice Teeple is a photographer, multidisciplinary artist, and writer. She is not in Tin Machine.

Previous Article
  • Bands
  • Video Premiere

Coldwave Duo Seasurfer Dream Up Hypnagogic Horrors in their Video for “Zombies”

  • January 31, 2021
  • post-punk.com
View Post
Next Article
  • Bands
  • Video Premiere

Funeral Cabaret Artist Joanna Gemma Auguri Debuts “Confession To A Future Lover”

  • February 1, 2021
  • post-punk.com
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • New Releases
  • Singles

Hank Fontaine’s New Wave Ghosting Anthem: “Cut And Run”

  • Alice Teeple
  • March 2, 2021
View Post
  • New Releases
  • Singles
  • Video Premiere
  • Video Premiere

Child Of Night Delves Into The Darkness With “Dirtworld”

  • Alice Teeple
  • March 2, 2021
View Post
  • New Releases
  • Remix
  • Singles

Houses of Heaven Channel the Glory of Wax Trax With INHALT’s Dub Remix of “Sleep”

  • Frank Deserto
  • February 25, 2021
View Post
  • Bands
  • Collaborations
  • New Releases

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Unleash “Carnage” with Surprise Album Release

  • Alice Teeple
  • February 25, 2021
View Post
  • Electronic Music
  • New Releases

Sebastian Melmoth Debuts their Epitaph-Pop on Mourning Glory

  • Brittnie Fuller
  • February 24, 2021
View Post
  • New Releases
  • Singles
  • Song Premiere

Black Sea Crime Complex Evokes Baroque, Introspective Songcraft With the Stunning “Compete”

  • Frank Deserto
  • February 24, 2021
View Post
  • Bands
  • New Releases
  • Singles

The Horrors Explore Industrial Soundscapes With “Lout”

  • Alice Teeple
  • February 23, 2021
View Post
  • Bands
  • Collaborations

Darkwave and Coldwave Fuse with Kill Shelter & Antipole’s Collaboration “Raise the Skies” in “A Haunted Place”

  • post-punk.com
  • February 16, 2021




Facebook
Social Links
Facebook 247K Likes
Twitter 12K Followers
Instagram 74K Followers
Spotify




Post-Punk.com
© Copyright POST-PUNK.COM 2020

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Please support Post-Punk.com! You can do so via...
  • Patreon:
  • Directly via Paypal:
  • Or by using our new Contact form here:
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT