Válav Havel throws bubbly over the new Plastics CD. (Actually, he didn't but took a swig from the bottle instead and got a big cheer anyway!)

Below is a rushed translation of an article which appeared online on the Týden website on Wednesday. For those of you who wish to view the original, please look here




(On Tuesday evening, in Prague). In a sold-out Palace Akropolis, the new studio album by the legendary group The Plastic People of The Universe was launched or baptised, as the Czechs out it, by former (Czech) President, Václav Havel. The recording, titled The Mask Behind The Mask, was first showcased on 15 January at the prestigious Queeen Elizabeth Hall in London. After the Prague launch, the legendary band will go on tour.

The Plastic People of the Universe are, arguably, even 20 years after the fall of the communist regime, the most famous Czech rock band abroad whilst at home the band is the one that is most wreathed in myth and mystery. After a nine-year break, they have released a new studio album.

The album was released last year on 23 December by the independent music label Guerilla Records. The CD, the first in the history of the band to include music composed by other band members. Their long-standing and sole composer, Mejla Hlavsa, died in 2001. “It is not a good idea to baptise a record with bubbly, that’s just wasteful, and I prefer to drink it,” said Havel on-stage to thunderous applause.

The band was joined on stage at the launch by cellist Josef Klíč, who also performed on the recording. The planned appearance of the support act Aku Aku was cancelled for technical reasons. After the launch, the Plastics are to go on a concert tour that finishes on 30 April in Dvůr Králův nad Labem. The main composer on the album, with six credits, is the band’s guitarist, Joe Karafiát, while a major part of the lyrics is in the form of the unique verse of Vratislav Brabenec, the remainder provided by (Czech poets) J. H. Krchovský, Andrej Stankovič or Jiří Kolář. (MS: Also, but forgotten in the piece, is Tiger in Prague by the pre-war Russian ‘absurdist poet’ Daniil Kharms.)

For the first time ever, the repertoire includes a musical setting of a text written by the band’s former manager, Ivan Martin Jirous (Magor).

Since the band formed in 1968 almost 40 musicians have taken a turn in it, most of them staying for only a short time. With the onset of normalisation in 1970 the band were stripped of their professional status and, with it, their equipment.

The (Communist Czechoslovak) state’s intimidation reached a climax in March 1976 when all The Plastics were arrested, which led to international protest. What later became Charter 77 was formed during the campaign to defend them. The band even recorded at Václav Havel’s country cottage.

If the government wants my taxes, it can fuckin whistle

I joined Billy Bragg's nobonus4RBS facebook group this afternoon after reading an article online this morning at the Guardian website. I think it is a wonderful, creative and humourous way to protest.

Do I think the government will be quaking in its boots? No.

Like about a third of those in Britain who actually declare their earnings, I file my tax return online towards the end of January and pay up via a debit card. Last year and other years, I paid on time. This year, I'm not going to pay it at all.

It's a small protest. It will cost me an extra £100 on top of my tax bill which of course, HM Revenue will seek from me. However, I have taken a stand and would encourage others to do the same.

This government can get Gordon Brown to Copenhagen but cannot ensure the country's transport system operates when there's snow. This government can send an army to invade Iraq but struggles to protect it from a small number of dedicated young men laying road side bombs. This government has mortgaged my grandchildren's future to Chinese (and other foreign) banks and now expects me to pay the fools responsible...........again!

I keep hearing the same thing about executive remuneration. It goes like this, "one has to pay the best to attract and keep the best". My response is that maybe we should remember what best means. "Best" doesn't mean bringing down a financial system and then asking those who rescued it to pay an extra tip to those who brought it there. There are other words for that.

I'm not polluting the environment, I'm not invading a country without a UN mandate, I'm not risking my grandchildren's future: I'm just not going to pay my tax bill this year.

If the government wants my taxes, it can fuckin whistle.

The Search for Elvis continues

As we contemplate our mortality through the prism of TV review shows and articles outlining various narratives of the noughties and delusion, I would like to remind everyone of a small item of news about Elvis, which appeared in November.

It appears that the same CIA who lost six, seven or was it eight agents in Afghanistan has awarded Osma Bin Laden the codeword Elvis.

Now, I'm the last person to discourage an interest in the iconography of Elvis and I am certainly not going to bang on about how the CIA created Bin Laden and his aledged network of Evil, al-Qa'ida or whatever other nonsense comes out of Langley, The River House or any of those other places where the secret police forces are based.

However, I would like to remind everyone that Elvis actually died more than 30 years ago and the notion that the largest secret police force in the world is looking for him is beyond ironic. My prediction for the next decade is this:

While we refuse to acknowledge our culture is capable of producing nothing better than vacuous irony, well, no-one will ever find Elvis.