This is a shot from the blessthefall article I did for Stitched Sound’s first ever print issue. You can purchase the print or digital version over here!  http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/320333

All proceeds from the digital issue will be going towards Jay OBryne’s The Other Side Of The World *A Music Documentary campaign.

Great issue, definitely my favorite so far. Featuring The Word Alive on the cover as well as interviews and interesting reads from iwrestledabearonce, All Time Low, Pierce The Veil, We Came As Romans, Set it Off, Whitechapel, The Devil Wears Prada, Blessthefall, Woe, Is Me, Enter Shikari, My Girl Friday, The Maine and Sleeping With Sirens.

Get on it! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Despite the high frequency of rape, many incidents go unreported due to the victim’s fear that she will be blamed for being victimized. One of the central explanations for the phenomenon of blaming the victim is the ‘’just world’’ theory (Lerner, 1980; Lerner & Miller, 1978) According to this theory, people get what they deserve and deserve what they get. A lot of people hold on to this belief as it paints an illusion that they live in a safe world where karma balances and protects the well being of everybody and only bad things befall those who do not play by the book. In the case of rape, a woman who is scantily clad automatically endangers herself to rapists and therefore takes responsibility for not dressing appropriately. This victim-blaming tendency helps restore faith in a controllable environment and gives the blamer a sense of security. The accepted definition of the term ‘’rape myth’’ is that of Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994): rape myths are false but pervasive beliefs and attitudes aimed at justifying or denying aggression of males against females. Men support rape myths in order to justify sexual violence and women support them to facilitate denial of their potential victimization and responsibility for rape. A widespread acceptance of rape myths has perpetuated victim-blaming and victimization. Specific traits of women like alcohol consumption, sexual background and provocative dressing influence the degree of blame attributed to a victim and these indicators all contribute to maintaining rape myths. Most research has found that men support rape myths to a greater degree than do women and are more forgiving of the rapist. Research also shows that acceptance of rape myths is more prevalent in populations from lower socio-economic backgrounds, older persons and persons who endorse traditional sex roles (Anderson et al., 1997; Johnson et al., 1997; Kooper, 1996; Sinclair & Bourne, 1998)

Victim-blaming and the ‘’just world’’ theory is a major cause of rape as this phenomenon suppresses women of their free will to report their rape and seek justice. The ‘’just world’’ theory instils fear of being labelled, judged and condemned. This fear is highly capable of consuming the victim and leading them to believe that they deserved to be rape. Fear is equivalent to weakness and men prey on weakness. The ‘’just world’’ theory goes hand in hand with rape myths as they rise to justify aggression of males against females. This justification allows men to take on a status of superiority and steer them towards the endorsement of rape. Rape is caused by institutional tolerance and structural violence. The strength of this theory lies in a distorted belief system constructed by human beings based on fear and expectations. The belief system is pre-set by society as a defense mechanism and this twisted logic contributes largely as a cause of rape. As opposed to a biological perspective, the victim-blaming theory is a sociological occurrence that can also be impacted by the media. The mass media reinforce misogynistic attitudes towards women by depicting them in objectifying ways. Women are seen so much as public property, as objects to look at and judge, that people actually think it’s appropriate to go out of their way to comment on women’s appearance. They think it is their right. (Valenti, 2008)

The study of victim blaming and the ‘’just world’’ theory is the most useful perspective in studying causes of rape as it highlights the importance of education. Information reduces stereotyped thinking and thus affects attitudes towards rape culture. Prevalent ideas of blame attribution towards females are contradicted in the evidence of male victims. Males can also be raped and reduced to victimization. Homosexual rape cases would identify the criminal act as deriving from sexual urges and lack of self control. There are no gender-based stereotypes as a female is not involved which therefore leads to no justification on the rapist’s part. This supports the idea that victimization is wrong and the criminal act of rape should not be excused based on patriarchal traditions. Victim blaming causes serious psychological and behavioural consequences. The victim may adopt feelings of helplessness, fear and anxiety, mood disturbance, somatic complains, sexual problems, substance abuse or addiction after being skewed with the mentality that she or he was raped due to something she or he did or failed to do. If one is left untreated in such a state, one might be prone to a long term perspective of a ‘’perpetual victim’’ and will engage in readiness to accept undeserved labelling and punishment. Repeated victimization might occur and traits may be passed down to the next generation and internalized by them. These dire consequences raises moral issues, do we really want our sisters, daughters or anyone to grow up in a society where rape victims are blamed for merely being at the wrong place at the wrong time? There is a need for intensification of educational and informational programs based on this subject that will not only help in burying rape myths and emancipating victims from feelings of shame and guilt, but also encourage them to make a report and stand up for themselves. This will increase the likelihood of rapists getting caught and convicted which will then fulfil the concept of moral rightness. Justice allows victims to seek closure and move on from the trauma.

2012 is already shaping up to look like another good year for music.

Published on Stitched Sound, November 23rd : http://stitchedsound.com/?p=3822

I was watching old interviews of the band on Youtube and it got me feeling slightly nervous as this was my first interview with a band of their genre and intensity. It actually turned out to be a really chill and successful one, I had a lot of fun doing it.

What is Hollywood Undead all about? What made you decide to start a band?

We’re all about Brown pride y’know, our folks are Mexicans –no, I’m just kidding (laughs) We’re just trying to make money and have a good time at the same time, pretty much living the American dream right now.

How much do you think you guys have grown musically since the formation of the band?

It’s one of those things where you write your first album, your first song and you tend to hate them as you grow older. A lot of bands say they hate their first record but they like the 4^th or 5^th one. We’re like that but I feel like a lot of things have changed since the beginning.

You’re currently on tour with Asking Alexandria, We Came As Romans, D.R.U.G.S, and other bands. What has it been like so far?

It’s been great. Our band does better with metal bands. It’s cool to tour with bands I listen to so I have more fun every night watching them get worked up.

How would you describe the atmosphere when you guys are on stage performing a show?

A lot of alcohol, a lot of good vibes and a whole lot of fun going on. We just try to put on as good of a show as possible. We drink before shows and we hang out with each other. Metal songs blasting out of our throats for hours straight, people enjoy it.

Do you guys interact with the crowd?

Yeah, I mean like half the dudes in our band jump into the crowd, they crowd surf and we’re always trying to interact with the crowd because I think it’s boring when a band gets on stage and play the show like the crowd isn’t even there. We try to have fun and interact with the crowd 100%.

Have any tour pranks happened yet? Are you planning on pulling any towards the end of the tour?

No, I’ve always heard that but I’ve never seen it. I think it died in the 80s, I think people are more sensitive nowadays.

Really? I’ve actually heard a lot of stories of bands pranking one another on tour.

Well, it never happened to us. Everyone in my band is like 6 foot tall and we’re like bigger dudes so no one’s ever pranked us before (laughs) We do it to each other but not to other bands.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever said or asked you to do?

 A 16 year old girl asked us to have group sex with her. I felt kinda weird like I should call her mum or something.

So you know how bands are always going through interviews and they have to face the same questions over and over again. What are some interview questions you find most annoying?

The mask. People ask us why we wear masks and we have answered that question like a thousand times. I think Corey from Slipknot said more bands should wear masks or I don’t know, someone said that. I really don’t think wearing a mask is that big of a deal, it’s just entertainment like people are all ‘’why do you wear a mask?’’ like who fucking knows.

You guys are releasing a remix album in a couple of days. How did that idea come about?

We wanted to come up with new music, keep people’s attention. We listen to remix albums of other bands and artists as well and we thought to ourselves that we’ve never done anything like that before so we just thought it was a good idea.

Do you have any tattoo stories you’d like to share?

Oh fuck. I have a friend from Canada who has a rock on his arm that says USA. He fell asleep while he was getting tattooed so my other friend tattooed USA across his arm and now he’s back in Canada with that tattoo, it’s pretty funny.

What are your recording and writing process usually like?

The band usually individually writes and then we bring each of our songs and collaborate on them. One person has an idea and they come together with everyone else on it. On our bus, we have a mobile recording set up. Everyone jumps in with input. Everyone writes lyrics but with different styles. Charlie Scene writes like fun and party songs, Johnny 3 Tears write dark and heavier songs, everyone kinda does their own thing.

The genre of your band is really interesting. What kind of music did you guys listen to growing up?

Growing up, I listened to a lot of 90s hip hop. Typical west coast stuff like Dr. J, Eazy- E, some of the other guys in the band listened to Nine Inch Nails. As I got older at around 16, I started to get into more metal and rock. It was kind of the opposite really, most people grow up listening to rock while I listened to rap and switched over afterwards.

If you were a character in a movie or a show, who would you be?

Peter Griffin from Family Guy because he’s a fat piece of shit. (laughs) Ahh, I don’t know. I saw a Halloween costume the other day and someone was Kickass, that movie was cool. I’d probably be Bart Simpson. I have a slingshot, I bring it on tour and I shoot bottles on it so people call me Bart Simpson.

So you guys are going on The Buried Alive tour soon. How does it feel to share the stage with national acts such as Avenged Sevenfold?

It’s cool for us. They’re from the same area we’re from and they’re some of the nicest dudes I’ve ever met. It’s humbling to meet a band the size of they are who wants you to tour with them so the whole experience is really cool for us.

What are some hobbies you guys have?

We all do different shit. I skateboard a lot. A lot of the things you do on the road to keep yourself sane, some of us draw, some of us write music on the side. I have a horror website I just started to keep myself busy. It’s called scaredornot.com. I’m into comedy so I take the lighter side of horror and make like fake news. It’s kinda like The Onion but with hormones or getting erected, something funny like that.

If you could choose any profession outside of being a musician, what would it be?

That’s probably the best question I’ve ever had because I ask myself that every day. Oh god, I could be in a band forever. I want to be a fisherman because I’m staring at a lake right now so I’d probably enjoy fishing. (laughs) I don’t know, I can’t think of anything, I’ll be in another band is what I would do.

Sweet! Thanks for your time, I hope you have a great day.

Growing up, what influenced you musically? Was there a certain band or artist who sparked your interest in music?

My dad listens to a lot of Blues so I listen to a lot of Blues when I was really young. Johnny Hooker, B.B King, Robert Johnson, Little Walter, Big Walter. I also had a John Lennon record, a Beatles record. There was always music around my house growing up. When I was in high school, I listened to a lot of early 90s Hip Hop and then I started to listen to more Rock when I got older. I’m influenced by a bit of everything. I was always more of a song guy, I didn’t listen to records so much but I love making my own playlists.

What first made you decide to want to become a musician and do this for a living?

I don’t think there’s anything else I would rather do to be honest. I think maybe at the end of the day, it was decision by default (laughs). I had a lot of iron in the fire and I was good at a few things, I was a fighter and I sing. I tried to have a career in fighting and music at the same time and music just took over.

Do you find that the way you were brought up influenced you greatly as a musician?

Yeah! It influences the way I write songs, definitely.

Is there a theme or concept throughout your latest album ‘’Something for the Pain’’ that you would like to share?

There’s definitely a concept and the concept is very simply that the songs are real and relatable to my own life. I don’t think there’s any daylight between my lyrics and my music and myself. This record especially was something necessary, something I needed to write.

Do you have a favorite song off the album and was there a song you felt was the hardest to write?

I think the song that was most difficult to write was ‘’When the Dust Settled Down’’ and the song that started off for me was ‘’Something for the Pain.’’ Every time I listen to it, it’s still fresh to me. It’s the lead song off the record. That song sparked the whole project.

Where does your inspiration to write music come from?

It comes from all around. I’m fortunate enough to travel the world and have a few different shots at life. People around me inspire situations and stories, I write songs about the human conditional and I like to tell stories.

You trained in Judo for the Olympics. How did not making the Olympics team affect the way you wrote music? 

It didn’t affect the way I write music at all. I mean knowing what failure feels like and stuff, it is a real misfortunate thing for all of us and I think that sparked a few songs in a general discontent for how we feel about life but that’s part of life.

How differently do you think your life would be if you had made the team? 

 (laughs) That is a good question. I can’t answer that.

If you could perform with any musician dead or alive, who would it be and why?

 Oh man, I don’t know, there are so many good musicians. I’d still like to play with Neil. Neil Young would be sweet. It’s hard to say really, I was a huge Johnny Hooker fan so that would be neat.

You are currently on tour with Everlast. What has it been like for you so far?

It’s been a great experience. It’s just been amazing connecting with the audience. Being on tour with Everlast and having mutual respect for one another has given our band confidence to go out there and do our job every night.

What are some shenanigans you guys get up to on tour?

We have this thing called ‘’Sprinter Fever’’. When you’re doing long drives in a huge truck, it’s called a sprinter. Our sprinter, we named him Moose. So after Moose goes for about 4-5 hours, it starts to get a little nuts and hell breaks loose and we start to crash the sprinter. There are always 1 or 2 things a day that are memorable. Julian, our guitar player is really good at citing examples of that stuff whereas for me it kinda flies by but we’re having a great time. It’s all rock and roll.

Is there a country or place you would really like to visit and play a show?

 We often talk about Japan because a lot of the bands we tour with think it’s great out there but I would say this is our home, we’re from here and this is the most important. Our songs are most relatable to people from America and Canada so we haven’t thought about it too much. We have been approached possibly to play in Afghanistan which is something I would love to do. One day we’ll go play for the troops and give back.

What inspired your music video for “Bullet in My Hand”?

 The video was inspired by my grandfather. He was in the Polish Air Force. He was the squadron leader and he flew The Lancaster Bomber. The song was also inspired from World War II and I just thought it would be cool to intertwine the concepts of us having a performance video with a little story of characters going through hell but decide to go out and keep fighting.

What is a hobby that you or anyone in the band have that people might be surprised to learn about?

I would say hot rods although I don’t think people would be surprised to learn about it because I’m a hot rodder. There is only a little bit of time when we’re not working and I take that time to work on my motorcycle and I’m working on a hot rod right now, It’s called a Lincoln Zephyr. That’s my only other passion. Jules is a musician through and through, he and Ken just like to chill out so I don’t know, you’ll have to ask those guys.

I will, someday! We’ve come to the end of the interview, thank you so much for your time!

Thank you. It was nice talking to you, bye bye.

Check out the music video for ”Bullet in my Hand” below.

Hailing from Surrey, UK based rock band You Me at Six comes forth with their third album, Sinners Never Sleep. Sharing Biffy Clyro and Rage Against the Machine’s producer, Garth Richardson, this record proves versatility as they coat the abundance of riffs throughout the 12 new tracks with signs of maturity and refreshing boldness. The band has obviously taken a different direction as the album’s heavier style blends in with fitting screaming vocals from Oliver Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon and Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall on two songs. Instead of taking a formal step forward, these boys have departed from their pop-punk grounds and have taken a surprising leap into the distance as they concoct their own mixture of pop/rock/post-hardcore. The familiar bouncy vibe in the album’s opener ‘Loverboy’ highlights the album’s theme as it displays the distinctive bridge of their sound.  With taunting lyrics like ‘’I might be proud but at least I’m proud of something, you’ve taken pride in becoming nothing.’’ In ‘Bite My Tongue’ and the ironic line ‘’ “Life’s a bitch, but I’m friends with her sister” in ‘Jaws on the Floor’, the album tackles elements of assertiveness, resentment and love. It also shows how the band have grown after going through a dark time in their career. ‘Little Death’ slides in slowly before soaring into the chorus. ‘Crash’ then announces itself as a soft ballad eliminating the pop-punk strings as it takes on a passionate love story.

The only other time a band I’ve previously dismissed as an interest have surprised me and converted me to a fan was when Bring Me The Horizon released There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret. Both bands have traded vocals on each of their new records and created an interesting atmosphere for fans to delve into.

By Roxanne Asthenia

During my trip back to Singapore, I had the opportunity to meet Neon Trees before their concert at Fort Canning Park. I’m glad this was not one of those ”hey, will you sign this, thanks, goodbye!” kind of thing, we actually managed to have decent conversations with each of them personally and it was a great experience. Perle, Natalie and I got to the meeting place in good time and not only did we realise that a pass was almost unnecessary, one guy who I assume was one of the organizers was holding up a poster and going up to random people asking if they wanted to meet the band. It was really amusing, it was also uncalled for because the Diesel outlet packed itself with excited fans just moments later. I happened to be first in line to meet the band, I told them how this would be the third time I’m seeing them perform live and they were really excited to hear that. Tyler Glenn asked me where I saw them before and I said I saw them twice as an opening act in Vancouver, BC. The first time was when they opened for 30 Seconds to Mars and the second was for My Chemical Romance. Seeing them as a headlining act was a bit of a change, the vibe and energy that was brought on stage was distinctively different, definitely ”headlining quality”.

After meeting them as a band, we got to meet them individually as well and we had the longest epic conversation with Brendan Campbell. We talked about tattoos, how he kept his beard so neat, touring, music and chicken rice. He said he tried the stingray at Newton the day before and it was amazing. Well, Singapore does have the best food. Overall, it was a fantastic experience! Thank you, Live4Music!

Webster’s article succeeds in stating the features of the digital media marketplace and how it influences consumption. Systems such as social media and search engines that shape consumption are clearly defined. Issues brought up in the article are seldom thoroughly inspected, one of which includes the question ‘’But do the devotees of a particular genre or ideology effectively seal themselves up in a niche where everything is of a particular sort?’’ (Webster 611). It is assumed with no premises that popular offerings will always be a part of a person’s cultural diet. Facts of the media environment are pointed out through the shared reality of interaction between media users and media providers. Information regimes are emphasized as a key factor of the media marketplace, recommendation systems can pull people towards unconscious attention while further fragmenting the audience can push people away. ‘’Whether society will be well served by a media marketplace where supply finally meets demand is ultimately a normative question.’’ (Webster 612). Another issue is left unanswered. I agree to a certain extent in regards to the statement ‘’(O)thers who believe that social values should sometimes trump the marketplace will be unconvinced’’ (Webster 612) as the media is too massive a bullet to consciously dodge. However, social values relating to having individual opinions as opposed to the mainstream pattern of consumption do exist. The act of not conforming to whatever the popular media feeds you is actually a strong ideology within certain countercultures.

This article depicts methods and regimes that are apparent in the social media but it does not offer anything more than the basic ideas of the symbolic interactionism paradigm. I think it should address the social consequences of being a consumer so as to suggest a greater sense of enlightenment in the essay. An example of a social consequence would be the dehumanization and demoralization of a society. People are exposed to different kinds of media everyday and are most unlikely to be conscious of the impact it has on them. Love and religion are often advertised on billboards and commercials which should raise serious moral issues. A controversial characteristic of consumers is that they are all pumped full of fear. I think the concept of consumption is all based on the campaign of fear. A ‘’do this or you won’t fit in with society’’ technique is used to work on people’s sanity so as to keep them afraid and keep them buying things they do not necessarily need.

Social media takes the term ‘’media’’ to a whole new level, it makes it so much easier to access information. People are steered into the hearts of their culture and are almost immediately bombarded with media sources. The social consequences of dehumanization should be brought up alongside the perks of convenient media. ‘’Social scientists should be particularly mindful of how social media might affect our fate.’’ (Webster 612).