Jimmy Cauty Model Village: the Aftermath Dislocation Principle | Hacker News Reader

Jimmy Cauty Model Village: the Aftermath Dislocation Principle

we-heart.com

56 pointsbloke_zero12 comments

I used to work for Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond's record label, back when they were dominating the UK and European pop charts as The KLF (1).

One thing that the media have a tough time dealing with is the fact that Bill and Jimmy are experimental artists who took over the pop charts ... and then proceeded to do what experimental artists are wont to do in such a situation. They gave a huge middle finger to the industry, by barnstorming the big UK music industry award ceremony (playing a death metal version of one of their dance hits and "... firing blanks from an automatic weapon over the heads of the crowd. Later in the evening the band dumped a dead sheep outside one of the after-parties") (2), deleting their entire back catalogue and then burning a million quid (3). They proceeded to do lots of other experimental stuff, ranging from writing some excellent books to activities such as the model village.

What does the media remember them for? More often than not, it's the one-off act of Burning a Million Quid. Their ground-breaking music, the books, the anti-establishment statements and art ... it's seldom taken seriously or given much respect these days. I am glad to see Jimmy's exhibition is getting some coverage, but I hate to see the same old background factoid trotted out. It's as if reporters writing about John Lennon always referenced "The Beatles are bigger than Jesus" quote to define him.

If the hook is going to be the money bonfire, at least give it the proper context.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_KLF

2. http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/a-look-back-on-...

3. http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/08/time-k-found...

I loved the KLF. After reading the The Illuminatus! Trilogy I was facinated with the idea of how much freedom you could have in our society if you just stopped following unenforced cultural norms.

Bands like the KLF were a huge part of my early 20's.

The entire "Andy Kaufman" method of turning society and the media into your own private playground always seemed like the highest form of humor to me.

I am beyond jealous of your experiences!

It was quite amazing to see some of the stuff they pulled. For instance, bringing country music legend Tammy Wynette into the studio with a rapper to do a club dance song ("Justified & Ancient") seems absolutely bonkers but it worked. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7_ajdd99CM )

I highly recommend reading Bill Drummond's 1988 book "The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)." It seemed like brilliant satire (The KLF was releasing experimental trance music at the time) but he and Jimmy ended up at top of the charts on multiple occasions in the years that followed.

There's some advice in The Manual which I've sometimes wondered could (or should) apply to the startup scene: "having no money sharpens the wits".

The complete text of The Manual is online in several places, e.g. http://freshonthenet.co.uk/the-manual-by-the-klf/

It is hyperspecifically about the UK indie music industry in 1988. But it communicates the attitude you need to take on to try this sort of thing: specifically, it teaches you how to become the KLF. This translates to all fields in all times and places.

Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond are two of my personal heroes.

I really recommend John Higgs's 'The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds' [0]. It's an inspiring read, focusing on two people who went and did things, no matter what the consequences - and covers everything from conceptual art to the UK music industry to The Illuminatus! trilogy, Tim Leary and more.

[0] http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-KLF-Burned-Million-Pounds/dp/178...

Weird. In a model of post-apocalyptical life, the only people out and cleaning up are the constables. Erasing graffiti, clearing rubble, tending to bodies found in culverts. And this is supposed to be anti-police? Not what I took away from it. I guess I'm missing some cultural assumptions. Which makes it just sad.

The UK doesn't have the same anti-police sentiment you find in the US.

In the UK the police are held to a high standard and are generally respected for the hard work they do.

Erm. Where in the UK does that happen exactly?

If you grew up in the 90's in the UK you'd sort of recognise something from stuff like the road protest movement, free parties etc - the ubiquitous hi-viz jackets of the police. To understand the cultural context think about those lines of Hunter S Thompson about the hippie movement as a wave of love and optimism. This diorama is what is left behind when the wave breaks and ebbs away. I wonder if the serotonin receptors in Jimmy's brain have just burnt out - maybe that is why it's so bleak...

The police building their headquarters as a '323 metre solid gold pyramid that harks to the Tower of Babel' seems pretty on-the-nose. https://vimeo.com/151955927

the pyramid is sponsored by Greggs.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com