Casey Acierno

Could Swedish punk music be the new form of Western Communism? In 2001 the (International) Noise Conspiracy appeared with their second album, A New Morning, Changing Weather. The hit single on that release? A track entitled “Capitalism Stole My Virginity.”

The (I)NC are self-professed Communists, Socialists, revolutionaries — you name it — who are equally comfortable with guitars and stage kicks. Their music, however, is rarely as explicit as one might expect from a band that introduces itself as “that Commie rock band &that your grandmother warned you about.” Lyrics from their latest release, Armed Love, range from “gotta keep the dream alive” (“Let's Make History”) to “this world belongs to you and me” (“Armed Love”). At the same time, the (I)NC pepper their between-song commentary with denunciations of George Bush and support for the Palestinian cause. So which is it — Communism as an excuse to dress up in kitschy Maoist military jackets, or punk music as a means to fight the system? In other words, is the gimmick actually sincere?

“If you want to choose a gimmick for a band, anti-capitalist communist rock is probably not the best gimmick you can choose,” says Dennis Lyxzén, the band's lead singer. But the gimmick seems to be working out just fine. Armed Love was produced by Rick Rubin, best known among the college set for his appearance in Jay-Z's video for “99 Problems,” which he also produced. Their 600th show occurred at the industry-only CMJ Music Marathon.

Like any other band, they sell t-shirts, bags, and other paraphernalia that permit fans to broadcast their devotion. While the average fan waits to purchase a $15 American Apparel t-shirts with slogans like “revolution is just a heartbeat away,” he also has the chance to peruse books such as The No-Nonsense Guide to Women's Rights and The Culture of Make Believe, about problems with Western culture.

The (I)NC see no problem with these seeming contradictions. “[Rick Rubin] believes in our band, though he's not going to give up his mansion in the Hollywood Hills,” says Lyxzén. “He's one of the channels that we can use to get out there.” The idea of “getting out there” is the (I)NC's primary concern, no matter how many interviews they have to give to music magazines or shows they play with MTV-approved bands like the Bravery. Their message, however, is far from anything ripped straight from the Communist Manifesto. According to Lyxzén, all the (I)NC want is to “inspire people to think about politics in their everyday lives, and think about politics as the deciding factor in their everyday lives.”

Jackie Alvo, a fan from Long Island, identifies with these sentiments, while also showcasing the paradox of the anti-capitalist band's position in the hyper-capitalist music industry. While gathering up easily a hundred dollars in (I)NC accessories, she explained, “I live in a shitty tiny little house, and my mom works a million hours a week, and my little sister has to go to a shitty school where kids shoot each other.” Alvo claims that, for her, the (I)NC isn't an inspiration to effect political change; but instead a musical and fashion statement.

“We're not the leaders of a political movement, we're not at the forefront of a new political idea. We're just a soundtrack to political change,” claims Lyxzén.

Perhaps that's all the band needs to be. Making the personal political and the political personal is not easy to do by any means, and odds are a few songs and fists held high during “Power to the People” isn't going to do it. As Lyxzén himself says, the (I)NC are probably not the ones to advocate explicit policy remedies for the inequalities they only talk about. For them, it's enough that they are a musical voice expressing frustrations some of their fans can perhaps identify as their own.