In last week’s intro I wrote about the fear of the zombification of our neighbors, teasing a discussion about a sneaky way of writing about an inversion of that concept. Well, here it is: The central idea shifts from a fear of your social equals to the creeping horror of full institutional political capture from an invading, inhuman malignancy. A lot of movies and stories cover this notion, from the various films this week’s column is titled after to They Live, John Carpenter’s send up of 1980’s yuppie consumerist excess, with the nation’s power structures captured by aliens whose goal is to turn humanity into docile consumers pushed into ever-tighter boxes until we are all penned-in like veal calves in the morbid nightmare of our own dismal gluttony.
One spin on this theme I’m particularly fond of is an early story by the late visionary sci-fi author Philip K. Dick called “The Hanging Stranger.” Skip ahead to the next paragraph if you want to avoid a spoiler for something published in 1953. The quick gist of the plot is a small-town man sees an unfamiliar person hanging dead from a telephone pole, and is as horrified by the apparent lack of reaction and concern from his fellow citizens as he is by the graphic scene. He slowly comes to realize that his town has been completely taken over by extraterrestrial insects. He manages to escape with his life to the next town over to spread the word, where he locates the head constable, who believes him and listens to his story intently before killing our protagonist and hanging him from a lamp post. Another strange corpse used as bait to fish out the people in this town who haven’t been overtaken yet by the new masters.
The idea of using someone’s conscience against them should, unfortunately, feel familiar to more than a few of you. We are living through an era where there is an attempt, from the elite levels of society downward, to reprogram all of us into accepting oppression, mass death and manufactured scarcity as signs of a healthy system that rewards its most powerful individuals with a pathway to complete control over the rest of us. They want you to be obedient and scared, satisfied enough with tiny rewards and exemptions from the cruelty of this project to turn away from your own humanity, to help bind and doom your fellows. This project demands you to be angry and distrustful toward the people around you so you don’t form alliances and overcome the minority of vicious little pricks grinding the controls of our corrupted institutions. They want you to submit in fear and exhaustion — it’s really that simple and anyone who resists this dehumanization is labeled a radical, a dangerous subversive.
This week is an excellent time to ask yourself whether paranoia and submission are values you hold instead of peace, community and, most of all, our immense power to dream of better things. Our dreams are a magic the hive mind cannot ever replicate and no matter how many drones are swarming our nest, we must carry the bright banner of our fantastic desires.
Enjoy dreaming this week under the backend of the harvest supermoon.
Thursday
If you are in the mood for some weird folk and off-beat rock with a mostly local flavor, Northtown Coffee is the place to be. Roll through at 6:30 p.m. for the musical stylings of Ethan Rubin’s Wounded Animal, Portland one-man band It & I,area acoustic doomsters Bleater and front-to-side man of many Humboldt sounds Daniel Nickerson. The $5-$10 suggested donation sounds pretty negotiable to me.
Friday
Michael Beach is a soundmaker from Melbourne, Australia who has found a home in North American hi-fi sets with his releases on outré rock label Goner Records. Known for his vibrant stage presence, you can see some of that lightning captured in the bottle that is the Miniplex tonight at 8:30 p.m. Also on tap are Bay Area off-poppers Replica Watch and the always excellent local collective Winter Band ($15).
Saturday
If you didn’t snag tickets to see Bruce Cockburn tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts, fear not, I have a couple of alternative suggestions in Arcata.
The Outer Space is hosting a fundraiser called Good People for Gaza at 6:30 p.m., where a suggested donation of $10 will not only go toward aiding a family in just about the most urgent need possible prepare for the coming winter two years into a genocide, but will also allow you to enjoy the music of Lxs Perdidxs, Rael Leonheart and The Free Band.
Meanwhile over at the Miniplex at 8 p.m. you will find the return of musician, puppeteer and member of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show extended universe David Liebe Hart. He will be joined by the powerful synth and song potions of local wizard Dr. Foxmeat along with Freakbait and Dave Heatwave. The pricing structure for this evening is as follows: $10 for advance tickets, $15 at the door, and $25 for a meet and greet with the cosmic puppeteer and caricature artist himself.
Sunday
Two happy returns tonight, in both artist and venue, as we are treated to the return of Hawaiian slack-key guitar master Led Kaapana at the Old Steeple, an excellent venue with a very select program of shows throughout the year. Tonight’s offering begins at 7:30 p.m. sharp, with tickets going for $31.50 in advance and $35 at the door.
Monday
Bulgarian folk band Bulgarika will be performing tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Synapsis. A mixture of rousing music and a dance party for those in the audience wishing to participate — no experience needed — this show looks like the perfect way to start out the working week with good energy. A suggested donation of $10-$20 is entirely negotiable at the doors, which will open at 7 p.m.
Tuesday
Moss Oak Commons at 1905 Alliance Road in Arcata is putting on a rock show tonight starring Los Angeles shoegaze band Valley Porno People. Also on the bill tonight are Breakfast Collection and Vivianne Dawn. It all starts at 7 p.m., and I am once again calling the $10 door price negotiable because I get tired of typing out No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds or NOTAFLOF over and over. Consider this term retired for a while.
Wednesday
The all-ages, $20, 7 p.m. Dirty Rotten Imbeciles show at Savage Henry Comedy Club appears to be all sold-out on the internet, so unless you know something I don’t — entirely possible — you might be looking for another adventure tonight. Here’s an idea. Remember Bulgarika from Monday night? Well, today they will be putting on a music workshop at Redwood Raks Dance Studio at 4:30 p.m. For more information go to humboldtfolkdancers.org or call (707) 496-6734.
Collin Yeo (he/him) is a normal person who wants everything to be less horrible for (nearly) everyone. He lives in Arcata.
This article appears in ‘What Else Can We Do?’.