First things first, would you please introduce yourself and say some words about the history of Bitter End? When you started the band did you have something specific in mind that you wanted to achieve? Has it always been your plan to be that politically outspoken?
Whats up? My name is Daniel Rosen, I provide the vocals for Bitter End. Bitter End started in early 2005 to have fun playing in a hardcore band influenced by bands like Cro Mags, Breakdown, Sick Of It All, etc... Luckily, people besides ourselves were into the band and we have ended up putting out some records, and touring with some great bands. People always assume that I am politically outspoken, but the fact is I really am not at all. I think the world is a fucked up place, probably due partly to the political climate, but I try not to get into detailed specifics with lyrics. Each member of Bitter End has their own political opinions.
Do your parents understand what you are doing? What do they think about your music? Are they worried when they read the lyrics you wrote?
My parents are understanding of Bitter End as much as a couple of 55 year old adults can be. They do not listen to the band, but they think its cool and exciting that I get to travel around playing music. Both my parents have Bitter End CD's, and they have sometimes asked me about the lyrics, but I try to avoid the subject. My Mom did tell me she really liked the lyrics on the "Climate of Fear" LP.
Climate of fear was somewhat of a concept album, do you think the next record is going to be concept record too? What did motivate you to dedicate the record mainly to one theme?
Climate of Fear was somewhat a concept ablbum in the sense that all the lyrics revolved around different types of "fear." I have a few lyrical ideas for the album that is being written. I do not know for sure whether lyrically the next album will be in a similar fashion, but I will say that it is looking that way.
Barack Obama has been President for a couple of months now and he’s trying to be more cooperative and open to the world. In your opinion, in how far has the reputation of the USA in the world with the new administration already changed? How has it affected the “climate of fear” in the USA?
First off, I want to say that everyone in Bitter End has differing political opinions concerning the President of the U.S. As a band we try not to delve to far into political specifics, but you asked for my opinion so I will give it to you.
(The following answer was written by my good friend James Nealy. He is the guitarist for the best band that will never leave Texas called Your Mistake. I approached him to answer this question for me because we have a lot of the same political views but he is much more versed in political specifics than I am.)
So there are any number of ways to approach this and from each perspective it is easy to tear down the mystique Obama has managed to build around himself.
First, let's consider your statement that Obama is "trying to be more cooperative and open to the world." Earlier this month (4/6) while in Turkey, Obama promised improved relations with Turkey and "acknowledged their importance not just to the US but to the world" while supporting Turkey's EU bid. Of course there was no mention of the fact during Obama's campaign he used the word "genocide" in reference to an estimated 1.5 million Armenian deaths at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Major news media lauded the President's fresh approach to international relations and the Turkish government was flattered by his choice to end his first tour abroad in their nation. Now this past week, Obama has enraged the Turkish government by calling the mass killings one of the "great atrocities" of the 20th century. So, this beacon of hope and change made a bold statement in his campaign which he then conveniently put aside when it mattered most (and when he was looking to gain strategic support for the US war effort in the Middle East) and then went back to strong language when it benefited him.
There are other examples as well. Considering space limitations I'd encourage readers to examine Obama's attempt to pass himself off as "anti war" in spite of the fact that he has remains absolutely willing to retain a residual force in Iraq indefinitely, plans to intensify the war in Afghanistan, new discussions of military operations in Pakistan, his "unshakable commitment" to Israel and his on again off again tough talk regarding Latin America.
I've heard it argued that the primary reason the world has such little patience for Americans and their political opinion is because we so rarely take into account that what we decide truly does have impact all over the globe. While it may be true that what happens in the US causes vibrations all over the world it would be suicide for the US to consider what the world thinks about every little move we make. It should be pretty clear to anyone who pays even the slightest amount of attention to political affairs that one of the primary motivating factors for the EU's creation was to balance the US's economic influence on the world. It seems foolish to me for the US to consider its competitor's interests before it makes a move. When the world needs aid for starving people in developing nations, it calls on the US. When the US makes decisions which support and defend its own interests, we're labeled war mongers.The US became a world power and earned the power to influence the world's decisions by pursuing our own interests and not worrying about whose feelings were hurt or how the world feels about what we choose to do and when we choose to do it. Even if this were not the case, Obama has shown that the "change" he brings to foreign policy is a cosmetic one only fools cannot see through.
Domestically, Barack Obama penned a $787 billion "stimulus" plan which passed along partisan lines (we could discuss the ramifications of this "stimulus" for hours) and appointed a cabinet which includes Rahm Emanuel (a former member of the Board of Directors for Freddie Mac [the Obama Administration rejected a request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director]), Timothy Geithner (a former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and tax evader [to the sum of $35,000]), and Eric Holder (who referred to the US as a nation of "cowards" regarding the issue of race and who once represented UBS AG, a Swiss bank sued by the US government for tax fraud [Holder removed himself from all legal matters regarding the bank]), to name a few.
While it is absolutely true that any US President's cabinet and actions can be scrutinized in much the same manner which I did above, what is important to consider is the manner in which this man attempted to portray himself: as a man of "hope" and "change" that the people could believe in. Nothing could be further from the truth. The French poet Baudelaire once wrote "the devil's best trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist!" Never before in the US's history has this warning rang so prophetic. The "Climate of Fear" has only intensified.
That song “Purgatory” off your latest EP has a religious tone to it, not only from the title but the whole lyrics, and I think, if I interpret it right, are similar to the theme of the song “the other side”. Both seem somehow trying to cope with the question of what comes after death and the question if we are reincarnated or not. Is that correct? Could you maybe say some more words about these two songs and your notion of afterlife?
First of all I do not like the word religious, but i prefer "spiritual." The song "Purgatory" does have some spiritualy inspiration in the lyrics similar to "the other side." "Purgatory" is mainly about how some people theorize that life on earth is actually hell, and feeling like you are stuck in an unhappy situation you can not escape. The lyrics also deal with reincarnation, and wondering if death will just bring my soul into a new life on earth to start again in "Purgatory." "The Other Side" lyrics basically talk about my own questions about reincarnation, and what happens after death, if anything?
That song “vigilance” is about someone who “took matters in his own hand”… if you read the lyrics, they seem to suggest some support for self-justice, could you maybe explain your point of view a little more?
If you want to understand the lyrics to "Vigilance" watch a movie called Taxi-Driver. The lyrics are basically about people who see what is wrong with world, and decide to take justice into their own hands.
Usually when I want to talk about a more “serious” topic with a band and I read there lyrics I find one or two songs to which I could ask something, but I think I could ask a serious question to any song on “Climate of Fear” and on the EP. So, I’d like to leave it up to you; which topic that you write about in your lyrics would you say is the most important to you and why?
Most of my lyrics are about the way I see, and interpert everything that happens in my life. Because of that a lot of my lyrics are theraputic because I get to release a lot of the thoughts that float around in my head. Sometimes when I feel wronged by other people, the words I write about them are my own way of lashing out. Those lyrics are most important to me.
Now, the job interview question, where do you see yourself and Bitter End in the next 5 years?
Honestly, I do not think Bitter End will be a band in five years. I am not saying we won't be, but most of the band is in school, and when we graduate I have a feeling everyone will end up doing their own thing miles apart from each other. I could be wrong though and only time will tell.
You’ve been touring a lot, what are in your opinion the main differences/similarities between the scenes?
We have toured a decent amount the past few years, but like I just said most of us are in school, and have part time jobs, so we really only tour a few months out of the year at most. Still, the normal human is not driving around in a hot van for two or three months out of the year, so I do get to see a lot of places that I would not see otherwise. I think everywhere you go there is that core group of people into hardcore/punk that you can relate with and understand, but each place has their own qualities different from the next. I like Europe a lot because everyone appreciates the music a little more than most of the hardcore/punk kids in the United States.
The history of hardcore has been examined more intensively in the last couple of years, with several publications, for example American Hardcore about the 80’s, Anti Matter Anthology about the 90’s, what do you think will people keep in mind if they talk about the post-millennium decade of hardcore?
I could go on and on about how I think hardcore will be remembered after the year 2000. The short answer is the internet changed everything, straight edge and vegetarianism are no longer as prevalent, and underground music is much more accepted in mainstream society.
Ok, thank you very much for doing this. Do you have any last words, any recommendations, etc??
Thanks for the interview. Buy the Trapped Under Ice LP when it comes out. HARDCORE STILL LIVES!
Interviews