Secret Knowledge

From the beginning knowledge has been forbidden to Man, and this concept—that knowledge is something pernicious, harmful, corrupting—is central to the Judeo-Christian ideology which we have inherited, and which forms the backbone of our culture and society. It matters not if we accept or even acknowledge this Consensus ideology, we nonetheless belong to it. The Bible begins with the fable of Eden, of Adam, Eve and the Serpent, with the forbidding (and punishing) presence of the Elohim lurking ominously behind the scenes. And yet, even without departing too radically from the text or diving too deeply between the lines, it can also be reasoned from this myth that knowledge is the very thing that makes us men, that distinguishes us from the other animals (even if it has yet to make us gods). There can be little doubt that—way back at the beginning of Time—the Elohim were fully aware of our modern psychological concepts: by forbidding knowledge, these strange gods made sure we seek after it. The Serpent was Eve’s conscience speaking plainly, goading her on to the inevitable act. But this impulse came about through—or resulted from—the Elohim’s words themselves, making the Serpent simply the active fulfillment of Their secret will. Naturally, since these archetypes are as inseparable as cause and effect and as the twin hemispheres of the brain, neither has much meaning to the contemporary reader unless they are seen, in psychological terms, as two apparently conflicting aspects of the human psyche.

The Reading Festival 2011

I mean....arguing over the relative meaning of Pulp lyrics or the Strokes ability to get a groove on? To be honest the whole Reading line up was like finding a Guardian journalists Ipod and having a quick flick through the tracks (before dropping into Cash Converters). It's all very twee and socially relevant and not a little shit.

Odd Future doubly so, riding a fixie on stage should be a good marker as to the lack of credentials this collective has. They are in fact very homophobic and "casually racist" doesn't tell half the story but the biggest crime? Crap Sound forge beats and lame bars the hip hop version of The Kooks.

The 'Frosty Jack' crowd, boo! If you're going to sit on your boyfriends shoulders mouthing lyrics a la John Redwood stylee at least get your knockers out and give the viewing public something interesting to see between thinking of letting the dog out for a piss and wondering whether its too late to eat an ice cream.