TOTAL ORDER ISSUE 101 | Page 37

Rock You Like A Conspiracy

By Bernard Griess

Bernard is the writer / guitarist for the hard rock band , Undone He has a been a content creator for Total Order Magzine since its launch 6 years ago . This is his first column for Total Order .
Turn on the TV or look at your no doubt countless social media news feeds these days , and you ’ re very likely to hear a word thrown about with an abandon that runs the gamut from improbability to outright irresponsibility . And that word is ?
Conspiracy .
What does that word conjure up in your twisty little brains ? No doubt lots of shady characters , sending coded messages in shady environments , or performing shady deals with other shady individuals , most likely for personal or regime gain , all while those of us outside of the inner circle go on with our mundane lives in complete ignorant bliss . Except of course those labeled as “ Conspiracy Theorists ” -persons burdened with the horrific “ truth ” as they
see it , whose lives are often devoted to trying to uncover these truths , no matter how improbable or fantastic they may seem .
Now , before your political radar goes bananas , do not fret . We ’ re not going to be diving into questions about if 9-11 was an inside job , or if Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman in the JFK assasination . Nothing about a supposed cabal of elite cannibals , or the planet being flat as a saucer . No , nothing so polarizing or earth shattering . We may talk a bit of relevant politics , but fear not , we ’ re going to keep our feet planted firmly in the realm of music .
Of course , the music world has its share of conspiracy theories . I ’ m sure , like me , you ’ ve heard most of them . Some believe Jimi Hendrix did not die in the way it was depicted by reports , but that he was , in fact , murdered . Or maybe you ’ ve heard the one about the Sir Paul McCartney that we ’ ve known and loved for years is actually not the REAL Paul McCartney , who died during the Beatles ascension to superstardom , and was secretly replaced by a lookalike ( and .... sound alike ?). Then there ’ s the one about how Keith Richards once had a complete blood transfusion to kick his drug habit . Or that John Lennon was secretly assassinated by the US Government . And on and on . You get the idea . There are numerous examples , some mundane and some a bit more sinister . We ’ re likely familiar with these tales . But recently , I was floored by a music conspiracy theory that I ’ d never heard , and it was as stunning to look into as it was preposterous . And in order to open up this can of worms , we ’ re going to go back to a time in world history that is rife with secrecy and intrigue . I ’ m talking about the Cold War .
Many of you are probably too young to remember those times , but I suspect a great number of you aren ’ t . We ’ re talking about the 1980 ’ s here . The nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union ( now , of course , known as Russia ) was in full swing . We all lived in fear of an imminent nuclear war . It was in our faces everywhere . It was in movies , television , and in the music of the time . I can distinctly remember going through drills in school , going over what to do in case of a nuclear attack . At any moment , a launch could begin , and that would be the end of the world . As a child , being bombarded with this imagery and these thoughts was overwhelming at times . When you ’ re 13 , thoughts of being vaporized for no reason were not easy to process .
This isn ’ t a huge history lesson , but the backdrop has to be set . Germany was still split between East Germany and West
Germany , with the Berlin Wall separating the two . During these times , the Soviet Union was a mystery to the rest of the world . It was a place shrouded in secrecy . The western world could only see glimpses into the society . And , in turn , the west and it ’ s values were strictly forbidden there . That of course included western music . So it was a complete surprise to the world when a music festival was announced that would be taking place in Moscow , featuring western rock acts .
This isn ’ t a huge history lesson , but the backdrop has to be set . Germany was still split between East Germany and West Germany , with the Berlin Wall separating the two . During these times , the Soviet Union was a mystery to the rest of the world . It was a place shrouded in secrecy . The western world could only see glimpses
( Turn to page for the rest of this amazing story )
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