Back to index of Nerve 8 - Spring 2006

“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.”
Noam Chomsky

Nerve is Positive!

Every time we bring out a new issue of Nerve, we get people stopping us in the street telling us we’re ‘a breath of fresh air’, ‘radically different’, and ‘unique' in highlighting issues that the rest of the media normally ignore.

There’s another comment we sometimes get though. Occasionally we are accused of being a bit too heavy, too pessimistic, and of giving the reader too much ‘doom and gloom’ to take in. Well we’re sorry that some of you feel like that. If you want happy and fluffy articles whose aim is to knock you brain dead, or that celebrate hedonism, then you're reading the wrong mag.

In this issue, we do have quite a nice mixture. Yes, we have the usual grassroots perspective on all the bad stuff. How the Capital of Culture is failing ordinary Liverpudlians, how ‘regeneration’ is being rigged against the poorest and why the construction workers we see every day face danger and poverty pay, thanks to anti-trade union laws and shoddy employers. Oh, and then there’s Tesco’s plans for world domination. It’s a bleak picture alright.

But we also have a few stories celebrating those who are fighting back, in whatever small way they can. We feature the work of an artists’ collective at the Bridewell on Prescot Street and the Rooftop recording studios in Victoria Street. We also have the inside story on an attempt to find ways around the council’s horrible flyposting ban. We have the latest on Phil Hayes’ efforts to resurrect the legendary Picket venue, and we follow the search for 21st century bands the city can be proud of with Helen Grey’s ‘Beyond The Beatles’ article on page 26.

We are also looking for music reviews to put on our website. If you go to gigs regularly and would like to get your opinions on the net then email mail(at)catalystmedia.org.uk and leave us your contact details. Our comprehensive reviews section already contains incisive analysis of almost all the local theatre, films and exhibitions.

The glass is almost empty. Let’s fill it!