DISOBEDIENCE 101
“Disobey Giants” is not just a pun insinuating that Shepard Fairey – though he’s still a great artist – may well have become one of the giants he was warning us about in the 90s. But still, it is, in a way, what this album is about. This album is about staying true. About not becoming what you hate and/or not hating what you have become. And I do believe that disobeying giants is a way to achieve that. It is a way of life. And as far as I’m concerned, a happy one.
Giants are those institutions, entities or people who tell you what to do. Usually on the basis that they have authority, power or money (or all of the above), whether those are justified or not. Some scream louder than others, and some even know how to whisper insidiously in your ears. But mostly they just want you to consume, conform, shut up and, if possible, consume again. Call it conformism or corporations or advertising or materialism or greed or the media or politicians or compromise or capitalism or teachers or parents or bankers or your boss at work… giants come in many shapes and colors, just like an IKEA Billy bookcase.
So if giants are everywhere all the time, how do you disobey them? How do you stay true? Well, the thing is, you just don’t listen to them. You live your life according to your own principles. You create your own way of life. You create your own view of the world. You create your own world. You. Create. You read and watch and listen and taste and touch and smell and talk to other people and you build your own… anything.
And if there’s one thing you can listen to, I would say you have to listen to your HEART. So yes, as simple as it may sound, you listen to your own heart. You dance to the rhythm of your own heartbeats. You think about what it is that you really need and what it is that you really want and what it is that makes you happy and you do it. You don’t conform. You don’t consume because you’re told to. And you don’t shut up if you have something to say. You don’t compromise. You never ever compromise with your own heart.
And if this sounds a bit too much like good old selfishness or ambition or whatnot, let’s say that if you truly listen to your heart, you will do what you want to when you want to but you’ll also be careful not to hurt anyone else on purpose in the process. You create your own world, you don’t destroy other people’s worlds. Or your heart is probably rotten already. Apart from that, please disobey all you like. Disobey giants. Disobey the corporate giant. Disobey the political giant. Disobey the money giant. Disobey the media giant. Disobey the selfish giant that’s inside of you, if you have one of those. And stay true. “Believe me, when I say, it’s the hardest thing to do. Stay true.” (Geoff Rickly, No Devolución, “Stray True,” 2011)