Marxist Jargon — 7 December 2022 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour

Marxist Jargon joined host Tom Proctor on ‘Rocket Shop,’ Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9 FM The Radiator. Check out their [anti] space opera at https://marxistjargon.bandcamp.com

On Wednesday, December 7th, host Tom Proctor was joined at Rocket Shop by the band Marxist Jargon, a politically conscious folk-punk band and longtime staple of the Burlington Music scene. 

The band describes itself as, “Burlington, Vermont’s favorite unamericana anti-capitalist education initiative” in its Instagram bio. The band’s Rocket Shop lineup featured Drea playing washboard percussion and singing backing vocals; Evan playing cello; Lauren playing fiddle; Ben playing mandolin and singing; and Sam playing resonator guitar and singing. When introducing themselves and their respective roles, however, Sam insisted that he “makes dinner.” Although missing two important members — one of the group’s most prolific songwriters was away doing fieldwork for their PhD research — this reduced crew brought their original songs to life with lush harmonies, clackity and driving rhythms, and emotive vocal performances. 

As their name suggests, Marxist Jargon’s music is grounded in a self-aware, playful yet earnest commitment to leftist political causes. This musical praxis is exemplified by the song “We Never Call the Cops,” about “believing in a world where men with guns and the authority to use them don’t have to show up for things like mental health crises, petty theft, and conflicts between neighbors,” according to Sam. The song has a playful energy apparent in verses like: “Something gets stolen when you’re working at a shop; / maybe make ’em give it back, but you don’t call the cops! / If you’re a pig, we’ll feed you some slop, / but if you’re the police we’ll treat you like a cop… (never call you)” 

The song is also an example of the group’s collaborative song revision process. The original version was more vitriolic, but as the band worked on it together it became more of a children’s song. This softened the tone, in part because “you can’t sing about hate in a children’s song!” as Ben pointed out. Sam added, “Hate’s besides the point, we just don’t call ‘em.” 

The political messaging in Marxist Jargon’s songs is bolstered by activist work that they carry out in Burlington. Between songs, Lauren took time to promote a petition to create a community oversight board in Burlington’s police department. The idea is to increase police accountability to the community, “given that we have cops, and people call them,” Lauren said.

In the past year, the band released a concept album called ‘[Anti] Space Opera’ based on a narrative by Meg (the currently absent songwriter / PhD candidate) which uses a near-future backdrop to talk about “space, revolution, and finding home,” Sam said. This project, as well as their 2019 EP, ‘Facebook,’ is available for streaming on their Bandcamp profile. For updates on upcoming releases and shows, the band can be found on Instagram.  

Writeup by Gideon Parker

Monochrome photo by James Lockridge