Armageddon

Pete Cogle's Podcast Factory - The Indie Service

Pete: We've got an exciting one today. They've been enjoying a lot of success lately: performed two sold out shows just last week; their single, Popcast, has been scaling up the charts; and they've just released their debut album - Madonna Whore. So excited to have The Indie Service in the studio today.

Liam: Thank you so much. You're literally a god to - I think - all of us; so, to be here, right now, t's insane, man.

Harry: Well, the studio looks better than it sounds, that's for sure. (All laugh) What? You broke, mate?

Pete (Laughs): I mean, I'm no indie superstar. I drink my whisky with my tea; so, I don't know - you tell me.

James: Maybe we could feature you in our next single?

(All laugh)

Liam: That's how it works.

Pete: Yeah, well, I've been enjoying this record, boys. It sounds-- I don't know-- so authentic. I think it sounds great, and there's some great lyrics on it. How did it all come about? Did you write the songs? What did that look like?

Liam: Yeah, actually. We-- like, we write our own music because we want our music to sound authentic, you know? I mean, I think no one knows us better than us, you know? No one knows our fans better than us; no one knows our message better than us. I mean, I'm not shitting on musicians that have, like, songwriters and all that; it's just not us, you know?

Harry: Yeah, I mean, we like to think of ourselves as, like, fucking artists or whatever; so, like, we kind of value just sharing an authentic message with our fans. I mean, there's a lot happening in the UK right now, and I think we're intelligent enough that we have an opinion on it.

Pete: That's interesting - what you just said - because there is a lot going on in the UK, and - first track - you make it clear that you won't shy away from it. It's about Jack Letts, right?

Harry: It is. I mean, I think the UK government is very stupid - a lot of stupid decisions are constantly being made by parliament, the queen signs off on stupid propositions, the courts are a fucking joke! First, his parents are arrested for funding terrorism or whatever, and it's like, they sent him two-hundred Pounds! I mean, I think ISIS is fucking rich, bro, and if they wanted funds, they would probably need more than two-hundred Pounds, you know?

James: And then there's the whole thing where they revoked his citizenship--

Pete: I think that's insane too! I think Canada has called England out and they've said it's irresponsible of the government to do.

James: It's pathetic is what it is. I mean, the UK government is-- it very much operates on the fear of its people. It's disgusting because I think this Jack guy has literally been called a terrorist and it kind of feels like the only reason that he is, is that he's Islamic and the UK - and maybe just the Western World, in general - is just fearful of anything that isn't Christian. I think this whole thing is exposing just how cowardly Boris is; how cowardly his cabinet is.

Pete: And I think the fact that you still released this song, even though the event it's related to happened so long ago - so it may not resonate with a lot of people, really speaks to your respect for your art, you know?

Harry: Was it though? It literally just happened last month and it's already cold news? That's what scares me about the world right now: there's always so much going on that something that happened literally yesterday is already ancient news today! And then we ask ourselves why we can't seem to care about anything - that's why! We're constantly bombarded with all these shocking news from all around the world that we'd simply go insane if we cared about each and every one of them. Of course, the shame in that is that now we care about nothing - if it doesn't involve us, it's easy to forget about it. But we have to think about the fact that it doesn't stop being news for the people involved. We have to think: 'are politicians using our alienation for their advantage?' And I think the answer is yes! I think politicians do the most despicable things because they know they'll be exposed, but just as quickly, it'll be old news and we'll all have forgotten two-three days later. That's why politicians are as evil as they've been since being a politician became a job; that's why aristocrats are still able to get away with exploiting civilians; that's why we still have no power in this insane system.