PREMIERE | Future Twin, "Refusing What They Sold You"
The relentless journeys and drive of Future Twin’s Jean Jeanie; photographed by Basil Galloway.
The klaxons of truths, logic and reason have been increasingly squelched over the course of recent years, months, minutes to the very moment. From the decline of print, the state of journalism undermined through obfuscation by autocratic entities, disinformation and hate speech gaining platforms and expanding their reach within a universe that has become a playground for plutocrats, technocratic oligarchs, war mongering bureaucrats and authoritarians alike. The outlook is more often than not anxiety inducing and outright overwhelming for anyone pay attention or otherwise. As the focus and conversation has bended toward the superficial celeb news obsessions and other assorted necessary diversions propagated by nefarious tabloid touting pundits and snake oil sales reps; we look to toward ways we can amplify the marginalized voices within our own communities. Shining a light on the underserved boroughs attempted to be edged out of their district by the civic merchants of gentrification and irresponsible redevelopments. The arts in hand with conscious activism are one of that last bastions left in the fight against capitalist autocrats infiltrating and usurping every last vestige of culture that constitutes our communities that are whole heartedly dedicated to the pursuit of love, liberty, a meaningful life and the relentless pursuit of true happiness.
Few artists and aesthetes have been so persistent in this drive toward actualizing a better conscious tomorrow as activist art pop provocateurs Future Twin. Guided by Jean Jeanie’s shining light of grace, justice and transcendence — they have made some of the best music in the Bay Area for well over a decade. A documentary of the group’s history illustrates the complicated trajectories of the San Francisco DIY communities spanning from the wide-eyed idyllicism of the brilliant “Summer”, the radical and rebellious breakout Resist 7”, attacking the housing/eviction crises with visibility on “We’re Here”, the epistemologies of exhaustion and purpose on “Are you Rested (Enough Yet?)”, dissertations on modern dystopia on “Back 2 Hell”, the new album Suffer No Fools and the debut of civil disobedience and discernment — “Refusing What They Sold You”.
Future Twin continues their creed and raison d'être of manifesting into being the individual you want to be tomorrow, today. “Refusing What They Sold You” zooms in on the weirdness and distortions of reality with Jean as the omniscient narrator, observing an imperfect and reactionary society. The arrangement moves in a gently rocking sway of melancholic hope that identifies the insecurities of the adversarial agents of injustice that we contend with as a collective body politic. The talking heads that populate the mainstages of media conversation are lambasted as dubious sensationalists of polemic rhetoric, as Future Twin sticks to their ethos of conscious resistance that seeks to wield their voice as a collective striving for a more truthful conversation and better way of life. Jeanie calls out the toxic belief systems and progenitors of hate that serves as a frail masquerade to substantiate the shortsighted and unfounded fears that lie within the recesses and fringes of humanity at large. “Refusing” is a plea to supplant the all too human spirals of shame and inadequacy that serve as the source of unconscionable oppression and strife to work toward a greater level of harmony and allyship among peers within our global villages. Future Twin casts away the cups of poison sold by the cults of conspiratorial discourse with a message to move past the antiquated, outdated and obsolete forces of division, destruction and dictatorship for a brighter, better and more constructive communal commonality.
Listen to “Refusing What They Sold You” now via Patreon featured along with the full album Suffer No Fools and the visuals for "Back 2 Hell".
Jean Jeanie & a buddy; photographed by Basil Galloway.
Future Twin’s Jean Jeanie provided some thoughts on the new track “Refusing What They Sold You”:
This song is a reflection on how to stop internalizing supremacist conditioning and try more to think for oneself and trust your intuition. And also to know you always have the power to refuse, whether it be someone's commands of you or whatever. Basically, we don't have to buy the crap that this supremacist society has been trying to ram down our throats. We already know this, but it helps sometimes to hear others say it, to remind us of what came before all this...insecurity parading as hate. So I wrote a song to remind myself and maybe others.
Jean Jeanie of Future Twin live; photographed by Pranay Pareek.
“Refusing What They Sold You” Lyrics by Future Twin © 2022
Lyrics:
Verse1
How we now wake up everyday
look at a device hear what it say
separating what we know and what we hear
people got a choice use it it's your voice
whatcha gonna say your actions will dictate
speculating
why does hate come from fear?
CHORUS
My old friends
are you doing what they told told you yet?
all our shared visions still depend
on refusing what they sold you, I bet
on refusing what they sold
Jean Jeanie in double vision; photographed by Ryan Herceg.
V2
All these talking heads endlessly debating
hate speech is it worth saving
shake my head
can you believe this is real?
POTUS 45 another in line
so many failing to recognize
how we're separating
still fading
what do you feel?
CHORUS
BRIDGE
All these pretty colors are
fading into grey
all these pretty colors are
our sisters and brothers
being turned away
V3
We can go together forever on
tomorrow brings forth a new dawn
yea yea yea but what about today?
in us prejudice can simply end
generations die and get born again
do you know
do you know
do you know
what you really feel?
CHORUS
We all know divide and conquer is an age old defense.
✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️
Credits: Written in Santa Rosa, CA around 2017 at friend Marta's place w her rad dog Marley while she was away. Song written and performed by Future Twin. Featuring Mike G on lead guitar and Henry Aloysius Nagle on lap steel. Produced by Jeffrey Berner in Brooklyn, NY. Mastered by John Greenham in Los Angeles, CA.
Catch Future Twin performing April 7 at the Eagle in San Francisco and April 8 in Pacifica at Winters Tavern. Both shows begin at 9pm.
