This supposedly radical indie rock band just posted a 17 page screed against “authoritarian” communism with classic digs at China, the USSR, Stalin, and Mao plus Free Tibet nonsense. The reason for this post? Dubious claims that Stalin shot avant garde and experimental musicians with them citing Shostakovich and Ligeti, two composers who were never killed by the USSR, as examples lol

Their sole source, aside from telling people to google lol, is The Rest Is Noise by Alex Ross

Disappointing to see several good musicians like this post though

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[–] RedWizard@hexbear.net 33 points 2 days ago

“Stalin’s concern for art and artists led him frequently to offer his personal assistance to artists, and to intervene where he became aware that officials were acting in reactionary or stupid ways.”

— Bill Bland, “Stalin and the Arts” (1993), p. 46 (PDF p. 45), Marxists Internet Archive: https://www.marxists.org/archive/bland/1993/x01/stalin-arts.pdf

The whole thing is a good read.

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