My Inspiration: Birdman Cult – Roll ‘Em Up & Tuck It In

Alt-rockers Birdman Cult drop a trippy new video to their fuzzed-up garage rock banger, Roll ‘Em Up & Tuck It In (released via Donut Records). Here Joe Eden of Birdman Cult tells us about what inspired it…

Around 2010 people were spotted out in public wearing ‘Frankie Says Relax’ tee-shirts, this was a call back to a vapid and empty period of the 80’s aesthetic in my opinion, where big slogan tees and garish nu-rave colours were dominating the Music Scene once again. What was good about that? Well for one you could easily identify the fashion victims among us. I should say early on I’m not a fashion guy, I mean look at me… at least not with clothes, and while aware of recurring trends and that not being anything new, I’ve always been of the opinion that keeping well away from trends gives you a sort of timeless quality. I don’t want my kids looking at pics of me and cringing like I did with my parents sporting a perm and a porn stash in 80s windbreakers. Now in 2021 and for the past few years, we’ve seen what we call the ‘ROLL EM UP AND TUCK IT IN’ crowd. Instagram obsessed and self-absorbed naval gazers, its increasingly difficult to spot a scenester since they cleverly adopted the mediocre clobber of the 90’s throwback hipster. Big slogan tees have been replaced with Nirvana hoodies or chest prints of a monochrome photo of downtown L.A. Now your average dweeb cultivates a beard in place of a personality and is more likely to have a ‘live, laugh, love’ print on their kitchen wall than an authentic thought in their bean.

I remember a time when if I saw a bloke with a full sleeve or neck tattoo id think he was a bit of a wrong ‘un and probably had a tendency for neckin’ pints and punchin’ dafties, now you’re most likely a Barista or work in sales for a successful media start-up. it’s a thin veneer or a uniform for those with little to know genuine taste or interests. There’s always been the zeitgeist teens and disciples of fashion of course, and i love that, the colourful spectrum of humans , true individualism expressed however the fuck you want. Importantly though…the mods, teddy boys, ravers, grunge kids even the nu-metal nerds were all original. I feel what Frankie goes to Hollywood fans must have felt back in 2010 when their youth was repressed and hung on the Primark rails to sell to the budding neckbeards of the world.

The spirit of Grunge and the 90’s counterculture was pure and probably the last bastion of true youth movements, free from judgemental prying eyes as it was for decades previous, before the days of Insta, TikTok etc when you could act a  fool and not be recorded and publicly shamed the day after, illegal raves weren’t traced on google maps or hosted on Facebook events, instead it was a secretive cult you were excited to be part of, true abandon……now all yours for 200 quid from urban outfitters…

This new single ‘roll em up & tuck it in” is a tongue in cheek jab at the fashion victims, and also a reminder that while as a whole I support self-expression in any way shape or form, I miss the days of healthy self-deprecating humour, when you could take the piss out of yourself or someone and they wouldn’t reach for the pitchforks and torches. Im ugly, im bitter and skint and I hate the cool privileged kids masquerading as outsiders

Hope ya like the video…