Bella on the Pop Cop’s Indie Indy Survey

isobelWith just 500 days until Scotland’s independence referendum takes place on September 18, 2014, The Pop Cop asked 40 musicians from the Scottish music scene the same question that will be on the ballot – “Should Scotland be an independent country?” – giving each of them the choice of ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Undecided’ and inviting them to explain their answer.

See here for the result’s from The Pop Cop’s survey…

For some it’s pretty simple: “Countries should be independent. Scotland is a country.” John Cummings, Mogwai.

Isobel Campbell (pictured) sounds pretty convincing: “I would love to see Scotland flourish, prosper and blossom in her independence. It’s important for us as Scots to acknowledge our roots and remember where we came from, but even more important to shake off the old belief systems that no longer serve us and embrace all possibilities and newness in order to realise the fullness of our potential.”

Justin Currie’s answer is, er, just a bit weird.

A lot of the Undecided’s seem swithering to Yes, here’s Gibran Farrah – from There Will Be Fireworks:

echf-Stanley Odd @ The Old Fruitmarket  Jan 13 10“The ‘No’ campaign is hopelessly negative. The essence of their campaign is that Scotland can’t survive independence. That we rely on being part of the UK, and that we ‘get more than we put in’. I haven’t seen it articulated quite as bluntly as that but it’s definitely implied, and I hate that.”

Withered Hand sounds only a nudge away from a Yes vote. Dave Hook (Stanley Odd) hardly sounds in too much trouble: “I am completely in favour of scrapping Trident and removing nuclear arms from Scotland, so that would certainly be another reason I would consider a ‘Yes’ vote.”

It’s a really fascinating slice of Scotland’s cultural life, and two things stand out. The first is we’re told that woman are more likely to vote No, but for whatever reason all the women here are voting YES. The second is that there’s a lot of undecideds out there – but there are some pretty good clues about what people want – they want confidence and they want inspiration.

All we need now is for Scotland to be inhabited entirely by indie bands…

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  1. bellacaledonia says:

    Justin Currie’s answer made me laugh out loud. Good to see someone still has a fearless sense of humour. Good feature all round. We can learn more about the current state of the nation from our tunesters thoughts than from a hundred John Curtice rentabites.

    KW

    1. It’s either that or the Cringe of the Century!

  2. Dcanmore says:

    I think I’ve just fallen in love with Isobel Campbell 8)

  3. Billfaedenny says:

    Refreshing to read such diversity of views on independence.
    No idea if Justine Currie is serious, at the wind-up, or just inebriated?

  4. Sonia Savage says:

    Anyone that can’t see that Currie’s rant is a piss take must be dumb beyond belief

  5. bellacaledonia says:

    Doh!

  6. annie says:

    “The first is we’re told that woman are more likely to vote No, but for whatever reason all the women here are voting YES”

    Yes, that’s what stood out for me too and corresponds with the situation in my ‘real’ life. The moral of the story? Don’t listen to all those dodgy opinion polls – C’mon the weemin!

    BTW, today is the first annual International Clitoris Awareness Week

    http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130505/Clitoraid-announces-first-annual-International-Clitoris-Awareness-Week.aspx

    1. bellacaledonia says:

      Thanks Annie! I had no idea about Clitoris Awareness Week!

  7. Ray Bell says:

    Too many fence sitters… which is perhaps to do with party political involvement.

  8. Ray Bell says:

    Yes all the Clitorati will be coming out, maybe the SNPee, the Labia Party, C***servatives and the Lip Femmes too! Urethra Franklin, Hole and Pink can put on a show.

    (Seriously though female circumcision has got to stop. It doesn’t even have a proper basis in Islam)

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