Irish artist is a force to be reckoned with. A one-man punk band from Dublin, his righteous lyrics act as a rallying cry for those pushed to society’s fringes.
A searing live performer, Meryl Streek’s new album ‘Stories The Don’t Teach You At School’ is out now, and it presents an artist unafraid of tackling key social issues.
Featuring anarcho-punk legend Steve Ignorant from Crass, it’s a record which lives up to its title, presenting key lessons for surviving our late capitalist nightmare.
According to Streek, “we’re not pre-warned about issues like depression, addiction, homelessness and cost of living. These are matters we’re forced to deal with later in life, with zero preparation”.
So, CLASH invited him to do just that – breaking down each subject and saying what we should have been taught.
With nine million people in the UK alone on antidepressants depression continues to grow more and more every year. Not everyone is living the same life and we’ve so many people truly struggling to get through their day to day and I think learning and being more informed on these issues we grow up to face is detrimental to being that little bit more prepared in life.
Cost of living:
Look at the world currently. I don’t think anyone could have prepared us for what’s going on in life but I think sometimes being real is better than not. I remember being in school and getting told constantly that going to college and getting a degree is the most important thing you can do. I’ve also got so many friends who took this route in life and spent a small fortune along the way to end up working in retail because they couldn’t find a job in their studied field. Rents at an all time high and even teaching and medical jobs not paying enough to cover rents and basic needs.
We don’t get told about loss and how possible it is to lose so many people in life. I remember seeing it in movies before it started happening to me and wish I knew less about it than I know now. Yes death is inevitable but im speaking about family or friends commiting suicide , addiction the stress of life and how many peiople ww lose each day to it. We’re slowly learning
Betting, Alcohol and drugs things we aren’t forewarned about. Betting apps are now made to be so normal seen everywhere and anywhere and main sponsors for sporting events kids fall down the rabbit hole thinking its a game as it’s so accessible on mobile phones. Alcohol pushed on us constantly in life and these addictions can be life changing things to most people with a family history of addiction.
I wish we were told about the true facts about religion and the people in society pushing it. The catholic church for example has more abuse claims now than churches with victims spanning across the world. It’s constantly swept under the carpet and victims compensated to be kept quiet. I’ve no issue with religion and people having beliefs but we’re all fully aware how corrupt and dangerous these religions can be on people. History speaks for itself.
Sexual violence doesn’t start and end with rape
It starts in our books and behind our school gates
Men are scared women will laugh in their face
Whereas women are scared it’s their lives men will take
‘Stories The Don’t Teach You At School‘ is out now.