Third World Tears

Insecure Men “Mekong Glitter”

“Mekong Glitter” is an ambiguous tribute to Gary Glitter, one of the most unsettling figures in the history of pop music. The song focuses on the darkest phase of Glitter’s life after he was released from prison in the U.K. for possessing child pornography and he flees to Cambodia and Vietnam to avoid the scrutiny of the British public and fully embrace his despicable urges. (He ended up getting busted in both of those countries too, and getting deported back to England.) Insecure Men channel Glitter’s distinctive and truly brilliant glam-shuffle aesthetic but fill the negative space with buzzing distortion. It sounds like someone lit “Rock and Roll Part 2” on fire, or like a villainous Glitter strutting through hell. And like, of course, this sounds incredibly cool and that’s also very upsetting.

“Mekong Glitter” is a song that deliberately pokes at you and tries to make you feel uncomfortable. In the breakdown, Saul Adamczewski asks us “Why don’t you ever ask why?,” and it’s hard to parse exactly what he’s asking, but it resonates and effectively stirs up guilt. Why do people like Gary Glitter do the things they do? Why is he seemingly unrepentant? Why does does it feel like we’re turning a blind eye to his crimes and the people he’s victimized whenever we hear Glitter’s songs and acknowledge that a lot of them are absolutely amazing?

Buy it from Bandcamp.