I wrote “Beer Can Hats – the Rhythm of Life” as an upbeat pop/ska tune with a catchy, sing-along chorus. And then, I gave the lyrics a sprinkling of social commentary, a dash of existentialism, and some strong encouragement to seek joy.
How did I put all that in a 4 minute tune? Well. Ya gotta love poetry.
I’ll break it down here. First by answering “What’s with the beer can hats?”
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Beer can hats emerged as novelty wear in the 1970s. Why the 70s? Beer and soda cans used to be made of tin and steel but were gradually changing to being made of aluminum. By the 70s, aluminum cans were mainstream. (some can history)
Creatives create with whatever is at hand, (I love that about us humans) Aluminum was very much at hand and is easy to work with so crafting with aluminum cans bloomed — plenty of hats, of course, but also belts, bracelets, earrings, chandeliers, you name it.
________________SUBVERSIVE STITCHERY_________________
How is a hat made of of cans subversive? Subversive meaning something that opposes a power system.
People tend to think of needlework and handcrafts especially those done by women, as unserious, domestic, busywork, certainly not “fine art”. Certainly nothing to pay attention to.
In truth, weaving, knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilt making, crafting are and have always been acts of empowerment, social commentary and a source of joy for the makers — you know — real ART
There are oodles of books, research papers and scholarly discussions about the significance of women’s handcrafts and their role in activism, feminism and subversion. (I’ve included links to a few below.)
• Think “crafty” goddesses weaving and wielding power to affect human lives — the Norse Norns or the Greek Fates, or Ix Chel of the Maya or the Spider Woman of the Hopi and Navajo. There are so many.
• Think women in the American Revolution who wove homespun fabrics from hemp and linen to boycott British taxes and fabric bans. This “>Homespun Movement” was widespread throughout the colonies and very effective.
• Think 68 women — suffragettes — who, while incarcerated at the Holloway Prison in the UK in 1912 embroidered their names on a handkerchief now preserved as the Suffragette’s Handkerchief.
• Think of the spies, women and men in WWII who knit codes into garments to send messages about enemy locations. Knit one, purl one hmmm… a binary language …
• Think of all those who crocheted or knitted “Pussy Hats” to protest the 2021 US presidential inauguration of a rapist thug.
Beer or Soda can hats belong on the list of subversive stitchery. Here’s some political and ecological reasons why.
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As I mentioned, these artsy-crafty lids harken back to the 1970s. Life in the US was still working for the middle class. We were starting to move forward on the environment, women’s rights, civil rights — Earthday was established in 1970. Women gained financial rights with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, the 1970s were pivotal in Black history, Jimmy Carter legalized home-brewing in 1978. Things were looking up.
This was the era BEFORE the disastrous “Reagan Revolution” that has pissed trickled down on us for over 40 years since the conservative Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.
As a consequence of those conservatives hell-bent on dismantling the New Deal aka our social safety net, we are now surrounded by a cruel, insensitive tumult, emanating from the uber-privileged.
Now, the grossly affluent are throwing million dollar tips into a con artist slash wannabe dictator’s tip jar just so they don’t have to pay taxes all the while flaunting their excessive lifestyles.
Greed is not a flattering look.
Think• Ancien Regime. Cake and guillotines. Before the French Revolution wealth disparity was so skewed that 98% of the population was being exploited by 2% — 1.5% nobility / .05% the church.
Right now the world’s top 1% owns more wealth than 95% of humanity.
But, there are more of us commoners than the super rich. Always keep that in mind.
Stylish headgear made of aluminum cans and thrift store yarn is a loud rejection of vacuous wealth & celebrity. It is the absolute antithesis of, say, a tech CEO’s $900,000 watch.
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How can a beer or soda can hat have anything to do with the environment?
We humans make things. Too many things at this point. But we’re starting to break out of the polluting cycle of buy, buy, buy / throw away, throw away, throw away.
Savvy fashionistas are designing and creating with used materials.
New words to describe this movement of turning old or waste into usable new have entered the the modern lexicon to describe
Upcycling or Creative Reuse.
Trashion – wearable art made from discarded materials
Scrapture – found object art, adaptive use of waste
A Beer or Soda Can Hat ticks all the right boxes. √Handmade. √Up-cycled. √Wearable, whimsical scrapture.
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“We the people” have a fight ahead of us. Some want to force us back to a medieval serfdom subservient to monarchs, oligarchs or broligarchs.
We CAN confound fear and despair with laughter and good company. We CAN fight back by ridiculing the absurdity of hoarding massive wealth.
A beer or soda can hat, besides looking fabulous, is a sassy symbol of resistance to the forces who want us divided, despairing and powerless.
We are not powerless. We can makes art out of nothing. We sing. We dance.
I will be with you, with my hat on, in that mosh pit of joy.
_______________More on Subversive Stitchery __________________
• Needlework as Subversive Protest
• Feminist Craftivism “…a long tradition of belittling women’s artistic pursuits, particularly those associated with poor women and women of color …”
• Slow Fashion / Political Craft
• Introverts Guide to Gentle Protest
• Fibre Crafts and Feminism
______________WOW___________________
• Eyed needles with eyes have existed since the Stone Age!
• Weaving has existed since 5,000BC!