Graham Coxon "If I ruled the world"
BY Anna Walker
13th May 2020 Celebrities
Blur’s guitarist, Graham Coxon—once described as one of “the most talented guitarists of his generation” by Noel Gallagher—tells us exactly what he'd change if he was in charge
Anyone wanting to be a politician would not be allowed to be one. It’s kind of obvious to me. Of course a lot of people get into politics to be helpful and to create positive change, but I think anyone wanting to be a politician [for the power] is the wrong person for the job. They should at least have to have a thorough psychological profile done.
I have a lot of faith in scientists. I know there are some mad men, and scientists like Professor Branestawm, but the ones that actually talk sense should be making the laws.
The teaching of aesthetics would be compulsory in schools. Aesthetics should be taught from a young age right the way through school and as compulsory as English, maths, science and PE. Art appreciation is perhaps what you’d call it—painting, sculpture and music from all around the world. I was lucky, I had amazing teachers, but teachers can’t always have the energy to be inspiring, they’re a knackered breed for the most part. Kids are told nowadays that they can’t draw that well. People are judged early on subjects that need time. Kids need the opportunity to take art seriously, and see the beauty of it. And that can extend to graffiti and street art if you must [laughter], but proper art too. People who say they “can’t draw” often do the most terrific drawings, which are untrained but have a naive power.
I love drawing with pencil and paper and connecting your hands and your eyes with marks made on a piece of paper. That should be part of the rule. That pencil and paper drawing is absolutely compulsory. No frigging felt tips!
All artists would be put on a retainer from the government. Art is the most important thing about civilisation, end of story. Musicians, writers, painters and all the other artists should be supported. I really disagree with people who say artists do their best work when they’re living in a garret and all that.
There would be no such thing as “good and evil”. It would be about duality instead. The patriarchal, monotheistic religions would be phased out, and nature would become what we respect. Let’s face it, good and evil, heaven and hell—it’s all about control and fear. In my romantic way I quite like the idea of bringing back goddess worship again. But the thing of good and evil, people saying that children or anybody is evil and wicked, I think it’s horrendous abuse. Just because people do bad things it doesn’t mean they’re evil. We all do bad things, it means we’re human.
There would be zero tolerance for any kind of violence, verbal or physical. I’ve seen some really disturbing videos on Twitter of bullying and it breaks my heart—violence against children and women—all of this stuff I find extremely upsetting. If you’ve got kids, it makes you think of your own children.
Eating meat or fish would be banned for six months of the year. Deforestation and cattle production would cease too. Mechanised farming, industrial farming and beef production would stop with immediate effect. I’m not forcing anyone to be vegan, but I’d like to bring seasonal food back. Being able to have strawberries all year is very nice, but actually we’re just killing ourselves. I abhor the dairy industry and there are plenty of really good alternatives nowadays.
Graham Coxon’s The End of The F***ing World 2 (Original Songs and Score) is out now
Read more: 5 Greatest books about apocalyptic time
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