23 lutego 2006
Please, End The Horror
There is an excellent article in Slate about saving Bob Marley's legacy from cheeseball trustafarians and ignorant frat boys. Check it out.Sometimes I forget why the frat guys like him so much. I mean, when the guy sings about revolution and liberation, it isn't exactly geared toward upper middle class white guys. Then, you hear the next song where he causally mentions smoking a joint, then I remember. Good to know they understand his message.
I went to a private school with the children of our local scraper and blader crowd. To a person, they all had a copy of Legend which they listened to religiously. If you asked them why they liked it, it would go like this:
Other guy: He sings about freedom and stuff.-sigh-
Me: Yeah, but he's singing about freedom for third world people, not about the fact that your dad won't pay for the next ski trip.
Other guy: No, he sings about freedom to smoke ganja!
Is there any point to it all? I mean, take Midnight Oil, for example. They became huge when I was in college. They sang about a variety of issues, from aboriginal rights to thanking veterans. Only thing anyone could tell you: "That's the band with the bald guy..."I totally gave up on politics in Rock'n'Roll when Rage Against the Machine was huge. To anyone who even casually listened to the lyrics, it was obvious the guys were unabashed lefties. Still, fans missed the point. I actually saw a guy with a Rage bumper sticker and a Limbaugh bumper sticker next to each other. Dude, you can't possibly be paying attention.
Hasta la vista. Do zobaczenia.
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You mean people vote for folks and like musicians for reasons other than
a. he looks yummy "bald",
b. because all their friends are doing it, or
c. oooh cool toys?
a. he looks yummy "bald",
b. because all their friends are doing it, or
c. oooh cool toys?
# posted by 
: czwartek, lutego 23, 2006 10:00:00 AM
: czwartek, lutego 23, 2006 10:00:00 AM
I remember when Chumbawamba had a huge hit about getting drunk at the end of the work day. I was surprised because I thought that word was a euphamism about having non-martial martial relations with the female servants. Shows what I know.
Anyway I heard a bit of an interview with one of the band members and he was all "but we are a political band and our big hit is a song about getting pissed!" (drunk)
Of course the song means more then getting drunk but that is the impression most people have since they never seem to pay attention to lyrics on songs that are not "naughty." Kingsmen anyone?
Anyway I heard a bit of an interview with one of the band members and he was all "but we are a political band and our big hit is a song about getting pissed!" (drunk)
Of course the song means more then getting drunk but that is the impression most people have since they never seem to pay attention to lyrics on songs that are not "naughty." Kingsmen anyone?
I could never take Rage seriously given that the first place I'd heard of them--before they hit it big even--was as the featured artist in the Columbia House CD club one month. Now, I get the concept behind taking advantage of the system from within, but that tends to look better with guys like, say, R.E.M. and U2, guys who spent years growing an audience the old fashioned way. Rage, however, came completely out of nowhere to a huge promotional push on the biggest, baddest of all the big bad major labels, from zero to inescapable in a single year. You just can't do that without making your further-left-of-Che-Guevara politics ring hollow.
I also remember an article in the Boston Glob in 2004 interviewing right-leaning fans who were complaining about their favorite bands being on the left of the political spectrum. Among the bands mentioned were R.E.M. and Pearl Jam, which, R.E.M. in particular, made me wonder if they'd missed the point of anything the bands had ever put out. That and complaining that Green Day were just being trendy by making a politically-themed album--er, Green Day make no secret of having cribbed everything they know from Operation Ivy, who sang plenty about politics.
I've always been convinced Legend is issued to people upon dorm check-in, with the box you get that has like deodorant samples and pizza coupons in it.
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I also remember an article in the Boston Glob in 2004 interviewing right-leaning fans who were complaining about their favorite bands being on the left of the political spectrum. Among the bands mentioned were R.E.M. and Pearl Jam, which, R.E.M. in particular, made me wonder if they'd missed the point of anything the bands had ever put out. That and complaining that Green Day were just being trendy by making a politically-themed album--er, Green Day make no secret of having cribbed everything they know from Operation Ivy, who sang plenty about politics.
I've always been convinced Legend is issued to people upon dorm check-in, with the box you get that has like deodorant samples and pizza coupons in it.
# posted by : czwartek, lutego 23, 2006 4:11:00 PM
: czwartek, lutego 23, 2006 4:11:00 PM << Home
