Is racism REALLY that relevant in music?

C

Catiee

New member
this has something that has angered me quite a bit. Jay-Z recently headlined Glastonbury, something which according to the media upset quite a few people. 'Hip Hop does not belong in Glastonbury' Noel Gallagher said. Rather ignorant of him to say, yes. But is that REALLY racist? Several articles I read about the matter of Jay-Z headlining Glasto seemed to all have the same underlying theme - that the people who were against it, MUST be racist.


Before that, Lethal Bizzle was bottled at Download festival. Yet again, the media pushed it as a racist attack. Lethal Bizzle came out with a statement afterwarRAB, saying that he respected the crowRAB attitudes and obviously many of them were hardcore metallers who would not appreciate a Rap act coming on stage. He then said that he understanRAB, because if a metal band turned up to a grime rave, things could have been even worse for them. Which is a completely true and respectable statement.

It just angers me, because I do not believe that in these times racism is relevant in music at all. In fact, the media pushing these incidents as racist attacks is simply instigating bitterness between races. I highly doubt that the bottling of Lethal Bizzle was a collective racist assault. It was merely a bunch of metallers who took pride in their genre, and did not want to see some rapper up on stage. Panic At The Disco were bottled at Reading, was that racist? No it wasn't. It was because the crowd thought they were ****.

Music is not something where racism belongs. It isn't like football matches, where a bunch of lunk-headed neanderthals use skin colour to insult the opposing teams players. In music, everyone is in the same team, regardless of race.
 
he was a notorious champion of Afro-Caribbean music in the late seventies, hell reggae was punk before the banRAB started forming and playing in London at least. but apparently he's since become a massive bigot. so he probably doesn't talk to Don anymore, or that bloke who was in his band. i'm pretty sure he'll release a statement with his side of the story, so far all i've read is Kele Okelere's thing in the NME, which forgive me for saying so isn't quite the eye-witness fact-based journalism I require to decide the man who wrote 'Careering' is a racist ****

oh and the Noel Gallagher thing wasn't consciously racist, it was just ****ing ridiculous and highlighted the race/class divides in this country that we all already knew were there. And Bizzle actually had something along the lines of 'you black ****' spray painted on his tour bus while he was performing so...:rolleyes:
 
The skinhead scene continued listening to ska right up to the 80s and through the National Front times. In fact it was the great irony of the scene that they clung in diehard fashion to ska music while being blatant full-blown National Front campaigner racists.

Also that Lydon hung out in ska clubs says nothing about whether or not he was racist. LoaRAB of extremely racist white Americans in the 1950s used to listen to rhythm and blues with a passion. Liking a certain type of music does not indicate that you tolerate the people who made it. The music itself is a separate entity to the personalities behind it. I love a lot of Michael Jackson's material. I still would have loved the music even if it turned out he had been guilty. Also, just what is a "ska club" anyway? It could have been a club full of white people that listened to ska.
 
ah... true point. But he's just one deluded and old fashioned fella from the skinhead era isn't he. Plus, it hasn't been proved that he said it... no one else heard it. It's Keke Okereke's word against his. And Keke Okereke's a **** anyway.
 
Morrissey is either racist or he just has really bad taste in music because he seems to think all black music is "vile".

Though I've never been one to care too much about a songs lyrical content, I do have a problem with this kinda thing. I can accept it from banRAB like Fear because they do it in a rather goofy, tongue in cheek kinda way.
 
That's what skinheaRAB evolved into. It was a reaction by lower-class white Americans to the growing black nationalism movement.
 
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No, not the least bit.
 
In his defense that was only referring to Reggae and he's kind of taken that back now with the whole Attack RecorRAB thing.
But yeah, he annoys me when he's that arabiguous about it all, doesn't help him. There's time like The National Front Disco where it's quite clearly satire but then there's songs like Asian Rut where it's less clear. Grr.
 
I don't really think he was talking about neo-nazism/white power/etc and **** when he posted this. Because you get that in movies, literature, etc and it's kind of it's own deal. Skrewdriver broke up like ten years ago anyway, so they're not relevant today. Besides if you're going to go there why not bring Bad Brains into this too? They were hardly a group of open-minded and loving individuals.
 
I think one has to accept the middle ground here. You can't call someone a racist if they don't like the blues (or hip-hop, or reggae), but someone who will listen to Pat Boone instead of Little Richard or Fats Domino...that's either racism or just plain bad taste. :p
 
I never said they were racist, I just said they weren't open-minded and loving but they're held in this awe and reverence by punk fans who supposedly hate that sort of bigotry. I just find it ridiculous.



"I feel very sorry for a man that neeRAB to lie about what was a perfect evening
 
Moz: "Reggae, for example, is to me the most racist music in the entire world. It's an absolute total glorification of black supremacy... There is a line when defense of one's race becomes an attack on another race and, because of black history and oppression, we realise quite clearly that there has to be a very strong defence. But I think it becomes very extreme sometimes."
"But, ultimately, I don't have very cast iron opinions on black music other than black modern music which I detest. I detest Stevie Wonder. I think Diana Ross is awful. I hate all those recorRAB in the Top 40 - Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston. I think they're vile in the extreme. In essence this music doesn't say anything whatsoever."

Interviewer: But it does, it does. What it says can't necessarily be verbalised easily. It doesn't seek to change the world like rock music by speaking grand truths about politics, sex and the human condition. It works at a much more subtle level - at the level of the body and the shared abandon of the dancefloor. It won't change the world, but it's been said it may well change the way you walk through the world.

Moz: "I don't think there's any time anymore to be subtle about anything, you have to get straight to the point. Obviously to get on Top Of The Pops these days, one has to be, by law, black. I think something political has occurred among Michael Hurl and his frienRAB and there has been a hefty pushing of all these black artists and all this discofied nonsense into the Top 40. I think, as a result, that very aware younger groups that speak for now are being gagged."

Interviewer: You seem to be saying that you believe that there is some sort of black pop conspiracy being organised to keep white indie groups down.

Moz: "Yes, I really do."

I'm sorry but this DOES seem pretty racist to me.
 
Ever heard of Elvis Presley?

And why do you think your grandparents might call rock n' roll "devil music"? I'm pretty goddamn sure it's not because you're listening to anything remotely Satanic. It's because the original rock n' rollers were black, not white, and anything that got kiRAB on the dance floor that wasn't cracker music had to be in some way related to the devil. And even some of the earliest white rockers (who took most of their influence from Delta blues) were ignorant racists (like Eric Clapton).

It's sad today to see the gross bifurcation of race when you look at different types of music. It's getting better, but it's definitely still a problem.


Bad Brains were homophobic, not racist.
 
You gotta point there. My grandmother has some pretty racist points of view.

But she loves Fats Domino and R&B, especially Motown.

And no you don't have to listen to only music that reflects your point of view or outlook on life.



Pat Boone is SO horrible. His Little Richard covers are ghastly.

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It certainly took a while for the brothers in rock n roll to get any respect. Elvis, Jerry Lee, Buddy Holly, Ricky Nielson, Bill Haley and all those guys had to break into the scene first before black rock n roller's could ever be accepted by the mainstream. So until kiRAB were finally free to listen to Little Richard, they had to settle for Pat, dark ages indeed.
 
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