Racism Killed Rock: Part II

Blah. This piece is certainly overkill, but the usage of hipster phrases and terms to get the point across is just fucking annoying. Shit or get off the pot, no? 

Anyway, to make a big deal of season two’s finale of “Flavor of Love” being the most watched thing on VH1 doesn’t really give much credence to either a black or white audience.  The show is just unmitigated over the top “reality” shit that everyone loves anymore.  I’m surprised that you didn’t go on to mow the show down due to its one-dimensional portrayal of black females.

And Diddy’s making clothes. Big deal.  Diddy’s nothin’ but a pimp, yo who rocks Cristal instead of mad 4-0s.  How anyone could ever give two shits about that guy is beyond me, as his “rapping” has always been subpar and his business, while huge and successful, has always been about the lowest common denominator - pimping himself out while using better artists to prop him up.  And now he’s pissing on YouTube and macking the BK.  Hoo-rah.

Comment by Fred Dillard — December 14, 2006 @ 7:06 am

TV On The Radio- Not just Black rock- rock at its finest.  I am pleased that most of the reviews that I have read of this amazing band haven’t tried to pigeon-hole them as some r&b, black phenomenom-- but simple as a great f-in band.  Perhaps the greatest rock band of the last 15 years.  I am surprised that they are getting rotation on MTV2 considering they are all pretty dark and dont conform with usual mtv standard of pretty boy rocker ala Kravitz.

Comment by Xavi — December 14, 2006 @ 5:22 pm

Although I agree with the overall message of this article, I think it sells short the influence Af-Am musicians have had within rock music.

For example, the innovative records Gary US Bonds are a touchstone for dozens of rockers, notably Bruce Springsteen.  Then there’s the Philly R&B group The Orlons, whose rockin’ “Not Me” gets musically quotes—of all places—in Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation.”

These are just two examples off the top of my head; The Falcons, Arthur Lee, and Isley Brothers also spring to mind, not to mention the black members of The Allman Bros. English Beat, etc.

Comment by Tony Sclafani — December 14, 2006 @ 6:09 pm

Interesting thesis and a fun read, but I can’t say I agree with it.  Sure, racism has abounded in the rock audience; I’d say that much of the “disco sucks” movement of the late 70’s was racist in tone, at the very least.  And there are the legendary stories of Prince being booed off the stage when he opened for the Stones in L.A. in 1981.

If there’s something that “killed” rock, I’d argue that it’s the post-punk attitude that did it.  Once alt-rockers and their ilk decided that reaching a broad audience was ideologically suspect, this once populist music lost much of it’s power.  Combining that with the impact of hip-hop, the first African American musical form that the white man hasn’t been completely able to co-opt (if it has been co-opted, it’s been co-opted from within), and rock lost it’s primary seat at the table.

Rhythmically, black music has always evolved at a far faster rate than white rock - I mean, shit, you can pull beats from R&B records from 40 years ago, and there ain’t gonna be no white drummer who can play with that sort of groove.  For most rock bands, they’re still playing rhythm patters set in 1968, and that’s just not that exciting - and pop music at it’s best is excitement personified.

Comment by Ben Lazar from Brooklyn, NY — December 15, 2006 @ 5:23 pm

I think you made some great points.

Comment by IMO from NY — December 17, 2006 @ 4:32 am

A report on racism historically in the US media http://www.lonympics.co.uk/usmediaracismreport.htm

Comment by Jakel from Ireland — February 18, 2007 @ 9:56 am

I agree with the article. I am white, female, came of age in the 60s and 70s, after listening to the music of the 50s, and learning to dance to black music—and most of the music in the 70s was depressing. The Beatles were great until they went psychedelic, and the author is absolutely right—learn to dance.

Sly & FS, saw them in 69 and it was the best I ever saw.  Led Zeppelin was an experience, and I couldn’t hear for 3 days - but it wasn’t music. Couldn’t stand Joe Cocker, what was the point? We went to everything that came along nearly, Sly was the best.

Lately I’ve been finding Classic Rock stations boring, boring and also boring. I have gradually become aware that most of what we’re listening to is elderly, homely Englishmen. Occasionally we hear Hendrix, and we never hear Sly, not at all. It’s as if he dropped off the radar.

I don’t want to hear Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, or the Who, or any of the rest of them any more, except for the Stones. It’s over. It’s not entertaining, and you cannot dance to it. I got fed up with the “macho” aspect of Rock, that is that all the men I associated with including my brothers, were the acknowledged experts on any band who ever lived, and their opinions were always what mattered the most. Guitar playing was a male thing, not female, unless it was folk.

They ("the guys") were not musical, they could not dance, but they’d sit for hours and listen to that shit. I don’t want to ever hear Aqualung again, or The Wall, never did want to hear it. Add violins and it’s just painful.

Then expand that more domestic scene to the narrowminded writers or photographers who could also not make music or dance, but wielded power over musicians - you’ve got to (in Sly’s case) be careful who you talk to, they’re all parasites. Vogue would be a better magazine to be in than Rolling Stone, some hack (I think in Rolling Stone) with a jealousy problem saying that he had a “childlike smile???” What kind of a putdown is that? Excuse me, but he had a fabulous smile, and he was gorgeous, I mean really, really *gorgeous*.  All man.

As women, we just sort of had other things to do, and went along with the music the men listened to, but gradually stopped dancing so much. There was nothing to dance to, and the men couldn’t dance anyway, this author is quite right about that. Any man who knew how to dance, like jive for instance, was worth his weight in gold, and they’re very few and far between.

I don’t like rap, or hip hop, because I don’t find it musical, but maybe I need to pay more attention to it. I’ve ignored the music scene for a couple of decades, barely knew who Springsteen was.

Great article, very enlightening, and confirms what we’ve been thinking about rock music the last couple of years. Whatever happens next has got to be better than what there is now. Currently I’m married to a guy who loves blues and jazz, so that’s where we’ve been.

Comment by Felicity — February 18, 2007 @ 4:00 pm