On Artists and their political opinions:
Now I want to take a moment for some unkind words about these idiot stories about singers making some political comment and then everybody boos. For example the most famous one recently is Linda Ronstadt was at some casino in Las Vegas, she dedicated a song to Michael Moore and some drunk gambling addicts with bad taste in music started booing and ran out, tearing down her posters and throwing their drinks on the wall. So the casino owners sent Ronstadt away and said she would never play there again under that ownership (which was the rest of the month, they already sold the casino to a guy who has invited her back). And the way this was covered by the postjournalists it was sort of like, that crazy Linda Ronstadt, what was she thinking.
But no, I'm sorry, that doesn't cut it. I think about all the times I'm put in some uncomfortable position. Like you're at a baseball game in the middle of a bullshit war that you don't agree with, and they sing the National Anthem and everybody around you gets overly involved in it, trying to show that THEY love America more than anybody and ESPECIALLY during these times when America is obviously wrong.
So what do you do? You stand there politely and let them have their fun. Who fucking cares. You don't go throwing your drinks around and demanding your money back because you don't agree with the politics. If you did, and it made it on TV, you would be portrayed as an asshole, wouldn't you? But these people, the TV acts like they have a legitimate complaint. If it was the other way around politically, it would be portrayed as a riot. "They tore posters down! It was total bedlam! We believe there were anarchists from Eugene, Oregon involved!"
Let's say I was at a James Brown concert, and he made some pro-Bush comment. I would probaly boo too. It would be hard not to. But then I'd probaly stay and enjoy the rest of the concert. If it was too upsetting, and I couldn't enjoy the funkiest wifebeater and his republican bullshit after that, then fine, maybe I'd leave. But I wouldn't demand my money back and I sure as shit wouldn't think the Godfather of Soul did anything wrong by "bringing politics into this."
I read an article from the Orange County Register about Don Henley doing a concert and he started to say, "Given what my good friend Linda Ronstadt--" but he was interupted by booing so he said, "Whoops - Orange County. We used to be able to have civil debate in this country. Not anymore." Apparently he followed up with some political satire song by Randy Newman. (yuck.)
The funniest part of the article was the last paragraph:
"He really blindsided everyone," said Joshua Owen of Long Beach, who had taken a group of employees to the concert and was upset by the political content. "There was booing. Some people headed for the exits."
I think this is what really bothers me about it. Not that these are dumb people who listen to horrible music, don't believe in freedom of speech and have bad concert etiquette. What really gets me is that people in this country have allowed our culture to be so thoroughly flushed down the shitter that they now buy the idea of music as a bland pre-packaged corporate product guaranteed to have no personality, conflict, ideas, politics or emotion. Not only do they like music to be that way, but they expect it to be, they demand it to be. And they are treated as reasonable people.
I mean I guess they listen to Don Henley anyway so who am I fooling. But music is not what you think it is, you assholes. Music is a form of expression. Music can make you cry or send you off to a revolution. Music is "We Shall Overcome" and "Fuck the Police" and Songs in the Key of Life. Music gets entire races through slavery and genocide. Music is punk rock and hip hop before they were on TV and the radio. Music is not only allowed to provoke you and make you think and offend you, it's supposed to.
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