Music, Art, and All Like That

[rolanni]

I run toward the guitar-heavy, "unclassifiable" in my taste in music. The Waybacks' "Devolver" is never far from the CD player (you can listen to some of it here if you've a mind to, though my favorite cuts -- "The Witch of the Westmereland" and "I Wan'na Be Like You" -- aren't available to sample, "The Last Steam Train" and "Compadres in the Old Sierra Madre" are worth a listen). I'm also fond of Ray Wylie Hubbard. And Warren Zevon. Great Big Sea and Gaelic Storm -- so, OK, we're starting to wander from guitars, here...

And then there's James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards. "Live in Aught-Three" is giving "Devolver" a run for "most-played CD" here in the back office. I'm particularly fond of "Rachel's Song," and "The Lights of Cheyenne," while kinzel favors "Choctaw Bingo." You can listen to bits over on Amazon, but they don't do justice.

James and the Bastards have a new song; it's been getting a lot of play up thisaway, as you might expect. You can download it for free with the band's blessing here. I prefer the acoustic myself, but there's the full-band version on offer, too, if you swing that way. The title of the song is "We Can't Make it Here," and it's likely the scariest song I've ever heard.

The song's hit a lot of people, and you can read some of their letters off the front page there on the band's website. Just click on "Read Public Response," and you'll get a pop-up window full of letters. Three, four pages of letters. The first six are about what you'd expect; True Believers telling James and the boys how good they did. Seventh letter's different, though. In its own way, as scary as that song. It goes like this:

James
you lost my respect. Every time I pay money to go see you in concert,
I don't pay money to hear you campaign for the democratic party or
bash the President (basically.) I am a proud supporter of our
President and the Republican party! If you want to express your
political views, please don't do it at your shows, you have offended
me and many other young folks who go to UT, and my family to whom
I introduced your music and name to ........we enjoy your music (that
isn't about bashing the United States or the President or the war.) I
think you have been watching to much of Michael Moore and his
ignorant, heavy biased movies.

Sure you have freedom of speech, but I don't go to hear political
opinions or views, I go to hear good music that does not have anything to do with politics.

Sure, you have freedom of speech...

Sure, you do.

Comments

Censorship

[neyland-tarr.livejournal.com]

OK, let's review the bidding. What exactly is it about the fan's letter that you object to? So, the fan has found that his idol isn't his conception of perfect, and told his idol so. That's what fans are. In what way does this infringe on the musician's freedom of speech?

The First Amendment guarantees your Freedom of speech, and the freedom of the press. It doesn't promise you an audience or a line of credit at the printers'. If you are in show business, you have an absolute right to present your shows any way you want to (with in very broad limits defined by the laws on incitement to riot, treason, and endangering the public). Your fan base has an absolute right to STOP BUYING TICKETS, and write to tell you THEIR pinheaded political positions.

The cry of "censorship" is to often the sound of a self appointed Moral Leader who has been told he must pay for his own printing and hire his own hall.

Re: Censorship

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I object, first and foremost, to a college student who doesn't know the difference between "to" and "too" -- elementary school grammar.

I also object to the idea that CRITICISM of the president is WRONG, period, end of discussion. This is the United States of America. The common folk are allowed to criticize the Big Guy in the White House. This point increasingly seems to escape some people, many of them who ought to have a little more on the ball than an illiterate student.

Thirdly, I object to a president who is so allergic to CRITICSM that he feels he has to send shills out into the aether, and muzzle reporters for the so-called Free Press in order to cement his position as self-appointed Moral Leader.

Re: Censorship

[neyland-tarr.livejournal.com]

Where in the fan's missive do you derive the message that he thinks that criticizing the President is wrong? He objects to being politically harranged when he came to be musically entertained. It seems to me that he is saying "I love your music, but hate your politics. I don't want to be burdened with the latter while paying for the former."

Many entertainers choose to make their politics a part of their show. That's fine, so long as they understand that while they may attract some fans thereby, they repel others. An entertainer who puts the politics in the show, and then is shocked - SHOCKED! - to find that his politics are as subject to criticism as his playing is an annoying twit. Alas, the entertainment industry has proven, in recent years, to be full of just such annoying twits.

As for the so called Free Press, no such thing will exist in this country until reporters are ready to free themselves from the absurd fiction that an unbiased press is desirable, or possible. The best reportage in the english language has always been unblushingly biased, and often openly politically partisan. By contrast most of the reporting done under the banner of the supposedly unbiased media is trite and boring.....and biased anyway. Reporters are human. Unless they are complete dolts, they will have opinions about that on which they report. Those opinions will inform the direction of their research, and the manner of their writing. Attempts to disguise this result in pablum...and in a press that frankly comes of as 99% hypocritical shills for SOMEBODY.

Re: Censorship

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Where in the fan's missive do you derive the message that he thinks that criticizing the President is wrong?

Because he/she/it says so.

You have, by the way, been banned from commenting in this lj. Have a nice day.