Grammy Tribute to Sly....I don't really know what I just saw.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by Kramer Ferrington III.:

Originally posted by ellwood:

seems to be all Hollywood/liberal Bull Shit oriented!

Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten that everything is somehow connected to Hollywood Liberals. Silly me.

Ok, is this generally a true statement? All, with the possiable exception of some country artists, All of the music business,radio dj's, recording,artists,promotion,music writers for mags,newspapers tend to be liberal,left of center politically?

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by ellwood:

Ok, is this generally a true statement? All, with the possiable exception of some country artists, All of the music business,radio dj's, recording,artists,promotion,music writers for mags,newspapers tend to be liberal,left of center politically?

Not by a long chalk. Offhand, I remember that the Ramones were pretty staunchly republican. Ted Nugent. Maybe Dick Dale...

 

As far as I know, Heavy Metal (in general) tends to be pretty right wing as well. Especially the ones that go on about dragons and swords and all that. I would hazard a guess that a lot of Latin music types would be right wing as well.

 

I don't pretend to know the political affiliations of Americans but I'm sure there must be a lot of Republicans out there.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Yes, Ramones where,MC5 where Rainbow Party way way left wing to be sure. Yes Ted is for sure right wing leaning Dick Dale I'm just not sure. The Latin musicians are where I think you really missed the boat though Vince. I think that the majority of Latin folks tend to vote with the black voters and are Democrat. The Heavy Metal guys, I just don't know about them. Maybe some Metal guys will say. I think most all Southern Rock guys are mostly Republican.

[Squ]

I believe all this to be irrelevant to the grammys.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by ellwood:

The Latin musicians are where I think you really missed the boat though Vince. I think that the majority of Latin folks tend to vote with the black voters and are Democrat.

**mboh** I don't know. I was just taking a guess.

 

I'd guess that Cubans that live in the US would probably vote Republican, but then I'm just guessing. I'm thinking about people like Gloria Estefan and so on.

 

Like I said, I'm not an expert. But even I, a foreigner, can point out a few people that are avowed republicans. I'm sure people "in the know" could cite dozens more.

 

Music is not at all the Dem monolith you were suggesting.

[Dave da Dude]

Originally posted by Squ:

I believe all this to be irrelevant to the grammys.

I'll second that.

 

Can we vote on it now?

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by Dave da Dude:

Originally posted by Squ:

I believe all this to be irrelevant to the grammys.

I'll second that.

 

Can we vote on it now?

No, hold on. Hear me out. I simply thought that it was a bit extreme to blame the crap music on those pesky Hollywood Liberals. All you need to do is look back on the thread.

 

So, while this may not have much to do with the Grammys, it does have a lot to do with this thread.

[Dave da Dude]

On second thought ... I may have to revise my opinion

 

After all, "Alice's Restaurant" (and almost all of Arlo Guthrie's songs) was politically motivated. Not to mention (actually I will ) Bob Dylan. Both important to my development as a musician and my musical inclinations.

 

I'm sure there are MANY other examples. But ... which way the politics of the artist lean does not change whether or not their music is "good".

[skipclone 1]

This is about the silliest thing I ever heard.

How can you generalize about someone`s politics from the industry they work in or what genre of music they play? if you refer to lyrics someone writes in a particular song maybe that`s different.

[Dr. Ellwood]

It is sometimes a pretty strong indication of their politics if they support a certain candidate through participation in fund raising, concerts for certain political parties, views expressed on talk shows etc. Also how their views are seen through the eyes of editorial writers,and the subsequent pro or con spin that is applied to their comments. At concerts many times entertainers will use the stage to promote certain political parties.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by skipclone 1:

This is about the silliest thing I ever heard.

How can you generalize about someone`s politics from the industry they work in or what genre of music they play?

Well, you're right. You can't.

 

However... sometimes (and here, I'm reaching) certain styles are favoured/patronized by groups or tribes.

 

For example, you could pretty much bet your house that people playing Oi! punk would be right wing, for example. Back in the 1970s Britain, the punks tended to support Labour, the Mods tended to support the Tories.

 

I would also guess that Cuban musicians, having fled from Castro would not be big left supporters either.

 

Death Metal, in its flirting with Satanism, implicitly rejects a leftwing humanist/atheist perspective. You can't be a Satanist and not believe in a hierarchial deity system, which a lot of Lefties would snigger at, of course.

 

http://www.anus.com/metal/about/faq/

 

These are, of course, rather extreme cases, which wouldn't reflect the vast majority of voters.

 

So you're right: generally speaking, it's practically impossible to tie politics in with job or musical preferences.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by ellwood:

[QB] It is sometimes a pretty strong indication of their politics if they support a certain candidate through participation in fund raising.../QB]

**LOL** Except in your case where you did a fundraiser for the dems!

 

I think we're getting a tad OT here. Are you still saying the whole music industry (minus a few country musicians) are lefties? You're moved on to talking about individuals, right?

[Squ]

Here's my opinion: The winners of the grammys had nothing to do with politics. It may be "bullshit" but it's not "left/right-wing bullshit" that you disagree with the winners/nominees.

[skipclone 1]

Didn`t The Dixie Chicks get a lot of flak a while ago for speaking their minds about Bush and the war?

If someone makes a directly polical statement in the course of their music that says something about them, not the genre of music they play or the industry in general. Talk shows are notorious for getting people quoted out of context or misunderstood because of the way the questions are phrased. A good host will avoid political questions alotgether. Editorial writers-forget it. I have seen concerts where people have advocated for a particular cause or to get out the vote. I would consider it crass and annoying if they got on a soapbox about a particular party.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by skipclone 1:

I would consider it crass and annoying if they got on a soapbox about a particular party.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate being lectured by people.

 

Killing Joke did that during their concert and, even though I thought they were mostly right and even though they made some interesting points rather than the usual "Ciao, Milano!" bullshit, I still felt it got in the way, somehow.

[Gifthorse]

Well, I am sure there are plenty of smart republicans, plenty of smart democrats, plenty of smart independants, plenty of smart people like me who observe people in thier parties as if they are playing a sport.

 

It is true that if the democrats do anything wrong, the republicans will villify them and take full advantage of the situation to further thier own agenda. It is also true the democrats will do the exact same thing to the republicans with the tables turned. They will both back up thier own parties EVEN when they are noticably wrong.

 

This always makes me smile.