Christmas Music Banned at Corporate Party Gig

[Markyboard]

Anyone know any Festivus songs?

 

Happy Festivus Everyone!

[ITGITC]

Anyone know any Festivus songs?

 

Happy Festivus Everyone!

 

See? I just KNEW someone would help me out here.

 

Hey Marky, where the hell have you been?

 

People have been asking.

 

(You don't own them money again, do ya?)

 

 

[Chris Link]

 

What most people don't realize about the middle east is that there are millions of christians living there (many of whom have immigrated to the US, and elsewhere)... So, don't be surprised if you see some middle eastern types singing Christmas tunes.

 

aL

 

It should come as no surprise as the eastern Mediterranean was populated by Christian majorities before being conquered by Muslim expansion.

[MusicaL]

It should come as no surprise as the eastern Mediterranean was populated by Christian majorities before being conquered by Muslim expansion.

 

Uh huh!

[Jazz+]

Too Jewish?

 

Let It Snow - by Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne

 

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

 

It doesn't show signs of Pauseping,

And I've bought some corn for popping,

The lights are turned way down low,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

 

When we finally kiss goodnight,

How I'll hate going out in the storm!

But if you'll really hold me tight,

All the way home I'll be warm.

 

The fire is slowly dying,

And, my dear, we're still good-bying,

But as long as you love me so,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

[JeffLearman]

No shortage of morons, is there?

 

Some people might be offended by Christmas tunes. Other people might be offended by the LACK of Christmas tunes. Take yer pick, I say.

 

I'm offended by people who are easily offended, and have a low tolerance for intolerant people. Let 'em eat frogs, I say.

 

Of course, at a gig I'd just say "Yes'm" and change the tune.

 

Someone should write a meddley with holiday tunes of all sorts, making sure the Christian ones are near the back. Then if you get grief, just say it deserves equal time with all those other holiday songs!

 

[b3keys]

That's all right - my holiday lunch was canceled!

[RABid]

Too many people confuse "Freedom of religion" with "Freedom from religion". I would be insulted to attend a company party at this time and find that seasonal music is banned. But then, this may be one of those companies that has no problem making big money commercializing Christmas but refuses to allow their employees to say "Merry Christmas".

 

As for the school that banned decorations, it's amazing how schools will teach tolerance and then practice the opposite.

 

I'd rather attend a party that celebrates all seasonal holidays, not some sterilized gathering that could just as well be held in April.

[t9cstudio]

Too many people confuse "Freedom of religion" with "Freedom from religion". I would be insulted to attend a company party at this time and find that seasonal music is banned. But then, this may be one of those companies that has no problem making big money commercializing Christmas but refuses to allow their employees to say "Merry Christmas".

 

As for the school that banned decorations, it's amazing how schools will teach tolerance and then practice the opposite.

 

I'd rather attend a party that celebrates all seasonal holidays, not some sterilized gathering that could just as well be held in April.

 

My MAN! Truer words have never been spoken...

Thank You.

 

[Steve Nathan]

2 pages and no one has asked why the OP felt the need to include the phrase

mostly Afro American

in his post. I fail to see how this is significant to his point.

[t9cstudio]

2 pages and no one has asked why the OP felt the need to include the phrase

mostly Afro American

in his post. I fail to see how this is significant to his point.

 

I'm not asking either, but maybe he was providing some foreshadowing for his phrase, "So I started to play a swinging jazz version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"?

 

[Joe Muscara]

"Afro American"? Is that some sort of classification based on hairstyle?

[Jazz+]

I mentioned that the party was mostly African American because before the client hired me she told me the party would be mostly African Americans and asked if I could play music that African Americans would enjoy.

 

I somehow was under the impression that about 90% or more of African Americans were born into Christian families, thus I tried to play a few harmless Christmas songs.

[moj]

I don't think they would've been upset if you had played Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas, Baby".

[Griffinator]

No shortage of morons, is there?

 

Some people might be offended by Christmas tunes. Other people might be offended by the LACK of Christmas tunes. Take yer pick, I say.

 

I'm offended by people who are easily offended, and have a low tolerance for intolerant people. Let 'em eat frogs, I say.

 

Yeah? Well I'm offended by people who are offended by people being offended!

 

 

[ITGITC]

 

OK, I re-read Jazz+'s post and I can't see where he did everything wrong. In fact, a swinging rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" certainly would seem to fit in any holiday party that I've ever played for.

 

So he played it and only then was he told not to for fear that it would offend someone in the audience.

 

So he played something else.

 

Kudos to Jazz+ for rolling with it.

 

People are funny.

 

There's this word that seems to have caught on lately - "viral". I wasn't using that word too much a few months back.

 

But the 'interweb' has a way of spreading sh.., er, stuff really, really fast. And it also magnifies and amplifies.

 

So if just one person says, "I'm offended." Then everybody in Human Resources goes crazy trying to keep the company from being sued at a holiday party.

 

Sometimes it's best, methinks, just to go ahead and do what you're going to do... and apologize later.

 

Perhaps if it were me (in my younger, long-hair days) I would have stood up and said, "OK, let's see a show of hands here. Who's the fool that's going to be offended if I play "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town""?

 

Or I might have just waited until the last song of the night and played it anyway.

 

But that's just me.

 

And that's probably the attitude that sent me to Military Academy back in '69.

 

But that's another story for another day.

 

 

Have a Merry Christmas - or whatever it is that you decide to celebrate in December.

 

Tom

 

 

 

[Joe Muscara]

My comment was about the fact that he said, "Afro American" in the OP. He's changed it on us since.

[alfonso]

I'm atheist, I'm against religious symbols in public offices because of the role, I have also a particularly strong anti-clerical position, but, frankly, i think such a request is moronic....completely idiotic. Preobably the 80% of black music is spiritually connoted and you know what? I appreciate it also for this reason.

Well, obviously the customer is always right....

[ITGITC]

My comment was about the fact that he said, "Afro American" in the OP. He's changed it on us since.

 

Well... OK. No harm done.

 

I mean to say that I'll give Jazz+ the benefit of the doubt and really don't think he was trying to be offensive.

 

And I've had to ask my friends who are African American - do you prefer "African American", or "Black" or something else.

 

Now I realize the elephant is in the room and he's sitting right here beside me, but I'll press on.

 

The point is that those of us who are citizens of the US of A are all considered American, yet folks like to put us in various buckets and categorize us. I've been called a lot of things in my short life, and I think that most of the time people aren't trying to be offensive, they're just trying to find something in common and/or feel more comfortable with putting me in a category that they can readily identify.

 

Big deal.

 

So Jazz+ (we put him in the category of 'OP')

 

...and all this time I thought that belonged to this guy:

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/14/First_Appearance_Opie_Taylor.JPG/200px-First_Appearance_Opie_Taylor.JPG

 

Jazz+ plays a holiday party & thinks it's just fine to play a jazzed up rendition of "Santa Claus...".

 

I dunno. But as I said, I don't think that was a mistake.

 

Sure he wrote "Afro American" when it's "African American".

 

I feel certain that they would forgive him for that.

 

And as you said, Joe, he's changed it on us since.

 

Ain't it nice that we can still learn from our misspellings and such?

 

Tom

 

[RABid]

...Sure he wrote "Afro American" when it's "African American".

 

I feel certain that they would forgive him for that.

 

And as you said, Joe, he's changed it on us since.

 

Ain't it nice that we can still learn from our misspellings and such?

 

Tom

 

Afro-American is not derogatory or a mistake. It is a frequently used term which is currently being replaced by the latest politically correct classification, African-American. It is a term that still has frequent use and many Afro-American culture centers around the nation have yet to change their signs or their names.

[ITGITC]

Afro-American is not derogatory or a mistake. It is a frequently used term which is currently being replaced by the latest politically correct classification, African-American. It is a term that still has frequent use and many Afro-American culture centers around the nation have yet to change their signs or their names.

 

 

Right.

 

Thanks for the clarification. It made me get a bit more knowledge HERE.

 

Thank you RABid.

 

Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jazz+]

I did not know Afro-American was considered offensive, sorry if I offended. By the way I was talking to one of my students yesterday who is and African American and a Buddisht and he said his sect feels Christmas music is "slanderous" against his religion. I don't totally understand that.

 

slander:

1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation

2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person compare libel

[ITGITC]

I did not know Afro-American was considered offensive, sorry if I offended. By the way I was talking to one of my students yesterday who is and African American and a Buddisht and he said his sect feels Christmas music is "slanderous" against his religion. I don't totally understand that.

 

slander:

1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation

2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person compare libel

 

And there ya have it - the crux of the problem. It's a slippery slope. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

Many moons ago, on this very forum, I had a tag line that pretty much expressed my sentiments whenever I got in a situation like this. I think I'll bring it back. It goes something like this...

 

Who Wants a BEER?

 

http://incontiguousbrick.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/girl-with-beer.jpg

[RABid]

Perhaps we could compile a song list worthy of gatherings such as this. No seasonal or religious songs. Lots of variety. Ill start.

 

Gemme Shelter

The Lemon Song

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

Making Flippy FLoppy

Smack My Bitch Up

She Bop

[Cliffk]

Why are people so insanely sensitive about situations where more often than not, if we all just took a step back to consider if the speaker meant to insult or not, negative (over)reaction would probably be unnecessary. Surely it's about intention, isn't it? If the guy doesn't mean to step on your toes, even if it hurts when it happens, are you going to beat the hell out of him - 'cos he shoulda known better!? C'mon, Mr PC with his accomplice, Mrs Hypersensitivity, is getting ridiculously out of hand.

 

Another thing: A few years ago, a tabloid news headline made me burst out laughing: 'Schools to cancel Christmas'. What a great joke, I thought. Man, it's happening for real now. While other, shall we say 'less tolerant' interest groups' traditions are given deference, it's centuries-old British traditions which are getting the boot - because native Brits might offend people of other backgrounds etc. [Hehe, even reading this back I'm almost paranoid for fear of offending someone who might take umbrage at my views - weird...]

 

As for Christmas or 'Xmas' as it's become, it takes a thinking person to realise that the majority of modern 'Christmas traditions' have jack to do with its real meaning, so how can secular Christmas songs offend religiously? I'm seriously bewildered here: how can my celebrating my harmless beliefs offend you enough for you to want me to stop? There's room for all, no?

 

Meanwhile, everybody blithely ignores the reality of people dying by the minute from hunger and preventable disease while one man, one man, stands as the cause. Now this isn't worth getting upset about, nooooo...

[Cliffk]

Shoot, DB, hope I haven't stepped over the political/religious line. Don't think so. Oh well, if I only resurface 30 days from now, you'll know why.

[MusicaL]

As for Christmas or 'Xmas' as it's become, it takes a thinking person to realise that the majority of modern 'Christmas traditions' have jack to do with its real meaning, so how can secular Christmas songs offend religiously?

 

That's easy. We have so obscured the real meaning of Christmas with jingles, trees, reindeer, gifts and snow, that for today's generations and those uninitiated in the Christian tradition it is natural to think that Santa Claus and all the associated accoutrements are the real meaning of Christmas!!

 

aL

[DirtyRubberDuck]

 

Makes sense to me! But what do I know, I'm just a Irish drunk.

 

Oops, I just offended myself!

 

DRD

[alfonso]

I did not know Afro-American was considered offensive, sorry if I offended. By the way I was talking to one of my students yesterday who is and African American and a Buddisht and he said his sect feels Christmas music is "slanderous" against his religion. I don't totally understand that.

 

slander:

1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation

2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person compare libel

 

I'm sorry for this guy, but he is as Buddhist as my left sock. Not only Buddhism (any tradition) favors the freedom of thought, but most of the times it's not even against the possibility of being Buddhist while being something else at the same time.

[Griffinator]

Have a Merry Christmas - or whatever it is that you decide to celebrate in December.

 

Alright, that settles it.

 

I'm going to spend the entire month of December celebrating the life and music of Frank Zappa. Screw traditional holiday music, I'll roll out all 100-odd versions of "Peaches En Regalia" and blast it from my rooftop. I'll play "Jesus thinks you're a Jerk" on Christmas day, "Jewish Princess" on Chaunakah (or however you spell it) and the complete Thing Fish soundtrack throughout Kwanzaa. I'll spend the entire month offending everyone I possibly can on the holiday they decide to celebrate, with offensive themes specifically targeted at their ethnic group.

 

I'll piss so many people off they'll forget they were ever offended by holiday music.