From: Ron Jeremy <galactic_funk@hotmail.com>
quoted 3 lines I don't give a shit about listening
> I don't give a shit about listening
> to some guy rapping about hos or being player. That stupid shit is for
> preadolescent kids and dumb asses to think is cool.
This is a criticism I hear levelled at rap all the time by white people (I'm
white, lest anyone think I'm race-baiting). Some of it is definitely sexist
drivel, sure. But a lot of it is not meant to be taken seriously - dust off
your sense of irony and sarcasm, folks! What really irritates me is to hear
white people (in general, not in this list) dissing rap for being juvenile,
and five minutes later saying 'that X is a dog, I wanna get some of what Y
has in her panties, she's one hot slut!'.
Let's have a little context here, yes? Rap is street music, first and
foremost - you get together with some friends and a boombox (or mouth your
beats) and boom, you have a jam session. Now what do guys do while they're
hanging out? They watch the ladies go by and kill time talking about what
they'd like to get up to with them (or not). This is not a black thing, go
hang in a white sports bar or eavesdrop on a karaoke session, and it's the
same thing - guys getting together spend about 50% of their time
dreaming/bragging about getting laid because it's a topic everyone can
participate in, doesn't require much intellectual effort, compensates for
insecurities, and passes the time. Putting on my psychological hat, it's one
of those topics that offers the opportunity to bond and share stress without
having to engage in much personal intimacy. You can just go with the flow
and feel like one of the guys. Or girls, of course women do this too.
Now, given that lots of people spend lots of time thinking about getting
laid, and that it's such a handy conversation piece, is it any wonder that
some rap showcases or satirises these conversations? Dig around a bit more,
and hear some of the many rap/r&b records about sex, the guy going on about
what a hot lover he is and the girl saying how he talks the talk but don't
walk the walk, or she doesn't care about his caddy, 'cause he ain't revving
her engine, or he's saying that he needs to give his dick and his ears a
rest while she argues that she's the queen and should always get what she
wants. A lot of this stuff is funny as fuck, and more importantly *relevant*
to what happens in people's lives. So rap is often crude and rude - guess
what, so is sex, so are guys, so are girls. One of my radio faves used to be
some tune called 'Doin' it'...on the 12 inch, it ends with the woman having
this totally OTT orgasm while the guy finally loses and cracks up laughing
at how they're 'gettin paid to record this shit'.
Now, contrast this with the 'whiter' styles of rock and pop (yeah, it's a
meaningless generalisation, so what). How much of this consists of 'Baby I
value you so much emotionally (can we go to bed now?)' or 'I'm never going
to cheat on you (again)', or 'I need your love so bad (or I'll kill myself
and everyone will blame you)'? I used to mainly listen to 'alternative rock'
until about 1995 when electronics took hold of me. I was getting totally
disenchanted with the music I'd been listening to because much of it struck
me as emotional double-dealing, manipulative, bullshit.
I'm not saying that rap lyrics are more 'real' than rock or pop, or that
white people's music is neurotic or anything like that. My point is that you
can pick on *any* genre, and find plenty of stuff to show that it is the
province of emotional retards and losers, and that there is a deliberate
exploitation of this by cynical producers. Every genre produces a large
amount of awful processed-cheese filler. Most of us are into IDM because
newer/more obscure genres aren't as much of a gravy train for copycat
producers and wannabes as the popular ones.
Equally, every genre produces its share of genius tracks. I bet every one of
you has some little pop pearl in your musical treasure chest that you are
too cool to admit to liking in public. And if it lights up your emotional
world, that's great - because musical (or any other) taste is not a fucking
competition. Being hip/down/cool/there does not mean that the music you like
is better - it means that you like it more. You will perceive other people
as hip to the extent that you anticipate being able to have a good
conversation about music/movies/books with them. The real dumb asses are the
ones who can't see why someone else would enjoy somthing that they
themselves hate.
This needn't even apply to music. I used to work with someone who always
showed up looking like they fell out of a fashion magazine and who thought
Celine Dion was where it's at. We used to have arguments about about access
to the store stereo, while our sales lady at the front thought we were crazy
and tuned into sports all day. Oh yes, I definitely had the coolest record
collection. You could chill your beer in my taste locker. But then the
accountant always looked like a million dollars and didn't ever worry about
paying her bills on time. The sales lady had her fun by winning practically
every sports bet she made with my boss, chuckling that money won is twice as
sweet as money earned. Who's 'right'? Nobody. Everyone wants different shit
out of life, some people want thrills, some want comfort, some want company.
Taste is just a signpost towards finding other people we are comfortable
with. And of course, who will go to bed with us :-)
My last 2 cents on this topic.
Anig Browl
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