From: aa593@Freenet.carleton.ca (Iain Pidcock)
Subject: Re: Rap music
Reply-To: aa593@Freenet.carleton.ca (Iain Pidcock)
Organization: The National Capital Freenet
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 02:45:46 GMT


In a previous article, kjm@buc.edu.au (Kevin Moore) says:

>Apology: This article contains a preponderance of American cultural icons. 
>My only excuse is that the object of discussion is of American origin.
>
>In article <1993Jan25.041320.1303@freenet.carleton.ca> aa593@Freenet.carleton.ca (Iain Pidcock) writes:
>
>>Oh oh.  Misunderstood again.  Please, no one is suggesting
>>banning anything.  I am the last person to suggest censorship
>>and such like.  I just thought that it would be useful if
>>people stopped to think about what they are listening to.
>
>Pop would finally eat itself.
>
>	[deletia]
>
>			  What do they really get
>>from NWA talking about killing police? 
>
>A vicarious thrill. Sort of like Bill Clinton wearing long hair, a beard and 
>love beads in the '60s. Kids grow up and learn to like Barry Manilow. Hell, 
>P.J O'Rourke ended up a Republican as soon as he had to pay tax! I worry 
>more about kids who listen to Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and their ilk. 
>They don't grow out of it.
>
>					 They seem to 
>>enjoy the idea.  It is a fact that rap music has 
>>been linked to the dissemination of gang values throughout
>>society.  I mean, listen to the content! 
>
>But nobody does! Except a desperate few, destined for the fringes of 
>society, along with the middle aged punks, the white haired hippies who 
>still wear flares, the dotty old ladies collecting Elvis memorabilia, and 
>Jerry Falwell. For heaven's sake, there was a time when Louis Armstrong was 
>seen as a threat to society! 
>
>						 Now lets 
>>not go thinking that I hold Ice Cube responsible for
>>all the worlds ills, but I don't think that it is 
>>socially productive to condone violence.  I guess it 
>>is really up to the listener to exercise good 
>>judgement, but I remind you, good judgement is not
>>something adolescents are known for.
>
>Indeed not. But they do grow up. (Most of them) And when they grow up, they 
>will inwardly cringe whenever their parents drag out the photographs of them 
>in their expensive basketball shoes, wearing a baseball cap backwards. 
>Nobody likes being reminded of a time when they were a snot-nosed nerd who 
>took pop music seriously. Except, of course, for the odd few who will be 
>wearing the paraphernalia when they are sixty, to the intense embarrassment 
>of their grandchildren.
>
>The point is, Rap is a fad. Ignore it and it will go away. Any cultural 
>relevance it had when Grandmaster Flash and James Brown were doing it died 
>with mainstream popularity. Why? Because nobody will market anything which 
>seriously threatens their ability to make money. ( Critics who accuse Noam 
>Chomsky of conspiracy theories fail to address this point. A conspiracy is 
>not necessary for self-censorship. Pure self-interest is enough ) 
>
>23 skidoo
>
>Kevin.
>
>******************************************************************************
>Little by little we subtract            	*
>Faith and fallacy from fact,            	*	Kevin Moore
>The illusory from the true                      *     kjm@buc.edu.au
>And then starve upon the residue.  Hoffenstein  *
>******************************************************************************
>

Kevin,
     Thanks for your insight.  I am now going to retreat to
the mountains of Chile to find myself.  To think I was
destined for the fringes of society.  Thanks for pointing
out my impending doom.  To think I have lost my mind at
21 years of age.  I have my studies of Psychology to thank
for that.  Take care and I hope that when I return, rap
is gone as you had predicted it would.  Boy o boy, what
was I thinking....   :)

-- 
Iain Pidcock  - Carleton University Student, Ottawa Canada

For the future we look to the stars, they look back and laugh
"What me Worry?"- Alfred E. Newman
Newsgroups: aus.music