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Dated Casual Racism In Popular Music

Started by TheMonk, April 24, 2021, 04:49:46 AM

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Quote from: Voltan (Man of Steel) on May 07, 2021, 08:58:32 PM
Not in the music itself, more a bit of casual racism of the West Brom stadium announcer before their match against Dinamo Bucharest in 1968: "Well, they'm the same, ay they?"

The Baggies found themselves playing Dinamo Bucharest at home. Unable to locate a copy of the Romanian national anthem, the announcer went for "close enough" and thus it was that the Romanians trotted out to the sound of Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen's rendition of "Midnight In Moscow".

Not so sure that's racist, but it's very funny!

Kankurette


willbo

not the most PC band anyway but Aerosmith's "taste of India" from their late 90s album "9 lives" probably wouldn't fly today. It's just a sexy song about being with a "tantric princess" who is "spicy as vindaloo"

kalowski

Quote from: willbo on May 09, 2021, 11:03:01 PM
not the most PC band anyway but Aerosmith's "taste of India" from their late 90s album "9 lives" probably wouldn't fly today. It's just a sexy song about being with a "tantric princess" who is "spicy as vindaloo"
A hot curry is the one thing guaranteed to put me off any sexual activity.

Mr Banlon

Not casual racism, but the well-meaning lyrics to 'Upa Neguinho' are a bit dated and patronising today. Especially in the literal translation from Potruguese to English.

PlanktonSideburns

Quote from: Peru on April 24, 2021, 06:39:23 PM
Take a journey back in time
Leave the western world behind
Cross the mountains to Peking
Where the paper lanterns gently swing
[...]
The Chinese way
Who knows what they know?
The Chinese legend grows
[...]
Standing at the master's side
There with patience he confides
Secret knowledge, sacred ways
Pearls of wisdom from the dragon days
😬

Is that rush?

I imagined it in geddy Lee's voice

sutin

Quote from: iamcoop on April 25, 2021, 01:32:14 PM
As a staunch fan of The Stranglers I always hated I Feel Like A Wog.

Whilst it can be taken as an anti-racism lyric (which has always been Hugh's explanation) the fact of the matter is the word was shocking and hateful even then and was chosen to be deliberately provocative.

I've seen JJ claim it was an insult levelled at him when he was a child due to being the son of French parents but even still, in the wider context of what most people assume that word  to mean and the effect the people that use it intend to have I'm afraid that cuts no dice with me.

I don't think for a second the band have racist inclinations it's just a woefully misguided attempt to shock whilst making a point that, at best, can be interpreted as extremely clumsy.

The worst aspect really is they've just doubled down in later years and were still playing it right up until I saw them a couple of years ago. It made me physically wince. Hated it.

I wish they'd take a step back and reappraise it and say something along the lines of "Whilst we think the message the lyrics were trying to convey was an anti-racist one we understand that public moods change, the context of words shift over time and sensibilities people in the late seventies had are not the same as they have now in modern society so with that in mind we won't be playing it anymore."

But they haven't, and I assume they won't.

I'm happy to try and at least defend the various accusations of misogyny levelled at the group over the years (a lot of their more 'provocative' lyrics are far more intelligent and cutting than a lot of people give them credit for) but IFLAW is the one thing by them that I find totally indefensible.

This is quite similar to how DEVO never stopped playing Mongoloid.