Writing is Fighting

More Examples That We Are Not a "Post-Racial" Society

Early last week, I was struggling to think about what I wanted to write about for Blogher. But funnily enough, whenever I feel that I am totally stumped something comes up and I'm like, 'yeah!'

Because of what I write about, the fact that I never seem to fall short of topics is not necessarily a good thing. Most of my postings seem to focus on not-so-positive issues in the news - issues that I feel that if not acknowledged would, despite many R&E bloggers posting about them - would go unnoticed. Blogher has a huge readership so posting something on that site is almost a guarantee that perhaps someone who isn't regularly checking the R&E sites will learn of a story or an issue that ordinarily they wouldn't have.

I wrote about the penchant some people still have concerning blackface and other negative black images that seem to occur during Halloween over at Blogher this week, but a few hours later after I put up the post, I got a tweet from my friend, Leah, whom the original story was based on. She alerted me this post on Torontoist about the above fucking idiots in the above picture.

Now to be fair, the writer who posted the story about this greatly misinformed group of U of T students who decided to go to a party depicted as the characters from a shitty 90's movie, Cool Runnings, knew that what they did was off-color ( pardon the pun). If the writer hadn't pointed out who they were trying to emulate I wouldn't have known and thought that they were a bunch of douchebags. Well, I think that anyway....but at least there was a bit of context? I'm trying to be fair, here.

Would I call it racist? No. But by looking at some of the comments, I immediately thought about two things. First, here are some of the comments:

It was always my understanding that that wasn't blackface. It'd be blackface if they had done the exaggerated white mouth that is the primary characteristic of blackface. These guys don't seem to have it.

I don't get it - why is it offensive for a white person to wear makeup to portray a black character on Halloween? They're not displaying any sort of intolerance. I've known people that have been iconic black characters like Shaft for Halloween - and let me tell you, a white dude is not a very convincing Shaft without a bit of makeup. Is it not okay to be somebody for Halloween that has a different skin color than yourself?

And

I don't think blackface has much visceral meaning for the post-Al Jolson generation, and I'm in general agreement with Buck that these lame-ass costumes are more post-racist than racist (can a white guy dress as Obama or is that blackface?).......

From the students in the picture:

.....We are extremely offended by your slanderous article, it not only attacks our moral integrity, but calls our character into question on a daily basis. We ASK you to please consider the consequences of your uninformed accusations on those you use as mediums for debates on race relations and we further DEMAND that you take this down. We don’t deserve your scrutiny and we certainly don’t deserve the negative impact it will surely have on our day to day life.

Before that portion of the comment, the students pulled the 'I have friends of every color' card - "none of my multi-ethnic friends were offended." Plus, the guy with white makeup is black, so in theory, it could dissuade any arguments that these guys were trying to be hateful.

Instead they just come off as being ignorant and probably privileged little boys who relish in their white supremacy - the subconscious attitude that they can do whatever they want, never feel that they have to justify their actions and if someone does dare to critique them, well, then the problem is the critic, not them. How dare you, you bunch of uptight politically correct socialists! This is my right!

So my first thought was that I find this way of thinking (along with the commenter's who always say 'get over it, or 'black people are racist too' as straw-man arguments) very tiring and sad. These kids are not the devil, it's just that this story is indicative of the confusion over what a 'post-racial' society really is supposed to be.

My second thought was not condemning the 'black friend' in the picture, but to feel sorry for him. One of the only commenter's ( and the only commenter I personally know who is black) who was extremely critical of the story was The Carps singer, Jamal Tonge, who I happened to interview a few years ago. This is what he said:

Wow. I can't believe some of the ignorance I'm reading on here.

The fact that white people are "unaware" of the offense somehow makes it ok? That is supposed to be a justification for the years of subjugation and embarrassment black people have dealt with? The years of racist stereotypes predicated on this VERY thing??

It is not simply the act of rubbing shoe polish on your face and drinking overprice booze and some douche bar. It's the reminders and memories of a time when black people and all people of color were seen as stupid, thieves, liars and super sexual. Ready to rape and eat a white woman at any time.

Blackface is among one of the most intensely offensive and racist things any person can do in this day and age. And the fact that these tools potentially don't know about it is NO excuse. It doesn't mean we are forgetting about racism? (Why are some people so quick to want to forget their guilt and shame?) What it means is that we are forgetting WHY offensive stereotypes about watermelon, laziness and chicken and thievery come from.

SHAME on you, ANY of you, for propagating this foolishness.

In a very sad, sick way, I can understand what the black dude in 'whiteface' felt. Perhaps deep down inside he kinda knew (or at least I hope he did) along with the other brotha in the picture, that perhaps that wasn't the greatest idea. Perhaps these guys were good friends and he just went along with their idea - after all, I do believe that this was not malicious, just incredibly misinformed. And if these guys attend U of T, most likely they are going to have more white friends than black. Maybe they just wanted to blend in. I'm not excusing the fact that they are douches for participating, but simply that it is not easy to dismiss their part in this as being 'race-traitors.'

Talking to white friends about issues surrounding race is not easy. I don't care how long you have been friends with someone but from my perspective and experience of having a 95% white family, regardless of how long you have known, love and respected someone, if they have not lived your experience, dealt with the intricacies of race and racism in our society, they will never fully understand. Sympathize? Yes but often that comes out as pity, which we do not really need and does no good for anyone. Could those brothers really talk to their friends about the questionable images they were putting out?

Maybe they didn't even think about it. After all, 'Blackface' is considered an old relic by the young. But every Halloween, the actions of people who put on brown makeup and take on negative caricatures of black people ( and Asian and Latino, and South Asians) seems to be here to say. They are too young or too stupid to know about how back in the day, blackface was white people saying that black were stupid buffoons. Actions that could avoid the verbalizing of hate but favoring a more insidious form of cruelty that said, we will never accept you. You will always be the other. But because this happens in this day and age when we really should be more socially evolved a bit more that we evidently are, it troubles me.

So this post-racial society? For some it means that with the election of President Obama, racism no longer exists. See, white Americans did 'us' a favor by voting a black man into office, so we all better shut the fuck up now. They can't be racist with a brother in the White House. You can no longer even say the 'R' word because as far as they are concerned, it no longer exists.

Some people have used Obama's election as a convenient way not only to dismiss instances of racism, but also to strip people from their humanity. See? We did you a favor so now you have to shut up and take it. We don't 'see' color....but we still like to dress up and make fun of you. The boys dressed up like characters in a movie that were viewed as stupid Jamaicans who needed to be saved by a white coach. They might have found it innocent, but I do not think it was. It was buffoonery, separated by a decade, perhaps, but still insulting. Maybe their are too stupid to know, to ignorant to care......I kinda hope so because the alternative is pretty pathetic coming from a younger generation in a heavily multi-ethnic city and a great university.

Music ( I think) You Should Seriously Consider Checking Out.........

I'm really cheap.

Mostly because I am always broke. I'll admit it.

And what I spend my money on is travel and writing - oriented stuff (and clothes for my day job), so I admit that my priorities are a bit skewed, as I realized that I am down to one wine glass, mismatched cutlery and desperately need pans and pots (and an area rug, kitchen mat, bath towels, etc).

But despite all the 'real life' stuff I need in order to look like I am a somewhat responsible adult, what did I do this week? I bought music.

First, I bought a secondhand copy of Jucifer's L'Autrichienne and I absolutely love it. A double album, I would recommend it for people who like a whole bunch of different genres of music. There is thrash, sludge, doom, pop/Indie and beautiful folk ballads, all courtesy of just two people, Amber and Ed.

Second was finding a copy ( it's harder than you think) of Napalm Death's Death By Manipulation. I wanted to add this to my collection and it is really, really good. I also wanted a recording that former drummer Mick Harris played on, and man, that dude is amazing.

But what really blew my mind was Converge's  Axe to Fall. Hardcore, metal, thrash, noise? I don't really know if you can fit this album - or the band - into one category. I really don't know anything about the Boston - area band, and everything I have heard from others is that this album is their best since their early recording in the 90's. You can tell that these guys have been around a long time - it shows in their skills and the muscle, the risks they take, the seemingly not really caring what people think to just put things together, throw it at the wall and see what sticks. And it really works.

I no nothing about the technical aspects of music production but I listen to a lot of music and  know when something is good and when the production skills are lacking. I am going to put myself out here and say that Axe to Fall is a brilliantly produced album - maybe the best I've heard this year. Incredibly crisp, clear and the subtle nuances are accentuated. I've got at least three 10 ten lists to do and this album, despite just being released a couple of weeks ago, is going to be near the top, fo sho. Here's a vid from the album:

Metallica at the ACC October 26th and Some New Reviews

Isn't this a fucking AWESOME picture?

I took it. Ha!

I am totally loving myself right now because guess what folks! I am the worst photographer in the world........

When I got a press / photo pass for last night's show at the Air Canada Centre here in the T-dot, I panicked. My photos are notoriously bad, and I was freaked that while I could produce a review no problem, I would struggle with the pictures. I stressed out all weekend and yesterday afternoon, forked over some cash to buy a secondhand professional camera and after an hour of trying to figure out how it worked, voila! Not perfect my any means ( I lightened the above picture a bit and now I'm thinking I shouldn't have) but the experience of being in the photographer's pit for this show was so exhilliarating that I have to do it again!

Obviously I was excited to see Metallica, as I had never seen them live before. It was excellent, but I have to say that I prefer smaller venues. From the media galley, we were six floors above the stage so you could see the band with no problem, but I prefer being on the floor level and mixing it up with the people.

Show was great, Kirk, Robert (whom I want to marry and have his children - seriously....oh I think he is married......) and of course James, who is so friggin' cool it hurts my head, all posed and got right up in our faces in the pit, and I tell you I was overwhelmed for a hot minuite, and then I had to get to work and get as many shots as I could.

Actually, between running from writing on the six floor to the stage and back for Lamb of God (who also put on a great show) and then back again for Metallica, I worked more than I enjoyed the show, but it was an experience that I'll never forget. Just wants me to work even harder.

Here is the review with a great picture I took of James.

Reviews:

Okay, so I loved the new Gaza CD and highly reccomend that you pick it up. I reviewed it for Hellbound.

Also, Exclaim has a couple of recent reviews I did. These ones were so-so. I thought that they were okay.......

But one I did like was a band from Montreal called Warcall. These guys are great.

I can't help myself......one more picture!

Revolver's Hottest Chicks and Metal

So.........What do you think of this cover?

Me, I think it's fine. I only wish that Revolver would change the title of their annual issue, monthly pictorial and calendar to "Talented Female Musicians in Metal" or at least "Hottest Women in Metal."

The "Chicks" is, well, sexist but more importantly to me is that it this issue suggests that the women involved in the scene are only there because they are hot. Granted, both the women (Lizzy Hale from Halestorm and Grace Perry of Landmine Marathon) on the cover are pretty 'hot' but a) I've never heard of either band except from a random music review. They aren't on my music radar but my personal tastes don't go that way, so I don't know how good their respective bands are; and b) if these were fantastic musicians but were overweight and ugly, you know these women would not be gracing the cover of any magazine whose main target demographic is young white men between 18-30.

I bought this today because of the special issue to check it out and as of writing this, have barely cracked it open (I was also looking forward to reading the album review for Converge) so I don't have an opinion. Also, buying Revolver is pretty damned expensive in Canada ( they just raised their issue price) so I'm not compelled to buy it every month.I'd Rather buy Decibel, which is more my speed. However, I did hear that unfortunately, the monthly magazine is going bi-monthly in 2010, which is sad but not surprising, as Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs and several other non-music publications went under this year. Revolver is owned, I believe, by the same company that runs the successful UK publication Metal Hammer, so I'm guessing that's why they have survived a bit longer. I was sorry to hear that, though.

I have been interviewed twice in the past couple of weeks. In one, I told the interviewer that sexism in the metal scene did not bother me as much (I just think it is stupid and says more about the sexists than the women) as racism and the lack of black folks in the scene. I told her (and I soon regretted it) that I had rarely even been perceived as a woman - that my ethnicity had always been more of an issue than the fact that I have breasts. I have always been pretty much an outsider in the scene but as long as my writing comrades and the people in the scene that I know, really like and respect on a professional level respect me as a writer, that is what matters most. Me being sexualized and being thought of as attractive as a white girl half my age, is really not.

I've always been a bit skeptical of Revolver because even though I certainly do not promote female metal musicians being sexualized versus discussing their craft, they need to but some flava up in there! I know that they have had some female Asian musicians, like Dr. Mikannibal from Sigh, but what about Alexis from Straight Line Stitch? And her band is in the radar zone, for chrissakes.

Oh - I forgot. White boys don't like that 'ish.

Check out FREE Compilation, Living Colour, etc......

First,check this out......How many times do you have the chance to get good music for FREE?

You can download this nifty complilation by Rob Fields over at Bold as Love who deserves a friggin' award for putting this together. There are some amazing tracks on this set, most notably a track by Tamar Kali whom I love, love love.

Rob whom did this as a labor of love, says that he put this together to encourage people to investigate these artists and to support them by picking up their albums.  So do it, dammit!

Living Colour: what can I say? I've seen some really awesome shows this year. I went to see NYC's finest a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. My best homegirl came with me and it was great to see so many people dancing and having a greeat time. They played the majority of their new album, The Chair in the Doorway and some oldies but goodies, and I shook my ass so much I was sore the next day. Now that's a concert! I wrote a review for it over at Hellbound.

Next: just bought a ticket to see Shrinebuilder in NYC November 15th! I'll be doing a driveby in NYC from Indiana where I'll be attending this:

Southern Steel: Weedeater, The Melvins, Down - Detroit, Sept 19th - A Sociological Perspective

I desperately need a new camera.

I just got home from an awesome show, and all my pictures ended up blurry and crappy. Sheeit. 

Anyhoo, so despite my previous column about Phil Anselmo I got the opportunity to check out Down with The Melvins in Detroit! What a show that was. How it came about was a little strange. I follow Dave Hall from Handshake Inc. on Twitter and in one post he mentioned how he was going to the show. I DM'ed him - thinking that I had met him at a show in May via a couple of guys I know in Hamilton, and asked if they were playing in Canada. He responded that they were playing in Detroit, so after thinking that I might head down on my own, I spoke to a friend who said, 'dude. you DO NOT want to go to downtown Detroit by yourself.' Luckily, Dave emailed me, said that he was going down with a few friends and invited me to tag along, so yesterday morning I headed to London, ON, met up with him and his friends ( who were awesome) and headed down to Motor City.

It wasn't until I got picked up by Dave's partner in Handshake - also named Dave, that no, neither of them knew the people that I knew, so basically I didn't know them at all! So yeah, lucky for me, they were really cool people, but I wouldn't recommend that you blindly travel to another city - and go to another country with a car-full of strangers.  

Anyway, we had a great time. The show started with Weedeater, this doom/sludge trio from North Carolina, whom the Daves knew. Really passionate, yet basic southern metal, no frills but their heaviness and texture compensated for any frills - like guitar solos and all that unnecessary stuff. I really liked them, considered picking up one of their albums (they are on Southern Lord) but then Dave H. says to me, "you know, the bassist's great-great grandfather started The Klu Klux Klan."

Great. So much for that. When we had arrived at the venue - which was this pretty cool old theater in the heart of the city, it was pretty obvious not only who many of the sold-out show came to see Down but what their politics were. Mostly rough-around-the collar white guys with white muscle shirts - I actually saw one guy wearing a "Klan Brotherhood" t-shirt, for chrissakes -  people with really bad dental hygiene, the worst tattoos I have seen in my life and a family that looked like they were all related - in a very, very, bad way, if you get my drift. As a Negro, you know I gotta check and see if there were any black folks - after all, it was Detroit - and I counted - minus the Security guards - four...including me - out of 3,000 people. And I was the only woman.

 The 'women' ........this ended up to be a real bone of contention for me and Rebecca, a friend of Dave H's and a really interesting woman. She is a clothing designer and makes clothes for metal musicians - most notably Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow. I am going to be getting more info about Rebecca, because she is really, really cool. Anyway, I'm going to generalize and say that the majority of the women - including the handfulof the 50+ ladies there with their 50+ husbands / boyfriends, were only there because of their boyfriends / husbands. It was obvious then they were standing, texting and looking bored while everyone else was really having a good time ( this crowd was probably the most energetic one I've seen in decades).

 At one point, there were two girls who had a primo spot and they left, so I stood there ( I was standing beside one of the girl's boyfriend, who didn't mind) and watched Down, and when they came back they were pretty pissed that I was there. So I moved, and then watched them start chatting and texting, not even paying attention to the show. So, why are you there taking up precious real estate when I could have been actually watching the band? Seconds later, I ended up standing on a banquet and getting an even better view of the stage, so it was all good. But what was interesting was that later one of the girls got on her boyfriend's shoulders, lifted her top and bra and flashed  - or tried to get the attention of - Phil. I said to Rebecca, "that is so 1980's."

There were women who were (including a trio of underage groupies - one whose skirt didn't cover her thonged bum) not dressed appropriately. It was interesting as many were dressed like they were auditioning for a hair metal video appearance - the tacky and cheap heels, spandex mini-skirts, thigh-high leggings, etc., while their partners were slobbed-out in dirty, knee-length shorts and ratty t-shirts. It was almost like they were pimping their girlfriends. Why do girls do that? Don't frigging' go to a show if it is obvious you don't like the bands. I dunno, maybe it is a Detroit thing or something, but I've seen it before and it is tired for those of us who actually know who is on the stage.

I'm planning to write a complete review for Hellbound on the show, so I'll just say that The Melvins were unbelievable! Totally exceeded my expectations. I was pretty close to the stage so I was able to see drummers Coady Willis and Dale Crover in action. For their last song, they added the drummer from Down, Jimmy Bower (who also plays with Eyehategod) for a three-drummer solo - which, even today, I can't believe I saw.

Down knows how to put on a show. I absolutely love Southern rock - the groove and the riffs are kick-ass, and they delivered. The lighting was simplistic, yet effective - using spotlights set behind the drum kit, and it was amazing. Phil is known for his banter, knows how to work the audience and they responded - so passionate and many of them knew every word - I don't have any of their albums, but from what I heard from others, they covered tracks from all of them. They ended with ( after a long, long encore of five songs) "Bury Me In Smoke" and as white and green smoke filled the stage, the band members handed their instruments to their roadies and Dale Crover, who took over on guitar, to take over while the band waved to the audience, shook hands and invited their backstage entourage to get onstage. I think that was the best ending I have ever seen in my life - really gracious.

As for the band's / Phil's politics -. I walked away still feeling uncomfortable. Actually, I was mildly uncomfortable the whole night, as the crowd was really rough. The mosh-pit, which didn't start until the end of the Melvin's set was violent. I would say that this crowd was pretty old, so you had 30-35+ grown-ass men in the pit, and instead of the usual bumping and shoving, fists were flying. From where I was standing, I saw men entering the pit that looked like they were ready to really get down and while I was up at the stage for The Melvin's, I knew to get back for Down.

I got some real hateful glares from some of these guys (whom, I'm sorry y'all, you knew they were white supreamists by their tattoos and their overall look) , but on the other hand, I chatted with a bunch of them too and overall it was pretty gentle-manly. But I still have some mixed feelings today. You shouldn't have to go to a show and know not to make eye contact with people, for fear of getting your face kicked in. I've been to a lot of shows, Phil was amazing, looked great and sang well and Buzz from The Melvins both are top-notch performers, but you really had to prepare yourself to defend yourself physically if anything went down, and that shit tires me. And scares me. I shouldn't have to think about it, but when you enter these spaces where rarely Negroes go - especially with what is going on in the States right now, you have to be prepared.

So in some ways I am not going to complain, but I walked away from this incredible experience deciding that I am never going to back down from what I want to do. I'm not going to let people intimidate me, I'm going to fight to do what I want and I will never let anyone get in my way. but you have to be safe, and not let your stubbornness get you into trouble.

 We have some serious issues with race relations, folks - that was clearly evident to me. But I will not let that stop me from doing what I love - and that's going to metal shows. In Detroit? I'll have to consider that!

Angry Black People

The night I decide to turn in early, all hell breaks loose. I'm not going to bother posting video as many of y'all have probably seen either a) Serena Williams lose her cool ( justifiably so, as apparently she was right that her foot had not gone over the line) at the U.S Open; and then Kayne West act like a complete asshole at the MTV Video Awards by humiliating Taylor Swift while she gave her thank you's for winning an award.

I shouldn't even have to lump these two incidents together, but the reason why I am doing it, is unfortunately the perception in the public is that they are similar. Negroes done lost their minds.

I also wanted to mention my own instance with anger, which happened yesterday afternoon. I was fortunate to be invited to see a movie playing at the Toronto International Film Festival and after the movie my friend and I walked down to another theater to see if we could catch a viewing of Good Hair, the new documentary by Chris Rock about black women and their hair.

So of course there was a line-up down the street, as if you cannot get tickets, you can wait in a 'rush' line, which means that if press / industry people do not show up to their seats, they let the rush line in. Because it was so long and we wanted to try and get tickets for another movie, we decided to keep on movin'. In the line we passed a group of black teen-aged boys who were standing with a young white girl.

As we walked past, the girl, who was wearing sunglasses, turned to look at us and lowered her shades so she could give us the up-and down with attitude, like, who you think you are? Then she gave us the side-eye ( y'all negroes know what I'm talking about) with a smirk on her face. The bitch was so cheeky, my mouth dropped open and I said "what the fuck?" I started to go back but my friend grabbed my arm. "Choose your battles wisely," she said, as I proceed to spit out a list of profanities at the group.

Now in any other situation, my friend would be the one to deliver a throw down. But instead she said, " you know that type. She's going in with her black male friends to see a doc about how black women are messed up over their hair and she's going to leave feeling that she is better than black girls." Yeah, she was probably right, and no beat-down is really going to change that.Plus, the girl was probably about twenty years younger than me, so if I did grab her by her bleached blonde hair and rammed her face against my kneecap.....repeatedly...... guess who would be going to jail?

Sigh.

Okay, so that is a little story, but it got me thinking about the Serena incident I saw when I watched the news this morning. Okay, Serena shouldn't have lost her cool, but so what?

My homegirl Tami has a great post up about the hypocrisy of this situation. John McEnroe threw temper tantrums for years. Serena gets a $10,500 fine, and apparently they are looking at even more - to the point that she could potentially be barred from participating in future Grand Slam championships. Wouldn't they just love that?

This incident is perhaps the best example of how little leeway women, and black women in particular, have in the public eye. Serena Williams' behavior this weekend should be viewed as an unfortunate misstep by an otherwise admirable athlete, whose life, on an off the court, stands as a model for young women and men. Instead, we're worrying about Williams' future and whether her reputation can recover from this single incident. One incident, and to the masses, Williams has proved that she is not "America's Sweetheart," as if there was ever a question. One incident, and to the masses, Williams has proven their sexist and racist biases correct. One incident, and she is an angry, black woman--threatening, an animal.

Look, the public has hated the Williams sisters for years. The media have ridiculed their family because they were from the 'Hood, they have ridiculed their hair, their outfits and their bodies. Since I can remember, there has never been this type of outburst from Serena or Venus, even when people called racial epithets from the stands. They have been strong and silent, choosing to take the high road instead of doing what people wanted them to do, which was to prove them right by smacking a bitch. They love the blond, skinny white European or "All-American" - whatever that means, whom regardless of being sucky players, represent what the public feels more 'comfortable' with - the leggy, skinny girls whose skirts are so short you can see their beige skinny asses. The Williams sisters have always represented the real athlete - but the opposite to society's belief of what beauty is and what is valued. they are dark and muscular; real girls are white and skinny....and rich.

I'm actually surprised that this incident hadn't happened before. I would have totally lost it years ago if I were Serena or Venus. I would have publicly challenged the racist rhetoric that has been spit in the press, but on the other hand, if they had, they wouldn't have gotten this far. They would have been 'blackballed,' - excuse the pun and therefore not been able to do what they love.

So I've been reading the news reports and the media seems scurred at this incident. They are taking this opportunity - that they have before - as painting Serena as the wild, savage beast that can't control herself. No one seems to like to look in the past, when it comes to racism. No one wants to think about how all the shit that both Serena and her sister have been though, and how they swallowed their tongue and their pride, to remain in the game.

But that's racism in general. The same people who are blowing up this incident by saying that all black women are.........whatever, and the same people who say that instead of calling black people niggers, they are going to start calling us "Kanye" seems to all suffer from the same ailment. Convenient forgetfulness.

You see, if all the black people in the world treated every racist incident they have ever had the same way as white folks treat black people - i.e: lumping everybody into one group, devoid of individualism and characteristics, white people would be in a world of hurt. You see, the same people who are now calling Kanye a nigger and that his unfortunate and selfish actions are par for course for ALL OF US, are the same people who have conveniently forgotten about slavery, lynching, the forcible rape of black women by their white slavemasters, institutional and systemic racism, racial segregation and the generations that psychological abuse has remained in society and the fact that your American President, despite winning the majority of votes in the 2008 election, has been totally disrespected - and it has been allowed - and accepted. Not because he has done something terribly wrong (like umm..Bush) but because that despite the election, his degrees, his education and his intelligence, he is still just a nigger.

It's a luxury to conveniently forget and pretend that belief systems are based not on reality, but on stubbornness. It's a luxury to call people 'racist' without even knowing what the definition is. It's a luxury that in fear of retribution, many people who have been victims of racial attacks - REAL racism cannot publicly respond to these incidents, cannot tell their side of the story for fear of losing their careers or their homes....or their lives.

In regards to that douchebag Kanye West, this situation is real problematic. Yes, he made a total fool of himself, but as one blogger said, he has now made it very difficult for every black artist out there. Because I have resigned myself to believe that if one negro does something wrong, we all suffer ( I had this white chick frantically move her purse away from me on the sidewalk- the street where I LIVE last weekend like I was going to jack her shit) so with that unfortunate reality and in addition to the racial tension that is currently alive in well in the Americas (Health Care, Town Halls, Glen Beck, that drug addled radio talk-show host, extremist Republicans, etc) this shit is embarrassing. For someone who is all militant when it serves him to be, this was ridiculous. Now I have heard that he has a drug problem????

Now granted, Kanye was probably right. Beyonce's video was wildly popular and even though I don't like that music (and have no idea who anyone on that stage was) she probably should have won. But messing with a young white girl? Negro, your black ass better stay out of the South. Those country rednecks will lynch. your. ass.

Random Thoughts and Musings, Pt. 28: Phil Anselmo - The Mystery Continues.....

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have a mild fascination with Down's Phil Anselmo. I was a huge Pantera fan, and back in their heyday I saw them a few times. About a week ago, I was reading a Deciblog entry by Jeanne Fury, who posted a recent talk Anselmo had done at a Louisiana university about his career and his previous drug use.

I feel a bit hesitant about supporting this, but I'll get to that in a sec. The talk was quite interesting. He warned the students about the perils of drug abuse, and while he has a very, very deep, husky voice and is mildly un-PC, he is intelligent, thoughtful and takes his craft seriously.....well now, anyway. I had always - and still do - think he has a great voice, was and is a great frontman.

In order to get to the rest of the clips - there are 7 of them, you were directed to YouTube via the Deciblog site, so I went on over and before getting to video 4, caught the above clip. This was really interesting, as I had heard of this story years ago but hadn't thought about it until recently, when I was talking to Ian Christe in NYC about a month ago about it. After watching the above clip, I declined in watching the rest of the videos, as I was really confused about what to think.

The above video was recorded in 1995 at a show in Montreal. In it, Anselmo discusses his disgust with 'Gansta Rap' (it was big back then) and the white people who were fans. He believed that the music was made by blacks who hated whites, and that white youth should have 'white pride' in themselves. There is an implication of two things: 1) That the black artists in question were racist, therefore attempting to turn these innocent white young men into the animals that they were. 2) That the 'white race' is dying and that these innocent young white men should...I dunno. Stop listening? Become a White Supremacist?

According to someone who was there and this article that was published in the Montreal Gazette, he also referred to some of the security guards (you know, the ones protecting his white ass) as "Niggers." What was interesting was that I had heard about the two black women mentioned in the article that I guess knew someone as they were able to get backstage. They were able to muster somewhat of an apology from Anslemo, but apparently not Vinnie Paul, which doesn't really surprise me ( have you read his column in Revolver? Ugh).

From all reports, this was a 'speech' that he had given at all of the stops during that tour, and in all honesty I found myself - the rabid race-baiter that I am - being surprisingly objective, but not entirely satisfied. Objective because on the surface, I could see where he was coming from and why he would say what he said - to a point. I do not think that Rap artists back then were anti-white.....I think that for good reason, some were anti-police and anti-establishment, but I can understand why some on the outside might be alarmed. But did Anselmo really think that, or was he using Gangsta Rap as a platform for encouraging racial hatred?

Secondly, this "White Pride" crap scares the shit out of me. It shouldn't have to be an either/or situation (you either have white pride or your a gun-loving nigger lover) but that is what it sounds like. Apparently, some people at the concert cheered, but some also were disgusted and walked out. It seems like many of the concertgoers took his speech as racist and because of his 'look' at the time (even though he looks very tasty...in a white supremacist kinda way) they assumed Anselmo was a Nazi....or someone with Nazi sympathies.

After viewing this clip (there is also a Pt. 2 to the above) I tracked down someone who was mentioned in the article. He had said back then that he was going to do a feature in his 'Zine about racism in the metal scene but when I contacted him, he said that he never did and could barely remember the incident. I actually found the two women on Twitter, but they have not responded to my messages. So as of now I haven't been able to really follow up on this, but I will, eventually.

Now don't get me wrong: While I struggle with my Nazi-crush on Mr. Anselmo, I do not think that in general, people should really take what any artist - whether it be a singer, painter or actor - to heart. What he thinks is not really going to change my life, but it does raise a question that I posed on a questionnaire I sent out to black female metal fans: If you found out that a member of a band was racist, what would you do?

How important are the personal politics of your favorite artist to your listening / watching experience?

I bought the first Superjoint Ritual CD a number of years ago and soon after, had a very sick feeling spending money on that album. I also was hesitant, but still love Agnostic Front's latest, Warriors. So I'll answer my own question. In theory, no, I am not going to financially support an artist that I find out for 'sho don't like my people, or any other people of color.

But how many of the metal dudes I have sexual and non-sexual crushes on, are sexist? Beat their women? I don't know if I want to tackle that one. I might have to get rid of my entire album collection.

New Music to Check Out.......

Holy shit I cannot wait for the new Dying Fetus to drop. Do yourself a favour and head on over to their Myspace page and check out the title track "Desend into Depravity." I've been playing air guitar to this for days. Cannot wait! (Drops September 15th). John Gallagher has the most gnarliest vocals I've heard in a long time - well, outside of this band I just reviewed for Hellbound, Wodensthrone, this British pagan metal band. I believe that I wrote that the vocalist sounded like he was puking hot gravel, or something like that.

I like Dying Fetus partly out of fasination and partly because outside of the rapid-fire shredding, they have some serious, head-banging grooves that are totally infectous. Not something that you can listen to everyday, but worth a listen. Funny, I just watched some footage of the band in the studio and Gallagher seems like this regular, friendly guy, but listen to him in action, and you would think he is seriously demented.

Also, the new Baroness is getting rave reviews. The Blue Record is out on October 13th. Dunno if I'm compelled quite yet to pick it up but from what I've heard - a lot of people I know have been raving about it -it's worth a definite listen. 

Ever since seeing Kylesa open for Mastodon in May, I've been a fan - well, I was a fan before that, but I was really compelled to take them seriously. I've been spinning Static Tensions on a daily basis, as well as Suffocation's Blood Oath. They have an instumental of "Pray for Forgiveness" as a bonus track which totally blew my mind - I like vocalist Frank Mullen, but man, when you hear this, you'll be like, 'whoa' ( okay, enough Valley Girl speak).

To be continued.......

Whew! I'm Back! The Perils of Social Media

Well, the last couple of weeks have been interesting. I feel that in comparison to other people, my life is pretty pedestrian, not too much 'drama,' as I live a busy, but quite boring life.

First, I got a nasty virus on my laptop which wiped out one of my address books and crippled one of my email addresses, sending out a virus to around 400+ people. It looks like it primarily it went to people's spam mailboxes, so it wasn't so bad. Because of this, my Facebook ( where even though I don't post too often I rely on to communicate with my writing colleagues, American and local friends that I don't see very much) was completely wiped out. I was able to re-connect with a handful of people but for some reason, people now can't find me and I can't find them. WTF? I've decided not to worry about that but if you want to holla at me, my new email address is laina.dawes@gmail.com. Look me up!

It's amazing how dependent I am on my online presence, even though I don't pay enough attention as I should. And why should I? Well, I'm writing a book and eventually want people to buy it, so just when I was preparing myself to Twitter and FB more often, everything went to the shitter. So I'm in the process of rebuilding and making myself more active online. I don't really feel comfortable with self-promotion but I am also wise enough the know that if you don't promote yourself, who will?

Second, I've been inundated with new music. This is funny because five months ago, I was (secretly) complaining that I wasn't receiving the amount of music from PR folks as some of my writing colleagues have - actually, I really want to get an advanced copy of the new Shrinebuilder album (see cover art above) to review.....but whatever. I'm going to see them in Chicago and/or NYC in November and I can wait another month or so until it's released.......I think. Anyhoo, now I am trying to find time to catch up on reviews, get back to submitting some stuff to Exclaim! but it doesn't look too promising.

On Hellbound I have a few reviews up: Ross the Boss, Axis Powers and Keelhaul.  I have another one in the can which should be published sometime next week, and hope to pump out a couple more this weekend.

Over on Blogher, I inadvertently caused a bit of a ruckus over a post I did on the American Town Hall meetings the Dems hosted to shed some much-needed light on Obama's heath care plan. What can I say? Lots, actually. I have been writing about race, class and social issues on and off for about 20 years now, and I still haven't ffigured out what makes some people tick. You cannot say that you are anti-racist and willingly avoid talking or even thinking about how racism affects other people. I was a bit stunned at some of the responses from people that because of their positions, were a bit more socially evolved that they apparently are. What's that saying? I guess you are never too old to learn and things still tend to surprise me.

Which begs the question, why bother? Why bother to continue writing about a subject if it is falling upon deaf ears?

Well, that's not the case all the time. Sometimes, especially within the past few years I've been writing for Blogher, it seems that way, but I'm trying to be objective. There are certain things that I believe in that no one will sway my opinion on, and that the same goes for other people. But we have to agree to disagree - but that doesn't mean that I have to like you!

Reclaiming the Right to Rock: In November I'm heading to the University of Indiana to attend this pretty cool conference on the black rock experience. Here are some of the people who are scheduled to present:

Ike Willis (lead singer, guitar for Frank Zappa),

Kamara Thomas (Earl Greyhound)

Tamar-kali,

Netic (Game Rebellion),

Linda Tillery (The Loading Zone)

Stew (The Negro Problem)

Nona Hendryx (pending tour schedule)

Moe Mitchell (Cipher)

Suzanne Thomas (Suzanne & The Blues Church),

 

Plus critics and scholars Greg Tate, Kandia Crazy Horse, Rob Fields, Maureen Mahon, Reebee Garofalo, and Andrew Hollinden.