[thechat] re: Eminem & free speech

[Erika Meyer]

Cool.  & I agree.  The man has enough power that he needs to also
take responsibility (IMO) for what he says and encourages.  Right on.
But it isn't up to the media or government to *force* him to be
nice...

There's a lot about his stuff that I am *not* comfortable with.  But
it's not as if this feeling of discomfort is unique to *his* stuff.

To be honest, I never was comfortable with (for example) Jello's "ram
it up your c*nt, Anita" from "Moral Majority."  Maybe I rationalize
my discomfort by preferring to see things more metaphorically than
others do.

Another: Nirvana: "Rape Me" (is it about MTV or ?)  or Polly...

Musically, both DK and Eminem capture a sense of rage in a very
powerful way.  Now where they direct it... that is where, yes,
responsibility is an issue.  The Word is a powerful thing (which is
why they want to censor).

Probably my defense of Eminem is more disgust at the type of
controversy and the people shaking their fingers at him.  If he
*wasn't* striking a chord, no one would listen... so maybe it's worth
sitting back and asking why?  It isn't all about him...

He portrays himself as a bad-ass because he knows people eat it up,
and he also knows that in reality he's a little punk.

Another example: Henry Rollins I think is a big geek... but we always
saw him as being all tough...

And finally: I think most young male rock stars are shits when it
comes to women.  & I want to kick all their asses.  I want to suck up
all their power and blow it back at them, like a fire-eater.   That's
what I like about "Your Revolution" -- but then they ban it!

I don't want Tipper Gore et al to protect me from bad thoughts...
fight words with words.

& so I want speech to be free for everyone.

E


>OK, I didn't bite at the last reply but here's my 2 cents.

<snip>

>I have the greatest respect for people like Marilyn Manson and Jello
>Biafra who are both very intelligent individuals, and who court
>controversy to actually make people think, rather than just being
>controversial for the sake of selling records which is what I feel
>Eminem does. He is  a brilliant
>lyricist, "Stan" is one of the greatest homo-erotic songs ever written, but
>so often this brilliance is used in a negative way.
>As I said, my 2 cents.
>
>Kevin Stevens
>kjs at ratking.co.uk


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