falling behind, music outside the beltway
Posted by Peder on 12 May 2008
This past week saw me busy working, hosting a string of out of town guests and attending graduation ceremonies for some friends. And what little time I did choose to spend online at home was dedicated to getting my new website running, which still doesn’t look very good. Ergo, I have not been blogging and I am not OK with this.
Eh, it’s gonna happen, no doubt. But in the meantime I missed the window to talk about a local story involving Snoop Dogg. Seems the Monterey Music Summit was considering revoking (or not actually granting after having promised to) the permit to allow concert organizers to use county lands at Laguna Seca. Here’s the link to the original story. And here’s the follow up from last week that says the show is a go.
That story was particularly relevant to me because I attended the OzzFest Tour in 1997 (scroll to the bottom) when Marilyn Manson was on the docket on his Antichrist Superstar tour. (Interesting that Manson was protested, not Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath nor Pantera) Though times would eventually get much tougher for Brian Warner (aka Marilyn) when it was thought the Columbine shooters were fans of his, his band was already very controversial by this point.
The show was originally set to run outside Somerset, Wisconsin, at a beautiful natural amphitheater. But after the community found out Marilyn Manson was going to play, they backed out forcing the event into the confines of the (relatively-speaking) crappy Metrodome. Better yet, the Dome is in downtown Minneapolis, meaning it was much easier for the press, protesters, religious zealots, and subsequent anti-protesters to gather outside of the venue turning the whole thing into a circus. (If you can help me find any links about this, please send me a comment.)
In one of my more proud moments I was filmed by the local ABC affiliate wearing a white t-shirt upon which I wrote, “Fuck Somerset.” Fuck them indeed.
Suppose the thing that binds these two stories together is the misunderstanding that surrounds artists on the fringe of mainstream culture. They can’t all be Jason Mraz, can they? Cordozar Broadus (aka Snoop Dogg) has a show with his kids on the E! Channel entitled Father Hood. Brian Warner can clearly articulate (slow load) what he is and what he is not. (I’ll comment more here in a later post).
[Below: Video from Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine]
(I admit it’s kitschy, but that makes Manson’s words no less poignant.)
Answers? Recommendations? C’mon Peder, you’re not just going to complain here, are you? A little, yes. First goal was simply to outline a common thread here (and to get another blog post in!). The second step will be to start putting together some notes for an upcoming post entitled, “Scared of Something? Learn More About It. ‘Ignorant’ Fear is the Worst Kind.”
Peder with a D 
ian said
interesting, i was wondering about how that deal with the show would end up.
i think it’s tough to call it a misunderstanding, though, on part of the public about what these guys are about. maybe this is me being old, but Snoop didn’t get famous for anything short of a gangsta persona who would kill people for minor provocation. Nor did Marilyn Manson get famous for anything other than pushing people’s boundaries. Maybe from your perspective (and largely mine) they overreact to these provocations, but I think it’s folly to pretend that such outrage wasn’t the goal. I think it was Aerosmith but maybe someone else who, at an early 90’s VMA ceremony, thanked Tipper Gore for complaining, because every time she did he/they sold another million records. Sure, Snoop now has a show about fatherhood and runs a very successful youth football league etc, but he got to where he was because he conscientiously was trying to scare the shit out of people. Let’s not call these guys misunderstood, teh message was loud and clear even if the reaction a bit silly.
Peder said
Thanks Ian, I can always count on you to bring different perspectives to my ideas (read: rants).
Good point, provocation is the goal. No doubt about it. I’ll admit “misunderstanding” may not be the best word. Seems we agree that there is significant overreaction going on.
A general question is, do they shape society or vocalize it? To what extent do these musicians reflect youth culture versus overtly influence it? Apparently to some parents/law makers/community leaders it would seem more the latter. I find this unfortunate and wish it weren’t the case.