You guys are probably going to rip this dude to shreds lol. It kinda reeks of "ooh look at me - whoa is me I'm so different"
but still an interesting *essay imho
//..........There was no individual precedent for my love of alternative and punk culture. My family and neighborhood friends all exclusively listened to contemporary rap and R&B, the former not truly capturing my imagination until a year later (Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” was the rap equivalent of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in terms of opening my eyes to a new world). R&B still doesn’t appeal to me. There’s a sense of defiance that comes with liking something you’re not “supposed” to like; in a way, I knew I was sabotaging the uniform order among black kids my age. But mostly, it felt like something I could claim for my own, a part of American culture that wasn’t handed down to me or illustrated in history books. It wasn’t my parents’ music. It was something that was happening right now, and regardless of the color lines placed between it and me, it was something that I was a part of. //
7. "Maybe more interesting was the NOI looking guy next to me..." In response to Reply # 0
...at the Meshuggah show this past May at House of Blues Chicago. He got there early and was wearing a sharp brown suit and black overcoat, Malcolm X eyeglasses, and a fedora, and he sat down at the bar and pulled out what looked like a copy of Das Kapital or some other revolutionary text, and read until show time.
I've met plenty of black metalheads, but they usually look like, you know, metalheads. I really wish I knew this guy's story.
22. "Now this guy sounds interesting" In response to Reply # 7
>...at the Meshuggah show this past May at House of Blues >Chicago. He got there early and was wearing a sharp brown suit >and black overcoat, Malcolm X eyeglasses, and a fedora, and he >sat down at the bar and pulled out what looked like a copy of >Das Kapital or some other revolutionary text, and read until >show time. > >I've met plenty of black metalheads, but they usually look >like, you know, metalheads. I really wish I knew this guy's >story.
10. "This article is at least five years late." In response to Reply # 0 Sat Jan-26-13 06:57 PM by Madvillain 626
I dunno, I see plenty of black folk at indie rock shows (usually black women tho). Though I've been leaning more towards techno/house lately, it just doesn't seem out of the ordinary to see people of color at any show, really. Especially with indie artists doing R&B and R&B singers singing over EDM.
What about latinos? They been fucking with indie rock without having some identity crisis.
I mean Frankie Crocker, the Belleville Three outta Detroit (young black girls in the D was pop locking to Italo Disco), third-stream jazz artists like Mingus, and any young black kid that heard Afrikaa Bambaataa spin is proof enough that African Americans BEEN into some other shit, it's really not special.
------------------------------- If life is stupendous one cannot also demand that it should be easy. - Robert Musil
14. "I can see where dude is coming from BUT...." In response to Reply # 0 Sat Jan-26-13 07:42 PM by blueeclipse
If he turns around and looks behind him things are changing. I had such a hard time with this right around middle school in the 90's when I couldn't deny my affinity for OTHER music. It's a tough space to be in, but once you own it, it's fuckin amazing cause you are truly blessed to be able to connect with so many different kinds of sounds and genres. I've gotten to a point now where I could care less about the black and white of it. I jsut want the vibes man. I do try and encourage ANYONE whether they are black or otherwise to not be afraid to trust what they are feeling if something appeals to them. THey may be doing themselves a MASSIVE disservice otherwise.
With youtube, spotify, ect and all of the festivals and shit now where everything is mashed up......this kind of shit really isn;t an issue anymore. I'm almost a little jealous of young kids now cause of their access and exposure to shit. I really had to go in for what I wanted. But it gave me a different appreciation and exclusiveness (which hipsters have exploited....."exclusive" doesn't mean what it used to mean.
"You can take an African out of Africa, but you can't take Africa out of the African" Afro-Americana/Afro-Caribbana/Afro-Latino unite. We are ALL Black!
23. "It's rare when I don't see a black person at an indie show" In response to Reply # 0
even if it's metal.
I will say one of the oddest experiences I had was Pearl Jam a few years ago at MSG. I couldn't even find an asian person there...shit was like a universal meeting of the Aryan race.
25. "I think you are mixing two bands here..." In response to Reply # 24 Mon Jan-28-13 01:20 AM by Jakob Hellberg
Death=A dope, black proto-punk band from the 70's, not to be confused with the death metal legends...
Black Death=A black cheese-metal (not a diss!) band who dropped an album in the mid-80's. I've only heard some songs on comps but it is pretty cool stuff in the early Priest or Mercyful Fate way...
EDIT:Apparently, Black Death actually formed in 77. Whatever, it's an 80's band IMO...