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A Matter of Taste - Page 2

© Paul Landkamer

This gets off the track some, but it's related. Larry Elder, in his Ten Things You Can't Say in America (St. Martin's Press, 2000), says that playing the race-card unjustly, only perpetuates the victim-mentality of minority races. Too many people who seem to be working to help minority ethnic groups out of a so-called downtrodden status need, and continue to foster, that attitude in order to keep their lucrative jobs --like a leech feeding the fish it feeds on. Get rid of the leech and the fish will get healthier. If a person hears how held back he or she is, often, that person is likely to act held back and lose the will to try to better his or her condition. And look who's talking oppression: minority success stories who've worked to get where they are. They need to preach motivation and work, rather than poor oppressed me. The very idea of legislating get-ahead deals for minorities implies they're not good enough to compete against other races without special assistance. I'm WAY off track here. Read Ten Things You Can't Say in America. It presents some really valid points on which to think. Back to music.

I don't like hip-hop/rap/urban music because I don't like it, not because of racism. I like: Jimi Hendrix; Sly and the Family Stone; War's "Low Rider"; Stevie Wonder's "Superstition"; Bob Marley; Lenny Kravitz; lots of reggae; the fast minor-keyed Middle Eastern influences on music; and I even like some of Nicole C. Mullen's stuff. I don't particularly care for: '80s big-hair and spandex heavy metal; Rush; P.O.D.; the overall styles of Steven Curtis Chapman, Mark Schultz or Michael W. Smith; Bride; screaming high-pitched guitars and incessant cymbals; Grateful Dead; Neil Young; Janis Joplin; Chicago; Bob Segar; Styx; O.C.Supertones; Insyderz; Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears.

The above likes and dislikes clearly don't follow racist lines, so why does my dislike of hip-hop/rap/urban music have to be racist? Don't throw the race-card out if you, or someone you know, aren't as successful as you think is deserved. Play for the audience you want to reach and don't try to blame someone else if they don't like it. Musical styles aren't good or bad, they're just personal taste. Listen to what ministers to you!

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