Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood...

[Bob Krajewski <lmi-angel!rpk>]

A few EVOL-Hounds ago, earle@smeagol sez...

  The land outside that somewhere is the land reserved for your vitriol and
  spiteful hate; whether it be Hofmann's land of Art Rock Suffering ArTestes 
  and Synth Trendioids and most things English; or Peter Alfke's land of
  HardBore No Thank You; or Bob Krajewski's land of English You Ripped Us Off
  Bands; etc. etc. AD NAUSEUM.

When I was expounding on the vitality of 'murrican music, I wasn't trying to
be parochial.  Perhaps I should have made stronger my implication that the
stuff can be good (in other ways) when it's recontextualized by our friends
overseas.

Hoffboy was the one who implied that the Limeys ``stole'' ``our'' music.
The example he gave was Malcolm McClaren and the hip-hop thing.  But given
the dominant patterns of radio and music propagation (even in our
enlightened times), I don't think you were going to hear any scratching on the
radio unless a white person brought it to England, which, let's face it, has
a bigger influence on the hip white audience here does than anybody from
Tommy Boy records.  So McLaren's shameless.  Big deal.  I think that music
benefits from blending and clashing; the purists can call it stealing but
then they won't have anybody new to dance or gab with...

I don't like pigeonholing either.  If you're on this list, that should be
true for all of you.  OK, here's what's in my recently purchased pile:

  Celibate Rifles: ``Sometimes'' 7"; Big Stick: 7" EP; Kate Bush:
  ``Dreamtime'' 7"; The Special AKA: ``The Boiler'' 7"; A Certain Ratio: To
  Each... LP; Camper Van Beethoven: II & III LP; George Clinton: R&B
  Skeletons in the Closet LP; Elvis Costello: King of America LP;
  Dissidenten/Lem Chaleb: Sahara Elektrik LP; The Fall: Wonderful and
  Frightening World... LP; Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer 12"; Janet Jackson:
  Control LP; Pogues: Poguetry in Motion EP; Woodentops: Well, Well, Well LP,
  Cramps: A Date with Elvis LP; Prince & et. al: Parade LP.

I hope the only pattern you see there is good taste (chuckle).