Re: barr roseanne? No, Skin sinead

[Lazlo Nibble <lazlo@hydra.unm.edu>]

greg@Viewlogic.COM (Gregory Larkin) writes about:

> The local custom of playing the national anthem before any event at the
> arena in question.

and after drawing a parallel between Sinead and, say, a visiting
Japanese baseball team, asks:

> ... wouldn't it simply be courtesy on either of their parts to respect
> the wishes of their hosts?

I think that in both cases you make the gross mistake of confusing
"local customs" and "hosts" with "the wishes of a venue's management"
and "the people who own the place Sinead is playing".  I said before
and I'll say again that as an artist, Sinead has the right to make
any requests or demands about the presentation of her material that 
she cares to, and the people she's dealing with have just as much right
to accede to or refuse those demands.

In the case of Sinead's concert, it is apparent (to me at least, maybe
not so much to you) that she thought that playing the National Anthem
before her show would imply something that may not necessarily be true.
It would *certainly* imply that she was willing to be associated with
the "apple pie, stars and stripes" nationalism of this country, and it's
a pretty safe bet that, in reality, she's willing to do no such thing.

> I just said that if a particular area has a custom, then it should not
> be disturbed.

If Sinead were playing at a gig somewhere in Alabama, and she refused
to play until any confederate flags in the arena (which symbolize slavery
and oppression to a *lot* of people) were taken down, would you still feel
the same way about the importance of "respecting the custom?"

--

ptsfa!pacbell!tjb@ns.PacBell.COM (Deadhead. Fencer. Geek.) writes:

> well actually i think that the reason some of us percieve sinead's action
> as an ego trip is that i doubt she would've made a fuss about any other
> national anthem than america's.

I must have missed something.  How does "making a fuss about the American
National Anthem" translate so readily into "being an ego trip?"

                                                   Lazlo (lazlo@hydra.unm.edu)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Though I live on the edge, time is on my side
All the doors to my life / Are open wide
Just as long as the wheels keep on turning 'round
I will live for the groove / 'Til the sun goes down