Democrats hope to snare Eminem for concert | Chicago Tribune

[Ediacara]

-Party crashing

Democrats hope to snare Eminem for concert

E-mail this story
Printer-friendly format
Search archives

By Ellen Warren
Tribune senior correspondent, writing for RedEye
Published February 9, 2004

WHITE PIGEON, Mich. -- Now that the weekend presidential voting is over, Michigan Democratic party officials are concentrating on getting homeboy Eminem to perform at a sure-to-sell-out voter registration concert.

Proudly from Detroit, Eminem is the local Dems' first--and obvious--choice to headline such a concert. Plans call for getting the national party officials to pitch P. Diddy on participating, too, Michigan Democratic party political director Brian Love told me Sunday.

If Democrats are intent on getting young people jazzed enough to get involved in the political process, it's going to take more than a couple of rappers at a big concert in Motown.

More at the Chicago Tribune

[truthisfreedom]

1. i say more power to 'em.

[Richardo]

2. Oh what a GREAT idea this is....

...obviously they did not get the Super Bowl halftime in Detroit. :eyes:

Rap is SO appealing to all those swing voters. Doesn't play AT ALL into RoveCo's characterization of the anti-values Democrats. Heck - maybe Marshall will again wish the President dead! That'll work.

I swear I just want to fly to Detroit and start slapping people.

[lcordero]

4. hello

I swear I just want to fly to Detroit and start slapping people.

are you Mr.Mathers?

[Richardo]

5. Yes. Here I am about 40 years ago...

They called me "The Beaver" :-)

[0007]

71. LOL!!

[adriennel]

31. watch what you say

about slapping Detroiters....they won't take kindly to this. Besides, this article is from the Chicago Tribune...I didn't see anything about this in the Detroit paper. watch who you blame.
Having an Eminem/DNC show would not be a good idea--for either!
Em is not entirely without charity; I heard he gave $$$ to the "Coats for Kids" program in Detroit.

[Richardo]

36. I stand corrected - I want to fly to *wherever* these people are...

...and slap them silly. I gots no problem with Detroit - unless that's where they are....

[CatWoman]

68. Richardo = The Real Slim Shady

:D

[Richardo]

81. Pffffft!! You crack me up, CW...I'm wiping coffee-spew off the screen

My name is....
My name is....
My name is....
My name is....
My name is....
My name is....

:shrug: :hi:

[aquart]

3. Ugh. Deep, in-depth, UGH.

[Mr.Green93]

6. maybe he will sing his song

White America

[seemslikeadream]

12. or maybe this

Let your hair down to the track, yeah kick on back
The Boogiemonster of rap, yeah the man's back
with a plan to ambush this Bush administration
Mush the Senate's face in, push this generation
of kids to stand and fight for the right to say somethin
you might not like, this white hot light
that I'm under, no wonder I look so sunburnt
Oh no I won't leave no stone unturned
Oh no I won't leave, won't go nowhere
Do-si-do, oh-yo-ho, hello there
Oh yeah, don't think I won't go there
Go to Beirut and do a show there
Yeah you laugh till your motherfuckin ass gets drafted
While you're at band camp thinkin the crap can't happen
'Til you fuck around, get an anthrax napkin
Inside a package wrapped in Saran Wrap wrappin
Open the plastic and then you stand back gaspin
Fuckin assassins, hijackin Amtraks, crashin
All this terror, America demands action
Next thing you know, you're got Uncle Sam's ass askin
to join the Army or what you'll do for their Navy
You just a baby, gettin recruited at eighteen
You're on a plane now, eatin their food and their baked beans
I'm twenty-eight, they gon
take you 'fore they take me
Crazy insane, or insane crazy?
When I say Hussein, you say Shady
My views ain't changed, still inhumane, wait
Arraigned two days late, the date's today, hang me!

[Zhade]

38. Hey, that's a great track.

I'm not all about Eminem, but damned if that song isn't accurate...!

[DiverDave]

7. Yeah

Maybe he will slap his wife around, and maybe he will talk about raping his mom.
Then again, he might just take out a gun and act the thug that he is.

What the hell are they smoking?

[DrWeird]

8. To bad Jim Morrison is dead.

I never got a chance to see him on stage raping his mother and killing his father.

:eyes:

[Ediacara]

9. Can't forget the gay bashing

Let's hope he does that so Dems don't seem like the pro-gay-marriage party...

:eyes:

[Democrats unite]

10. Thats disgusting!

Eminem IS A HOMOPHOBIC ASSHOLE!

[DrWeird]

11. Can you explain how he is a homophobe?

I've listened to plenty of Eminem and never heard him say anything homophobic.

There is this:

against Defamation):

"My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge
That’ll stab you in the head
Whether you’re a fag or lez
Or the homosex, hermaph, or a trans-a-vest
Pants or dress—hate fags? The answer’s ‘yes’"

Which is often used by people to explain why he is homophobic. Albeit this portion of the lyrics is taken completely out of context, and anybody who says this proves he's homophobic is being intellectually dishonest.

[seemslikeadream]

13. Some people are just completely ill-informed

don't have a clue what they are talking about :crazy:

America!! Hahaha! We love you!
How many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful country of ours?
The stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect
The women and men who have broke their necks for the freedom of speech
the United States government has sworn to uphold..
(Yo, I want everybody to listen to the words of this song).. or so we're told
I never woulda dreamed in a million years I'd see
so many motherfuckin people, who feel like me
Who share the same views and the same exact beliefs
It's like a fuckin ARMY marchin in back of me
So many lives I touched, so much anger aimed
in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays
And straight through you radio waves, it plays and plays
'til it stays stuck in you head, for days and days
Who woulda thought; standin in this mirror bleachin my hair
with some peroxide, reachin for a t-shirt to wear
that I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this?
I must've struck a chord with somebody up in the office
Cause Congress keep tellin me, I ain't causin nuthin but problems
And now they're sayin I'm in trouble with the government - I'm lovin it!
I shoveled shit all my life, and now I'm dumpin it on

White America! I could be one of your kids
White America! Little Eric looks just like this
White America! Erica loves my shit
I go to TRL; look how many hugs I get!

[Laughing Mirror]

14. Eminem is not homophobic despite some words in a song

He kissed and made up with the wise Elton John, don't you remember? Elton would not have held out the olive branch if he thought Eminem was such a villain, and Elton John has enormous respect and admiration in the hip-hop community. Like Mary J Blige said in an interview, "The brothers all love Elton John."

[progressivebydesign]

52. So if Rush Limbaugh said those things.. he's okay?

I'm sorry, I hate hearing people make excuses for things that are totally unacceptable coming from other people. If Bush said those things? Rush Limbaugh? Ashcroft? A country band? What kind of uproar would we see on DU? Pop celebrity is killing America's cultural world.

[Zhade]

42. I'm queer too, and I don't believe so. I think it's all theatre.

Insensitive, yeah, but not serious.

[Lorien]

43. And anti-feminist

disgusting. If the DLC persists with this type of sh*t, the Democratic party won't be long for this world. :-(

[Zhade]

45. I hate to tell you this...

...but the DLC's ties to PNAC will bring death to the Democratic Party long before a single rapper will.

[seemslikeadream]

47. Oops, there it is!

:scared: rapper :scared:

[progressivebydesign]

50. Jen, they may flame you.. but I agree..

I cannot believe the crap that leaves Eminem's mouth. Woman hating is a big one. But he's so "hip", and so "cute", and so "famous" that you'll be flamed for criticizing his lyrics of hate and division. They scream about Rush Limbaugh, but let's use the same argument in defense of Rush. He's just saying words, it's not really who is he. It's just theatre when Rush says the equivalent of what Eminem says. Ah, but Rush can't rap.

Getting Eminem to do a concert for the Democratic Party is showing just how far out of touch the Demorcatic Party is... Nothing like alienating the moderate and conservative voters that are moving toward our party this election.

This is one thing I DID agree with Leiberman on... hate speech ishate speech, even when it's set to music. Women should leave the Democratic Party in droves if this is what they think of us.

You know, if you substituted any of the groups Eminem defames in his song for an ethnic group, would any one on DU still come to his defense?

[seemslikeadream]

54. You are the one that is out of touch

Please show me the proof for what you say. You must back up your accusations with facts.

[Zhade]

88. Nah, not flaming Jen. Just pointing out one of the more urgent issues.

No offense intended at all - I hope you understand that, Jen.

EDIT: I will have to confess to finding him cute, though. My bad!

:evilgrin:

[AffirmativeReaction]

15. Hmmmm

Probably not the smartest political move the party's ever made

[Laughing Mirror]

16. Well, they've got to get somebody

Michael Jackson's not selling records the way he used to
and Lawrence Welk is dead I believe

Got any suggestions?

[Richardo]

17. For starters, how about Grammy-award winning Coldplay?

Endorsed a Dem last night.

then there's them Dixie Chicks gals.

I'd say there's plenty to choose from besides that no-talent goon.

[Superiority33]

18. Eminem for the Dems?

Eminem will appeal to 'young voters'.

Plus he's more liberal than conservative.

And he wins damn near every music award there is.

So this will show everyone that the Democrats are the party of the 'in crowd', and they're hip and with it.

That's way more important than maturity or virtue, right?

[Zhade]

40. Will he change his name to "EmiDem" for the show?

NT!

[Rich Hunt]

34. yes, let's be bland and safe and tasteful n/t

:boring:

[seemslikeadream]

37. Bland Safe and Tasteful

We can't afford to hurt anyone's feelings. Where are the Democratic Music Police? They need to make a list. We need to know what's offensive. :eyes:

[progressivebydesign]

53. Is America so screwed up that if you aren't a raving asshole, you're bland

There are tons of really, really talented, exciting MUSICIANS out there that would be better choices. Why in the world would anyone think that hate and profanity are exciting? I thought we got over that in high school. Eminem is a divise person. He chooses to sing lyrics that are filled with hateful things... That will certainly win over those moderates. This article has to be a joke.

[Rich Hunt]

67. your opinion of Eminem is exactly that

...an opinion. I happen to think he is clever.

I studied a lot of literature in college that had 'hateful things' in it.

Personally, I'd rather not see Eminem make endorsements - I think it dilutes what he's about. He's more effective doing what he does.

[Zhade]

41. Coldplay puts me to sleep, but the DC could rock the house.

Actually, having the Dixie Chicks would be a brilliant tactical move - a veritable slap in the right's collective face.

Someone better see about getting them to play the Dem convention!

[David__77]

19. I, unlike pretty much everyone else, think this is a GREAT move!

Eminem is tremendously influential over many youth. He comes from a working class background and had some problems in life, like many young people in the cities. He's certainly willing to reform his worse aspects--he isn't gay-bashing anymore. I think Elton John saw something the others didn't. I like him. And I think we need to go after our audience--and a big part of that should be Eminem fans--they're millions out there and I'm certain most don't vote who can, and I'm certain that they'd be a largely Democratic constituency.

[DrWeird]

20. I agree.

The P. Diddy move is pretty ill-informed.

But Eminem would really bring out the youth vote.

You're not going to win youth votes by unjustly labelling their favorite musicians homophobes.

And despite what the Lawerence Welk listening crowd has to say, Eminem's certainly one of the most talented in the business today.

What they should be doing is going after Outkast. I think Big Boi's shown interest in the election.

[David__77]

22. He WAS a homophobe.

You can't really deny that he had anti-gay lyrics and expressed anti-gay attitudes pretty strongly. But, being gay, I don't have a problem with that because he's moved past it. We need to befriend people and win them over to a better perspective and not dismiss them out of hand. Especially people from working class backgrounds--we are the party of the people and have to care about the people and take care of them both materially and politically.

[DrWeird]

24. If he was then show me.

See above.

Understand that I believe that just because somebody's lyrics contain the word "faggot" that does not make someone a homophobe.

For example, the hit Dire Straits song "Money For Nothing" (1984?) contains the lyrics:

That little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah, buddy, that's his own affair
That little faggot's got his own jet airplane
That little faggot, he's a millionaire.

I doubt most people think Mark Knopfler's a homophobe. Clearly he is "in character", as is Eminem if you actually pay attention to the lyrics.

As was Jimi Hendrix was "in character" and not a misogynist when he sang about shooting his wife.

Again, I ask anybody to show any evidence that Eminem is or was a homophobe without taking lyrics out of context.

[seemslikeadream]

27. Yes evidence please

:shrug:

[David__77]

33. Importantly, I think this is a secondary point...

It doesn't really matter is he was or was not. I shouldn't quibble. But I do think the bit about the knife and the fag or all that is pretty much anti-gay. That's my opinion--"in character" or not. But that doesn't mean I'm making some sort of blanket condemnation. I'm just saying that it is indeed anti-gay, this bravado.

[DrWeird]

39. Actually, I think it does.

When "progressives" falsely accuse him of being a bigot it alienates his entire audience.

Btw, in the song that I quote above about the "knife and the fag" Eminem goes on to say that in the same song that in those lines he is kidding and that he likes gay men.

[Zhade]

44. EXCELLENT advice!

"We need to befriend people and win them over to a better perspective and not dismiss them out of hand."

It's hard, but it's the right thing to do. We (myself included) often forget how important it is to do this.

[Richardo]

23. I'd support Outkast!

I'll always think Marshall's a big goober.

[Zhade]

48. OutKast is making some damn fine rhyme these days.

Hyper-political.

Ever heard of Immortal Technique? That's some hyper-political stuff, too.

[Richardo]

26. Off subject - but what makes a rapper talented?

I'm series! :7

I'm just a middle-aged white goof, but what is the distinguishing mark of a talented vs a non-talented rapper?

To my ears, it all sounds like a guy who just discovered a rhyming dictionary. And after the obligatory "my name is" section (that I guess is required by law or something), we get down to how crappy their lives are. Which doesn't ring quite true after they buy their 14th custom Escalade.

[DrWeird]

30. Well, I can't tell you what your opinion should be...

the difference between being a good rapper and just ryhming is like the difference between being a good actor and just reading lines.

There's a large amount that goes into rapping- delivery, timing, emotion, iambic scale, enjambment, ryhme scheme, wit, etc.

For the quick and easy way to notice the difference, listen to "More Money, More Problems" (?) accredited to Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs.

You'll hear an absolutely horrible rapper (Mace), a very weak rapper (Combs), and one of the greatest rappers who ever lived- Biggie Smalls. The difference is quite easy to tell.

Another good example would be Outkasts "The Whole World (Loves it when you sing the blues)." (?)

Take a good listen. You'll hear an outstanding rapper (Andre 3000) give a rather weak performance, a decent rapper (Big Boi) give a not very good performance, and an outstanding performance by an artist whose name escapes me.

But it takes time to grow a good ear. I recommend Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle", Dr. Dre's "2001" (where Dre, Snoop, and Eminem and others all give excellent performances), anything by Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and The Wu Tang Clan. Listen to those and then you'll acquire the taste.

[Rich Hunt]

35. Killer Mike, I believe

...is the guy you're looking for. Pick up 'Monster', it's pretty good.

[Zhade]

49. Don't forget the old school - GrandMaster Flash, Run DMC, etc.

IIRC, the guys over at TakeBackTheMedia.com really dug Public Enemy's Fear Of A Black Planet - which isn't surprising, since PE has always been solid.

[americanstranger]

86. I'm a big fan of the PE.

Not without their own baggage - my favorite PE album, Nation of Millions, was rife with refs to Louis Farrakhan, and they introduced the world to Sistah Souljah, whom Clinton famously excoriated in his first campaign.

Didn't matter to me - they rocked it harder than anybody back then. I'm an old rock guy, and PE got me as charged up anything the rock dudes dropped.

And as we know from the MoveOn show, Chuck D landed on the right side. Despite the muddy mix in the Hammerstein, Chuck was on that night.

-as

[Zhade]

89. "Den Of Thieves" is great, man.

It's on one of my anti-war/anti-b*sh mix CDs.

[bicentennial_baby]

21. Mmmm...Big tent....Misogynists welcome!

While I do beleive Eminem to be talented, I cannot stomach the misogyny. :puke:

[DrWeird]

25. Hey, Joe- do you like Jimi Hendrix?

nt

[SoCalDem]

28. Please DON'T..

I know that he's "on our side", but if we plan to welcome some newly disgruntled republican votes into the fold, lets NOT use highly controversial "artists"..

You know what I would like to see for the "convention"??

A ONE day affair..select the candidate..have him make his speech, and then add...

"Due to the crisis in America,and in deference to the millions of people out there who have lost their jobs, the money that WOULD have been spent in the extravagant parties, we will spend to insure that democrats get elected .. We must take back the congress, if we ever hope to make life better for all people.."



entertainment could be.. Dixie Chicks (I don't like them, but..).. Willie Nelson.. ..

Anyway.. it's not the Grammys or Ed Sulllivan.. How bout just the important stuff and keep the speechifying and whoop-dee-doo to a minimum??

[progressivebydesign]

51. You're brilliant! The Democratic Party should do that!

What a perfect idea!!! I love it. But they'll never do it.. it's a cash cow for too many people. The thought is great. Dixie Chicks would be a hoot.

[DrWeird]

55. Don't the Dixie Chicks have a hit song about...

a wife shooting her husband?

Then isn't it just a bit hypocritical for Dixie Chick fans to complain about Eminem's "misogyny?"

[progressivebydesign]

58. Nope. Read the lyrics of Goodbye Earl..

Nice try. If you listen to those lyrics, it's about a woman who is physically abused repeatedly by her husband, after she leaves him. She tries a restraining order and he proceeds to beat her so badly she nearly dies in the hospital.

[DrWeird]

65. Oooooooooh! You want to read lyrics!

You say it's OK for Dixie Chicks to tell impressionable young girls it's OK to shoot their husbands because if you read the lyrics, in context, that's actually not what they're saying!

Imagine that! Actually reading lyrics of a whole piece instead of taking them out of context!

Nope, no hypocrasy there!

[Ediacara]

74. The difference is that Earl was beating the crap out of her

eom

[DrWeird]

76. Oh, I see.

The Dixie Chicks can sing songs about men beating their wives. But Eminem can't.

I see.

[Ediacara]

79. Just give it up man...

You're making an effort not to understand what people are saying....

[DrWeird]

80. LOL.

How ironic of you to say so.

I understand perfectly well that you're saying what the Dixie Chicks sing about is OK, because from the context of the song they justify homicide.

Yet you refuse to make an effort to understand that Eminem's lyrics are taken out of context.

[Neshanic]

29. What a wonderfull idea! Lets screw up a parade next.

Just what we need, a vicious homophobe,(not buying that repentant stuff)with lovely song lyrics about all matter of mayhem and a very notable respect for women.

Why not just call Karl Rove and ask him who we should have.

There are many other options that will play well, and not come back to bite us.

[JoFerret]

32. O Goody! Noted homophobe on our side.

On the other hand - bring em all on. Let's have a musical blast to appeal to all tastes. World v. Bush.

[phrenzy]

46. Mr. White Folks

It's funny how out of touch with rap some of my fellow white liberal dems are. And yes I would bet you ANYTHING if you are bashing eminem as a misogynist and homophobe you are a white liberal who doesn't "get" rap at all.

These are the same people who can't tell a "good rapper" from a "bad rapper" - which is sad.

Look, Eminem says this shit TO PROVOKE - he is doing it to make a point - To show how fucked up you are - and everything is - because when he spouts this shit off - it just sells his records whether he means it or not. When he sings it's usually as "slim shady" and his WHOLE purpose is to say everything that is as offensive as possible.

It also is liberating to be able to spout all of those things you are not SUPPOSED to say, whether you mean them or not - You just want to say it because you are not SUPPOSED to - Immature? Yes. Funny? If you have the sick sense of humor required.

That's all he is doing - turning the offensive volume to 11 for the sake of doing it. THAT'S why it's funny. THAT'S what even Elton John understood and said as much. He said he understood the 'absurdist' humor behind much of eminems lyrics. And that's exactly what it is.

I swear, didn't any of you people live through the Punk era? The in your face anti-everything sentiment? This is similar, but new tactics are used to 'shock and offend'

[Rich Hunt]

56. white america

Eminem acts out white America's problems, IMO. The Slim Shady persona is NOT supposed to be an admirable character.

If you listen to him enough, you will come to 'get it'.

I don't think he'd hurt a flea.

[progressivebydesign]

57. I'm sorry.. your post was... ummm.. pretentious.

Are you serious? I need fucking Eminem to show me how "fucked up" I am? Yes, I'm certain that Eminem sat in his bedroom writing those hateful lyrics to expose me for the clueless white person I am. Your argument is one that is so dated. If I don't like Eminem, I'm just not hip enough.. I just don't get the deep inner meaning. I wonder if the 13 year olds that buy his music the most get those deep, intellectual meanings.. or do they just repeat the hate speech and attitudes. I get his music. I hate it. I think America is full of so much hate and violence, and pop culture just perpetuates it.

And Rush Limbaugh says those things to show us all how out of touch we are with our liberal selves.

[DrWeird]

59. Eminem didn't need to.

nt

[progressivebydesign]

60. oh ha, ha.. that was clever.

That was so clever. You know I just waited a few minutes for that repsonse, because I knew it was coming.

Sorry, I'm more of a Ludicrous and Outkast fan myself.

[DrWeird]

66. You mean Ludacris?

From "Ho"


You gotta run in your pantyhos
Even your daddy knows
that you suckin down chocolate like daddy-o's
You hos are horrible, horrendous
On taxes ya'll writin off hos as dependents
I see tha ho risin
it aint surprisin
its just a hoasis
with ugly chicks faces
but hos dont feel so sad and blue
cuz most of us niggaz is hos too

[Ripley]

61. LOL!

Thanks for that answer....I agree completely. And if I hear one more condescending sneer that Whitey just don't "get it" I'm going to explode.

There seems to be a trend here lately on DU...people attacking anyone who disagrees with some of the baser aspects of mass culture..especially that which is aimed directly at young kids. I'm trying to decide if it is teenagers infiltrating or disruptors.

[seemslikeadream]

62. condescending sneer "whitey don't get it"

:nuke:

[Rich Hunt]

77. 'baser aspects of mass culture'

:nuke:

BTW, I'm wyte.

[phrenzy]

63. He has said

Time and time again he SAYS the sole purpose of him saying this stuff is to PISS YOU OFF.

some examples:

-- Kill you
Just bend over and take it like a slut, okay Ma?
"Oh, now he's raping his own mother, abusing a whore,
snorting coke, and we gave him the Rolling Stone cover?"
You god damn right BITCH, and now it's too late
I'm triple platinum and tragedies happen in two states

You think he's serious - you think THESE lyrics are serious:

I ain't "acid rap," but I rap on acid
Got a new blow-up doll and just had a strap-on added
WHOOPS! Is that a subliminal hint? NO!
Just criminal intent to sodomize women again
Eminem offend? NO!

--- Or one that even the DUers should appreciate:

Fuckin brains, brawn and brass balls
I cut 'em off, and got 'em pickled and bronzed in a glass jar
inside of a hall with my framed autographed sunglasses
with Elton John's name, on my drag wall
I'm out the closet, I've been lyin my ass off
All this time me and Dre been fuckin with hats off
(Suck it Marshall!) So tell Laura and her husband to back off
'fore I push this motherfuckin button and blast off
and launch one at these Russians and that's all {*boom*}
Blow every fuckin thing except Afghanistan on the map off

[wickerwoman]

87. And returning to the point...

Do we really want someone whose sole purpose is to piss people off acting as the face of the Democratic party?

[Rich Hunt]

69. profanity

I'm offended by your swearing. We won't win over moderates by your swearing on this board.

Those thirteen year olds who listen to him often have a lot of hate directed at them ... by their parents, no less!

[Neshanic]

82. Eminems lyrics, it's not the words....it's the theory!

"PEOPLE DON’T READ THE MORNING NEWSPAPER, Marshall McLuhan once said, they slip into it like a warm bath. Too true, Marshall! Imagine being in New York City on the morning of Sunday, April 28, 1974, like I was, slipping into that great public bath, that vat, that spa, that, regional physiotherapy tank, that White Sulphur Springs, that Marienbad, that Ganges, that River Jordan for a million souls which is the Sunday New York Times. Soon I was submerged, weightless, suspended in the tepid depths of the thing, in Arts & Leisure, Section 2, page 19, in a state of perfect sensory deprivation, when all at once an extraordinary thing happened:

I noticed something!

Yet another clam-broth-colored current had begun to roll over me, as warm and predictable as the Gulf Stream ... a review, it was, by the Time’s dean of the arts, Hilton Kramer, of an exhibition at Yale University of “Seven Realists,” seven realistic painters . . . when I was jerked alert by the following:

“Realism does not lack its partisans, but it does rather conspicuously lack a persuasive theory. And given the nature of our intellectual commerce with works of art, to lack a persuasive theory is to lack something crucial—the means by which our experience of individual works is joined to our understanding of the values they signify.”

Now, you may say, My God, man! You woke up over that? You forsook your blissful coma over a mere swell in the sea of words?

But I knew what I was looking at. I realized that without making the slightest effort I had come upon one of those utterances in search of which psychoanalysts and State Department monitors of the Moscow or Belgrade press are willing to endure a lifetime of tedium: namely, the seemingly innocuous obiter dicta, the words in passing, that give the game away.


What I saw before me was the critic-in-chief of The New York Times saying: In looking at a painting today, “to lack a persuasive theory is to lack something crucial.” I read it again. It didn’t say “something helpful” or “enriching” or even “extremely valuable.” No, the word was crucial.

In short: frankly, these days, without a theory to go with it, I can’t see a painting.

Then and there I experienced a flash known as the Aha! phenomenon, and the buried life of contemporary art was revealed to me for the first time. The fogs lifted! The clouds passed! The motes, scales, conjunctival bloodshots, and Murine agonies fell away!


All these years, along with countless kindred souls, I am certain, I had made my way into the galleries of Upper Madison and Lower Soho and the Art Gildo Midway of Fifty-seventh Street, and into the museums, into the Modern, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim, the Bastard Bauhaus, the New Brutalist, and the Fountainhead Baroque, into the lowliest storefront churches and grandest Robber Baronial temples of Modernism. All these years I, like so many others, had stood in front of a thousand, two thousand, God-knows-how-many thousand Pollocks, de Koonings, Newmans, Nolands, Rothkos, Rauschenbergs, Judds, Johnses, Olitskis, Louises, Stills, Franz Klines, Frankenthalers, Kellys, and Frank Stellas, now squinting, now popping the eye sockets open, now drawing back, now moving closer—waiting, waiting, forever waiting for . . . it . . for it to come into focus, namely, the visual reward (for so much effort) which must be there, which everyone (tout le monde) knew to be there—waiting for something to radiate directly from the paintings on these invariably pure white walls, in this room, in this moment, into my own optic chiasma. All these years, in short, I had assumed that in art, if nowhere else, seeing is believing. Well—how very shortsighted! Now, at last, on April 28, 1974, I could see. I had gotten it backward all along. Not “seeing is believing,” you ninny, but “believing is seeing,” for Modern Art has become completely literary: the paintings and other works exist only to illustrate the text."

"The Painted Word" Tom Wolfe

[slappypan]

64. 8 Mile

Recently saw the film he starred in, "8 Mile" and thought it was a a very tough, smart and even brave depiction of the lives of the working poor — like it or not Eminem speaks for many of the kinds of people that the Democratic Party is supposed to be fighting for. Some of the criticism of Eminem sounds a lot like class snobbery.

[sendero]

70. It's not a choice I would make....

... but nobody's going to call it PC :)

[durutti]

72. Is Eminem a Democrat?

Just curious.

[durutti]

73. Whether or not you like him...

You have to concede that he's talented.

[Skidmore]

75. In what way?

I'm sorry, I just can't stand rap music.

[seemslikeadream]

78. Lyrics

that's why they put my lyrics up under a microscope, searchin' with a fine tooth comb, its like this rope/ waitin' to choke, tightening around my throat, watching me while I write this, like I don't like this (nope)/ All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working round the clock, to try to stop my concerts early/surely hip hop was never a problem in Harlem only Boston, after it bothered the fathers of daughters starting to blossom/ so now I'm catchin' the flack from these activists when they raggin' actin' like I'm the rapper to smack a bitch, and say faggot/shit, just look at me like I'm your closest pal, the posterchild, the fuckin' spokesman now for

So to the parents of America
I am the derringer aimed at little Erica, to attack her character
The ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns
Set to lead the march right up to the steps of Congress
And piss on the lawn of the White House
and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker
To spit liquor in the face in this democracy of hypocrisy
Fuck you Ms. Cheney !
Fuck you Tipper Gore!
Fuck you with the freest of speech this divided states of embarrassment
will allow me to have,
Fuck you!

I'm just kiddin' America, you know I love you...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

83. I think Paris said it best:

‘Cause America’s been took - it’s plain to see
The oldest trick in the book is MAKE an enemy
Of phony evil so the government can do it’s dirt
And take away ya freedom lock and load, beat and search

Ain’t nothin’ changed but more colored people locked in prison
These pigs still beat us but it seem we forgettin’
But I remember ‘fore Septmember how these devils do it
Fuck Guliani ask Diallo how he doin’

We in the streets holla “jail to the thief” - follow Fuck wavin’ flags bring these dragons to they knees
Oil blood money make these killers ride cold
Suspicious suicides people dyin’ never told

It’s all a part of playin’ God so ya think we need ‘em
While Bin Ashcroft take away ya rights to freedom
Bear witness to the sickness of these dictators
Hope you understand the time brother cause it’s major

[demgrrrll]

84. Maybe Bush can get Ricky Martin to dance with him again. Living La

Vida Loca! Dance right home to the pig farm in Crawford.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

85. Please.

Let's not bring that name up again.

[Zhade]

90. Is Paris the name of the rapper, or...?

Because I want to check that out!

[chenGOD]

92. Yes Paris a rapper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_(rapper)

can't et the link to work, you'll just have to copy and paste.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

93. Yup.

He's been around for some time. In the early nineties he had the song Bush Killa. Needless to say his lable dropped him. You can check him out here.

http://www.guerrillafunk.com/paris/sonic_jihad/

[prolesunited]

94. Paris' Sonic Jihad

is definitely worth getting. I'm not a big rap fan, but there's a lot of truth-telling on that CD. I use it for my workouts — just the right beat and enough anger to pick up my energy level.

[Dover]

91. Going after the young and angry crowd? Didn't know Em was a Dem.

At any rate, Dean knew how to channel all those angry people out there. We'll see if the insiders are as successful...especially since a lot of the anger is directed AT the Bushlite Dem insiders.