I think stuff like this is way overanalyzed.

We're at the point where any black person who wants to play indie rock will be welcomed into the culture. If the music's good, they will be a success by selling 3400 records and being poor. If it's bad, they will play to 5 people, like other shitty bands, and be really, really poor.
Great life, this indie rock.

Bloc Party has done quite well for themsleves, though, no?

It's just cultural, and things are changing fast. When I was growing up, the black kids at my school, even the ones that I was really good friends with, could not dig the punk rock.

Think about it - If your dad listened to James Brown or Earth Wind And Fire around the house, brass section in overdrive, and then you heard Johnny Rotten's snivling bullshit, what would you think? Kind of a step down in quality, right? I would tap my foot when I heard Kool and The Gang, but I don't think my friend Marchelino thought the Kinks' "Give The People What They Want" was very good music.

And let's not forget integration - REAL integration.
I was one of the few kids in my school, who wasn't a jock, to have black friends. This is just 1983 we're talking about, not 1960. That is not the case so much these days.

I didn't know a lot of Asian kids who listened to indie/punk when I was 15 either. I had 3 really good Korean friends and they all loved Duran Duran and stuff. Now the indie scene has lots of Asian kids doing their thing, and much of it is the best music being made.

It's taken awhile for white kids to genuinely break into rap music circles too. There are still very few white rappers who are taken seriously by afficiandos.

Very rarely is it talked about that sometimes people of a culture just *don't want* to participate.
"You know, the kids above 110th street aren't coming downtown to the punk rock clubs. Do you think they feel unwelcome?"
No, I think they think the music sucks.

To be clear, this wasn't just a white club, it was a white *boys* club when it started. As late as 1992, Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thompson were still considered "women who rocked!" and Tsunami was a "girl band" even though Andrew Webster and John Pammer made up half the band. Do people think of Deerhoof as a "girl band?"

It just takes time for things to integrate, for the culture to both expand and let outsiders in and for the word to get out. A lot of time, actually.
No amount of rushing or concern will help it. Nobody needs to start a Balkin Punk Rock Outreach Program.

Along the way, "mavericks" like Scrawl or The Bad Brains come along and truly take risks. Their children will just be considered part of the scene.



-A

TV on the Radio

and what about asians in bands? there are plenty were I am from.

What I was saying is that even though bands like TV on the Radio or Bad Brains may exist (citing other bands with just one non-white member is kind of like calling Bikini Kill an example of masculinity in punk music), they still play to crowds with pretty much the same racial lineup as your average underground rock band.

lots of asians go to shows where I live too. sometimes there are even old drunk bikies that try and crack onto the hot asian girls by saying stuff like "show us yer bum"

Think about it - If your dad listened to James Brown or Earth Wind And Fire around the house, brass section in overdrive, and then you heard Johnny Rotten's snivling bullshit, what would you think?

Not what you think I should think apparently.

Johnny 13 wrote:Think about it - If your dad listened to James Brown or Earth Wind And Fire around the house, brass section in overdrive, and then you heard Johnny Rotten's snivling bullshit, what would you think?

Not what you think I should think apparently.

Forget YOUR background and experiences for a minute. Imagine that P-funk is what you grew up on. The Sex Pistols might not do it for you then, right?

That's all I'm sayin'


-A

I get what you are saying, but I am not why you are flowing it that way.
It is not like my family was setting me up for punk rock love either. My mother loves Barbara Streisand and Anne Murray. When I saw Devo on SNL I recognized that something good and interesting was going on. I really liked the Sex Pistols at one point too, tho I can't exactly remember why anymore. Catchy pop music and all that.
Saying that some black guy is not going to like Slint, cause his dad is into Blowfly makes no sense to me.

Saying that some black guy is not going to like Slint, cause his dad is into Blowfly makes no sense to me.

Blowfly is punk rock now. I've seen the record with my own eyes. This thread can end now. Blowfly has shown us the light.

Johnny 13 wrote:I get what you are saying, but I am not why you are flowing it that way.
It is not like my family was setting me up for punk rock love either. My mother loves Barbara Streisand and Anne Murray. When I saw Devo on SNL I recognized that something good and interesting was going on. I really liked the Sex Pistols at one point too, tho I can't exactly remember why anymore. Catchy pop music and all that.
Saying that some black guy is not going to like Slint, cause his dad is into Blowfly makes no sense to me.

Well, that's not what I'm saying.
This is what I'm saying:
Streisand sucks.
Anne Murray sucks.
You saw Devo and said "Christ! This does not suck! I'll have some of that..."
That's what happened to me as well, only it was in response to the Doobie Bros.

Most household funk did not suck. When rap came along, that stuff was actually integrated into it in the form of samples and name checks out of sheer fondness. The "Amen Break" has been used 10,000 times this week alone.

So, the very nature of how you and I came to punk/indie was an act of rebellion and as a way to turn our back on what we heard as kids.
The rebellion that spawned rap was mainly social, and brought classic funk with it in it's slipstream.

These are two very different starting points.

-A

alex maiolo wrote:

Johnny 13 wrote:Think about it - If your dad listened to James Brown or Earth Wind And Fire around the house, brass section in overdrive, and then you heard Johnny Rotten's snivling bullshit, what would you think?

Not what you think I should think apparently.

Forget YOUR background and experiences for a minute. Imagine that P-funk is what you grew up on. The Sex Pistols might not do it for you then, right?

That's all I'm sayin'


-A

I grew up on P-Funk and the Sex Pistols. And Gap Band and the Dead Boys, and Hendrix and Black Flag..but I guess that's what living in a small town will do for you...you don't know enough to compartmentalize yourself to try to establish your identity with music consumption. You just try to find something cool and fun to listen to. The closest thing I could find recently to that feeling was going to China last year where the people there were just trying to find something more interesting to listen to but J-Pop regurgitations. The band I went with didn't even have a record out in China, cause pretty much nobody who isn't on a major does. All the curious people came out cause there was a band that was new and different sounding, and a good time was had by all. Reminded me of the 'good old days'.