Tuesday, November 13, 2007

One last caress at violent lyrics?

In the 20th Century how many times did we hear people saying that music was causing societal damage and that we were heading for doom? Rock 'n roll in the 50s, the counter-cultrue of the 60s, the punk of the 70s.

All were blamed for societal decay and the end of cvilisation as we knew it yet it never really came. To mark the 25th year since it's release take a listen to this rather upbeat cheery sounding melody underneath which lies some lyrics that put today's hip hop to shame.

Now you tell me, have all the Misfits fans gone around killing babies and raping their friends mothers?

I'm sure many other people will be able to give example of very old music that is just as, if not more violent than today's hip hop which is being blamed for the gun-toting youth on our streets.

Worth noting that NWA's 'Fuck Da Police' from the seminally brilliant album Straight Outta Compton is 20 years old next year as well.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Evrywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy,
cause summers here and the time is right for fighting in the street"

A bit older than 20 years ....

Croydonian said...

Ok, Skip James from 1931, '22-20 Blues':

If I send for my baby, and she don't come.
If I send for my baby, and she don't come.
All the doctors in Wisconsin, he won't help her none.

And if she gets unruly and gets so she don't wanna do,
My baby gets unruly and she don't wanna do,
I'll take my 32-20, I'll cut her half in two.


A 22-20 is a pistol. The song was re-cast / ripped off by Robert Johnson (and everyone has heard of him) as '32-20 Blues'.

Croydonian said...

And murder ballads, a mainstay of British popular culture since the middle ages.