Don’t know if Funkhouser has Thin Lizzy on the list but would love a thread about them.

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sorry, i phrased that poorly. what i meant was bruce isn’t being dunked on by certain user(s) for writing about steel workers despite not having had a real job for 50 years, but the point was made in the beyonce thread that her being rich means she is a hypocrite for promoting social justice causes such as BLM or the BPP. it derailed her thread for a while, and while some users pushed back others did not, so i was asking why a similarly problematic aspect of bruce wasn’t an issue itt for said user(s). when there are two crucial difference between bruce and bey it’s a really fair point to raise, esp because a limp defence of “she doesn’t write her own stuff/play her own instruments” is frequently deployed as code by rockists against musicians of colour.

but yeah if the other thread was just trolling/attention seeking it’s not great but at least it’s an answer. anyway i’m going to the nathan for you thread now.

I also made arguments against:

Radiohead
Britney Spears
The Cure

for being rich and hypocritical.

Happy to continue making this argument in every one of these threads until I get a ban if it makes you feel better

also if you don’t write your own songs and don’t play them you are not a musician regardless of your skin colour, you are a singer

I was thinking more how it reinforces the values and ideology behind capitalism, exceptional individuals, where innovation is what gets people the most acclaim. Sure more manufactured acts (for want of a better word) are part of a money making machine but they don’t embody that as much.

I seriously wish that there was less of a premium on song writing, would love it if when I went to see a local gig it was mainly covers of great songs, as it is there is such a stigma of naffness (haven’t used that word since the 90s, seems to fit) around covers bands, so instead most bands plug away at their mediocrity because original material is the way to respect. Just seems a shame as most people take up music for the joy of learning music they love.

Went off topic, think there was a point in there somewhere, not sure I landed it

I have! Don’t care if it’s just the three of us in that thread tbh they’re getting a 5 from me.

Yessssssssssss. Fucking Hell I fucking love Thin Lizzy. (Will save it for the thread!)

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My latest hot take covers bands should get more respect

i don’t want you to get a ban, i just feel like we just need to be more sensitive to context and whatnot when we’re using certain language and/or discussing these questions of authenticity and such

Surely Bruce is pop music too?

Genuine Q here for Bruce fans as I find his universal appeal in the U.S. really interesting.

Do any of his songs speak very simply and plainly about the sort of issues you’d expect the Fox news crowd to turn against him for - gun control, abortion rights, health care, immigration rights etc?

Or do his songs keep it more a generalised ‘supporting the working Joe’ level that enables universality that cuts across political divides?

dunno if it’s fair to imply I’m being racist, so far the highest scores I’ve given of 4s have been for Bruce, Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley. Was going to give Joni Mitchell a 4 but was feeling particularly anti-establishment that day, probably should have anyway as now my voting has been inconsistent.

I’m not going to respect people from the management class (folks who delegate their songwriting to teams of people to give them hits)

this is silly and wrong, lots and lots of popstars write their own songs or are involved in the songwriting process

internet says that beyonce had a team of 72 writers on one of her albums, I’m sure there are some popstars that do, people like Abba and such

It’s ok to like a singer for being a singer though isn’t it?

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Yeah a voice is just another instrument at the end of the day

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yeah of course, it’s just getting into the whole political spokesperson/message of their songs thing that irks me when their songs are written by big teams of people.

Like again, you can think an actor is fantastic at portraying a role but they didn’t create the character and shouldn’t get credit for that part

As soon as a singer accepts and sings a song they become an ambassador/spokesperson for the views in that song and can be praised or criticised accordingly, imo

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Who made those points in the other thread sorry? Can you point out who made them? Who has said that “bruce springsteen writing about working class experience while being a millionaire fine, but beyonce promoting working class POC like the black panthers while being rich makes her a hypocrite”. As in, who has criticised her on those points whilst overlooking Springsteen’s use of working class experience?

Also not sure why you’re writing it as user(s) now, when your first post suggested it was widespread.

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He’s probably come closest with something like American Skin (41 Shots), or The Ghost of Tom Joad.

Probably thought ‘fuck it, can’t be arsed trying any more’ after the way Born In The USA’ was so badly misinterpreted