Marxist Musicians
January 30, 2018
Raging furies at the Grammys
KYLE writes:
On June 9, 1972, Elvis Presley held a press conference at the New York Hilton for an upcoming concert tour. During the conference a reporter tried to lure Presley into soliciting his personal views on war protesters and the Vietnam War, a subject which he wisely elected to decline, stating, “I’d just as soon keep those views to myself, I’m just an entertainer and I’d rather not say.” At the time of this press conference, Presley was one of, if not the most, popular entertainer in the world. He held fame and influence that no mortal person can handle, and because of that, he could’ve given his honest opinion and gotten away with it. He chose to stay in his own lane.
On January 28, 2018, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony featured over three-hours of “musical performers” denigrating Donald Trump, men and conservatives with some music mixed in.
In one bizarre segment, a parade of celebrities read excerpts from Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” hit piece. Hillary Clinton appeared on screen reading a snippet from the book that mocks Trump’s love for McDonald’s. U2 performed their newest immigration-themed single in front of a Statue of Liberty backdrop (their latest music video portrays the KKK marching outside the Oval Office window). Another segment featured a stage full of female vocalists clothed in white, “Kesha & the Resistance Revival Chorus” (note the ‘resistance’ moniker). Singer Janelle Monae marched to the microphone and proceeded to tongue-lash men in the typical leftist, passive aggressive tone:
“We come in peace but we mean business, and to those who would dare try and silence us, we offer you two words: Time’s Up. We say time’s up for pay inequality. Time’s up for discrimination. Time’s up for harassment of any kind. And time’s up for the abuse of power.”
It wouldn’t have at all been out of place if she shouted “castrate all men!” at the end of her harangue. After the show there were rumblings of “institutionalized sexism” in the music industry because more men received awards than women, an observation surely to spark even more outrage and protests much like the #OscarsSoWhite protest. Award shows have become stump speeches for the Democratic National Committee and less about the industries they represent because the product is virtually non-existent.
Tireless promotion of social justice and class struggle is the new normal for the entertainment industry today because, they’re artistically irrelevant and they know it. Nobody buys music anymore, and as displayed by the ratings dropping 24% from last years show, a sizeable chunk of Americans have had it with famous people who live in gated compounds spouting Marxist propaganda when they never have to live with the consequences of their own politics. This industry hasn’t produced a truly great recording artist in decades, but that won’t discourage them, because just like the sports and film industries, they’ll double-down on their hatred for middle-class Americans, who will proceed to turn off the television.
One has to wonder how this will end. It’s quite possible that we’re entering a time where new music won’t be made, not only because sales will plummet to nothing because of the politicized content, but because someone, somewhere, somehow, will be offended by it. This blind rage is sure to turn its attention to the work of the past like the statue protesters have. It’s surprising protesters haven’t stood outside the gates of Graceland due to Elvis’ “appropriation of black culture.” There’s a dark humor to the fact that Elvis, in his humble deflection of a political question, would appear conservative and sensible compared to celebrities of today. If people back then only knew what was coming, right?
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