don’t blame me, it’s amy
Really sorry that this site has been “I Spy Racism” lately…I feel like I’m back in sociology class.
Anyway, when I heard about Sharon Stone’s earth-shaking hatred for Chinese people it wasn’t really a thang to me because I wasn’t ever that fond of Casino or Basic Instinct or Hannah Montana or whatever other movie she’s in. So when I saw this Amy Winehouse clip, I came to a crux…you know, that moment like when you find out that something you really really like is something that you really really shouldn’t like anymore…but you still want to like it. I’ve been a huge fan of Amy for years. When her first album Frank came out I passed it around like it was the Gospel. There was even a moment when I envied her–that she was touring, and had such incredible albums. And when all the tabloids started piling up, I felt angry at the carnivorous media for her. Even with all the substantial evidence that she was doing the Hollywood wilt in the worst possible way, I sympathized with her. I blamed the paparazzi and big record companies and her chauvinist boyfriend…anything to excuse the person who made music that helped me enjoy life.
And so even in light of a video of her staring dead into the camera and singing “blacks and pakis, nips, and gooks,” with her fingers stretching out her eyelids, there’s a deep part of me that allows for a double-standard…to not switch it when “Take This Box” came on random on my iTunes earlier…to fish for a reason why it’s still okay to listen to her music and love it.
I suppose we toss these artists into the “guilty pleasures” bin–that collective of songs and movies and television shows that you know are problematic, bad for you, shameful to claim, but you allow them to exist in the limbo of your interests. The term “guilty pleasure” is the righteous person’s free pass to lay down their politics and not think about how utterly poorly this might reflect on their character if people found out just how much they love the things that contradict who they are.
Some people use the convenient reasoning that an artist’s art shouldn’t be judged based on an artist’s life. These are the people who can listen to an R.Kelly song without thinking about him peeing on someone (or at least don’t mind it). Unfortunately, I’m not one of those blessed people, and I regret that I can’t listen to the Trapped in the Closet series.
But then again, I wasn’t even really into R.Kelly even before the whole peeing thing. How much does an artist’s greatness have to outweigh their faults to make them okay to listen to? Is it really all that different that Amy sang that song strung out and on YouTube instead of on an album track? Does the rubric from which we analyze her alter when she steps into the recording booth?
Do you see the conflict? Folks who probably aren’t really feeling Amy Winehouse to begin with probably think I’m trippin. I mean, if I’m going to all these places throughout the country trying to uplift Asian folks and make them feel good about themselves, and then in between shows I’m bumping musicians who still have “gook” and “nip” in their vocabularies, isn’t that kinda funnystyle? It must be incredibly hypocritical for me.
At the same time, there gets to a point where to just stop listening to songs based on my politics, even though I love hearing them, gets tiring. And boycotting becomes draining. It’s like, *shit I can’t buy Nikes because they use sweatshops* and then *well then I have to stop wearing Chucks because Converse is owned by Nike* and *damn, my favorite restaurant underpays its immigrant workers* and *aw, I shouldn’t listen to Lil Wayne because his songs are misogynistic* and then *well if that’s the case then I can’t even listen to Kweli because he has some homophobic lyrics from time to time* and then *well I definitely can’t listen to Miles Davis because he actually hit his women* and on and on and on until finally all you’ve got left are Michael Franti records and a pair of vegan leather sandals.
It’s 4:30am and I’m not really sure what I’m talking about anymore. No excuses for Amy, the shit she said on that video was horrible. For some reason there’s a binary in my head that I can either:
a) forgive her and keep bumping her music, or
b) not forgive her delete all her mp3s
I haven’t quite settled for either, though I’m definitely not very fond of her right now. What do you guys think? Do people get extra leeway if they’re hella fresh??
June 10th, 2008 at 9:25 am
People definitely get extra leeway when their mad talented or whatever thats because we live in a society that when you have something that is scarce, you are put on a pedestal. In this case Amy should be held accountable for her actions because of the vast audience she reaches and know that it is wrong to perpetuate racism. But then again we are all human beings, we make mistakes and Amy is no exception. In a catch 22 like this, ask yourself this: At the end of the day is the Back to Black album stuck in your head or the racist remarks she made? If the enjoyment of her music outweighs the guilt then forgive her and keep bumping her music.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
yea, if you dig an artist (or even a non-artist for that matter) that doesnt necessarily mean you have to approve of or agree with EVERYTHING they think/do. that sort of thinking is too idealistic and naive, even. i think as long as you know who you are and what you stand for, you can buy any CD that you want. yea its sucks ass when a person you looked up to commits a moral or legal crime, but when it comes down to it music is art and thats what we’re allowed to judge. if you like a song, shit press play. I, myself, am not a huge Amy fan but in order to relate: i dont think i would really like to kick it kick it with Kanye. from what i’ve seen his arrogance might irritate me a bit. However, not a day goes by that i dont listen to at least one of his jams. and thats only because he spits hott fiyah. (and yes, to me, extreme arrogance is a moral offense).
and to FightTheFilters: (in my opinion) you shouldnt put the enjoyment of music in a direct battle with guilt thats felt from listening to it. you really dont have to do that consciously. guilt is an involuntary emotion as is the enjoyment that people get from listening to music. the two (enjoyment and guilt) battle by themselves so your goal should be (again, in my opinion) to eliminate guilt all together. to accept that people have varying views on what makes a good decision vs. a bad one. to accept that not everything your favorite artist says is golden. and accept that you ultimately you have to define whats makes right right and wrong wrong for yourself. these media-constructed pseudo versions of real people in the form of celebrities can’t be put on too high of a pedestal. like you said “we are all human beings”.
and as well, lets take this scenario: once upon a time there were two lyricists. one was really fucking awesome (you love love love this guy) and the other was semi-so-so (you only kinda like this guy). they both make the exact same super racist comment. do you really “forgive” the really fucking awesome lyricist and not the semi-so-so one just because he’s not as talented/hasnt developed his skill/just isnt your preference?? yea, an offense is an offense. just cant erase that shit with a hott beat and sick verse.
PS …this entry reminds me of B.Obama and his FORMER pastor.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
shit. sorry for the epic of a comment :/ my bust.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
i wish i could add something new to this discussion, but i think patrice really said all there is to say. i get where you’re coming from though because if you let all your politics get in the way then you’re not left with much to work with. but it comes down to what you feel is right, because in the end you’re the only one who has to deal with the ramifications of whichever side you choose.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:37 am
So, basically I guess I’ll just throw my two cents in even though it’s probably been said.
In my opinion I would keep listening to her, because you don’t (or at least I don’t) listen to music for the artists. I’m not gonna pick up a CD or download on thinking, “I need this because it’s by this specific artist.” I listen to certain songs because of their sound or their lyrics… you shouldn’t punish the music for what the artist did. I almost never know anything about the artists of the music I listen to (though maybe I should) I listen to what I listen to because it makes the blood sing in my veins. No space on my ipod is ever wasted on music I don’t absolutely love.
if you love certain songs then keep loving the songs, i don’t believe it has much to do with the artist at all…
June 11th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Wow. This post shook my world. I am a huge fan of Amy Winehouse and feel incredibly pulled apart by this news (esp. being a “nip,” myself).
*Crazy moment* “I wake up alone,” just came on right now, this second from a mix cd im listening to at work…
I think she now has to fall into the Mike Jackson category, where her music will live forever in my head as wonderful, even if she has some major issues to address in herself. When u think about it, as someone who is willing to be in an abusive relationship forever, drink herself to death and celebrate a path to self-destruction, it doesn’t surprise me so much when she does something out of pocket like this. At the same time, I def did not see this coming. Truly, madly, deeply disappointing. =P
As a mixed race person of color with anglo ancestry I find myself sometimes, looking (very hard) for white people who don’t slipup and do ridiculous, ignorant sh*t. When I think Ive found one - I can sometimes tend to put them on a bit of a pedastal (not necessarily a good thing). I think that there is a part of me that searches for proof that part of me isn’t inherantly evil/oppressive. I know logically that nobody is born wanting to play the role of oppressor, but I still find these feelings weaving their way into my thoughts because while there ARE true white allies out there, I see Anglo Amerikans as a “whole,” failing at being anti-oppression/true allies people of color.
Example: (Besides Amy)
I am a huge fan of Green Day (raised working class, from the eastbay), and was thrilled when they won a grammy for thier (F U to the Bush administration) “American Idiot.” I noticed however, that when lead-singer Billy Joe Armstrong accepted the award from Young Jeezy, he didn’t shake his hand, thank him, or even acknowledge/look at him AT ALL. Somebody I looked up to as being not just a righteous “white” person, but an incredible human being, blatantly disrespected Jeezy, Hip-Hop and poor/working-class Black Amerika at the same time. Sh*t was only a second long, but it broke my heart and I vividly remember it to this day. Jeezy looked disgusted as he should have. =(
I dont really know what Im talking bout anymore and am in need of some coffee to finish this day out. Thanks so much for this post and for making my brain work in a way I didnt expect it to at work.
Apologies for the longass reply broshot.
BLESS,
C
p.s. That weezy slaps sumpin ridiculous and the boondocks season 2 is out and ready for consumption if ya aint copped.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
hmmm…that whole “separate the music from the artist” thing is inconceivable to me. we might have to continue this conversation…
June 12th, 2008 at 11:42 am
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