Rock and Roll Belongs To Leftwing Liberals!

So, get off our turf, you rightwing morons.

One of my pet peeves: how so many rightwingers have appropriated rock and roll, a music which has, at its core, an ideology and a message utterly at odds with their antediluvian belief system.

Rock and roll has its roots in black rhythym and blues and in some of the folk music of the fifties and early sixties.

The music became almost inseparable from the free love movement of the sixties, indeed, the major icons of rock and roll, Janis Joplin, the Dead, the Band, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, all sang songs railing against everything that current rightwingers stand for.

Yet, Rush Limbaugh and other radical rightwingers try to co-opt rock and roll, use it on their vile radio shows and pretend to have an affinity or understanding of what the music means.

Rock and Roll belongs to liberals. It does not now, nor will it ever belong to rightwingers. Its message is the message of progressives, its culture is the culture of liberals, its sound is the noise of leftwingers.

Leave our music alone, you rightwing frauds.

You have Pat Boone and Dean Martin. We have the Beatles and the Who. We don't try to co opt your culture, so what's the deal with you trying to co opt ours?

Merry Christmas. Rock on.

I cannot condone rock and roll belonging to anybody lol. It is music. It is art. It belongs to whomever wants to take it in.

I'm sorry for laughing, but this is the first time I've seen music become politicized and partisan, and I find the concept funny :)

you did not grow up during Vietnam or the era of rock and roll.

The music itself IS political. It defined a culture that railed against the establishment.

You've never listened to Bob Dylan or Joan Baez I take it.

For christs sake :eyes:

I love Janice and know all about political passions in music. But music doesn't belong to fucking anybody, and I'll be damned if I'm not allowed to laugh at the concept of musical genres being divied up between political parties. It's an absurd notion and that's how I feel. Yes, much rock and roll is sprung from liberal avenues, but so what. Should hippies or potheads claim how dare you straight edges claim the dead, janice, etc for your political purposes? I was a hippy and a pothead once upon a time, and I wouldn't dare.

Music is music is music. Always was and always will be. It is not there for ANY political party to claim as their own, as art is always above and beyond politics.

That's all I have to say on the matter.

I think it's very appropriate to reclaim what is ours.

I'm pointing out how utterly hypocritical it is for someone like Limbaugh or Coulter, who's entire political ideology springs from opposition to hippies and everything they supported, to then turn around and use rock and roll as a prop on their radio shows.

For Pete's sakes, the Freepers are doing their Freeper Musical Christmas thing for the troops http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1546364/posts and exploiting musicians who sang passionately AGAINST war to soothe soldiers who are now engaged in an illegal un provoked occupation of a foreign land.

That doesn't strike you as being perverse?

that you or anyone else has the right to claim music as "theirs".

Look, we obviously aren't going to agree on this one. There is nothing that is going to convince me that someone does or doesn't have a right to enjoy a certain type of music. I hate limbaugh. He's the only one I hate worse that Hannity (I don't hate coulter, she's too wacko for me to hate. She just cracks me up with her insanity). But regardless of how much I hate him, I never once gave a rats ass about what song he played going into break or whatever.

I don't know. I just find the whole argument funny on its face.

just a genre and a branch of it that has been completely dominated by liberals, lefties, and nogoodniks since its very inception.

How completely absurd to say that art is always above politics. Uh, which "art" are you speaking of exactly? Go tell some dead Dadaists or Surrealists their art had no political component. I'm sure the Situationists would agree with you.

and who exactly is "janice?"

No Genre of music belongs to any political party, period. The notion is an extremely undemocratic one in fact, from my standpoint.

Secondly, saying they are above politics does not mean they don't have political components. Of course they do at times. But I've never heard someone say "hey, you are a liberal, you have no right to look at my art, it is for righties only"

Art, expression, music, creativity ,etc are there to be enjoyed by whoever wants to enjoy them and that is how those artforms are above politics. Politics can be a component of the artform, but the artform is never in itself minimized to just being a component of politics.

and art is expression....whether it's hip-hop, jazz, blues...or country/western. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Stones, Bruce Springsteen, CCD, Joe Cocker,Crosby, Stills & Nash ...and on, and on, and on...spoke to a generation of the ills of the time. For the republicans to use an artist's material that expresses the exact opposite of said politicians view, is rather pathetic. It's like * invoking the name of JFK. But, it should be expected, as the republican party is as phony as it gets...and has no soul of it's own. They can't express what they don't have.

how come you can't even spell her name correctly?

Spell Check Police!!! Move Aside Please! Whirrrrrr Whirrrrrr Whirrrrr There's important work to be done here, clear the way now!!!!!! Whirrrrrrr Whirrrrrrr WHirrrrrrr

:rofl:

Do you purposely set out to annoy people? Because you're doing an excellent job. I wouldn't have pointed it out on anyone who just made a simple mistake, but in your case....

I'm not the only one who noticed by the way.

What can I expect from someone who christened themselves after a second rate song by a second rate wanna-be metal band.

:eyes:

Thanks for the laugh though!

And no, I don't care to annoy people. But when someone steps up with annoying little pestering petty meant only to cause trouble little itty bitty comments well then, ya know, I tend to respond LOL

So merry christmas to you My spelling police friend, and May Santa leave a Queensryche CD under your tree for you! :rofl:

I'm assuming.

One of my heroes, and the only singer I will Karaoke. LOL

That was just my feeble attempt at smartassism on this fine Christmas Eve.

Note to self: Remember the smilies. :think:

:hi:

Don't forget to check the Oregon Forum for the next DU Meetup. (Sometime in Jan.)

That's what happens when you type quickly after taking Ambien! LOL

I have a friend who is a singer who at times looks and sounds incredibly similar to her, right down to her laugh, and I think there are probably similarities in personality, too. There is no way she could NOT sing.

:applause:

Ann Coulter is a deadhead? Yeah like that'd ever happen. How many of limpballs listeners know his theme song was written and performed by Chrissy Hynde?

Someone once told me you could tell everything you needed to know about a person by asking them if they prefer Elvis Presley or the Beatles. I believe it.

booooooooo scary

That's a bad trip just imagining it.
But funny as hell. Maybe she'll get some.

:think:

It might knock loose all that shit between her ears.

Rush is flagrantly abusing her copyrights, as a slap in the face to her politics.

Apparently, he told her that he's a big animal rights advocate so she decided it's okay for him to use her song as his theme.

When did that happen? :crazy:

"Someone once told me you could tell everything you needed to know about a person by asking them if they prefer Elvis Presley or the Beatles. I believe it."

I hate Elvis and love the Beatles. What does that say about me? I hope nothing bad.

So what does that say about me? *Scratches head* :think: Oh yeah, that I don't jump on bandwagons and go with what is popular.

From Elvis era, Link Wray and The Wraymen and Jerry Lee Lewis were FAR better.

From The Beatles era, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band were far better.

But I never cared for his music anyway...

His "music" is only good if you've tried every other known way of inducing VOMITING!!!!!

Lu

I was absolutely cracking up! I was tearing up I was laughing so hard!:rofl:

Yeah, one of these YEARS I'll update it! I'm too busy on here and my 2 yahoogroups...and myspace! http://www.myspace.com/Lu666Cifer

If you can call Wango Tango a hit. Lame-O Lame-O
The Amboy Dukes had one cool song .. almost 40 years ago.
"Journey to the Center of the Mind" = pretty psychedelic stuff.
They also made a really crap version of "Baby Please Don't Go"
Don't know how you can screw that up... but Ted did.

Old Ted certainly is not buttering his bread with talent...
I guess that why he wears the reich-wing nutcase gimmick.

If you don't have the goods.. then you gotta have a gimmick.

Dennis Miller- washed up, fired from monday night footbal-joined GOP for new attention
MC Hammer - washed up, bankrupt - alligned himself with the religious right
Charlie Daniels - one hit wonder - joined GOP
Glenn Beck - Failed morning rock DJ, cokehead - took his bad zoo crew humor to Clear Channel

republicans have no taste and they'll accept anyone as a star who we'll parrot their lines

so don't be surprised when the guys who sang 'who let the dogs out' come out as rightwingers any day now...

Music to have a root canal by.

and let's see, one of the Ramones

The whole band or just Vince?

sadly, a life of dissipation has lead to republicanism, the final downfall

The greatest of 'em all without a doubt. Damn I miss him!

One of my pet peeves.

A lot of the ignorant right-wing red-necks I know listen to oldies stations that play nothing but good old hippie music from the 60's and 70's. Drives me nuts.

Actually, even though I'm pushing 60 and a die-hard hippie, I don't listen to much from that era anymore. Kind of burned out on it.

Faves right now are Damian (Jr.Gong) Marley, and Green Day.

:hippie:

Oh man did you NAIL it!!!!!!!! And Ted: BITE ME!

Lu Cifer, AND FUKU TO KID SCHOLCK TOO!!!!!!!!

Good grief it is so difficult to listen to.

None sound anything like this band, for example.

http://www.thejrewing.com/

Or this one...

http://www.parkcity.ne.jp/~mltbanan/

Or this band, no Christian Rock comes close

http://www.bunglefever.com/

STRYPER!!!!!!!!

:puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke:

petra

But I have a feeling I'm about to get dived upon and beaten to a pulp for admitting it :)

I'll listen to "To Hell With The Devil" on an endless loop for 4 days non-stop before having to even endure on nanosecond of Ted Dickhead!

truly consider the torment that a 4 day endless loop of to hell with the devil could cause LOL

I liked it years ago, but shit, 2 times in a row would be enough to last a week lol

I tell ya, if there is worse "music" (note the quotes!) than Ted, good gods, I don't even want to know! Ok, maybe yeah, we should know and be aware of it...SO WE CAN AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS!!!!!

Lu

True confessions DU.

They were on tour with Armoured Saint.

*oof*....I feel sick now....

Praise the Lord
Jesus Loves Me
Dumbya is my King

"They" are stuck with Clear Channel and all it implies. May it rot their brains, curve their spines, and give them peace without honor (paraphrasing George Carlin, in case you didn't recognize it...) :rofl:

I won't cede Dean Martin to them.

pleeeeeze..... republicans and rock ????
shit they can't even move their hips.....
and just thinking about those conservative .... oh yuck !!!

Republicans are the ANTI-ROCK
in every way.... message.. style... attitude ... you name it
no bigger group of fuckheads in dire need of a wedgie
have ever graced the planet. What a bunch of creeps.

I've been thinking about this for some time now. It doesn't stop at Limbaugh, either. Another rightie radio dork, Hugh Hewitt, said he wants to be on whatever board runs things at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rock has always been a bastion of the left, with few exceptions. The entire concept of Rock is to alienate the so-called "establishment". Now that the left has a grip on the "establishment", I, for one, am hell-bent on excluding the rightie dorks(sorry for the redundancy) from OUR FUN. I know that clowns like Limbaugh were in their youth during the rise of Rock, but they gave up their right to be cool when they sold their souls to Dick Cheney.

Sorry, righties, NO ROCK FOR YOU !!!

is using "Peace Train" in his camel urine beer ad....and he and his repuke friends won't even let Cat Stevens into this country. gag me.

the same guy that sang those songs. He even asked the record company that controls that material to stop selling it. He thinks it's all part of what's wrong with Western culture. He's not allowed into the US based on comments that he's made supporting terror acts against the US. Remember Salmon Rushdie? "Cat Stevens" spoke in support of that "hit" on Rushdie that certain Islamic leaders called for.

wanted Salman Rushdie wasted because of "The Satanic Verses", I think he became somewhat of a liability.

I don't really want his hypocritical ass in this country either.
fsc

hit and anti-war song? These people are inconsistent hypocrites among their other faults.

Seems correct if you think about it.

in his ads.

Diluted piss is never good in any form.

:thumbsup:

Don't tar him with the big brush!

And you're right! When did anything new or lively come out of Land O Greed? I can't think of anything.

Hendrix was way before my time but I'm still a big fan. I used to live in Missouri and the bigots would get all hot an bothered whenever a DJ would claim Hendrix as one of the greats. LOL, they would call up pissed as hell with words dripping in racism.

Oh a side note about Hannity. I heard that Hannity's theme music is really about a woman liberating herself from an abusive husband. Someone told me the song was about a woman who killed her husband so goes the phrase "let freedom ring". I personally don't dig country so I have no idea who the singer is but I'm pretty sure the name of the song is let freedom ring. If this is true someone should let baby jesus in on the secret. It would be hilarious (but not surprising) if he was trying to pimp this song off as more patriot bull when it isn't.

And it's about a woman who kills her abusive husband told from her daughter's perspective. Trust me, the karaoke dj knows all.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

who is now pimping for Wal-Mart. Along with Garth Brooks and Queen Latifah.

I can understand the first two, but Queen always seemed a little more in the know than that to me (with a hit called "Ladies First"...). But The Queen is now pimping for everybody from Pizza Hut to Maybelline to Wal-Mart, so I guess it's always about the money.

fsc

and partying and sex and having a good time and dancing and getting down and surfing and driving fast cars.
Doesn't matter what your politics are when it comes to those things.
That kind of stuff crosses political boundaries.

Rock and roll is also about forgetting about politics completely.

Not everyone listens to the words of the songs, some are just into the beat.

I think you're confusing rebellion with revolution.

Also I think you're forgetting that once a work of art is created, the creator doesn't have any control over what the perceiver makes of it.

Sorry, but however much it irritates me when I hear a song that I believe has a particular meaning being perverted by someone the way you describe, I still think you're thesis here is way off base.

do partying and sex have nothing to do with politics?

The Republicans have made sex into about five different wedge issue, if you haven't noticed.

And the religious rightwingers hate partying, sex, dancing and "getting down."

And since the religious rightwingers control the Republican party, I think you've just proved my point.

or else there wouldn't be so many of them.

Frat boys like their partying too and that doesn't make them left wing.
Just take a look at what happened to the Grateful Dead scene in the 80s.
How about all the skinhead right wing punks as another example?
I can remember seeing business men in leisure suits dancing to Should I Stay or Should I Go.
The biggest coke head I ever knew was a die-hard Reagan Republican.
Fat jewelers doing lines and partying late at night are not left-wing.
This has been going on for a long time.
Turn on, tune in, and drop out can end up being right wing as it evolves into libertarianism just as easily as it can end up being left wing.
As much as you might like it to be different, there is plenty of evidence that it just isn't that way at all.

People who see everything through the lens of politics are missing a lot of the world and misunderstand a lot of what they see.
This thesis about rock and roll is evidence of this as far as I'm concerned.

Doesn't mean they are ANY GOOD at sex...
Sure they have sex.. and procreate...
and of course they wank off all the time
but do they GET DOWN.... do they DO the nasty.. do they ROCK N ROLL...
do they get FUNKY with it... do they HUCKLEBUCK...
are they UP for the DOWN stroke ?????

I don't think so.
They ARE the establishment.. They ARE a bunch of LAME STIFFS (pun not intended)

And the ultimate test is...
WOULD YOU HAVE SEX WITH A REPUBLICAN ????

(the answer speaks for itself)

Just because I wouldn't have sex with a Republican doesn't mean a thing regarding the question of whether they get down.
There are a lot of Democrats I wouldn't have sex with either.
If you want to talk being "cool" as the criterion, I remember watching the Democratic Convention in 96 and 2000 and 2004 and almost laughing out loud at the vision of all those white yuppies trying to act like they could get down at the end of the convention when they were "boogie-ing" to whatever white bread middle of the road AOR safe "rock and roll" they were playing over the speakers of the convention centers. (seem to recall one time it was Fleetwood Mac and not the Peter Green incarnation either) Kind of put me in mind of people with mid life crises who go out and buy a Harley.
Sure didn't come close to the real thing at a Grateful Dead show in the 70s or a Joe Strummer show in the late 90s.
In answer to your list of questions - I am sure there are a lot of Republicans who do all those things.

That's the beauty of rock and roll and music, it transcends political boundaries. It's about something on a whole different level than politics.

That Fleetwood Mac crap during the Clinton years was pretty lame

They're good Dems, and good musicians. "Don't Stop" is one of many FM songs, most of which are great.

I recommend "The Dance" for any other fans, it's a great DVD. :hi:

The less political side of rock and roll celebrates sex, love and drugs.

The Republicans are against all three, as witnessed by their opposition to laws for medical marijuana use, their opposition to gay marriage and their support for sodomy laws.

Liberals, true liberals (not the institution of the Democratic party) support and celebrate love, want to legalize personal private drug use for medical purposes and have no use for the government telling them what to do in the privacy of their own homes.

If republican frat boys like to drink and party and Reagan Republicans like to do coke, it just highlights how utterly hypocritical they are to be Republicans in the first place; for they support an institution inimical to their lifestyle.

As for your last statement, I would respond that people who DON"T see everything through a political lens are the misguided ones. People are defined by their cultures. Cultures are defined by their leaders and their politics. Politics *is* society, you can't separate the two. And the music that society creates is a profound artistic expression of its morals, values and politics.

Rock and roll belongs to US. Not them. Period.

Perhaps I should say people who see things only through a political lens.

I never said they weren't hypocrites.

As for who rock and roll belongs to -- it belongs to everybody or else it only belongs to the musicians. If you are going to start putting limitations on who music belongs to you might at well go all the way and say it only belongs to the musicians -- a silly premise.

This putting limitations on who art belongs to is essentially a dictatorship of the left which is no better in my book than a dictatorship of the right.
Think about it -- essentially the statement being made is "sorry, I can't allow you to dance to that song because you're a Republican." or the reverse - "you can't listen to that Nashville music because you're a Democrat."
If we're going to start doing that, I'm going to say that people who've never taken acid are not allowed to listen to and appreciate acid rock. Better yet, I'm going to say that they have to have taken at least 250 micrograms all at once, preferably some Owsley windowpane -- none of these wimpy ass 50 mic doses that are being sold these days to kids who think they know what tripping is but don't really have a clue. Etcetera.

Also this statement "People are defined by their cultures. Cultures are defined by their leaders and their politics." conflates politics and culture and is a very impoverished definition of culture. Guess it all depends on how you define politics. If you give it a broad enough definition then your point stands, but somehow I think giving it that broad a definition is a little much. You can argue that a love song is political because the way people view love is political -- but that's really stretching the definition into meaninglessness.

"You can argue that a love song is political because the way people view love is political -- but that's really stretching the definition into meaninglessness."

It's not meaningless for the hundreds of millions of gays and lesbians for whom love has been turned into a political football by various oppressive political factions in varying countries, is it?

and are just twisting words to suit your lens.

When you fall in love with someone the last thing on your mind (or whatever part of your being is involved) is what the political factions in the country may think about it & when you write a love song to someone you're not thinking about that stuff either.

and a few other select Bushbots among their ranks.


My favorite, though, is when you meet a RW fanatic who likes punk music, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, CCR, the Rolling Stones, etc...

He doesn't even realize that their music is extremely anti-war and anti-Bush. I think right-wingers just plug their ears and refuse to listen to anything that doesn't conform to their views even if they hear it all the time. They can hear lyrics like "manufacturing consent is the name of their game, their bottom line is money nobody gives a fuck, 40,000 hungry children dying per hour of starvation while billions are spent on bombs creating death showers" and they don't even realize that those lyrics are denouncing the very people they worship.

We spent many hours together every year creating FUNDAY RADIO for the annual party. Our musical tastes overlap each other nicely and, better, we NEVER discuss politics while we're making and mixing the songlist. We're just trying to rock out.
So I'd have to go with "rock and roll belongs to everybody." And also with the poster who noted r&r is more about rebellion than about revolution. That's an astute observation.
John
It is now 173 days and 18 hours to FUNDAY XII.

... it's startling so see some of the poseurs who have occupied the stage (Three Doors Down doing a video on the deck of a naval vessel, Ted Nugent) trying to take the rebellious aspects and invert them so that they're propaganda for the status quo. Foreigners have always associated Rock with a wild, American type of freedom, the antithesis of the motives of people like Bush.

Easily 99% percent of writers, musicians, visual artists, film-makers, comedians, etc. are on the left. The ability to work with complexity and an imagination are needed for creative work. Conservatives don't have those abilities in their psyches.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml

As actress Lauren Bacall said in an interview awhile back, everything good in America was brought to you courtesy of liberals.

- in fact he was basically a Nazi sympathizer and yet he was one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century.
Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot both favored fascism and yet they were great, extremely creative poets.

I'm way to the left and I'm a poet, and I think this whole discussion is just silly.
The thesis is patently ridiculous on its face.
99%?
What a joke.

I seriously doubt that there would be many artists who would agree with it.

Funny thing, unless I'm missing it I don't see anything in that article about artists but I do see this quote -- "This intolerance of ambiguity can lead people to cling to the familiar, to arrive at premature conclusions, and to impose simplistic cliches and stereotypes, the researchers advised."
Gee that kind of sounds like what is being done in this thread with the claim that rock and roll belongs to liberals.

It's pretty easy to find the one percent (like Pound) who don't fit. And no, the article does not address creativity per se, only the ability to work with complexity and ambiguity, which was my point.

But, I stand by my post: 99% of creative people are liberal/left.

"This intolerance of ambiguity can lead people to cling to the familiar, to arrive at premature conclusions, and to impose simplistic cliches and stereotypes, the researchers advised."

This is why I get bored with DU and although I've been here a long time am still only at around 3400 posts.

because you don't understand the complexities of the arguments that are being presented here to oppose your assertions.

Just a thought. Merry Christmas.

Great move.

NOT.

I understand the complexities quite well, thank you very much.

Would you like my resume?
With comments like this one of yours you both deserve it and don't deserve it.
Is that too complex for you?

Sheesh.

I love arrogance from the left just about as much as I love it from the right.
That is, I detest it.

Every post you've made on this thread has reeked of arrogance. I was just responding to your idiotic remark about how you were "bored" by DU because everyone's so simplistic and dogmatic.

Apparently only you are free to insult other people's intelligence. When it's dished back at you, you start whining.

Sure I'm the pot, but you're the kettle.
Least that's the way it looks to me.
Any reason I should get over myself when you haven't gotten over yourself?
I'm not whining. I'm not insulting your intelligence either, someone can be quite intelligent and still be dogmatic.
I said I get bored with DU not that people at DU are stupid.

Every post has reeked of arrogance?
Why?
Because I had the temerity to disagree with you?
Why?
Because I'm sticking up for my convictions and not backing down?

I didn't start out feeling arrogant about it, but yes I do believe I am getting that way the longer this nonsense continues.
That's the way these things usually work.
I don't have a problem admitting it although I would say it was more accurate to say I'm just getting disgusted.
That is, my opinion doesn't make me any better than you and the fact that this stuff bores me doesn't mean that the mind set that bores me is being held by someone who is less than me. So I don't really start out feeling arrogant about it at all.

I think it is an interesting contradiction or hypocrisy that you are giving someone else grief about being arrogant when the initial thesis of the post is an incredibly arrogant attitude -- that rock and roll only belongs to a certain specific set (sect) of people.

I'm sure you can find some way to parse an arrogance on my part also once again. Go right ahead. You can have the last word.

:)

in a song like Pour Some Sugar on Me or Stairway to Heaven? It's just music. Music just is. It is far bigger than minuscule boundaries people make up. Wether it's rock, rap or jazz, they all just are. Politics have nothing to do with it.

:headbang: :yourock:

I've been saying what you said for years. Pretty much anything worth enjoying came from liberals.

Excellent post, one I couldn't agree more with. I'm a lifelong rocker-chick, but if I hear another conservative telling me how much he likes Green Day, I'm going to punch him in the face.

Thank you for this post!!

Since GD makes juvenile and totally unchallenging pop-punk for teens.

;-)

Who are you to dictate what anybody should or shouldn't listen to? And for that matter, suppose someone wants to partake in a culture you hold as your own and whose values you espouse; wouldn't inclusiveness then be more beneficial than the opposite? I write this off as tongue-in-cheek, or as just plain stupid. Take your pick.

"Reconciliating?"

Tongue in cheek, or just plain stupid? Take YOUR pick.

The word is "reconciling."

if there wasn't the option of nitpicking one's spelling! I do admit to unintentionally having crammed three letters too much in there, and for that I take full responsibility. I might even drop a hefty fine into any jar you've arranged for said purpose, if deemed necessary. Good enough for you?

Now, did you have anything to say about the matter at hand?

The music belongs to everyone. I'm sure there are many rightwingers in my age bracket who are still affected down to their core by the drum solo in In-a-Gadda-da-Vida. If the music is good, it becomes a part of you even if you change.

Hell, look how many of us here on DU actually listened to Stryper, but we've put it behind us.

I love the Beatles and Dean Martin. I'm not crazy about The Who and I can't stand Pat Boone. I would rather listen to the music of my parents than a lot of the music of my kids', but that doesn't mean I'm politically stuck in the McCarthy era. People are multifaceted and categorizing them by musical taste and politics just doesn't work.

I appreciate what you're saying, though. It would be beyond ludicrous to see * and Laura rocking out to Fortunate Son.

Republican ideology is the very antithesis of rock and roll ideology. Stop using our music!

Don't forget who the house band was during the Clinton administration.

People who disagree with you might want to review the end of the best darned rock & roll group ever, the Beatles. There was a power struggle within the group, with Paul wanting control of the group, which included having his corporate lawyer in-laws running the financial end. John, George, and Ringo were in favor of Allan Klein, a street-smart fellow who advocated for rockers to get the money due them. "Pop" music, which was Paul's territory most of the time, may not be left-wing, but rock & roll surely is.

Another example can be found in the commercial use of rock & roll ..... Jim Morrison was outraged when his brethern allowed one of their songs to be used in a car commercial. I could have puked when "Revolution" was abused a sneaker commercial. Is nothing sacred?

Listen to the Peter Tosh-Bob Marley classic "Get Up! Stand Up!" The message is clear.