No hate music policy?

[volltreffer]

High chess!

There is another thing that you might wanna consider: if these guys are the way you describe them, they're quite likely to LIKE violence. I wouldn't wanna have guys like that around me anymore...

I used to spend some time in the munich rockabilly scene a while ago. First just likeing the music, then with my band, then I had some Rockabilly friends, got used to carry my butterfly knife around with me all the time... Just for fun -- none of us would have ever thought of using it... Then some of my friends became djs in a rockabilly club... And there it WAS different. They wanted the violence... And everyone of us became more and more used to violence. I wouldn't have doubted to use my knife against someone trying to stab me... I ended up in changing my style and completely leaving this scene... The violence and the fascist mind of most Teds (that I obviously did not notice until I knew more of them than my friends) just weren't my kind of thing...

Just my 2c

aXel

 

[Fusion2]

it's now, it's today, and words sell...

as sad as that is, money is money, hate or not, like, i hate not having money...dig

haven't you ever hated a girlfriend anyway... or just life in general, ahem... never mind :þ

what doesn't kill us makes us stronger they say, yup, hate works at times, unfortunetly...

 

[FattMusiek]

chessrock, I believe you're on the right track. I think by recording these guys, you're setting a bad name for yourself and your studio. Ehh, rap. I can listen to Hip-Hop, not rap.

I mean, come on, 50 cent?

Give me a break.

 

[crosstudio]

this is not an attempt to assuade you because I think that you should follow your instincts.

as a christian who gets absolutely bored listening to gospel music, i had a difficult time reconciling my love for hip-hop and its lyrics with my faith. then I noticed that the same christians telling me not to listen to thug music will watch 'scarface', 'pulp fiction', 'gangs of new york' or 'goodfellas' and talk about how great a movie it is.

so its ok for movies but not for music?

 

[Fusion2]

humm, i had no idea there were so many stereotypes here, i see extreme liberalism is still alive and well in 03... no wonder there's so much hate, you guys make it way easy... keep up the good work...

lets hope you don't get on the bad side of reality and get hurt, i doubt that seirously though, maybe your wallet...

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Well let's think about that though....

Do movies like goodfellas and pulp fiction glorify violence? Really? Do they convey violence and hatred as an acceptable, normal, fun lifestyle? Do people drive around watching scarface? And how do these movies ultimately conclude? Does the audience walk away with the impression that being a gangster is a sweet life?

I think music relates to people on a different level...and a lot of rappers who are just "tellin it how it is" are full of shit 9 times out of 10.

Hate-filled lyrics are not a new thing...all genres of music have some amount of hatred....country guys hate the women who left them, blues guys hate the women who left them, rock guys hate the women who love them and some arbitrary aspect of "the establishment" (oh, and their fathers)....yada yada. But what does the audience take away from this?

Maybe I'm stereotyping rap too much...maybe I think its extreme has more of a negative impact on impressionable listeners than other forms of music. Maybe the extremes in other forms of music are more hidden, where rap is allowed to bring it mainstream because the racial aspects involved.

All I know is that when I hear death metal it makes me laugh. When I hear "fuck the police" it makes me cringe. Maybe that's just my lack of experience though.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[sae]

***I know see this topic going off on a tangent***

(good times!)

 

[jet-rocker]

Fletcher: There are times when NWA just hits the spot. Sometimes there is nothing finer/more necesarry.

Chess: If I could record a christian act, who rapped about 'causing lead poisoning'--(in the Tupac tradition), I'd be all over it.

And I'm not a violent hateful person.... really.....

Well there was that one time.

And I am gonna be a lawyer.

-Jtt

 

[grinder]

Well let's think about that though....

Do movies like goodfellas and pulp fiction glorify violence? Really? Do they convey violence and hatred as an acceptable, normal, fun lifestyle? Do people drive around watching scarface? And how do these movies ultimately conclude? Does the audience walk away with the impression that being a gangster is a sweet life? ]


Ever watch MTVs' cribs?After a Bentley in the garage and a mouthful of gold the next "must have if you're a big dawg"item is the Scarface poster.If you're a thug, violence is part of an acceptable,normal,fun lifestyle.I'm definately not a censorship advocate,just saying there are a lot of dangerous,impressionistic, idiots in this world.

 

[jet-rocker]

I think that the notion that we should be 'protecting' people from 'dangerous' lyrics is ridiculous.

If an adult can't separate 'reality' from 'entertainment', then the song is NOT the problem.

Also, if impressionable children are exposed to/warped by Gwar/Dre/Manson--then it is a parenting problem.

Whether one would want to record a band with a philosophy that makes you cringe, is another issue alltogether.

-J

 

[Dave S.]

One of the upsides to being in business for yourself is being able to say no to some work, no matter what the reason.
Dave

 

[crosstudio]

Dave S. & jet-rocker:
I agree. As long as the reason isn't based on exclusion, its your business and you can run it as you please.

Slackmaster2k:
I think the only difference between movie violence and music violence is that movie violence is both seen and heard, thereby giving the viewer an even more in-depth view of the violence. to suggest that hearing is more retentive than viewing just doesn't seem correct to me.

Do people drive around watching scarface? Yes, I have a few friends who have DVD players in their SUVs. I've been thinking about it myself, but I gotta get some new rims and tint first.

 

[willovercome]

i think we all know that movies don't make people hurt eachother. idiots make those choices for themselves. the point is by recording bands like this, for better or worse, we are aligning ourselves with them. we have to decide for ourselves how we feel about this. personally i would not want to be aligned with someone who sings about those sorts of things. i don't think morality is an individual choice, i think there are absolutes. however, when it comes to making music the ethics are up to the individual.

i for one am a big gun fan. i think every american should own one (and every canadian too). but, responsibility is the key word. gun owners must be responsible with their weapons. i would never 'cap' anyone in the 'heeaad'.

 

[chessrock]

I know it's been a while since I've peeped in on this . . .

But I wanted to comment real quick on the paralel some folks are trying to draw with movies.

One thing I've noticed about movies is that they tend to be very far detached from reality, and people understand that. Most often they are based on fiction -- I would say the "based on a true story" films make up probably 5% of all movies. Furthermore, even the ones that are based on true stories are usually spiced up with sexy actresses, lucidious sex scenes, and other types of melodrama that might not have actually existed, etc.

Songs, on the other hand, tend to be of a much more personal nature. My guess is that 50% or more of the music out there is indeed based on personal experiences -- people write about what they know.

And I think reality often imitates art. A lot of the country western guys really do have broken hearts, marital difficulties, and a lot of the melancholy they talk about in their music. Not all, but it certainly isn't unusual.

For another example, look at Biggie and 2-pak. These guys lived the life style portrayed in their music, and they died part of that life style. And if the rumors hold any merit, other rap artists (or their associates) may have played a role in their deaths.

As far as I can tell, I haven't heard anything about Al Pacino trying to dust off Steven Bauer, or Michelle Pfeifer trying to pump Elizabeth Mastrantonio full of holes. There's no "East Side" (New York?) versus West Side (Hollywood?) turf wars between the film companies as far as I can tell. They all seem to get along and make their films without a lot of fanfare or hoop-lah.

 

[jet-rocker]

I haven't heard anything about Al Pacino trying to dust off Steven Bauer, or Michelle Pfeifer trying to pump Elizabeth Mastrantonio full of holes

Yes.........



But we can always DREAM can't we.

-Jtt

 

[theletterq]

Not that they had the choice, but do you think Neummann feels partly responsible for being a vehicle for Hitler to get his message out (as shown in examples like the picture on the Mercenary site)? Or do you think they were just happy to sell a couple of microphones?

If someone wants to say something bad enough, it will be said. However, does knowing that you helped them attain that goal allow you to sleep at night?

 

[tdukex]

I'd record hateful, violent lyrics. But I wouldn't do it in my home studio. In a commercial studio--no problem, but I won't allow hatred in my home.

I wouldn't record a bunch of farters, either. First fart in my home studio--you are on notice. Second fart, you're otta here!

The only one who's going to be doing any farting in my studio is me.

 

[Speedy VonTrapp]

Chessrock,

Something else to consider here. These guys were from a referal, yes? (At least this example anyway, I think, right?)

Chances are, if you decide to take the job, you'll do a good job, yes? You wouldn't purposely put out crap from your end, I would think.

That said, there's a pretty good chance that they'll like what they get. And you know they'll have friends that might want to do some recording, too, most likely. So, the referals are likely to spiral. That's the great thing about them. Do a good job, and word of mouth can really help you pay the bills. (Do a bad job, and word of mouth is probably even larger with a much worse effect on you, of course.)

Anyway, if you do it, you'll likely have them knocking on the door again if you do a good job. So, even if you decide that you'll take the job this one time, and that's all, you might be continually be presented with this exact situation.

Plus, if any of the recordings that you make actually get sold in a store, or get some kind of radio play, (local college or whatever,) they'll all have your name on them, and when someone asks the artist where they went, they'll point to you.

If your decision is that it's ok to do it, I'd say that it probably won't be over with once the session is done.

-Speedy

 

[willovercome]

i think if you have standards you always have standards. if you conscience convicts you and you don't feel right doing something, then you shouldn't do it regardless of the benefits you're passing up. on the other hand, if you don't really have a problem with doing that kind of music then go for it and get all the play you can.

 

[chessrock]

. . . or get some kind of radio play, (local college or whatever,) they'll all have your name on them . . .

That's funny, because I've already had a couple of projects where I had to blurp out a bunch of curse words so they could send it to the local stations.

Why do I find it so ironic that it's okay to graphically describe how you're going to splatter someone's brains all over the passenger seat . . .

. . . but if you use a colorful expression to describe a part of the human anatomy (ie - dick, ass, etc.), we're going to have to censor that word out of there. ? ?