Some Food for Thoughts: Rape, and taking lyrics too literally?
As much as I love the goth/industrial scene, I also feel like I am reliving high school except I am much older and a lot less tolerant of bullshit. I say this because this morning (and thanks to the band Italian EBM band XP some major shit going down involving Faderhead and the topic of rape. This letter to Faderhead explains it all. My initial reaction was that my started eyes rolling and I heard myself muttering out loud "good grief". Then I decided to do a little investigating behind Faderhead's song before making a final judgement.
Here is a link for the song Self-Control.
I will start off with saying that yes I am a feminist and yes I dislike the current attitudes towards the subject of rape and women in general. As someone who observes the goth/industrial scene from the quiet confines of one's living room at her desk as well as concerts, I personally have never experienced any forms of misogyny or sexism in the scene nor do I see that from the music I listen to. In the case of Faderhead's song "Self-Control", I see nothing in the lyrics that proves that the author claims to be right. Faderhead does not mention of forcing himself sexually on a girl or imply that he is going to do it. My final judgement? The author read too much into the lyrics and misinterpreted them to be condoning the act of rape. People really do need to learn to the concept of critical thinking and get a sense of humor. All I saw and heard in the Faderhead song is a cheesy clubbanger for rivetheads. I'll admit I am not a Faderhead fan so it is a moot point to accuse me of being biased with this latest op'd piece from me. I just can't get into his music (I prefer the harsher side of EBM or synthpop) however in a situation like this latest internet drama, the claim that his song "Self-Control" promotes rape is so dumb, Faderhead deserves to have his reputation defended. From what little of his music I have heard, his lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously (as are Combichrist, another band accuse of misogyny over the years). Like I said in the beginning of this paragraph, I am a feminist and I strongly dislike misogyny and rape but from the years I have been listening to goth and industrial music and attending concerts (and often meeting musicians), I have not experienced any negative encounters at the shows I go to. The musicians I have met have like the guys in Combichrist have been extremely kind and patient with enthusiastic fans like myself, and the male concertgoers at the shows I attend extremely gracious and polite. This sort of drama shit in our scene that happens online drives me up the wall. I am so over high school.
P.S...If you really want to see song lyrics that does promote rape, just check out this link to the Smoking Gun article on overlooked rape lyrics. They are absolutely disgusting. These sort of lyrics in rap music is why I have such a strong negative reaction to the genre. So before jumping the gun on an artist like Faderhead about his lyrics, there is so much worse lyrics in other musical genres. All it takes is using a search engine.
Here is a link for the song Self-Control.
I will start off with saying that yes I am a feminist and yes I dislike the current attitudes towards the subject of rape and women in general. As someone who observes the goth/industrial scene from the quiet confines of one's living room at her desk as well as concerts, I personally have never experienced any forms of misogyny or sexism in the scene nor do I see that from the music I listen to. In the case of Faderhead's song "Self-Control", I see nothing in the lyrics that proves that the author claims to be right. Faderhead does not mention of forcing himself sexually on a girl or imply that he is going to do it. My final judgement? The author read too much into the lyrics and misinterpreted them to be condoning the act of rape. People really do need to learn to the concept of critical thinking and get a sense of humor. All I saw and heard in the Faderhead song is a cheesy clubbanger for rivetheads. I'll admit I am not a Faderhead fan so it is a moot point to accuse me of being biased with this latest op'd piece from me. I just can't get into his music (I prefer the harsher side of EBM or synthpop) however in a situation like this latest internet drama, the claim that his song "Self-Control" promotes rape is so dumb, Faderhead deserves to have his reputation defended. From what little of his music I have heard, his lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously (as are Combichrist, another band accuse of misogyny over the years). Like I said in the beginning of this paragraph, I am a feminist and I strongly dislike misogyny and rape but from the years I have been listening to goth and industrial music and attending concerts (and often meeting musicians), I have not experienced any negative encounters at the shows I go to. The musicians I have met have like the guys in Combichrist have been extremely kind and patient with enthusiastic fans like myself, and the male concertgoers at the shows I attend extremely gracious and polite. This sort of drama shit in our scene that happens online drives me up the wall. I am so over high school.
P.S...If you really want to see song lyrics that does promote rape, just check out this link to the Smoking Gun article on overlooked rape lyrics. They are absolutely disgusting. These sort of lyrics in rap music is why I have such a strong negative reaction to the genre. So before jumping the gun on an artist like Faderhead about his lyrics, there is so much worse lyrics in other musical genres. All it takes is using a search engine.
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