Yesterday, I had the pleasure of showing my friends Corinne and Kendrick a few photos and videos of one of my favorite bands, Nirvana. I showed them a couple of pictures from Google and they seemed to like them.
I think I almost had them sold until I started showing them several of their videos, including the music video for “Heart-Shaped Box.” Instantly, upon seeing the videos, Corinne exclaimed that Kurt Cobain seemed so dark and depressed and that you could hear it in his music. What made it even more unconvincing was their music videos “Come As You Are” and “Heart-Shaped Box.” These two videos displayed dark and somewhat disturbing images such as a gun sinking in water and a dog with one of those lamp shades on his neck in “Come As You Are.”
Although I am an avid Nirvana fan, I strongly believe that images like that would make anyone who saw them on tv, change the channel immediately. As explained by Corinne and Kendrick, it’s not that the song is bad, it’s just that the music videos are so eerie and unappealing that it makes you not even give the song a chance. I pretty much give anything a first try, but I do remember those days when I would see a music video on MTV and upon seeing several weird images, I would just turn the channel. When I start to think, I often wonder, “is this why black people don’t listen to rock music?” I mean if I, a person who accepts anything, could be turned off by certain things in their music videos, I know that normal black person would not pay any attention to it.
Despite the troubling images of most rock videos, mostly from the 90’s, I believe that everyone will could find something to like in most rock bands and their music. If you take the time to listen to a song without all of the disturbing images, then you might come to realize that you actually like the song. Truthfully, most rock music and hip hop are virtually the same with tight bass lines, nice melodies, and catchy lyrics. Even the hardest genre in rock music, being Metal, has great rhythms that anybody could catch onto. Every time I go to a rock concert, I often see the audience nodding their heads in the same way an audience would at a hip hop concert. Of course nodding in Metal soon evolved into head banging, but it’s really all the same. The same way people go to the club and jump around and act a fool is the exact same way people act at a rock concert in the mosh pit.
Last night was an eye opener for me in seeing how people who don’t watch or listen to rock music react to it. It was also relieving to hear that it’s not really the music but it’s just the way it’s portrayed. I have noticed that when I play a couple of songs in my car that my friends would actually like what I’m playing. So from this experience, I can see that it’s not that people really don’t like it, but they just haven’t been exposed to it. My suggestion to anyone is to pick out a rock song that they semi like, listen to it, and then listen to some of their other songs from the same artist. You may like what you hear and then you can listen to other artists that sound like them. It could be the beginning of a beautiful journey.
Later Days…
Nirvana: Come As You Are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOL5cpwTkes
Nirvana: Heart-Shaped Box
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK7Ai9dWrRQ&feature=channel
Black Sabbath: Snow Blind
true. black people do not like rock music. but also becasue its socialized and internalized that rock music is not our(black ppl of course) music. Although not all rock is depressing and “uncool” just as not all soul and hip hop is great.
The above declaration that black people don’t like rock music ignores a whole group of pioneering black rock musicians (Jimi Hendrix, Living Colour, Bad Brains, Chuck Berry, Arthur Lee, Little Richard, and so on and so on and so on) , black musicians who perform rock (Santigold, N*E*R*D, and so on) a whole organized community of black rock fans (Afro-Punk).
And, rock music wouldn’t exist without the blues. Just sayin’.
Do people not read articles anymore…Just sayin’.
I did read it; I was responding to the first comment.
A lot of black people like rock. Your entire premise is faulty, because you obviously don’t have a wide enough group of acquaintances to understand that there are many black people who listen to many different kinds of music. You need to meet more people.
WOW. OK, first of all , the author of this article should have said MOST black people don’t like rock. Because 90% of my African- American friends (including myself) listen to rock, metal, grunge, alternative, emo, and etc. Now of course I agree with the fact that they feel pressured by society and their families to live up to stereotypes, but there are some people left that dont give a fuck. lol. You gotta give us the benefit of the doubt.
I’m black and listen to a lot of rock, punk, folk or other so-called white music… why do Americans always have to “racialise” everything… Thank God the world is not all black or all white… cheers!