The issue with Jann Wenner goes far deeper than a sexist, racist old fossil thinking women and black people aren't articulate enough to be considered masters of rock in his new book.
Long before this book, and this latest scandal, Wenner was a co-founder of both Rolling Stone magazine and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
For the Boomer generation, Wenner and critics like him — straight, white men — set the criteria for what constitutes good music, and whose music was worthy of being celebrated as the greatest in Western music.
And, almost inevitably, they chose the artists they related to most closely — straight white men.
What were the criteria they set for what makes music great? The things that their favourite straight white male rock stars were particularly good at.
Such as playing drums, bass, and guitar in a rock style.
The greatest lyrics were those depicting the thoughts and feelings of straight white men.
Lyrics dealing with topics of interest to women or black people — including police brutality — were deemed shallow and vacuous.
Elements that were typically outside the realm of the music their favourite straight white men performed — funky bass lines, sampling, keyboards, soulful ballads, rapping, dance — were deemed frivolous and unimportant.
They created whole hierarchies of the greatest musicians of all time, consisting entirely of straight white men, based on their criteria.
The music made by queer, female, and non-white artists was deemed by them, through their arbitrary criteria, to be frivolous and unimportant.
The music enjoyed by queer, female, and non-white communities was deemed by them, through their arbitrary criteria, to be frivolous and unimportant
Oh, and they seemed to have a bad habit of "accidentally" leaving out the black artists that their favourite straight white men copied from — Chuck Berry and Big Mama Thornton didn't make the cut for greatest rock stars, but Elvis did.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/23/1201121174/jann-wenner-rock-hall-crumbling
@popheads @music #music #PopMusic
@ajsadauskas @popheads @music
I thought black people were very instrumental in the development of Jazz, Rock, and Pop and originating a lot of it.
Like who was Al Jolson, Elvis Presley and Eric Clapton copying?
It wasn't white men.
Then there were women of all origins too numerous to list here.
I won't buy his book.
I bought & buy music but never wasted money on Rolling Stone either.
(Reminds me of Dr Hook!)
@raymccarthy @popheads @music Listen to Sweet Little 16 by Chuck Berry sometime: https://youtu.be/FSqbFqZIdTA?si=wWY5fNZCcpyTAKNL
And then play Surfin' USA by the Beach Boys immediately after: https://youtu.be/KcZn05qxVgg?si=Gnzn0kU-hR6mBwCX
It wasn't subtle...
@ajsadauskas @popheads @music
Exactly!
I do have both.