Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Horrendous timing by BGM this month.


Grassie
 Share

Recommended Posts

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1447765661' post='2910103']
I'm of the view that all this "sensitivity" about specific things after a particular event is all nonsense and annoyingly it seems to be a growing trend in recent years. Something is either in acceptable taste or its not (and I don't have a strong view one was or the other over the mag cover). If someone was directly affected by the events in paris I doubt very much that the cover of a bass magazine, or what songs are being played on ex-factor is (who apparently dropped some songs) of much concern to them.
[/quote]

I agree with your sentiment to an extent. There is a counter argument however, that the growing trend in sensitivity runs parallel with other growing trends, such as lower tolerance of violence in many parts of the world (I know that this seems a little poor given this weekend's events, but it is apparently the case). Other sensitivities, no matter how annoying those who express them may be, also appear to parallel greater tolerance of those with disabilities, or of those with different sexual orientation, colour skin etc. As someone said above, the picture in question is in poor taste irrespective of immediate media context, and perhaps I'm an old flower child or something, but I've generally associated music and musicians with more peaceable iconography, so I found it quite sad, more so than had I seen it in a biker magazine for example (I remember reading very young how performing even very aggressive music was a cathartic experience for the majority of musicians and therefore quite good for society - probably a load of tosh but it made sense to me at the time).

With the exception of those who live in South Africa, the only friends I have who say that they feel unsafe on a day to day basis are those that live in the USA, and that is because the gun culture, propagated whether we like it or not in the photo in question, is an everyday life-changing and life-taking reality there. Paris was an unbelievable shock on a par to me with the shock of 9/11. But, without knowing the total cost in lives associated with disaffected individuals losing it and picking up a gun, the numbers killed in both these horrific events probably fade into insignificance when placed in the context of the total lives taken in 'routine' MacDonalds/Cinema/Campus/Postal Depot shootings in the USA.

I'll happily dig out some evidence for the above if anyone needs it! I should add that I really do not mean to offend any of our USA members with the above, but the data are freely available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1447766613' post='2910118']
Once again, the photo in question is [b]NOT[/b] on the cover of the magazine.
[/quote]

I suspect you have no input on photo or editorial matters at BGM other than your esteemed column(?), but the fact it is not on the cover but within, prevents it being censored by the likes of WH Smith, but does not alter it being a fairly offensive image, irrespective of the timing IMHO. As I have said already, as the actual interview itself was fairly non controversial (unless you are Bradley Wiggins), one wonders if TC sought a way to make it stand out a bit. I am not familiar with his body of work however, and it may be that Steinbergers and Stens are indeed central to his music......

NB Yes, I know it is not a Sten gun but it made good copy.....

Edited by yorks5stringer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1447771818' post='2910187']
I suspect you have no input on photo or editorial matters at BGM other than your esteemed column(?), but the fact it is not on the cover but within, prevents it being censored by the likes of WH Smith, but does not alter it being a fairly offensive image, irrespective of the timing IMHO. As I have said already, as the actual interview itself was fairly non controversial (unless you are Bradley Wiggins), one wonders if TC sought a way to make it stand out a bit. I am not familiar with his body of work however, and it may be that Steinbergers and Stens are indeed central to his music......
[/quote]

The putting together of the magazine is out of my hands. I'm not a fan of RATM or the other bands Tim is linked to.

I scarcely even noticed that photo when I looked at the mag, not because it may or may not be shocking to someone, but because, personally, I grew up with Kerrang! Magazine covers depicting Alice Cooper dripping with (fake) blood, Blackie Lawless of WASP wielding a blood-covered chainsaw and laughing madly, Ozzy Osbourne biting bats... I listened to Slayer's lyrics to just about any of their songs, saw pics of Gwar's stage look, and I took very litte of that seriously.
If I had to start being offended by heavy rock/metal etc., I would denounce in equally shocked terms the use of near-naked, writhing, submissive dumb blondes by Motley Crue and their ilk in their videos and photoshoots. But, when they were all the rage, I didn't take them seriously either.

Edited by bluejay
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...