The American Spectator

Reader Mail

School's Out

8.6.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 5 of 6)

Then one day my son heard AC/DC and ran to pick a guitar. Glory Halleluiah! He actually played songs! His father couldn't get his hands to do two different things at the same time; but he played extremely well. He plays some of his father's music and quite a bit of the contemporary rockers -- most I've never heard of but...hey...what do you expect?

One day recently, my son took a break from practicing, cradled his Strat, and asked who was my favorite rock band when I was growing up. I replied immediately "The Beatles." A sneer developed on his face and he said scornfully: "The Beatles! The Beatles weren't rock & roll. They were pop -- not rock & roll."

Well, you can't have everything.
-- Mike Dooley

IT'S ALL RELATIVE
Re: James Antley's letter (under "Stairway to Hip-Hop") in Reader Mail's Card Shark:

Mr. Antley, just because you don't like hip hop music doesn't mean that Mr. McWhorter is lying about his fondness for the music. It is obvious that you have probably never taken the time to listen to hip hop and have done what so many other conservatives tend to do, i.e. comment on what others have to say instead of listening to the music for yourself. If Rush, Hannity, or Laura Ingraham tells you that the music is all about misogyny, mayhem, and murder...then it must be so.

As a black man of a certain age, I grew up listening to hip hop and have seen it change from what it once was into what it is now. But even with those changes there are still artists that I listen to and enjoy; people like Erick Sermon, Jay-Z, Common, and The Roots to name a few. All of hip hop is not one thing or all of another; there is good and bad in that music just as there is in any other musical genre. Take rock and roll; there are artists who do good work and make songs that have some meaning to them, and there are still those whose music is essentially nihilistic. Are we supposed to judge all of rock music on the nihilistic messages of some of the artists?

And contrary to what you seem to believe, one can be both a conservative and a fan of hip hop music...they are not mutually exclusive. I have been a conservative since I started seriously paying attention to politics, but that has not made me change my tastes in entertainment. I was loving hip hop before I was politically aware and nothing about the music is going to change my political opinions, so I am going to continue to listen to the music that I have loved for so long.

You keep listening to your Skynyrd, I'll keep listening to my Erick Sermon, and we can leave one another alone to indulge our particular tastes...without insulting one another. Deal?
-- Eric Edwards
Walnut Cove, North Carolina

FLY IN THE OINTMENT
Re: Mike Roush's letter (under "Strength in Numbers") in Reader Mail's Card Shark:

Oh, goodie, Mr. Roush is back. I was afraid that we had lost him permanently to the DailyKos, or Arianna Huffington. I mean what would it be like to have just the normal rational debate of policy issues among sane adults without the invective that is the substitute for reason by those on the Left? I mean, how dull, with congenial folks debating the issues of the day with actual, real facts, instead of emoting from their homes in Camelot? The trouble is that the denizens of the Left are coming out more often than every fortnight.

Tell you what, Mr. Roush, how about you promising to attack my submissions whenever I have one posted. It makes me feel so much more intelligent. It does wonders for my sense of self and my right versus wrong average, as it truly validates my opinions. Do keep attacking me. I do so love it, and get so much more satisfaction when you attack me. It makes me feel like I have done my job, efficiently, and with aplomb.

I look forward to seeing what you find offensive in my defense of Tom Delay, and I wait with bated breath to see what you find offensive in my comment on racism within the Democrat/Socialist party constituency.
-- Ken Shreve

I can't speak for others, but my letter was meant to suggest that occasionally there is no hidden meaning in one's choice of words. They mean what they say and that is all they mean.

I defend no one, not even myself. When I say of Obama, "The mediocre man is always at his best," I mean mediocre. I don't mean medium ochre. So don't look for any code words, because, Mr. Roush, your decoder ring needs a tune-up.
-- Diane Smith

ATTACK!
Re: Caroline Miranda's letter (under "Tommy") in Reader Mail's Card Shark:

Letter to the Editor

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