and yes – your local favorite band does suck, so get off their dick please.

cheers.

As a side note: If you feel you can talk about any given racial group in front of your friends one way and you ‘code switch’ it up when you are around a different sort of crowd, you probably need to check yourself a bit.

a lot of the comments people are leaving here suggest that black lips fans are shocked to find that their indie heroes have done wrong, but don’t blame Brontez for your disappointment.

furthermore, rather than debating the specifics of what happened at an after-party you weren’t at, maybe we should talk about how racism and classism are broadly accepted in indie music circles that don’t see politics as a priority. this whole hipster-ironic-trying-to-be-shocking-and-un-PC thing was never “edgy” – it was always an excuse for white people to say racist shit and give permission for their white friends to laugh at it, all the while feeling “cooler” than those other, less hip racists, and as a result – guilt-free. SICK.

I appreciate the fact that you, like me, think labels like racist and sexist are used too easily by many people. You’ll notice that I never decided to call Jared or the other band members racist. Most times an argument like this one comes up, one person says “you are (blank)” and the other person replies “no I’m not (blank)”. And this debate is no different. You, bigjoe, and others say Jared and the band aren’t racists because… (so and so anecdote about how they do this or that). I guess you hope that way the claims against the band members for their actual words and behavior are negated, and they won’t have to answer the accusations of making biased remarks. And for most people that will probably work. People will think “of course their not racists, they have black friends.” But for people that actually pay attention to all the facts, they will hear and see the band members own words and actions, and can judge for themselves. If you, Chad, bigjoe, the press, and their fans think the things I’ve previously written (which are all true) are okay, then that’s your choice. Most people don’t want to criticize people or things they like. And god forbid should a music journalist actually judge a musician’s behavior. So if the game is to rescue the Black Lips from being called racists, then you can probably rest satisfied because your work is done. However, for people that still care about holding others accountable for insensitive and inconsiderate words and actions, you have your work cut out for yourself with defending this band.

Jared and the boys want the appearance of danger and the freedom to be perpetual teenagers. Unfortunately for them, they also want to be rich, famous, and well-liked. I’m sure they kind of like being referred to as southern gentlemen by those in the press. Of course, the press is mostly unaware that the traditional southern gentlman usually loves a good nigger joke when not in mixed company.

I can guarentee you that my criticisms of Jared and the band are by no means a result of white guilt. For me, guilt implies responsibility, and I am in no way responsible for the band’s words and actions. You might want to talk with Jared and the guys next time you see them and ask them why they even question their own behavior sometimes. As mentioned in the comments in Chad’s follow-up post, the “Last of the White Niggers” album title has been floating around for a couple years, and according to Jared, he nixed using the name for their Vice debut because his father would have killed him. It’s interesting that Jared draws the line somewhere. As much as the band likes to be able to laugh off any criticism of themselves, even they know they can’t get away with everything. The band also fretted over the inclusion of the whoops and hollers in “Lock and Key”, and they even admitted that they didn’t want to be seen as racist.

Knowing all that gives me reason to think they aren’t racists. Although I’m positive there is lots of cognitive dissonance in the bunch. They have their prejudices, like we all do, and they get carried away like a lot of us, too. They are also 21st century American males, in that they want to extend their adolescence as long as possible. Jared’s been using the “blackout” and “I don’t remember” excuses for his party behavior for years. I’m sure it sucks to be called out like this, especially when he works so hard to be loveable for the fans and press.

In true “juvenile” fashion, this whole saga reminds me of when a classmate of mine in middle school was caught shoplifting. Afterwards he told me that he was never going to do that again. I said,”Shoplift?” He replied, “No. Get caught.”

yeah, you’re right, jared and the black lips are racist… however on the strength of that statement couldn’t one also assume that EVERY whiteboy that buys scandalous-ass urban music and recites every last “nigga, bitch and ho” in his bedroom and car but would never say those words around black folks are just as racist or sexist? my option is no on all the above.

i appreciate the out pouring of white guilt but don’t let that shit get in the way of your better judgment. a person’s actions define their character not their words.

Look, I’m not calling anyone a racist unless I really know their views on things because I think the r-word gets used a little too easily sometimes.

Do Jared and the others have prejudices? Probably. Most of us do to some extent. But one person calling someone a racist and someone else saying it’s not true kinda misses the whole point. From what Chad wrote it is clear Jared and the others are guilty of being ignorant and inconsiderate. I’m willing to bet they would even agree with that.

Jared, however, took it a liitle too far (surprise surprise) when he claimed to be the “antithesis” of a racist. Would the antithesis of a racist wear a shirt with the confederate flag on it and the words “The South Will Rise Again”? Or how about jokingly calling other people nigger, nigga, nigz, and nig. I’m not saying lots of other people don’t do these things, but I don’t believe the antithesis of a racist would.

Readers should know Chad is friends with the Black Lips/Rob’s House/Die Slaughterhaus clique. It’s amazing that CL allows him to write about and review these bands. Although I’m not totally surprised based on what I’ve heard about CL’s editorial and hiring decisions over the years. I mean, what’s a little conflict of interest, so long as all reviews are positive?

And finally, please have Jared explain the non-racist/non-prejudiced/non-biased reasoning by the names of his bands: The Black Lips, The Spooks, and The Gaye Blades.