A Reactionary Musical Moment?
January 7, 2009 9:52 PM   Subscribe

A recent series of posts on the web site of First Things magazine looks at what could be described as a reactionary moment on the part of some folk and roots musicians in Québec and around the world... and we're not talking The Goldwaters (Wikipedia).

R.R. Reno kicked things off writing about the English band Show of Hands' and their songs "Country Life" (Youtube) and "Roots" (Youtube).

Paul Allen (no, not that Paul Allen) adds a discussion focusing on “Dégenerations” by Quebec's Mes Aïeux (Youtube).

Finally, Reno notes "De la Ray" (Youtube) by "the Afrikaner folk and rock singer, Bok van Blerk". (More on the song's reception here from a South African newspaper. Part One and Part Two of a two part 10 minute video piece on the song.)
posted by Jahaza (10 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh god, I despise First Things. There's no reason preserving rural life has to be incompatible with multiculturalism.
posted by footnote at 10:54 PM on January 7, 2009


Wait, so as an city-based working EU taxpayer I supported last year $67 billion of agricultural production subsidy, plus $60 billion in regional subsidy for places like Devon (where Show of Hands is based) plus who knows how many other billions in transport, benefits, and UK spending, and all I get for it is threatened with a knifing ("I'll get my knife and cut you a slice of Country Life") if I stay in a holiday cottage in the English countryside? Nice. No wonder they're so popular with the British National Party...
posted by alasdair at 6:23 AM on January 8, 2009


Fr. Neuhaus, the founder of First Things, has died.
posted by resurrexit at 6:57 AM on January 8, 2009


Fr. Neuhaus, the founder of First Things, has died.

Today just got much better.
posted by longdaysjourney at 9:21 AM on January 8, 2009


Wow, you're a colossal prick, longdaysjourney.
posted by Heminator at 10:01 AM on January 8, 2009


Did it occur to you that someone who knew Fr. Neuhaus might be reading this thread? Because I knew him -- not well mind you -- but certainly enough to be terribly aghast at your disrespect of the recently departed.

But I think I can take considerable comfort in the fact that whether you agreed with Neuhaus politically or theologically, you yourself won't even begin to have the kind of legacy and influential life that he had. Or at least not as long as you go through life with the kind chip on your shoulder that spawns such unwarranted meanness.
posted by Heminator at 10:13 AM on January 8, 2009


Oh dear god, spare me. This is not his funeral and I don't particularly care about sparing the feelings of either his family or friends (see further every Metafilter death thread that is posted for why the "REMEMBER THE FAMILY!" complaint is moronic).

you yourself won't even begin to have the kind of legacy and influential life that he had

Given that his "legacy" came at the expense of demonizing gays, atheists, and other assorted liberals, using crap culture-war politics to get his favored candidates elected, and in promoting a bigoted and narrow view of what constitutes "true" Christianity (I'd link to Damon Linker's New Republic profile here, but it's not online apparently), I'm -very- glad that I will never leave the kind of corrosive and hate-filled legacy Neuhaus did. His passing is a net positive for the political sphere in this country and I'm not sorry to see him go. I'm sorry that you took my comment so personally though.
posted by longdaysjourney at 10:51 AM on January 8, 2009 [1 favorite]


longdaysjourney,

You need to learn something about appropriate times and places to spew your hate toward your fellow man.

And moments after his death is not that time.

As someone who is mourning the loss of Neuhaus -- even though I didn't agree with everything he said -- I find your comments to be very unfortunate.

People have different opinions on things. It's okay. We're big enough to handle a world where people disagree with each other. If you want to claim tolerance as a motivating virtue, try practicing it. Again, especially on the occasion of someone's death.

I think you probably know what you said was wrong. We all say unfortunate things. In the future, when you're about to go off on someone moments after they died, just try to imagine that their spouse, mother or best friend is going to read your comments and think about how to phrase what you're trying to get across in a more civil fashion.
posted by bunnie at 11:39 AM on January 8, 2009


Wow - I'll really miss him. He was an extraordinary man.
posted by bhr at 12:14 PM on January 8, 2009


Mod note: few comments removed - take this to metatalk if it needs to be gone over again
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:19 AM on January 9, 2009


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