Their reputation will die with their audience

[Charlie O.]

I am perplexed (not to mention disappointed) that Clapton hasn't retracted/repudiated his racist rant more thoroughly. I recently read his book and all he says about it there is that he was very drunk and in his very drunken state he thought it was funny. Which clearly isn't enough.

But I'm inclined to think that there was at least an element of intentional irony. I mean...

I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man.

[pcqgod]

i guess this is pretty subjective

one could argue most of the bands of '77
will pretty much die with their audience

the Pistols and Joy Division may be the only two exceptions (on the UK side)

You've never been to LA and seen waves of 17 years olds in Varukers jackets. With Lurkers shirts underneath.

I'm not sure if that still happens, but this was a prominent phenomenon around 2003 or so. "77 Punks." It was the weirdest thing, going to see the Vibrators and feeling like the oldest people there by at least 20 years, except for some of the musicians. Elise and her friend had the realization that, if they had had kids when they were punkers, this would be the exact age their kids would be. And these kids likely had bigger collections of UK '77 punk than we did. I was really hoping we could cash in on this scene with the Rotters, who were actually around in '77, but they were completely uninterested in us.

I had a similar experience when I saw The Vibrators in my small South Texas hometown several months back. Everyone in the audience was in their teens or early 20's, and they knew the Vibrators' catalog better than I. And it was a good sized crowd. For perspective, when I went to high school there, I was one of about 4 kids who even knew what punk rock was.

[Jay Zed]

LL COOL J

[Jay Zed]

LL COOL J

JUST JOKING.

Their reputation will die with their audience

MINE.

[Gabble Ratchett]

That is the point of the whole thread, fucko.

Who gives a fuck what you think , fucko.

[...]

That is the point of the whole thread, fucko.

Who gives a fuck what you think , fucko.

[youtube]watch?v=MK3JNlSA0z8[/youtube]

[Rayge]

He was the first rock/white guitar player to really have his licks together. At a young age, he was playing confident solos with feeling. That wasn't really happening before, and I bet seeing him in a club must have been pretty ear-opening.

I saw him in a club – well, a function room above a pub – soon after Cream formed. I was already familiar with him from the Yardbirds and Mayall on record. The 'stage' was less than a foot tall and the only thing between his (modest) speakers and me was the man himself. Sure I enjoyed the gig, but the main effect on my ears was tinnitus for 36 hours.
I always quite liked him, and some of the tracks he played on – Crossroads from Bluesbreakers, I feel Free and Layla – were excellent noises, although I always preferred white American guitarists such as Travis Wammack, Lonnie Mack and Roy Buchanan, then, later, Kaukonen, Barry Melton, Jerry Garcia (not to mention Beck and Townshend). At the time, Clapton was widely regarded by the cognoscenti (my mates Keith and Clive, who were far more into the blues than I was) as a BB King rip-off, but that wasn't a problem for me.
He and I parted company when he decided that he was both a vocalist and a reggae master. Is there anyone who actually likes I Shot the Sherrif?

[...]

Is there anyone who actually likes I Shot the Sherrif?

Chris Blackwell?

Bob Marley's accountant?

[Piggly Wiggly]

"Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands. Wogs I mean, I’m looking at you. Where are you? I’m sorry but some fucking wog…Arab grabbed my wife’s bum, you know? Surely got to be said, yeah this is what all the fucking foreigners and wogs over here are like, just disgusting, that’s just the truth, yeah. So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. You fucking (indecipherable). I don’t want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch’s our man. I think Enoch’s right, I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans and fucking (indecipherable) don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. We are a white country. I don’t want fucking wogs living next to me with their standards. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck’s sake? We need to vote for Enoch Powell, he’s a great man, speaking truth. Vote for Enoch, he’s our man, he’s on our side, he’ll look after us. I want all of you here to vote for Enoch, support him, he’s on our side. Enoch for Prime Minister! Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!"

He did a rather watered down remake of this rant for a beer commercial a few years back. It really doesn't hold a candle to the original.

[zoomboogity]

Eric Clapton - The Chevy Chase Of Rock.

[bobzilla77]

"Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands. Wogs I mean, I’m looking at you. Where are you? I’m sorry but some fucking wog…Arab grabbed my wife’s bum, you know? Surely got to be said, yeah this is what all the fucking foreigners and wogs over here are like, just disgusting, that’s just the truth, yeah. So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. You fucking (indecipherable). I don’t want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch’s our man. I think Enoch’s right, I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans and fucking (indecipherable) don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. We are a white country. I don’t want fucking wogs living next to me with their standards. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for fuck’s sake? We need to vote for Enoch Powell, he’s a great man, speaking truth. Vote for Enoch, he’s our man, he’s on our side, he’ll look after us. I want all of you here to vote for Enoch, support him, he’s on our side. Enoch for Prime Minister! Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!"

He did a rather watered down remake of this rant for a beer commercial a few years back. It really doesn't hold a candle to the original.

That guy from Seinfeld should have known better than to try and cover it. He did it like it was some kind of joke.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

Eric Clapton - The Chevy Chase Of Rock.

If most of what Chevy Chase did for 40+ years was successful - then sure.

[Diamond Dog]

Eric Clapton - The Chevy Chase Of Rock.

If most of what Chevy Chase did for 40+ years was successful - then sure.

In the sense that most of what Chevy Chase has done for 40+ years has been artistically bereft, it's a fine analogy.

[Count Machuki]

I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism

THIS is the ONLY line that makes me think he could conceivably be joking
but he wasn't
what a dick

[Davey the Fat Boy]

Eric Clapton - The Chevy Chase Of Rock.

If most of what Chevy Chase did for 40+ years was successful - then sure.

In the sense that most of what Chevy Chase has done for 40+ years has been artistically bereft, it's a fine analogy.

Ah...then Jimmy Page too!

[Diamond Dog]

And who is often quoted as saying Jimmy hasn't written a great song since "Achilles Last Stand"?

Ah, that would be me then.

Jimmy has many demons - being an outright racist cunt isn't one of them.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

So a non-racist Chevy Chase, then. Agreed.

[Diamond Dog]

So a non-racist Chevy Chase, then. Agreed.

Are you seriously trying to suggest I was calling Chase a racist?

[Davey the Fat Boy]

No. I am seriously trying to suggest that calling anyone "The Chevy Chase of Rock" is idiotic.

[Diamond Dog]

Right. Why?