Is Rolling Stone racist?

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Ouch. Touché.

Normally, I wouldn't care about RS; but for once, I'm actually looking forward to the next issue...for the letter column...I can't wait to see what kind of reaction/response this cover will have in the next issue.
I'm not sure if it'll be chilly or hot, so bring both a sweater and suncreen...and possibly a flak jacket.

Ta-Nehisi: you should sum up your posts and mail them into the magazine.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 30 June 2003 14:01 (twenty years ago) link

Wouldn't have solved the problem if RS had a standing policy of multiple covers, aimed at specific markets, a la Wizard Magazine?
The vendors could pre-order how many magazine with each cover. One cover could have Ruben, one with Clay, and one with somebody else on it for those who couldn't give a rats ass about American Idol.
And every (2?) weeks(s?) they could catch the eye of a larger audience by appealing to as many people as possible.
You could choose between 50 Cent, The Stripes or..oh, I dunno...Huun Huur Tu on the cover.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 15:15 (twenty years ago) link

.Huun Huur Tu on the cover.

dude, i'd fuckin' buy MULTIPLE COPIES just to see these guys with that logo on the cover.

America needs to be better exposed to their smiling visages.

http://www.stclairevents.com/images/huun-huur-tu.jpg

Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 16:21 (twenty years ago) link

quick-- somebody get to photoshoppin'!

Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 16:27 (twenty years ago) link

Next Week on the cover of Rolling Stone

Version #1
Headline: Is Tupac Really Dead?
Cover Image: Tupac on a slab, a coroner poking him with a stick.

Version #2
Headline: Are the Stripes, the Hives and the Vines really three seperate bands?
Cover Image: Five vaguely new-york rocker fellas in black shirts and white ties posing out

Version #3
Headline: The Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares Revival Starts HERE!
Cover Image: 300 Bulgarian women in cheesy peasant folk dresses all trying to pout in a sultry, sex-kittenish way. Failing.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 18:07 (twenty years ago) link

Forget this racism jibber jabber, here's what I want to know.

Rolling Stone, at least originally, was a ROCK magazine, right? If memory serves correct, the only vaguely "rock" musicians that have been on the cover in the past year-or-so have been Phish and Dave Matthews band. Have they given up any attempt at remaining a "rock" oriented magazine then?

nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 18:16 (twenty years ago) link

Yes, but Phish bites and Dave Matthews...
never mind. If I had finished that sentence, this thread would bloat out to 800 posts. And we don't want that, now do we?

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 18:21 (twenty years ago) link

nickalicious - Rolling Stone went vaguely general interest in the early eighties when it went glossy

James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 18:24 (twenty years ago) link

RS went general interest music-wise in the mid-'70s at latest

M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 20:14 (twenty years ago) link

remember folks, Clay has the flick coming out. Ruben's won't be out for a while. -- Kingfish (jdsalmo...), June 26th, 2003.

i should probably not post when i'm either (a) really drunk or (b) not really awake.

Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 20:32 (twenty years ago) link

matos I'm talking straight-up general interest ie. gee People magazine sure is selling alot (trade People for Blender and ya get 2002)

James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 20:33 (twenty years ago) link

or i.e., guy with the world's biggest dick

Sam J. (samjeff), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 20:35 (twenty years ago) link

"Forget this racism jibber jabber"

Heh that's my new signature.

Ta-Nehisi Coates (Ta-Nehisi Coates), Tuesday, 1 July 2003 21:18 (twenty years ago) link

UPDATE!
Normally, I wouldn't care about RS; but for once, I'm actually looking forward to the next issue...for the letter column...I can't wait to see what kind of reaction/response this cover will have in the next issue.
Those COWARDS! They not only didn't print my polite query letter vis-a-vis the Clay cover...they didn't print ANYBODIES letter about it.
I'd boycott that magazine if I hadn't already stopped reading it back in 1987.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 11 July 2003 15:48 (twenty years ago) link

I think the letters regarding each issue appear not in the very next issue, but in the issue after that.

Sam J. (samjeff), Friday, 11 July 2003 15:56 (twenty years ago) link

Ah.
Guess I'll be back to this thread in a week or two.
(Probably saying exactly what I said in my last post...)

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 11 July 2003 16:10 (twenty years ago) link

Writer Harry Allen interviewed Rolling Stone music editor Joe Levy today for his (Harry's) WBAI-FM radio program.

HA: What was the purpose of putting Eminem on the cover of Rolling Stone?

JL: We were attempting to explain about Eminem and his work.

HA: What does it mean to call him a 'genius' in terms of being the most covered hip-hop artists at Rolling Stone? Why not Jay-Z on the cover?

JL: I can't speak to the way he's been contextualized. He outsold anyone else by two to one. Our job is to cover him in any way that we can. It's a commercial proposition. At a certain level, it's that reductive. A commercial proposition is part of it.

What would it take for Jay-Z? It would take the confidence that we would be as successful with those covers. hip hop covers haven't been extraordinary successful for us in the past. We're not trusted as a hip-hip authority?

HA: Well, why put Enimem on the cover?

JL: As he might agree, he's blown up bigger than that. It did work when we did it before. He's the biggest thing in the music industry.

HA: What does his whiteness have to do with this?

JL: It's not incidental. To say that it's not a factor is ridiculous. He said that he'd sell 1/2 the records if he wasn't right. Obviously it has something to do with it.

HA: In the article, it says 'no one denies that his race has a lot to do with his popularity?' What does that mean?

JL: I don't think it's a simple question. What do you think?

HA: Please tell me first.

JL: It's part of what of what he says is a big factor. He's more acceptible to a broad-based audience. He makes pop singles too. It's been a factor since the start of his career.

HA: By saying the 'genius', how's that different than 'success'?

JL: We wanted these stories to address his particular genius, whatever it is. We hoped that we might explain some of that.

HA: By hailing this artist and having him on so many covers, to have a cover that says 'genius' for him but not have Jay-Z on the cover...

JL: This mistakes us for a hip-hop mag. Also, Britney's had more Rolling Stone covers than Eminem.

HA: Do you see the use of 'genius' as...

JL: I see it as a cover line of what some of the intention of the piece and to attract the eye of a potential reader...

HA: And it has no other context where a white man dominates a black artform?

JL: Harry, I answered your question already.

Yanc3y (ystrickler), Thursday, 17 July 2003 15:00 (twenty years ago) link

Ouch.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Thursday, 17 July 2003 15:06 (twenty years ago) link

I'm glad someone at least called them on it, not that it will change anything.

Larcole (Nicole), Thursday, 17 July 2003 15:18 (twenty years ago) link

You left out the part where Harry Allen said "Don't believe the hype...about Rolling Stone, that is!" and then Flavor Flav said "Yeeeeaaahhhhh, boooooooyyyyyyyy!" and then Chuck D. released another shitty solo album with metal guitars on it.

NA. (Nick A.), Thursday, 17 July 2003 15:27 (twenty years ago) link

called them on *what*? accurately catering to their target demographic?

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 17 July 2003 15:41 (twenty years ago) link

Sterling editing Rolling Stone would be interesting.

"I hate all this crap! But I'm going to give you FUCKERS what you want! Now, a Nickelback cover."

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 July 2003 15:46 (twenty years ago) link

then Chuck D. released another shitty solo album with metal guitars on it.

hee hee.

Kingfish (Kingfish), Thursday, 17 July 2003 16:11 (twenty years ago) link

Guess I'll be back to this thread in a week or two.
(Probably saying exactly what I said in my last post...)

Actually...it's worse than I ever could've dreamed. Not only did they NOT print my calm and rational letter...not only did they NOT print some colorful, irrational sub-trifean rant by some irate RS reader...
instead they printed a swath of vacuous, arse-lickingly sycophantic letters by Clay Aiken fans, praising RS for putting up this irrelevant has-been never-will-be on the cover.
I. AM. SO. INFURIATED.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 18 July 2003 11:52 (twenty years ago) link

fight the power.

with sticks.

Kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 18 July 2003 12:42 (twenty years ago) link

of dynamite?

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 18 July 2003 12:44 (twenty years ago) link

if you like.

i like the personable touch that only pointy sticks can provide.

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/projects/trc/2002/manual/images/bilingual/stick.jpg

Kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 18 July 2003 13:04 (twenty years ago) link

Not only did they NOT print my calm and rational letter...not only did they NOT print some colorful, irrational sub-trifean rant by some irate RS reader...

Trife is pretty rational though so I'm not sure where you're going with this.

Larcole (Nicole), Friday, 18 July 2003 13:38 (twenty years ago) link

But sub-Trifean therefore irrational, as opposed to Trifean = rational, see we're all happy! (Except Trife's not always rational.)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 18 July 2003 14:21 (twenty years ago) link

Kendra: Here... In case the curse does not succeed, this is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires with it. I call it Mr. Pointy.

BUFFY: You named your stake?

Kendra: (a bit embarrassed) Yes.

BUFFY: (smiles) Remind me to get you a stuffed animal.

nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 18 July 2003 14:49 (twenty years ago) link

Slayer Custos: Oh mister Wenner.... (pulls out stake)
Jann Wenner: (bares fangs) Hiiiissssssss! (tries to turn into a bat)
Slayer Custos: Haaaaa! (Throws stake and impales Bat-Wenner)
Jann Wenner: Aaaaagh! ....Puny Mortal....you cannot...defeat us alll....
(the eyes of the rest of the RS Staff glow red in the shadows...)

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 18 July 2003 17:30 (twenty years ago) link

"Grandma's lousy at baseball" -- Bob Saget

Larcole (Nicole), Friday, 18 July 2003 17:49 (twenty years ago) link

haha!

James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 18 July 2003 18:02 (twenty years ago) link

So, the NEW issue of Rolling Stone has Ruben on the cover. Now, this begs a couple of questions:

(1) Is Rolling Stone simply bowing to critiscism and backpeddling furiously by putting him on the cover in an effort to save face?

(2) *WHO*GIVES*A*FUCK*ABOUT*AMERICAN*IDOL*ANYWAY?

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 31 July 2003 22:49 (twenty years ago) link

maybe they are racist towards caucasians too.

keith (keithmcl), Thursday, 31 July 2003 22:52 (twenty years ago) link

wtf - they shoulda just done multi-covers like I assumed they did in the first place

nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 31 July 2003 23:07 (twenty years ago) link

Question is: Will RS print a swath of vacuous, arse-lickingly sycophantic letters by Ruben fans? Or would cater "catering to a fringe group"* not be "cost-effective"

*=This was an actual comment made by the owner of MTV, re "black music" before they bought out by Viacom.

Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 1 August 2003 11:59 (twenty years ago) link

sixteen years pass...

Bump for Twitter's trip back into the time machine to Dec. 2010.

Pauline Male (Eric H.), Monday, 21 October 2019 15:00 (four years ago) link

People don't like Elvis?

☮ (peace, man), Monday, 21 October 2019 15:06 (four years ago) link

^I mean, I don't really either, but that seems to be what people are upset about the most.

☮ (peace, man), Monday, 21 October 2019 15:08 (four years ago) link

people seem to be mad at dylan at #7 best singer ever.

but all my favorite singers couldn't sing

flopsy bird (voodoo chili), Monday, 21 October 2019 15:10 (four years ago) link

this thread is so good actually

dyl, Monday, 21 October 2019 16:08 (four years ago) link

We need to bring TNC back to ILM.

Mr. Snrub, Monday, 21 October 2019 17:24 (four years ago) link

"bob dylan can't sing" is the most boring and eternal of takes

american bradass (BradNelson), Monday, 21 October 2019 17:26 (four years ago) link

otm

flopsy bird (voodoo chili), Monday, 21 October 2019 17:28 (four years ago) link

Is Vibe racist? They only put black people on their cover.

Post #4, lol... very efficient thread

drunk on hot toddies (morrisp), Monday, 21 October 2019 17:30 (four years ago) link

I am done

I agree 100%.... I love Tom Waits, but he is NOT a great singer.

— The Rev (@revchristopher) October 21, 2019

flopsy bird (voodoo chili), Monday, 21 October 2019 17:54 (four years ago) link

how can you like tom waits and also think that he's not a good singer? he can do things with his voice that absolutely nobody else can, or would even think to do. you don't need to have to sound like a pure angel to be a good singer, fergodsake.

flopsy bird (voodoo chili), Monday, 21 October 2019 17:59 (four years ago) link

he can do things with his voice that absolutely nobody else can, or would even think to do

Thank God.

Michael Oliver of Penge Wins £5 (Tom D.), Monday, 21 October 2019 18:19 (four years ago) link

Anyway, he said great singer.

Michael Oliver of Penge Wins £5 (Tom D.), Monday, 21 October 2019 18:20 (four years ago) link


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