Dodgy Bad Taste Warrior Queen Lyrics

[swears]

xpost, lol

 

[gumdrops]

i really dont understand why it is ok to ridicule and hate on evangelical christians who are against abortus and gays but it is not ok to say "stop killing people in the name of islam" after terrorists did exactly that.

she doesnt say it quite like that though. i dont have my cd here so i cant quote it but it was definitely not put over as simply as that. if it was, i doubt it would have got anyones goat like it has done.

i her defence though, im sure its hard to really put together what you feel after where you live has been bombed, esp these days when theres so much to take in, but her reading of the whole situation just makes me worry about how people cant read things on a level beyond what some red top idiot headline says. i always looked at dancehall or hip hop as the voice of the underdog which is another reason why her lyrics, or ghostfaces on the iron flag album made me wonder a bit, cos theyre almost right wing. yeah i know we shouldnt have to take 'sides' - thats stupid, esp not conventional firm 'right' or 'left' sides when neither is faultless these days, but still, towing the govt party line so plainly doesnt seem very 'hip hop' or very 'ragga/reggae'...

yes i know, islam is the religion of a much discriminated against minority. So does that mean islam is exempt from criticism because otherwise these people might be discriminated against even more? Apart from that i find this a ridiculous position, i also think it will backfire. When everytime somebody says something critical about islam, you call them rascists and islamophobes, they will feel not taken seriously and discriminated against, and probably will become really resentful against islam and muslims.

i agree with you - islam shouldnt be exempt from criticism. the problem though is that most of the time people criticising islam ARE doing it just cos they are racists and xenophobes. its way out of balance. why anyone should feel more resentful of muslims just cos they cant openly criticise them though is an odd stance though - nothing wrong with basic fair critique but when its hate mongering, i dont see why people should be able to mouth off freely. and when its hate mongering, i dont think theres much thats going to stop them resenting islam.

 

[Slothrop]

Thought it was called "DEM A BOMB WE"? About being the victim of a terrorist attack?

And includes lines like "if you think you were treated unfairly... you should deal with your cause more sanely, not just go killing people innocently"...

So the basic problem with this tune is that a vocal (which is mainly about the fear of terrorism rather than a detailed geopolitical analysis of its causes) describes people who say they are killing in the name of Islam as "killing in the name of the almighty"?

 

[noel emits]

And includes lines like "if you think you were treated unfairly... you should deal with your cause more sanely, not just go killing people innocently"...

So the basic problem with this tune is that a vocal (which is mainly about the fear of terrorism rather than a detailed geopolitical analysis of its causes) describes people who say they are killing in the name of Islam as "killing in the name of the almighty"?

Yes on the face of it the song lyrics are completely reasonable. But apart from the fact that she actually says something like 'isluhrm', which I now remember is what irked me about it in the first place, it's the very use of the phrase 'in the name if Islam' which comes across like a received opinion or parroted soundbite. Because, even in the video left behind by one of the bombers he's not claiming to be killing 'in the name of Islam', it's a protest about British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, so where does this idea come from?

 

[Gavin]

please tell me you know he means it sarcastically.

Are you sure about that? I hate that part regardless...

Is there a moratorium on "Bombs Over Baghdad"?

 

[noel emits]

Do you hate your country Gavin?

Actually KRS-1 is often pretty corny.

 

[gumdrops]

of course he means it sarcastically! that whole song 'illegal business' is about corrupt governments (and how MPs can condemn illegal drug trade but benefit from it on the side)!

 

[Gavin]

Do you hate your country Gavin?

Actually KRS-1 is often pretty corny.

I pretty much do hate my country right now, but I was born under Reagan and have lived my entire adult life under GWB, so maybe it's a perspective ting? I guess it can be a nice place to live...

 

[zhao]

ok did i misread the patois? i thought it means "them we bomb". but even in that case i think it is not a clear message and easily misinterpreted.

earlier i already admited that i jumped to conclusions based on certain strong soundbytes and not properly understanding the main message of the song. yes, i can be a bit hot headed at times. and will be more careful next time before shouting fire. I usually am, it's a slip.

like none of you have ever mis-read something which made you mad?

I'm still going to cut that line.

 

[Mr. Tea]

right. but at the same time, acting like the rise of muslim fundamentalism and terrorism has in no way been exacerbated or at least just been affected by the actions of the west (not excusing it of course) is equally wrong. obviously i know some terrorists want to destroy the west simply cos they think its morally repugnant/offensive and basically non-islamic which i think is fucking awful but actions by the west against muslim people/countries plays a part in this too.

I haven't heard the song, but according to Dusty a few posts ago she also says:

"...you should deal with your cause more sanely, not just go killing people innocently... they commit the crime we pay the penalty."

,
"they" presumably being Western, or specifically the American and British, governments. So she's certainly not ignoring whatever part our leaders may have played in creating the conditions that help give rise to extremism of this kind.

I think you've got to be very careful to avoid the line of thinking that goes "Western governments support Israel and torture people in Guantanamo, ergo an IT technician from Birmingham or a student from Peckham is justified in murdering a few dozen randomly selected British civillians".

 

[zhao]

I pretty much do hate my country right now, but I was born under Reagan and have lived my entire adult life under GWB, so maybe it's a perspective ting? I guess it can be a nice place to live...

for how much longer though it's $1.50 to a euro now

 

[Gavin]

of course he means it sarcastically! that whole song 'illegal business' is about corrupt governments (and how MPs can condemn illegal drug trade but benefit from it on the side)!

Yah, I know what it's about -- it came off like a bit of the infuriating "yes but-ism" that so many liberal/left people engage in. In any case it does spoil the mood of the song for me... like he's breaking character or something.

 

[Slothrop]

I haven't heard the song, but according to Dusty a few posts ago she also says:
,
"they" presumably being Western, or specifically the American and British, governments. So she's certainly not ignoring whatever part our leaders may have played in creating the conditions that help give rise to extremism of this kind.

I think 'they' is the bombers - hence "if you think you were treated unfairly, you should deal with your cause more sanely" ie if you have a beef with western governments over their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan (or anything else) you should find some other means to express it than blowing up buses full of innocent people in London.

 

[Mr. Tea]

I think 'they' is the bombers - hence "if you think you were treated unfairly, you should deal with your cause more sanely" ie if you have a beef with western governments over their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan (or anything else) you should find some other means to express it than blowing up buses full of innocent people in London.

You reckon? Well fair enough, it makes more or less the same point.

 

[gumdrops]

Yah, I know what it's about -- it came off like a bit of the infuriating "yes but-ism" that so many liberal/left people engage in. In any case it does spoil the mood of the song for me... like he's breaking character or something.

i just remembered the line actually, he says 'but listen to the knowledge i give!' right after doesnt he? maybe it isnt sarky, but i dont think he totally means it, its meant to just show hes being fair and not too 'radical'. sort of like 'im not TOTALLY slating the US, i love it really! but just take this into consideration too' i dont mind that personally, its part of krs' self conscious (sometimes patronising) egalatarianism, but yeah i can see how it might seem a bit of a cop out. bit too 'fair'...

 

[Gavin]

I'm still curious about how other DJs censor their sets and why... Are certain words (e.g. nigga, faggot, bitch) off limits? Ideas? Political positions? Does it matter who the audience is? I'll admit something like Spank Rock which is basically marketed to bourgeois whites strikes me as... well, I'll just say problematic at the moment.

Oh, another tangent: Since part of this hinged on zhao's difficulty with understanding patois, does this mean that DJs should try to translate their baile funk and reggaeton in case there's some offensive content in there? Or is the bad stuff ok if you don't speak the language?

 

[gumdrops]

yeah thats a tricky one - cos if you dont understand the language to begin with, how can you censor it? ive heard some stuff on dancehall tunes played on 1xtra in the day that i thought should be edited. far as dem a bomb we, it just means 'they bomb us' far as i know.

I think you've got to be very careful to avoid the line of thinking that goes "Western governments support Israel and torture people in Guantanamo, ergo an IT technician from Birmingham or a student from Peckham is justified in murdering a few dozen randomly selected British civillians".

its not 'justified' or condoned but (as has already been said here) people should be able to see theres an obvious cause and effect relationship there, no matter how messy, problematic or plain wrong it is.

 

[Mr. Tea]

"I know 'mon' means 'man', but I don't think 'och' means anything."

 

[john eden]

yeah thats a tricky one - cos if you dont understand the language to begin with, how can you censor it? ive heard some stuff on dancehall tunes played on 1xtra in the day that i thought should be edited. far as dem a bomb we, it just means 'they bomb us' far as i know.

Just to add to the chorus - Dem A Bomb We = Them A Bomb We = It is them who are the bombers, of us.

I've heard "log on" by Elephant Man played in Woolworths! That fair did my head in. On reflection I probably should have complained.

I don't play out very often any more but I wouldn't play a tune which was violently homophobic or misogynist.

The occasional gun tune or lusting heartily after the laydeez tune I don't mind, if balanced out by other stuff.

These days I might even consider playing tunes where "battyman" was used briefly as a general term of abuse (i.e. to diminsh someone's masculinity). But it would depend on the tune and the situation and I would probably err on the side of caution because I have so many great tunes to play.

If I played hip hop I would probably play tunes with the word "nigga" in them, but I don't.

I prefer to play a mixture of party tunes and tunes with a social conscience.

It is rare to find a dancehall or grime tune which fits exactly with my own brand of cynical ultra-left communism crossed with pro-working class situationism. Tho I did hear of an Elephant Man dubplate where he bigs up Alexandra Kollontai and Otto Ruhle.

 

[zhao]

does this mean that DJs should try to translate their baile funk and reggaeton in case there's some offensive content in there? Or is the bad stuff ok if you don't speak the language?

i've thought about that before and as long as most people in the audience don't speak the language either? if i know a lot of brazilians will be there i would probably try to get a portugese speaker to listen to the baile tracks first...

but it's trickier in an international city you never know if there are loads of spanish or portugese speakers... with reggaeton for these reasons i usually do mostly cumbia/reggaeton mashups and "safe" stuff like Calle 13, and only play a couple of the Don Omar or Daddy Yankee...

so many good tunes i can't/won't play... regrettable.