Maryland county looking at rap music and GTA to blame for gang violence

I'm with you. I work in DC (live just outside of it in VA) and I can't stand the idea that we can't pass an education bill while everyone complains that gang violence, HIV/AIDS, and homicides are some of the highest in the country. Well, guess what: all of these statistics aren't just correlated with, but CAUSED BY a lack of education resources.

People think that unless they have kids ages 3-17, they don't have to care about education. People are supremely stupid. I care about education not because I have kids (shit I don't want kids for another 7 years at least), but because I don't want to get shot or have my car stolen.

Amen to that. I'm tired of people pointing their fingers at the wrong part of the problem. The music is superficial. How bout instead of taking away everyone's play stations, you give them some damn help, you know, like try to lower the unemployment rate, and and stop using the same laws and standards that were meant to keep these people down in the first place.

LoL nice Randy Marsh quote from one of the best episodes of that show. +1

To think we could have stopped WWII is we had just banned those games earlier.

You sexy thang.

once again leo, you can make that argument against any form of music, not just rap.

I can understand one not liking rap, fine, doesnt diminish the fact that it sales and obviously makes people money.

I dont like classic rock, doesn't diminish anything those artist put out and people loved over the years, I also dont like Country music, or most "mid-american" activities, doesn't mean i decry people for liking it or nascar or what have you.

Tastes in music are highly subjective and will vary from person to person, its just like tastes in movies. I've taken tons of art/film classes over the years, yet i still like bad movies and hate certain "critically acclaimed" films. Doesnt mean i dont know anything about movies, i just like what i like.

Same with music, sometimes i like commercial crap music and sometimes i dont.

Yeah I agree with you that not all forms of music appeal to everyone. I am pretty sure there are some rap groups out there who go on stage live and perform with real instrumentation, I think the Roots might be one of them. I just don't think on a purely artistic level Hip hop can be lumped together with Rock and Roll or any other musical genre, in terms as the same level of artistry, that has a dude in front of an audience with a microphone while his cohorts are pressing buttons that release a pre recorded sound. It's cheating, its like if Jim Morrison sang in front of an audience while the rest of the Doors pre-recored their music and played it through some speakers.

Also the things that gets me, I hate to stereotype, is that many of hip hops adherents tend to flock to the genre because they think "its hard" or that it "appeals to my level of machismo". I am pretty sure there are many cultured and intelligent hip hop fans out there but from what I have seen they are in the minority. Here is an example go to you a youtube video of The Game and then go to a YouTube video of The Beatles, or The Strokes and look at the responses to the videos and tell me which one has the most mis spellings and ignorant rants from its users.

I would like to know why music has to be restricted to just performance. If the music is good, why should it matter if its some dude playing a guitar blindfolded upside down and with his feet? Making music is about more than the dexterity of your fingers.

I am beginning to make Chiptunes, which is a style of music that uses sound chips from old hardware (NES, Commidore 64's, old casios) to make music. No crazy drum solos and no wailing guitars, yet many chiptune songs are some of the most incredibly complex and layered music you will ever hear. Talent does not just involve running around with a live instrument on stage, Talent also involves writing the music in the first place. Hell Wolfgang Amedaeus Mozart didn't PLAY his most well known music. He waved his arms in front of an orchestra, who played his music. Would he have been more talented if he did a backflip off of his podium and busted out a crazy violin solo with his teeth? No, not at all.

The government in Salisbury are a bunch of inbred asshats. I own a house in Sharptown, NW corner of Wicomico and my parents live in Salisbury. The only thing they accomplish each year is throwing a town fair. If the police budget infringes on their prescious fair, than they would by all means shutter some stations. They already rely heavily on the campus police of Salisbury Univ. to police a large section of the town.