>>Valley Patriot>> |
*** How’s this for artistic integrity? Eminem, (A.K.A. Marshall Mathers) in an interview with MTV a couple of years ago revealed that he doesn’t like for his daughter to listen to his music. He insists that she listen only to versions that he has personally remixed to censor all the cuss words, violence and misanthropy. Eminem has always maintained that violent lyrics are only mere words and therefore have no effect upon his young listeners. If this is true, why do you suppose he goes to all that trouble to remix his songs. for his daughter? We all bump up against our contradictions sooner or later. But circumstances in life usually push us towards them. In Eminem’s case, there was that time a couple of years ago, when the rapper was playing with guns and got busted by the cops. The judge took Eminem into his chamber and gave him a confidential talk about jail. Have you seen a picture of Eminem lately? He looks like a computer data base administrator or divinity student. He says he has to change for his little girl. A praiseworthy motive indeed. But as a parent, I’d like to ask him the following: Hey Eminem, why is it OK for America’s children to listen to your music, but not your own daughter? Has Eminem found a motivating force to elevate his art above the base instincts? Or is it a false start for the 34-year-old bad boy? One door never closes behind us without another one opening ahead. It will be interesting indeed to see how the life of Marshall Mathers turns out. Which brings us to this question: what are the most powerful motivators of human behavior ? The CIA wanted an
answer to this question back in the 1950’s and
initiated its infamous MK Ultra Project, under which the
agency explored hypnosis, sleep deprivation, ESP, remote
viewing, electric shock, etc. The agency even used LSD in
this country before the hippies, giving doses - often
without consent- to drifters, prostitutes and federal
prison inmates ( including Whitey Bulger) in order to
observe effects of the drug and assess its application
for possible military purposes. *** You’ve heard the old joke about a conservative is a liberal that’s been mugged? Here’s a couple more: What’s a conservative? A white, straight, male liberal that has just attended his company’s compulsory diversity training seminar. What’s a liberal? A conservative that just had his job downsized while his company reported record profits and the CEO made a hundred million dollar bonus. *** Speaking of pop stars, there is Kid Rock. Probably not a bad guy, but a living, breathing window on the world of arrested development. A favorite of the President Bush’s daughters, Kid almost got an invite to perform at the presidential inauguration, but was persona-non-grata at the last minute for reasons undisclosed. Perhaps it had to do with the lyrics to one of to Kid’s songs titled “Pimp of the Nation.” “Pimp of the
Nation, I could be it *Send your questions
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Prior Columns by Mark Palermo |
I have always believed that New Year’s
Eve (amateur night) is the best night of the year to stay
home, and so I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve with my
family. We watched old videos of Frank Sinatra,
Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore, and of course, reruns
of the Ed Sullivan show. Maybe it is just the
passing years, but seeing the old programs made me
realize how much class entertainers had compared to now.
I also noticed that not only the performers but the
audience as well was dressed up for a night out, the men
in suits and ties and the women in dresses. I never
thought I would miss the decorum, but I do. The
old-timers performers had elegance, stage presence and an
easy sense of showmanship that bespoke an adult
sensibility and civility that has been lacking for the
last thirty-five years. I was talking to a friend
the next day, 84 years young, who says that today’s
entertainers look and act like bums.