So those of you who have a Twitter may have noticed that Bob Marley was trending the other day. May 11 was the 30th anniversary of his tragic death from cancer. Apparently the reason it was trending though, was not that people wanted to commemorate the anniversary of his death. Apparently a large number of Twitter users actually thought that Bob Marley died four days ago, May 11, 2011. How could that possibly be?
I'll tell you. Bob Marley has ceased to be a musical icon. He is no longer the figure of peace and love that he was when he brought his Reggae music to the masses. He has become a figure that college stoners put up on their walls to say "Look at my Bob Marley poster, I live on the edge, man." These kids buy t-shirts and posters with his likeness on them when most of them probably couldn't name more than five of his songs. They just think that because they have his poster, they automatically become a cool kid. Believe me, I don't claim to be a big Bob Marley fan. He's not my cup of tea. But these kids are disrespecting a revolutionary musician by claiming to be fans of his and not knowing anything about him. Get your facts straight, kids. Take off the hemp necklace, put out the incense, and actually take time to get to know something about the man you claim to be a fan of.
Thanks to Billiam for the heads up on this, follow him on twitter at bbop7
Conor, I commend your passion, and insight. I've never commented on a blog before, but it's beans' blog, I need to. I like what you're getting at, however I think a majority of the kids you're calling out look at Bob Marley as a cultural icon, rather than musical. This of course is still fucked, but at least they don't always claim to be experts on the music. This brings me to my next point which is that the culture that he has become the main figure of is "Pot Culture." Now some may know that I enjoy the greenery... once in a while, but its not defining. So I agree these shallow Marley fans got to go, but I think a better way of calling out "those who think having his poster will automatically make them cool", should actually be directed at kids think weed will automatically make them cool, which is weak. Sorry for the long response, I'm pretty baked.
ReplyDeleteHaving helped inspire this post, I would like to add my two cents. Topp, like the comment, and agree with the sentiment. Kids that think pot makes them cool make me want to stab myself in the heart, bleed out, get revived and do the whole thing all over again.
ReplyDeleteIf one is going to wear a Marley shirt, even more so than the average fan, these kids should know what he stands for and why he lived his life in the fashion he did. This is a man who could have easily (maybe exaggerating a little) lived much longer than he did, but based on his religious and spiritual beliefs, he refused to undergo chemotherapy. Yeah, he was good at music and those who sport his shirts should know that, but he stood for more than his music could even say (which is a lot) and that’s what made the man. Worst part, these same kids will be shocked to hear Che Guevara is dead when October ninth rolls around.
Conor, good work, like the blog, you just took my blog v-card :)