Album of the day (#3607): Band Of Gypsys by Jimi Hendrix - Music

Romanelli

Bone Swah

Gender: Male

Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

Applerill wrote:

The name has a slur in it Sad

Let's get all of our Stevie Nicks, Van Morrison, Suzanne Vega, Santana, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Springsteen, Cinderella, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tommy Bolin albums together and have us a good old fashioned record burning.

I don't know. I find it kind of ridiculous that the only thing you can find to say about a 50 year old album by one of our greatest musicians is that the title isn't PC enough for you.

Have you listened to the album?
_________________
May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

mickilennial

The Most Trusted Name in News

Gender: Female

Age: 35

Location: Detroit

Applerill wrote:

The name has a slur in it Sad

You've positively listened to GG Allin and Skrewdriver.

So stop it with the fake socially-progressive optics.

NewsFromHome

Romanelli wrote:

Let's get all of our Stevie Nicks, Van Morrison, Suzanne Vega, Santana, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Springsteen, Cinderella, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tommy Bolin albums together and have us a good old fashioned record burning.

Don't worry, that only happens if they're disco records in the US.

Anyway yeah it's a slur. It's a word that hurts people and you definitely shouldn't use. Also, no way Jimi knew this - but I also think Charli was just being flippant.

Good record. Jimi's inventing some riffs here that seem just as proto metal and influential Sabbath, Led Zep, Blue Cheer's debut and Vanilla Fudge's Renaissance. Now, I personally think this record is a little let down by the drummer. That snare grates on me after a while. This version of Machine Gun is a top three Hendrix track though.

Spyglass

Resident Metalhead

Gender: Male

Location: The red dot on the map

NewsFromHome wrote:

Romanelli wrote:

Let's get all of our Stevie Nicks, Van Morrison, Suzanne Vega, Santana, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Springsteen, Cinderella, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tommy Bolin albums together and have us a good old fashioned record burning.

Don't worry, that only happens if they're disco records in the US.

Anyway yeah it's a slur. It's a word that hurts people and you definitely shouldn't use. Also, no way Jimi knew this - but I also think Charli was just being flippant.

Good record. Jimi's inventing some riffs here that seem just as proto metal and influential Sabbath, Led Zep, Blue Cheer's debut and Vanilla Fudge's Renaissance. Now, I personally think this record is a little let down by the drummer. That snare grates on me after a while. This version of Machine Gun is a top three Hendrix track though.

I think at the time "gypsies" were considered cool.

I'll be honest, one of my favorite animated movies is about "gypsies" and uses the word constantly without any offensive connotations pertaining to the word itself. Yeah, it's Hunchback. Obviously I'm not going to call a Romani person a "gypsy," but when I think of the word I think of mysticism and culture so it was always a cool word to me, even when I found out about its offensive usage. The idea that it was turned into an offensive word because of cultural conflict was fucking ridiculous.
_________________
Do it yourself and let me play my music: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=61802

NewsFromHome

Spyglass wrote:

I think at the time "gypsies" were considered cool.

I'll be honest, one of my favorite animated movies is about "gypsies" and uses the word constantly without any offensive connotations pertaining to the word itself. Yeah, it's Hunchback. Obviously I'm not going to call a Romani person a "gypsy," but when I think of the word I think of mysticism and culture so it was always a cool word to me, even when I found out about its offensive usage. The idea that it was turned into an offensive word because of cultural conflict was fucking ridiculous.

A common stereotype that Romani people face is that the women are "seductresses" and "very loose" and there's this long correlation with Romani people and sex trafficking as well as exoticizing. There's like full on thinkpieces by Romani scholars about the sexualization and mystification of Esmeralda in hunchback. After all, she's the only disney princess to pole dance. Her job, is literally the Romani racial stereotype.

Yes, I understand the "meaning is cool" but it stems from a history of forced flight due to religious and ethnic persecution. Imagine if we used Israelites as a term to refer to someone with a cool and free wondering spirit and you begin to see the problem.

It's not a cultural conflict, the Romani people have always seen it as a slur. It's only recently people are listening.

mickilennial

The Most Trusted Name in News

Gender: Female

Age: 35

Location: Detroit

The power dynamics of "gypsy" as a slur is also not a modern convention at all, it dates back well before the 1940s.

Yann

Gender: Male

Location: France

Gowi wrote:

Gypsy is commonly a slur used to demean and reduce Romani people.

Yes, I know what it means. But it's a slur only in minds affected by decades of political correctness! Not way back in the 40's, as you said. It was just exotic at the time. And exotic was not offensive. And certainly it was not in Hendrix's mind! Rather a homage (of their nomadism, their skills at guitars, I don't know)

NewsFromHome

Ah yes, the 1940's german anti g**** laws. Famously not offensive.

Respecting a culture isn't this thing that came out the woodwork with the invention of tumblr y'all.

Yann

Gender: Male

Location: France

NewsFromHome wrote:

Ah yes, the 1940's german anti g**** laws. Famously not offensive.

Respecting a culture isn't this thing that came out the woodwork with the invention of tumblr y'all.

The name of this album is a proof that even the Nazis hasn't managed to demean the name Gypsys. At least for Jimi Hendrix, because apparently it's a dirty word for you.

Skinny

birdman_handrub.gif

It's an offensive term. However, Hendrix almost certainly didn't realise its negative connotations. In an ideal world he wouldn't have named the album this, but language and attitudes are fluid. People should not use the term, but I harbour no ill will towards Hendrix for doing so.

It's a fine album.
_________________
2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.