Fuck You, Jacob Aranza
First, a little back-story. I am slavishly devoted to Pitchfork, the beloved and reviled online music magazine. Despite what people say about it, I check the site many times a day, and while I don’t always agree with their reviews, the snarky hipsters behind Pitchfork are an invaluable source of music news, especially upcoming releases and tour information.
One day I was reading this review and decided to google the artist, and eventually landed on his myspace page. After listening to a few songs - not bad stuff, really - I saw this link on his page and decided to check it out.
At first I was enthralled - yet another attempt by the Christian right to demonize popular music. As I read over the list, I was delighted - Kansas? Motorhead? Lil’ Wayne? They’re gay bands? Sure, some bands deserved to be pilloried, but this was obviously the same shotgun blast method of cultural criticism the right engages with luxurious frequency. If we don’t like it, it is of the devil. Good on you, mates.
Then I saw this video, and I realized it was all a big joke. Damn. How disappointing. I was really, really excited that the same sort of anti-rock propaganda I remember from my childhood was still alive and kicking. And how effective it was. After all, thanks to the PMRC, devil-sex music ceased to be after the 1980s, right? (And what better way to make something appealing to young people than to label it dangerous. Idiots.)
But it did make me harken back to my childhood and recall with fondness one name in particular. This person probably did more than anyone else to make my adolescent musical experience miserable, and is the subject of this post. That’s right … I’m talking about Jacob Aranza.