RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

The two Black guys who are beyond high when they put out a video is good, but it usually has nothing to do with their reaction to the music.  Those dudes are already hearing colours and seeing music.

Frankenstein's Lab! I don't know why but I just always smile through their videos. Nothing great or original, but you do just get a nice warm fuzzy feeling watching along and reacting. If I'm on the subway or wherever and need a quick chuckle, throw on a Frankenstein's Lab and watch some classic comedy bit.

And so many of them are full of sh*t.  Love it, hate it or indifferent I don't believe anyone has not heard Hey Jude.

You'd be surprised at how much of a non-event various things white people think are a big deal and take for granted are in the black community and also how unknown a lot of the "classic" stuff is with young people.

Heck, I had parents who weren't into popular music AT ALL. I didn't F all about the Beatles basically until college. I knew more about the Smashing Pumpkins and Tupac than The Beatles. I think I knew "Yellow Submarine" because I had to sing it one class and then I remember in Middle School that Ringo Starr was a crossword puzzle answer I didn't know. "Twist & Shout" was that song Ferris Bueller sang on the float, I hadn't the foggiest it was a Beatles song. Like I knew OF the Beatles and what they looked like thanks to Simpsons and stuff like that, but when your dominant musical influences during your childhood are classical, opera, folk songs and whatever is on Prairie Home Companion, you aren't really into that stuff. I never listened to much popular music until late middle school and high school. Aside from some rap during the MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice days of elementary school. Of course then I went whole hog and in college went hard into classic rock and such, but yeah, complete non-event and I was raised in a white family.

There's lots of people out there that aren't into The Beatles or Seinfeld or whatever else a lot of people seem to think is "mandatory". Large swaths of black people, other minorities, country folk, religious people and people who don't listen to popular music know very little/don't care much about many songs and bands you take for granted.

This may give an idea of that gap- Black people having a "First Reaction" to a Beatles Song or Seinfeld is as natural and expected as YOU/Random White Person having a first reaction to Patti LaBelle or Mama Mosie or the Madea movies or Martin.

Like I bet if you took random white people, they might know OF Martin and the Madea movies. Probably 50%+ you could trick into thinking Patti LaBelle was some white movie actress from the 1940s, and you'd be lucky if 1% knew who Mama Mosie was.

Frankenstein's Lab! I don't know why but I just always smile through their videos. Nothing great or original, but you do just get a nice warm fuzzy feeling watching along and reacting. If I'm on the subway or wherever and need a quick chuckle, throw on a Frankenstein's Lab and watch some classic comedy bit.
You'd be surprised at how much of a non-event various things white people think are a big deal and take for granted are in the black community and also how unknown a lot of the "classic" stuff is with young people.

Heck, I had parents who weren't into popular music AT ALL. I didn't F all about the Beatles basically until college. I knew more about the Smashing Pumpkins and Tupac than The Beatles. I think I knew "Yellow Submarine" because I had to sing it one class and then I remember in Middle School that Ringo Starr was a crossword puzzle answer I didn't know, Like I knew OF the Beatles and what they looked like thanks to Simpsons and stuff like that, but when your dominant musical influences during your childhood are classical, opera, folk songs and whatever is on Prairie Home Companion, you aren't really into that stuff. I never listened to much popular music until late middle school and high school. Aside from some rap during the MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice days of elementary school. Of course then I went whole hog and in college went hard into classic rock and such, but yeah, complete non-event and I was raised in a white family.

There's lots of people out there that aren't into The Beatles or Seinfeld or whatever else a lot of people seem to think is "mandatory". Large swaths of black people, other minorities, country folk, religious people and people who don't listen to popular music know very little/don't care much about many songs and bands you take for granted.

This may give an idea of that gap- Black people having a "First Reaction" to a Beatles Song or Seinfeld is as natural and expected as YOU/Random White Person having a first reaction to Patti LaBelle or Mama Mosie or the Madea movies or Martin.

Like I bet if you took random white people, they might know OF Martin and the Madea movies. Probably 50%+ you could trick into thinking Patti LaBelle was some white movie actress from the 1940s, and you'd be lucky if 1% knew who Mama Mosie was.

Good points, but I just think some music has been exposed to such a degree that even if you didn't know the name of the song or the group, when it started playing you'd recognise it.  I was also included the white college youtubers in that criticism because I just don't believe all the "reactions" are genuine.  Like who wouldn't know Barry White's classics or even Tom Jones' yet not have a clue who they were.  But, if you hear it. you know them.  There is so much music I have actively avoided that I'm still familiar with. 

The humour in this clip is because no one could imagine it being true, but who knows? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEcEZ820rGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEG_h2xB3g0

HaHaHa, that guy nailed it. 

The humour in this clip is because no one could imagine it being true, but who knows? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEcEZ820rGM

The joke there was that black people, by and large, weren't into Seinfeld. Anyone black would know and get the joke. It was a "white" show. Hence lots of black people have little awareness of it same as lots of white people wouldn't know Steve Harvey from Bernie Mac.

A lot of people take things for granted that other people know and like the same things they do when they don't. Seinfeld and The Beatles- two things not that big for lots of black people.

I mean one of my coworkers back in the day, black, had zero clue who Jimi Hendrix was and called him "Guitar Man" and zero interest in his music, which caused like 3 white coworkers to nearly have fits. The only one who didn't was the Greek one who only listened to techno and hip-hop and didn't give 2 craps about classic rock either.

HaHaHa, that guy nailed it. 

Again....there's a MASSIVE racial divide in America when it comes to music.

Notice how no one black is saying "OMG how do you not know Bohemian Rhapsody!?!?!?!?"

If you want to get a sense of the divide and obliviousness despite a common language, think of the divides in sports- Americans without the foggiest clue about rugby, cricket and football. People from SA or NZ who know next to nothing about hockey or baseball or American football.

A fun one for us Americans is Brits/Euros reacting to college football and the sheer size and spectacle of the whole thing. Many have no clue as to the scale and what goes into college football.

The joke there was that black people, by and large, weren't into Seinfeld.

Yes, the audience that watches Curb couldn't imagine that someone didn't know Seinfeld. 

If you want to get a sense of the divide and obliviousness despite a common language, think of the divides in sports- Americans without the foggiest clue about rugby, cricket and football. People from SA or NZ who know next to nothing about hockey or baseball or American football.

A fun one for us Americans is Brits/Euros reacting to college football and the sheer size and spectacle of the whole thing. Many have no clue as to the scale and what goes into college football.

But so many now are pandering and clearly full of sh*t because they've seen how successful channels like Jamal have been.  Everyone's hopping on the bandwagon which is my chief complaint. Even if all these Black people don't know Let It Be, dod they really think we need a fifty third reaction video from a channel that came into existence two weeks ago?  That's my biggest problem. 

And not just Black people reacting to white classic rock or movies.  There's this NZ family that have clearly figured out if they pander to the Yanks they'll find a bigger market than a "Where Frodo Drank Mead" video.  They keep putting out stuff like "NZ family reacts to size of American Army" and then just play someone else's video while oohing and aahing. 

Someone never even knowing any verse of the song, nor recognising ANY of the melody, not even knowing that Queen was a band would be like a NZ or a SA saying that they weren't even aware that hockey was a sport or that it was played in winter.

I cannot name a single Ella Fitzgerald song, but I'm sure if a couple came on I'd go "Ah yeah, I've heard this somewhere" and when quizzed, I'd say "Yeah, she was singer from the 40s."

I don't think every single black person would pass a quiz on 5 questions about Queen, but jesus. Even my dad knows who bloody Snoop Dogg is.

Yes, the audience that watches Curb couldn't imagine that someone didn't know Seinfeld. 

A good chunk of the audience that watches Curb is aware of the racial gap in Seinfeld awareness between black people and white people. It's the same thing as the "I'm an 82 man" and the difference between black people and white people and room temperature preference and how white people are just oblivious about it. Leon is not portrayed as a goofball ignorant in the show.

But so many now are pandering and clearly full of sh*t because they've seen how successful channels like Jamal have been.  Everyone's hopping on the bandwagon which is my chief complaint. Even if all these Black people don't know Let It Be, dod they really think we need a fifty third reaction video from a channel that came into existence two weeks ago?

1) Just because they're all black doesn't mean they all come from the same place and have the same view. Sigh.
2) If some southerner made a video reacting to Medea or Teddy Pendergrass, and then some white suburban kid did so, and then a boomer dad, and then some white guy in his 40s with his 10 year old, and then two single white girls, and then two white stoners, etc. I wouldn't say it was all the same or they're all the same. I could see how they all were watching/listening for the first time and how they would each have a different take.

Someone never even knowing any verse of the song, nor recognising ANY of the melody, not even knowing that Queen was a band would be like a NZ or a SA saying that they weren't even aware that hockey was a sport or that it was played in winter.

I cannot name a single Ella Fitzgerald song, but I'm sure if a couple came on I'd go "Ah yeah, I've heard this somewhere" and when quizzed, I'd say "Yeah, she was singer from the 40s."

I don't think every single black person would pass a quiz on 5 questions about Queen, but jesus. Even my dad knows who bloody Snoop Dogg is.

There really is a BIG gulf sometimes. You go to a community that's like 98% black and you're talking about a completely different frame of reference for music and TV and some movies (summer blockbusters bring everyone together). Outside of sports/WWE/maybe video games & comics, there's not that many places where black and white people really absorb each other's culture in highly segregated neighborhoods (though this is changing a lot for people about 35 and under, but then you get the generation gap on TV shows and music).

Seinfeld registers as much for them as Roc or Moesha does for you. The Beatles registers a much as The Hawkins family. You think the big airplane crash was the one that killed Buddy Holly or Lynyrd Skynyrd. They think it's the one that killed Aaliyah. You think Kurt Cobain and Bradley Nowell were the big music death of the 90s, they think it was Tupac and Biggie. Kurt who? Sub-what?

Your dad may know Snoop Dogg, but could he pick out a Snoop Dogg song from Dr. Dre or Tupac or Biggie? Could he tell Snoop Dogg form Eazy-E? Would he know the difference between F*ck the Police and 9/11 is a Joke?

The gap in things like TV, music and movies can be huge. Seriously, stuff you take for granted could mean next to nothing, and stuff you've never heard of is common knowledge.

There really is a BIG gulf sometimes. You go to a community that's like 98% black and you're talking about a completely different frame of reference...

The gap in things like TV, music and movies can be huge.

Well said.

Do you know...

Rakim   ?
Ghostface Killah   ?
Andre 3000  ?
Tal Farlow   ?
Kendrick Lamar   ?

All but one of them are on the top-10 all time list of rappers, by Billboard magazine.

And the one that isn't, is one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever on Time's list.

Can you identify the different one? Could you match a song with a name?

Many of us have no clue who they are because they haven't been on the popular radio stations we grew up with, nor other cultural products we have consumed.

Rap for many is mainstream pop hit-based:  Eminem, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, etc.

Yep, got that one. I'm a fan of jazz, so Tal Farlow (The Octopus) was easy enough. So I'm guessing the rest must be rappers. He put out a truck load of music, maybe more than 25 albums??? So, he's not really obscure.

If someone heard "What a Wonderful World" and told you they'd never heard it, but ALSO they were recording themselves and FLIPPING shit about it when the Louis Armstrong biopic came out and was #1 at the box office, many people would be skeptical.

The issue is HEARD OF. EVERY SINGLE PERSON who speaks English in North America knows We Will Rock You. I'm sorry.

Again, it would be like meeting someone who didn't know the  HEEHEE sound from Michael Jackson. There are literally a million people who don't know it. That's NOTHING.

Cultures are different, there's no doubt. This isn't about tracklisting, or band members. It's boiled down to "Are you aware this existed in any sense?"

And Ghostface? He's my favourite member of Wutang. Bulletproof Wallets is amazing.

His greatest selling album was 1 000 000 copies worldwide. Queen? 15 000 000 in US/UK.

It's not even comparable.

Oh, and one more thing. I don't even like Queen, btw. I find them the most incredibly overrated classic rock band.

And they're amazing musicians, but I certainly don't defend them (God knows they don't need me to do that haha).

But if I come off like an overly defensive fanboy, I'm not. Put Ghostface on any day of the week.

Someone never even knowing any verse of the song, nor recognising ANY of the melody, not even knowing that Queen was a band would be like a NZ or a SA saying that they weren't even aware that hockey was a sport or that it was played in winter.

I cannot name a single Ella Fitzgerald song, but I'm sure if a couple came on I'd go "Ah yeah, I've heard this somewhere" and when quizzed, I'd say "Yeah, she was singer from the 40s."

I don't think every single black person would pass a quiz on 5 questions about Queen, but jesus. Even my dad knows who bloody Snoop Dogg is.

This is about the point in a thread where Martino is just going to go on arguing forever based on his assumptions of what 98% of Black people know just because of his need to be contrary.  Anyways, it’s obvious a lot of the  Black reaction videos are just clickbait for white folk who want to see the racial divide disappear for a minute while some Black youtubers gushi over In the Air Tonight.    Martino’s arguments aren’t bad, it’s just that he’s a not a Black guy speaking on behalf of Black people and he’s obviously just making up an argument for the sake of an argument.  Again. 

Anyways, it’s obvious a lot of the  Black reaction videos are just clickbait for white folk who want to see the racial divide disappear for a minute while some Black youtubers gushi over In the Air Tonight.    Martino’s arguments aren’t bad, it’s just that he’s a not a Black guy speaking on behalf of Black people and he’s obviously just making up an argument for the sake of an argument.  Again. 

Is there some of that? Sure. But that doesn't mean it isn't genuine for many.

Like I said, just because some people think EVERYONE knows a certain song doesn't make it true.

Awareness of popular music and TV is not that universal.

Remember when the room temperature thread happened and everyone thought it was "weird" that people found 24 "cold" and I was like uhh...thats a thing a with women and black people. You know the whole taking coats to the movies and shopping malls thing which was greeted by a collective "Huh???"

Like thats something really basic. I've known it since elementary school. But if you didnt grow up in a diverse community you'd have zero concept of it. I'm telling you, music and Seinfeld is the same thing.

If someone heard "What a Wonderful World" and told you they'd never heard it, but ALSO they were recording themselves and FLIPPING shit about it when the Louis Armstrong biopic came out and was #1 at the box office, many people would be skeptical.

The issue is HEARD OF. EVERY SINGLE PERSON who speaks English in North America knows We Will Rock You. I'm sorry.

Again, it would be like meeting someone who didn't know the  HEEHEE sound from Michael Jackson. There are literally a million people who don't know it. That's NOTHING.

Cultures are different, there's no doubt. This isn't about tracklisting, or band members. It's boiled down to "Are you aware this existed in any sense?"

And Ghostface? He's my favourite member of Wutang. Bulletproof Wallets is amazing.

His greatest selling album was 1 000 000 copies worldwide. Queen? 15 000 000 in US/UK.

It's not even comparable.

Of course most black people know "We Will Rock You"...from chants at sports events, not as a Queen song and knowing the song vs. the chant isn't the same.

We're talking sitting down and actually listening to the song. Not just 10 seconds from a commercial.

Like, it's sort of the same thing as some popular song that's newer than our time. Our brain just doesn't really register it as significant. We may have heard it but we couldn't remember it ir say who sang it or anything else.

Look at how much Korean stuff is just a non-event for foreigners here. We're living and oblivious to so much "big" TV and music here because we have our own stuff we get into. And of course short-termers that's understandable but it also applies to long-termers as well. We're  it part of the dominant culture, we're isolated from it, often having minimal connection to it and little interest. Same thing.

If you're in a 98% black community, odds are you aren't listening to or watching the same things as the majority culture.

Heck, look at older white folks who don't know anything about rock music or the latest shows and just aren't into TV or listen to only classical or country or Christian music. Or immigrants who are largely isolated through language and whose lives revolved around their religious community.

Is there some of that? Sure. But that doesn't mean it isn't genuine for many.

Like I said, just because some people think EVERYONE knows a certain song doesn't make it true.

Awareness of popular music and TV is not that universal.

Remember when the room temperature thread happened and everyone thought it was "weird" that people found 24 "cold" and I was like uhh...thats a thing a with women and black people. You know the whole taking coats to the movies and shopping malls thing which was greeted by a collective "Huh???"

Like thats something really basic. I've known it since elementary school. But if you didnt grow up in a diverse community you'd have zero concept of it. I'm telling you, music and Seinfeld is the same thing.

I don't recall that discussion, but seeing as I grew up in a diverse city and most people here did, you're not considered the authority on these matters that you seem to believe you are.  It means nothing to me when you start to make sh*t up off the top of your head about what is going on in Black communities.  You operate under the assumption your experiences in the metropolises of Minnesota or wherever you're from are the yard stick for the rest of us.  I've been to Minneapolis.  Seemed pretty white to me compared to Toronto.  We also know what happens in other ethnic communities.  Thanks for condescending, though. 

I don't recall that discussion, but seeing as I grew up in a diverse city and most people here did, you're not considered the authority on these matters that you seem to believe you are.  It means nothing to me when you start to make sh*t up off the top of your head about what is going on in Black communities.  You operate under the assumption your experiences in the metropolises of Minnesota or wherever you're from are the yard stick for the rest of us.  I've been to Minneapolis.  Seemed pretty white to me compared to Toronto.  We also know what happens in other ethnic communities.  Thanks for condescending, though. 

The tale he spun way back on Dave's was that Marty grew up in Detroit and his family had a farm there (yeah, Detroit) and he worked in a pizza hut whilst learning to fly planes. So, of course, he knows all about black communities and black culture.