nina gordon - "straight outta compton"

Just a couple of things: one, the word that sprang to mind most readily for me was "absurdist" - as in, not serious, nor funny nor ironic but something that recognises its own position in the grand scheme of things. I know nothing about Nina Gordon other than she's written the occasional decent pop-punk tune over the last decade or so, but I credit her with enough intelligence to vaguely grasp her own social context.

Secondly, I post to I think four messageboards and read a couple of others regularly and this song has been brought up on all but one of them. This is coming up for more publicity than she has had in the last seven or eight years, right?

I would think it fairly humorous I think if it weren't a somewhat cliche joke. I'm not offended by it at all. Just "meh."

None of those words are enemies in my world except for "novelty" when it's used to describe music that is actually "thought-provoking" or "effective." (See also any of my rants in response to people referring to TMBG as a "novelty" band.)

Poly, I doubt you're reading too much into the Supersuckers take on their dead homies. I'm sure the parallel is not lost on them regardless of their original logic in choosing to cover the song.

If Nina Gordon had covered Bob Marley's equally troubled, but more peaceable "Redemption Song" nobody would be complaining about 'irony.'

She doesn't need to cover "Redemption Song," there's enough guys doing it every day in the NYC subway, thank you very much.

Mash-up artists should, by logic of the outrage of this cover, be completely railed as offensive then, because they often misappropriate gangsta culture by ripping the lyrics from their intended musical content and put them over non-gangsta contexts. Fuckers.

Mash-up artists should be completely railed as offensive because they're so fucking boring.

Fleetwood Mac are an offense unto themselves, I fail to see how DMX could ruin it for them.

I just strongly disliked the way they portrayed the group's musical progression in the film.

If you play it too straight then people accuse you of "not having any right to sing it, because you can't feel the emotions/connect with the meaning/understand the song" and if you be funny and ironic then you're not giving the fucking touchstone the respect it deserves.

Fuck sacred cows, it sounds nice, get over it people.
(That goes for Nina's Compton and Frente's BLT)

Fuck sacred cows, it sounds nice, get over it people.

No. It doesn't. It sounds mediocre and bland.

You realize you're quoting a key line in the miserable 70s TV movie Superdome. (Which I only know thanks to MST3K.)

ha ha ha, Frente did Got Your Money tonight on their reunion tour. (chorus only, and an interpolation. but still!)

If Nina Gordon had done a half-assed, disrespectful version of Bob Marley a lot more enlightened, liberal white people would be upset.

those white girls sure should know their place, and not disrespect any men.

I find it very funny that people are up in arms about Nina's 'language' on this when probably everyone on this thread (inc. me) owns a rap album with the word 'faggot' used unironically, and either doesn't care about it or actively defends it. I would think that in terms of offence Nina saying 'nigger' is similar to Ghostface saying 'faggot' (I have no problem with either).

carry on.

Ah, yes. "Well, that's sexist!!!!" My reference was to Nina Gordon - not because she was the one who covered NWA, but because she is my stand-in for all white women on Earth. When I think 'woman,' I think 'washed-up alt-rock star.'

I find it very funny that people are up in arms about Nina's 'language'
Good thing I didn't refer to her 'language,' eh?

If Nina Gordon had showed even a tiny amount of passion for or interest in her source material, even if her song sucked, OK. But she didn't. She went for the cheap, lazy gag that's been done a million times before. And she purposely chose a genre, act and a song that continues to merit laughter and derision from her fan demographic, material and context laden with racial overtones.

It's not my fault she opened herself up to questions of unconscious racism. Maybe if her version wasn't stilted and boring, it wouldn't have come up.

Nobody gets up in arms when someone does a lazy cover of a rock song. Why is NWA entitled to more "respect" just because they're a hiphop group?

I'm pissed when my time gets wasted if it sucks.

The singer out of Veruca Salt has a fan demographic? Fuck!

(This post brought to you by a scratched-up, unplayable copy of The Cooler and a fucking headache.)

Can we get a remix with two other gals taking Ren and Eazy-E's lyrics? Someone way up there gave Nellie McKay a shout, that'd work for one of 'em.

Why is NWA entitled to more "respect" just because they're a hiphop group?
Strawman. No one said they're deserving of "more 'respect'" - respect, period.

What's unhealthy is all these exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!