Sensitive Slagger Slag

Rip It Up, Issue 216, 1 August 1995, Page 11

Sensitive Slagger Slag

This letter is in response to just about every fuckin’ letter I’ve read in RipltUp for the last few years. I have held my tongue for a long time and I’ve decided to break my silence. Why can’t you all stop slagging off bands you don’t like? Novel idea isn't it. This column has almost become a bitch column about bands. All bands that have managed to write, play their songs, and stick together for more than a few months deserve some respect, and those that have made the effort to record these songs do too. Being a member of any band isn’t easy, and I’m

talking from personal experience here. You have to cope with the differences of opinion and stress. If any of the people slagging off Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Silverchair, Guns N’ Roses and any other bands would like to do international touring and could cope with the pressures of fatigue, jet lag and nagging press members, then they might have an excuse for slamming bands, but till then...? Everyone on this planet has their own individual music tastes. If they didn’t, then the world would be an incredibly boring place. If people like a band like Guns N’ Roses, then that’s a part of them which makes them an individual.

A quote from a song (I won’t name the band or song as you’ll probably judge it for that, not its worth) which seems to pinpoint this problem goes: ‘lf I damned your point of view, could you turn the other cheek?’

So, next time, instead of grabbing for your pen, stop and think about it. It is quite possible to like Led Zeppelin, Queen, Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row, Deep Purple, Silverchair, Supergroove, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, the Police, Elton John, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice Cooper, Gravediggaz, Jimi Hendrix, the Clash, Offspring, Wrathchild America, the Doors, or any other combination of bands for their music and not their hype. Open your minds to the incredible world of music. You may not like all of it, but don’t limit yourself. Everyone has the right to make their mark, whether it’s a three chord blues number or a 12/8 retro metal piece. After all: ‘Time’s short, your life’s your own / And in the end, we are just, dust and bones.’ So, you’re entitled to your own opinion of what’s cool and what could be destroyed by a mad elephant, but if it’s gonna hurt someone else, please keep your mouth shut. From a very open minded person,

Rachel/Freddie Laurenson, Wellington. PS: I’m proud of what I have just written and if you don’t like it, then that’s your opinion and I won’t knock it again.