Carnelian posted:Eugene's Lair posted:Carnelian posted:Baz posted:Saint posted:Johnathon King
Isn’t he dead
Still alive, I don't think a child abuser can be described as 'irritating', it's not like you might think, "Oh that posh spice is well up herself with her stupid pouts and ridiculous poses she thinks she can copyright, and that Jonathan King, with his pedophilia, really irritates me as well!"
Jonathan King was widely considered to be deeply irritating (and indeed he rather played on his reputation as a bit of a "Marmite" figure) long before his criminal activities became public knowledge, and I assume that's where the reference comes from.
That said, I fully understand and agree with your point: no matter how 'irritating' I might consider "Johnny Reggae" (and it's often cited as a classic example of "cultural appropriation"), it simply isn't comparable to a conviction for child sexual abuse...
I think cultural appropriation is a tricky one. "Jonny Reggae" is just a cash-in novelty record at a time when reggae was very popular - and just that. The 2 Tone era bands were accused of cultural appropriation - Madness - all white but almost being a Prince Buster tribute act in their early days, yet the overall message of that genre was multicultural togetherness. Were the early black Ragtime and Jazz musicians 'appropriating' white European musical forms and white European instruments to produce their music? Yes, they were, but so what!
That's rather the point though...
I feel I'm dragging this thread seriously off-topic, so I don't want to go into this in great depth, but the criticism of "Johnny Reggae" centres around just that: it was a cheap cash-in by a white bloke who had no real knowledge, understanding or interest in the musical culture he was borrowing from.
You mention Madness as an example: the band I usually hear as a comparison is The Specials (or, more specifically, just Jerry Dammers), but the point remains the same. Yes; the 2 Tone bands attracted criticism at the time, but they genuinely respected and cared for the music, as well as the culture it represented. As you say, Madness started out - pretty much by their own admission - as virtually a Prince Buster tribute act, but that was "tribute" in the proper, respectful, sense.
Compared with Jonathan King, we're talking chalk and cheese...