I was just watching the new Living Colour dvd and I got to the song "In Your Name" and I got so sad because this great band will NEVER get the recognition they deserve and its really not their fault. Then I started thinking, what outlet would they have to be heard on radio or videos played on tv....NONE. The Classic rock stations snub them and they're too talented for pop radio...so I guess they will go down in history as one of the best unrecognized bands ever(ala Funakdelic)...that is so sad and unfair!

these dazes, it's hard 4 any great band 2 get airtime on any format

L4OATheOriginal said:

Its so sad tho....In addition to Living Colour, Ima big supported of Funkadelic and its sad that they aren't celebrated or even heard on radio like they should. They have SO MANY rock songs out there that people never have heard or even know about.

Funkadelic is highly recognized.

But yeah, a black rock group was destined for radio failure on 2 fronts:

1 - Black audiences weren't really feeling them.
2 - White audiences didn't really accept them.

Who's left?

Afronomical said:

my question is WHY.
Who cares the color?

LoveAlive said:

That's a question that has been asked since Slavery arrived in America.

Afronomical said:

I just dont understand....I wonder how people reacted to Living Colour when they were on Lallapolooza in '91

i love this band so much. one of my greatest concert memories was one of their comeback shows in London. its god-like.
and yes its really unfortunate that they dont get the desserts they deserve but i do see that they all do wok all the time in music and other stuff which really at the end of the day is what it's all about.

Afronomical said:

Ok...I have to ask. Why would they not have been accepted by white audiences?

I mean, I'm white and dug a few of their songs, but "Living Colour" wasn't all that. If they had been, white audiences would have had no problem accepting them. They weren't that terribly great.
[Edited 5/27/07 12:59pm]

Xagain said:[quote]

Afronomical said:

just like white audiences accepted what other great BLACK rock band. Heck, Jimi Hendrix is sparingly played on classic rock stations..

Afronomical said:

people who just plain like good music and don't care who's making it.

which i guess isn't a very big crowd.

LoveAlive said:[quote]

Xagain said:

Hendrix's music isn't all accessible, in the sense that it maybe isn't what you want to hear driving around in the summer with the windows down. So yeah, you're right that he isn't played by classic rock stations as much as the Beatles or Stones. But it's not because he's black...that's ridiculous. About every rock-n-roller I know would consider Hendrix a rock GOD, and most of them think Prince is just a Hendrix-James Brown-Little Richard wanna-be.

LoveAlive said:[quote]

Xagain said:

And how many great, Black rock bands can you name? Hendrix, Living Colour...? Who? Prince? He seems to have done ok. Likewise Lenny Kravitz.

Xagain said:

Did you REALLY have to ask that? I mean, come on, it's obvious.

Anxiety said:

In Utopia, I'd agree.

LoveAlive said:

Y wait on Radio? P-Funk has it's OWN show on the net. Most of what's there "radio" can't touch.....don't let the lack of radio airplay stop you from gettin' "knee-deep", it's out there!.

As a matter of fact, I'm listening at the moment.....


[Edited 5/27/07 15:32pm]

Afronomical said:

i don't understand. you think even in utopia, people who are colorblind about music would still be rare? that's pretty nihilistic!

Afronomical said:

Yeah. I know your answer. I was just hoping it wasn't some racist "white people couldn't accept a black rock band" crap. Like Living Colour didn't blow up 'cause "The Man" kept 'em down. Not because they were a mediocre band, but because we white folk couldn't accept the image of a black man playing rock-and-roll music. After all, rock-and-roll is a white thang, right?

Xagain said:

There have been many talented black rock bands and black-led rock bands that have not received the attention or exposure that they should have. To ignore the role that racism has played in that is careless. Racism affected the decisions of labels and radio stations with regard to exposure/promotion of these bands.

I remember back in the day when Fishbone talked about how they were told that they had to put white people in their video. Angelo (lead singer) said people who knew him knew where his heart was, but that he wasn't putting white people in his video, because no one ever tells white people that they have to put blacks in their videos. When you look at bands like Living Colour, King's X, 24-7 Spyz, Fishbone, Eric Gales Band and others it is clear that race played a factor in their lack of exposure. I don't think they were mediocre. Even if they weren't your cup of tea, they were far more talented than several white bands who received much more exposure.

Groups like Thin Lizzy, Hootie & the Blowfish and even the Jimi Hendrix Experience received more exposure because they would not be considered "black" rock bands. An ingredient to their success was that though the lead was black, the remainder of the band was white. Therefore, it was easier for decision makers to promote them to white audiences. As great as Jimi was, had he not been backed by two white guys and repackaged/re-sent to the USA from London, he would have probably had a career as underrated as other great black guitarists like Eddie Hazel and Ernie Isley. It's sad, but true.

For whatever reason, LC is severely under-appreciated in the States. However they have a very active tour schedule in Europe and South America and some very rabid fans in Australia and New Zealand. More pity to us diehard American fans who keep supporting the band through thick and thin.

bellanoche said:

That's your opinion. Living Colour were a mainstream band. They were exposed. They just weren't so great that you can say they didn't get bigger solely because they were a black band.
I have no doubt that race has been both a positive and negative influence on the music business since it's beginning. Hell, everyone knows Elvis stole a whole lot of his stuff from better black artists. But "Cult of Personality" and "Glamour Boy" weren't so great that you can blame race for Living Colour's not being bigger than they were. Not when so many other black artists have been so huge. Not even Kool & the Gang had any white members.
And yes, Hendrix would have been Hendrix without the white dudes in his band. No one even remembers the white dudes in his band. Hazel and Isley may have even been better players, but there's more to Jimi's legacy than just his guitar skills. They never started a riot by setting their guitars on fire, or brought such controversy by playing the "Star Spangled Banner" irreverently. He connected culturally in a way that made him a legend.
And as far as Living Colour having more talent than other bands with more exposure, that's just the way it is in the music biz. Talent has nothing to do with how much money an artist can bring in. If that were true, the radio wouldn't be so full of crap as it is while truly great modern artists, black AND white, exist on the fringes of radio. You know alot about music, I can tell. So you know you got to do your homework to find the greats, they're not always out there for mass consumption.

I'm just saying, yay for Living Colour. But to say race is a factor whenever a black band doesn't blow up is racist in itself.

Xagain said:

So you DID have to ask that question. Got it. Unbelievable.

Anxiety said:

Then why are the RHCP the biggest band in the world when fishbone clearly has the better songs, better musicians and a more talented/charismatic frontman in Angelo Moore.
RHCP has made a career eating out of Funkadelic's ass. And most white folks would swear that Flea is better than Bootsy.
Why does everyone worship Jim Morrison and the doors when they are simply a clone of Arthur Lee and Love. Jim wanted to be Arthur Lee so bad that he dressed like him, dated his ex girlfriend and got the same dog as Arthur.

And by the way Jimi is white to most folks so his success doesn't count.
Rock and Roll is still the most racist industry in the world.

rebelsoldier said:

Mike Watt (fISHBONE) is better than both! (and yes, I'm white.....)
[Edited 5/27/07 19:16pm]

abierman said:

uhhh you mean fIREHOSE.

Xagain said:

I would NEVER say that race is a factor every time a black band doesn't blow up. Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. There are a lot of black bands out there that just plain suck!

However, when you take the timeframe in history that Living Colour and some of the other bands that I referenced came onto the scene, race was very much a factor in their limited exposure. Can you honestly say that Fishbone was mediocre and less-deserving of exposure than the plethora of bands that came out of LA and Seattle during the late '80s - early '90s? I know of black bands who could not even get booked in rock venues because the owners felt their patrons could not relate to "black guys playing rock." The trials and tribulations of black rock bands were part of what spawned the Black Rock Coalition. So, folks weren't just imagining things. There has been a long history of struggle for black rock bands.

Also, my focus here is black rock bands. Kool & the Gang was not a rock band. So I think they are irrelevant to my point. Black bands have always had success doing what is considered by the masses to be "traditional black music" be it R&B, Blues, Funk, and even Pop. Prince, for all his genre-bending success and talent still is not taken seriously by many "rock" fans for his rock guitar chops though he can play the pants off many who are considered rock guitar gods, and race is definitely a factor in that with some of them.

You're right, today, no one remembers Noel's or Mitch's names, but it is not so much about names as it is about visuals. Black guy backed by whites guys is not a black band. Black guy backed by more black guys is a black band. Also, Jimi was setting his guitar on fire and doing all the superman antics because he knew that as a black artist playing rock to white crowds he had to go above and beyond to be recognized and talked about. He would not have been doing that stuff had he been playing to black crowds, that is why Ernie Isley and Eddie Hazel did not cause riots by doing that kind of stuff. Given their crowds, it was not necessary.

I agree with rebelsoldier - Rock is still the most racist industry in the world. Does that mean that every one who is white and listens to rock is racist, ABSOLUTELY NOT. However, as I said before, I think it is naive and careless to ignore the obvious.

-grammar edit-
[Edited 5/27/07 20:07pm]

bellanoche said:

Well, yeah. Good points, and I will agree with you 'cause arguing with that would be idiotic. The music industry is racist, I will agree. All you have to do is walk into a record store and see the way cds are organized to see it.
So, I don't think Living Colour was really an awesome band, but I do agree with you that there are few (if any) industries that are as segregated and racially motivated as the music business.

Living Colour and Fishbone weren't going to be a popular rock band whether they were black white or green. Because they weren't doing the kind of rock that was popular at the time. Hair Metal --> Metallica/Megadeth --> Guns & Roses --> to finally "grunge/alternative" (for lack of better words).


It wasn't ever gonna happen, the same way Faith No More didn't blow up to those levels.

Raze said:

That's what I wasted all those words trying to say.