Forget all of the “bombshell testimony” or “shocking, newly-released video footage”, the best moment of the January 6th Committee hearings took place yesterday…and it involved clothing. Among those testifying before the committee was former Oath Keepers member Jason Van Tatenhove to talk about the losers in that group who self-identify as a “militia”, and their fanatical devotion to Donald Trump. Van Tatenhove went viral not for what he had to say, but because he appeared before a Congressional committee wearing a Descendents t-shirt.
For those not familiar–and I’m guessing that is 99.9999999% of you–the Descendents are a California skate punk band that dates back to the 1980’s–and growing up, they were one of my favorite bands. Their lead singer, Milo Aukerman, is a molecular biologist that studied at UW-Madison and is probably the smartest guy in the music industry. It is his image–buzz haircut and thick horn-rimmed glasses–that became the logo for the band and appears on the shirt worn on Capitol Hill yesterday. And yet, their song catalog is filled mostly with short little ditties about drinking too much coffee, farting, eating a lot, and generally being a nerd that can’t score with women. In other words, what a lot of young guys really care about.
Needless to say the punk rock community immediately noticed Mr Van Tatenhove’s apparel and started tagging the band’s social media accounts with posts of pictures and video from the hearing. That led the “official” Descendents Twitter account to post the following statement: “We completely disavow groups like the Oath Keepers and in no way condone their hateful ideology.”
Which brings me to my point: I find it very interesting that artists can be “offended” by the make up of their fanbase. I’m pretty sure that Milo would be less than happy with the vast majority of My Two Cents that I offer up every day. He sang derisive lyrics about living in the suburbs like his parents–and yet, I encourage more development of suburban living since that is how a lot of people prefer to live–not stacked on top of each other like urban density proponents demand today. Paul Ryan got the same treatment from his favorite bands when he stated in an interview that he loved working out to Rage Against the Machine and other hard rockers.
We are heading back into the every couple of years cycle where a political candidate (usually a Republican) plays songs for the audience at rallies or has a big “walk on song” that the artist (usually a Democrat or a Socialist) denounces and publicly demands not be played at such political rallies. It’s why you hear a lot of country and classic rock at GOP events–those artists are either on-board with the message or they are all dead and can’t complain.
But I wonder why musicians who claim they “make music for everyone to enjoy” don’t like it when everyone enjoys their music? I don’t recall ever going into the Exclusive Company and seeing music divided up by political affiliation. “Sorry, dude. You can only buy the latest NOFX album if you voted for Michael Dukakis.” Maybe they are upset that the message they are conveying in their music didn’t convince me to believe the same things. In the case of the Descendents, that would be the belief that drinking 15 cups of coffee a day and passing gas repeatedly in a van full of people with no windows in the back is the way to live your life.
I would argue that finding enjoyment in art that the artist meant to actually offend you with, shows real open-mindedness and acceptance. Unlike the people I saw leave the opening night of the musical Book of Mormon at the PAC because it offended their religious sensibilities. There were more than a few times that I was the only person in the entire audience laughing. Call it appreciation for the art itself–and not the “message”.
I would also point out, the Descendents didn’t offer to refund Jason Van Tatenhove’s $35 for the t-shirt, or whatever he paid to buy or download all the albums over the past 40-years. To paraphrase Michael Jordan’s famous quote about not being politically active during his playing days, “Republicans buy music too”.
