 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
VH1 uncovers racist 'hatecore' rock
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic This is hardly a newsflash: Rock 'n' roll can get ugly. Pop music always has contained an element of anger. It has chronicled political upheaval, teen rebellion, the war between the sexes. Race, too, has been a frequent subject of rock music, ever since the civil rights movement. But outside the mainstream fester bands that promote racial hatred and the white power movement. This material is so venomous, so strident, "hate rapper" Eminem is almost mild by comparison. VH1 News Special: Inside Hate Rock, airing at 9 p.m. Monday, looks at the people who produce "hatecore," music that champions white supremacy. At times almost dispassionate in its approach, the documentary interviews bands such as Skrewdriver, Rahowa (Racial Holy War), Angry Aryans and Max Resist, as well as their followers. Some are easily identifiable by their skinhead gear, swastikas and Nazi salutes. But others aren't so obvious: The program makes it clear that hardcore fans could be, and often are, our neighbors. Inside Hate Rock interviews leaders in the U.S. white supremacy movement about how these demagogues use hate music as a powerful recruitment tool. The songs are short, the message simple: We want a white world. "If a kid listens to a white-power song, and that song says white power 15 times in a minute," says T.J Leydon, "that's way better than a kid can read in any literature." Leydon is one of several former skinheads interviewed in the show. The documentary also shows that hatecore is not just hidden away in rural backwaters. Its twisted message attracts fans worldwide. In this country, Resistance Records, the leading haterock label, pulls in $1.3-million yearly. That money goes to the National Alliance, the organization owned and operated by notorious American neo-Nazi leader William Pierce. Pierce tells the filmmakers he recognizes the power and "emotion" of hatecore music and is confident it will influence the next generation of white power advocates. "I want to give them a target for their rage," Pierce says, "so that it doesn't stay cooped up inside of them and become self-destructive." But most chilling is a segment featuring the young children of those involved in the hatecore movement. Their mothers speak proudly of how they are shaping their children's minds to believe in this destructive ideology. Kids in a church sing what sounds like lullabies -- until you listen more closely and hear the white power lyrics. Inside Hate Rock may not feature bands you hear on your car radio or watch on MTV, or that make the Billboard charts, but it does demonstrate, to frightening effect, that these hateful messages are reaching huge audiences and resonating with many. - To contact Gina Vivinetto, email gina@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the wire |
