I know I shouldn't give a shit about the Grammys, but still...

[praxis1966]

I'm not entirely sure why this hasn't been brought up before now, but I'm kinda troubled about this year's "surprise" big winners at the Grammys: Lady Antebellum. Given the generally progressive nature of artists and musicians, I was a little disappointed when I awoke the morning after the gala (not having actually sat through the debacle the night before) to discover that a band with an obvious reference to the pre-Civil War (read: slave holding) Southeastern US had won five awards. Apparently, I'm not the only person annoyed by a band whose name has obvious racist connotations, but it's a little bemusing to me that this angle hasn't been covered more widely.

Firstly, from Princeton University's WordNet:




antebellum (an′tē bel′əm) adj. - belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War



Second, from the LA Times:




Lady Antebellum's Grammy upset? Blame it on Nixon

So: Lady Antebellum wins five Grammys and sends Eminem home scowling with only two. How did that happen?

Here's how: Lady Antebellum is the "Nixonland" candidate; part of the not-so-silent majority; this year's stealth Taylor Swift; the voice of Middle America with a pretty, de-twanged sound that's all about harking back to a "simpler" time.

How far back? Well, the Nashville country-pop trio's name evokes nostalgia for a pre-Civil War, "Gone With the Wind" era, with romantic images of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara, white-columned plantation houses, and, oh yeah, black slaves laboring in the cotton fields.

I don't mean to demonize the band. I'm sure they're nice people.

But, really, I hate their name.

Full Text (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/sns-mct-grammys-lady-antebellum-the-choice-of-the-silent-majority-20110215,0,7115808.story)

[Pirate Utopian]

It could be worse. It could have had performances by Bruno Mars and B.o.B.

[Fawkes]

I'm not entirely sure why this hasn't been brought up before now, but I'm kinda troubled about this year's "surprise" big winners at the Grammys: Lady Antebellum. Given the generally progressive nature of artists and musicians, I was a little disappointed when I awoke the morning after the gala (not having actually sat through the debacle the night before) to discover that a band with an obvious reference to the pre-Civil War (read: slave holding) Southeastern US had won five awards. Apparently, I'm not the only person annoyed by a band whose name has obvious racist connotations, but it's a little bemusing to me that this angle hasn't been covered more widely.

Firstly, from Princeton University's WordNet:



Second, from the LA Times:

I don't really care about the Grammys and I've never even heard Lady Antebellum, but yeah, their name really pisses me off. I understand that the Confederate flag can carry with it entirely different connotations in the American South than it does elsewhere, but there name doesn't seem too far off from "Sir Third Reich".

[praxis1966]

I don't really care about the Grammys and I've never even heard Lady Antebellum, but yeah, their name really pisses me off.

No doubt. As the article said, it's probably supposed to be evocative of Southern belles in big hoop skirts, Gone with the Wind and all that shit, but there's no escaping the rest of the reality of that name. The connections only deepen when you consider that Lady Antebellum is a country act as well...:mad:


I understand that the Confederate flag can carry with it entirely different connotations in the American South than it does elsewhere...

Oh, don't even get me started on this shit. As somebody who was a fairly dependable liberal until being radicalized by the blunt force trauma of growing up in the Deep South, as well as having a personal passion for history, I can say without equivocation that anybody who tries to defend the Confederate battle flag is probably a closet racist. I'm pretty positive other board members who grew up in the same region (guys like Il Medico and Tsukae, for instance) will tell you the same thing. I'm almost tempted to post this angry debate I had with some idiot (on this fantasy soccer FB game I play no less) who tried to defend it recently. Let's just say he wound up pwned by the end of it, lol... If it tells you anything, though, there are still a good many places in the South where the US Civil War is still referred to as The War of Northern Aggression.


...but there name doesn't seem too far off from "Sir Third Reich".

Very true. The only reason I think they're getting away with it is because the US has one of the worst public school systems in the industrialized world. Unless you've taken college level history courses or studied Latin, you've probably never come in contact with the word "antebellum."

[Red Commissar]

Yeah, when I looked through the grammy winners I saw their name came up. Never heard of them before. I guess that's country music for you.

[Metacomet]

I like old school country, not this "pop with a twang" garbage.

There name has always bothered me, unfortunatley in a house full of fans, its hard to avoid.

Eminem's song-was about how unfortunatley real relationships often work out (not to mention the lyrics can have two completely different meanings, one to the music game, one to a real life marriage)

These pop love-country songs are all whitewashed, wholesome bullshit.

[Aurorus Ruber]

I quite agree. It dismays and worries me how these reactionary subtexts have worked their way into popular culture and even been rewarded. We certainly have our work cut out for us on the cultural front.