How Could He Be So Heartless?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Stehle on September 15, 2009 at 11:56pm

I highly doubt it was staged, given his previous asshole-ish record. He is ALWAYS pulling this type of soapbox crap.

So yes, Kanye is just a idiot that who needs his mouth wired back up.

And MTV jumped at the chance to cover all the controversy and continue talking about in every way possible - web, Twitter, etc. But really, can you blame them? Controversy stirs the public up and gets them wanting to tune in to see/hear more. I'm sure MTV.com profited nicely from the huge surge in online traffic.

Permalink Reply by Mike DiGrande on September 16, 2009 at 12:53am

I think MTV jumped on it, but I don't think it was pre-meditated or staged.

Kanye West says whatever comes to his head, and at that particular moment, Taylor Swift happened to be in his way. With that said, I do think his management and the Internet coverage has helped keep the fire going. And considering no one knows his plans for following up "808s & Heartbreak" I think the constant mention of this will keep interest in him high until his next high profile project.

All that aside, I could care less if he interrupted Taylor Swift. The man makes albums like "Late Registration" and "Graduation," and in my opinion until his craft suffers, he can say whatever he wants.

Permalink Reply by Seth Brandjord on September 16, 2009 at 5:13am

I wish I could agree with that last sentiment, Mike. I actually dropped a fumbling entry on this right after it happened, which is somewhat ridiculous since I haven't watched MTV, let alone the VMAs, in years. But as much as I loved "Late Registration" (and even "The College Dropout," after a few listens) I've found that as of the day after, Kanye just doesn't sit well with me. There are so many incredible artists working in hip-hop, many of whom may not have Kanye's production skill but certainly match or exceed his verbal ability. Whenever a Kanye track queued up on my Pandora today, I didn't derive the same joy from it; ended up downranking all of them for the time being, at least. The first thing to pop into my head every time I heard one of his tracks was the act, and with that foremost in my mind I couldn't enjoy the music.

I know that rappers, and musicians and celebrities in general, do horrible things all of the time. Normally I don't care; I have almost no exposure to advertisements, television, or other tentacular appendages of "popular culture" outside of my corners of the internet. If T.I. goes to jail, or Mystikal starts taping the groupies he takes home as soon as they get in the limo in order to protect himself from lawsuits, that's stuff I have no reason to know. If I hear about it on the radio or the like I can easily compartmentalize it as an example of invasive and sensationalist media.

But Kanye did this in front of a massive audience and a bunch of cameras and I therefore can't ignore the act. I thought it was a bit iffy that he ended up on a television show immediately after, but I'm still trying to figure out why Jay Leno has a television show, since I thought he already did. However, rushing the stage as a publicity stunt is hardly less distasteful than if he simply felt it was the most appropriate way to communicate his feelings. I may very well be in the minority for moving away from listening to his music as a result of this, and it's certainly possible that by the time his next album drops I'll have forgotten I was mad. But for now I'm not trying to hear him.

Permalink Reply by Mike DiGrande on September 23, 2009 at 5:32pm

I can see your points Seth but I think we just disagree. Sorry you feel the need to boycott his songs for the time being. The rest of what I have to say isn't really directed at you, so sorry if it comes off as cranky. It's not meant to attack you, it's just my continued thoughts on this silly incident.

*Ahem*

Let's put it into perspective: Kanye West did not get trumped up on weapons charges or shoot a sex tape.

Kanye West didn't even really hurt anybody.

He was just rude in front of a ton of cameras. Period.

That most certainly speaks to his character, but Kanye never got in this business to be a role model. He did it to create, get famous, and get paid. Quite frankly, I don't listen to him thinking he's a role model, and those expecting him to be one are a bit ridiculous. In fact, it's ridiculous to crucify him like this considering MTV has a history of this happening. People are set to embargo Kanye's music, and yet NO ONE batted an eye when Tim Commerford (The bassist from Rage Against The Machine) climbed the stage during the '00 VMAs to "protest" Limp Bizkit's award. He even went so far to say that Rage deserved the award Limp Bizkit received.

I didn't see anyone defending Limp Bizkit, and like them or not, it was THEIR moment.

Oh, but that's right, Limp Bizkit isn't a skinny blonde girl.

Kanye West is a jerk. Big deal. I don't want to be friends with him, I just want to listen to his records.

Permalink Reply by Seth Brandjord on September 23, 2009 at 5:57pm

You make some excellent points MIke. And you're right that Limp doesn't manage to secure the same sympathy/empathy, really at any point in their career. As for Tim's stage-climb, doesn't that put him at about 1-4 in comparison to Kanye's assholery?

It's not that I think Kanye should be held up as a role model, or be held to the standards of one. One of my favorite artists of all time, a man whose music I respect and have really watched grow and change, is Manson; and there's literally no part of his life I'm hoping I or anyone I care about emulates (besides the millions, maybe). Still, there's an emotional resonance I attach to music, and that wa can be disrupted by an unpleasant memory.

I'm sure it'll eventually fade, and I'll go back to cherishing the songs; but at the moment it's like a rock in my aural shoe.

Permalink Reply by Mike DiGrande on September 23, 2009 at 6:13pm

I think Tim made a bigger, and more mean-spirited display than Kanye did. But I think arguing that would be subjective. Hope the songs regain their magic for you, it's always a shame when one loses respect for an artist.

Off Topic: I used to be a huge fan, but now I'm upset with Manson. I haven't really liked his output since Golden Age Of Grotesque.

Permalink Reply by Seth Brandjord on September 23, 2009 at 8:30pm

Golden was the last album of his I picked up, myself; I really enjoyed that album because I was firmly entrenched in an emo/screamo/etcetro stage and that's basically what I took that album to be. But everything from that back traced what I found to be a really compelling artistic evolution, where he'd constantly reinvent himself and his direction but you could see strains of earlier albums. There're few artists I can attribute that same growth to.

Permalink Reply by Cait on September 16, 2009 at 2:48am

Do I think it was staged? No. Do I think MTV was pushing it after the fact? Actually, no. Obviously they're going to benefit from the publicity - as are Kanye and Taylor - because getting attention is getting attention. But I don't feel that MTV pushed this issue any further than they did any of the other moments from the show. I followed them on Twitter for the duration of the show (and still am, actually), and as far as I've noticed, they've talked about not only the Kanye/Taylor incident, but Lady Gaga's "controversial" performance, other performances, and the MJ tribute.

I believe that Kanye taking the liberty of going on stage and interrupting someone's speech is in poor taste, no matter who it is. The fact that the "victim" (I use that term loosely) was Taylor Swift just underscores the unbelievable rudeness displayed by Kanye. I think what bothers me, personally, is that it was Taylor's first VMA. Whenever she looks back, this is what she'll remember (although I'm sure after a while, it will just be ridiculous and even funny). Yes, in the world of receiving awards, the VMAs are pretty insignificant. But it probably means more to her than to us to be recognized by MTV and its viewers because it's stepping from just the realm of country music into the "pop culture" world.

I may be a bit biased because I'm a fan of Taylor Swift, not only because of her music but because she seems a lot more genuine and down-to-earth than many other pop starletts. However, I will say I was also a fan of Kanye's music (not necessarily him) before this happened.

Permalink Reply by Kara Kelly on September 23, 2009 at 3:48pm

Here's what I say to that...http://theother98.blogspot.com/2009/09/heartless-hip-hopper.html

Permalink Reply by Kara Kelly on September 23, 2009 at 3:50pm

Here's what I had to say about it: http://theother98.blogspot.com/2009/09/heartless-hip-hopper.html

Permalink Reply by Pamela P on September 23, 2009 at 3:52pm

i just think he is an idiot.

Permalink Reply by Cocoplum on September 23, 2009 at 5:43pm

They (probably) did not stage the whole thing. Why would he do something so obviously damaging to his career/image on purpose? He's a "jackass" and he didn't think through the implications. Plain and simple.

MTV's PR machine capitalized on the event because a) they are good at their jobs and b) it's MTV. It may seem a bit sick - but hey, we all read it, watched it, blogged it, linked it and tweeted it. MTV just jumped on a good (if a tad immoral) media op.