In one of her recent rants (this one came onstage in San Diego) Lily Allen spewed out a series of incendiary, attention-grabbing political statements. She called President Bush an “asshole and a cunt,” and described British Prime Minister Tony Blair as “a cunt’s bitch.” (Allen went on to say that she was tired of men with “little dicks” and is “probably bisexual,” which is, of course, good to know). We love it when stars make controversial statements, but, especially when it comes to politics, we appreciate it when they manage to express themselves in complete sentences (subject-verb-object will do just fine, no complex clauses required). Here, from five major artists, are five incendiary and (almost) grammatical quotes.
- Politically outspoken sonic visionary Thom Yorke allegedly wrote the following statement on Radiohead’s Web site last summer, while Israel was bombing Lebanon: “Our government sitting on the fence with the US while world war 3 appears to be breaking out in Lebanon and Northern Israel. we must throw Tony Blair our of office NOW. he does not represent the views of the british people. he does not represent the views of his foreign office and officials. he does not even represent the views of those in his cabinet. he cares far too much about his relationship with Bush, and Murdoch. this man is not fit to be our prime minister. its a nice sunny day. come on lets do it. you know it makes sense.”
- Britney Spears was mocked relentlessly for her September, 2003 comment, which many felt perfectly reflected the general state of blind, irresponsible, political ignorance of the average young person in America. “Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.”
- Relentless troop supporter and American Flag wearer Kid Rock has always been affiliated with the kind of conservative political views that are unusual among rock musicians. In February, 2003, at a pre-Grammy party, Rock explained his philosophy on the proper relationship between music and politics. “Why is everybody trying to stop the war?” Rock asked. “George Bush ain’t been saying, ‘You all make shitty records.’ Politicians and music don’t mix. It’s like whiskey and wine. We ought to stay out of it.”
- A casual statement made by Dixie Chick Natalie Maines to an audience at London at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in March, 2003, resulted in an outpouring of Dixie Chicks-hating that threatened to derail the band’s career and divided America’s music listening population into Red and Blue. So what was it that she actually said? “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.”
- On the list of statements that manage to be both politically incendiary and hysterically funny, we’re hard pressed to think of an example more perfect than Kanye West’s outrageous comment during NBC’s live concert fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina. “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” West said. Almost as amusing? Mike Myers attempt to go on nodding while West rants, and then tries to read the boilerplate teleprompted copy afterwards. Revisit the moment here.
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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
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