Thursday, December 29, 2005

Ban Glitter From Hockey



Lifetime Suspension for Gross Misconduct


My all-time favorite arena anthem that I'm sure a lot of you have also liked used to be Rock and Roll part 2 by Gary Glitter (AKA Paul Francis Gadd). For me it was the perfect song to hear after goals were scored because of the way it gets the whole crowd loud and involved. However in recent years I and a growing list of others cringe every time we hear it played because of the disgusting history of the man who wrote it. As much as I've loved hearing his song played at games I've always feared he may be receiving royalties as a result which continue to fuel his despicable perversions. That possibility sickens me. His latest acts of depravity with children have got me thinking that maybe it's time to retire the song from hockey arenas so as to ensure no money from it reaches this monster as a result of it being played.

Others are starting to feel the song should be done away with also.

Time to Silence "Rock and Roll Part 2"
...sex with children? Perhaps it earns a Vietnamese peasant girl more money than she can make harvesting rice, but leveraging a child's poverty, naivete or both is high on the list of the vilest things a person can do.

Likewise, I think any sensitive, intelligent music programmer ought to know better than to roll out Glitter's big hit at a well-attended football game, whatever the recent tradition. He is an atrocious human being, the tune is stupid anyway, and there's a big world of great music out there. At least as far as high-profile sporting events are concerned, good taste and decorum require that "Rock and Roll, Part 2" be retired to the compost heap.
Finally, a wish for 2006:
Musically Glitter is best-known for the Cro-Magnon and mostly instrumental anthem “Rock and Roll Part 2.” It has become a staple at virtually every sports arena/stadium in America, where fans usually augment Glitter’s Shakespearean prose (“Na-na-na-na-na, hey!”) with the testosterone chant: “We’re gonna beat the hell out of you.”

Not to pour warm beer on a timeless ritual, but the guy gets royalties every time the song is played anywhere, whether it’s a commercial for Starbucks or in the middle of a game at Arrowhead Stadium or Allen Fieldhouse. It’s time to start a new ritual with a different song and deliver this guy and his music into oblivion.
As much as I hate the idea of censorship... I HATE child abuse even more and feel this song should be boycotted so as to not provide this pervert any more financial support for his activities.

In Other More Pleasant Hockey News:

  • NHL's Mojo Rising
  • Puck Nuptials on Ice
  • Zamboni Cruising
  • Pack of Wolves
  • The Next Next One

  • And finally...

    The Top Hockey Songs... NOT including R & R pt. 2.

    Personally I would've ranked the "Zamboni Song" by the Gear Daddies a bit higher.

    UPDATE:
    The good folks over at BoA have put together the most extensive list of hockey music I've see yet... check it out.

    4 comments:

    sacamano said...

    Oh man, that dude missed a million songs. We put up a list a while back.

    Photomas said...

    WOW, great list there Sac it's the most comphrehensive I've seen, thanks for sharing. If your into hockey music check it out folks.

    HockeyKnight said...

    Suposedly, Dave Mustane is a hockey fan and attends games in Phoenix. He wrote the song "Crush 'em" to hoping to have it replace "R&R pt. 2" but it's only heard on the movie soundtrack to Universal Soldier: the return.

    Unknown said...

    The problem is that arena's tend to use R&R2 or that stupid "Woohoo" song. The Canucks have the annoying "ole" song, but at least it's different.

    Really, I'm more of a goal horn whore than a music whore. Give me a nice blast of the old Chicago horn to wake up the dead!