Controversial yesterday, harmless today
In his new book, German music journalist Michael Behrendt tells the story of 70 scandalous songs from the last 100 years.
Two years ago, Michael Behrendt devoted his book I Don't Like Mondays. The 66 biggest song misunderstandings incorrectly interpreted song content. The German music journalist used this above all to describe the songs and their genesis. His new work follows the same pattern Provocation! Songs that (have) caused a stir. On 296 pages, Behrendt presents a total of 70 songs that caused a sensation and uproar when they were published. According to the author, the "deliberately incomplete and subjective" selection begins with Claire Waldoff's Herrmann heesst er When the public suddenly thought they recognized a sideswipe at Herrmann Göring in the frivolously cheeky piece, this led to the end of the Berlin artist's career. In terms of content, Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit (1939), in which the US jazz singer tells of the strange fruit that hangs from trees in the southern states. A blunt allusion to more than 4,700 recorded lynchings of black people between 1882 and 1968, Holiday was chased out of the city when she tried to perform the piece at a concert in Mobile, Alabama.
In his publication, Behrendt mainly touches on well-known stories that seem harmless today, which he does not present in any great depth: There is Dylan, who experiences resistance when he switches from acoustic guitar to electric, and there is also The Who, who in 1965 on their single My Generation proclaim that it is better to die young. Last but not least, the book is also dedicated to gangsta rap, which sometimes tends not only to glorify violence, but also to anti-Semitic or homophobic tendencies, which the author condemns in the strongest possible terms. Behrendt's main insight, that the boundaries of what is acceptable are constantly shifting, is undoubtedly true, but is anything but new. Conclusion: Reading Provocation! Songs that (have) caused a stir proves to be entertaining, but it is not a must.
Michael Behrendt: "Provocation! Songs, die für Zündstoff sorg(t)en", 296 p. € 20.00 wgb Theiss, Darmstadt 2019, ISBN 978-3-8062-3922-5
