Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Cream Calendar Rocketown Continues to Be Overwhelmingly Decent, Even Cool
Posted by Tracy Moore on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 2:04 PM
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I give Rocketown a whole lot of crap, but I have to admit this is pretty cool. The Decline of Western Civilization was never released on DVD (the only existing copies are bootlegged VHS transfers) even though it's a fairly significant documentary.
Too bad they may have to shut down and move elsewhere (or I guess just shut down and pretend like you might open up elsewhere like City Hall did) because of the massive behemoth that is the new convention center according to a report by WSMV a while back.
This is very cool. But why not play Decline of Western Civilization Part II as well? That scene where Chris Holmes is pouring vodka down his throat in front of his moms is so Rcktwn appropriate.
And then have Lambchop's The Decline of Country and Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years playing at the afterparty.
i would like to remind everyone that one Sean Hannity appeared and spoke at Rocketown during his visit for the presidential debate last fall. His appearance was part of a benefit/fundraiser for rocketown.
i am sorry but this is an unforgivable offense. I cannot step foot inside a venue that used one of the ugliest human beings on this planet to shill for its 'open-minded youth ministry'.
Until I see an Olbermann/Huffington/etc fundraiser for rocketown, I will continue to encourage everyone to avoid attending or patronizing events there.
My views are purely of a political and secular nature, and have nothing to do with rocketown's affiliation with christian ministries (or lack thereof).
To the writer of this page: I dont know how you heard about my group but you are sadly mistaken. This is NOT part of a regular Movie Night in fact I established this group as being completely separate. This is a group I established to hang out with other cool kids to talk about Punk Music and its relation to larger social issues, to swap music with other people, and bring the local punk scene a little closer. The fact that it is at Rcktwn is solely a matter of convenience and is in no way related to the Venues established Christian aims. We are there to learn more about Punk Music, DIY life style, and our local scnene.
I am not a Christian myself but I do think that their aims are mostly good. Just because something is inspired by Christianity does not make it conservative or bad. Jesus, the man or the character, sought peace with those he disagreed with and fought for the betterment of humanity. In fact, I think that the Christian part of it serves a larger logistical function. First of all, it assists in reducing the costs affiliated with such a venue. Secondly a Chrsitian affiliation puts a nice sheen on it as a Safe Place for teens. Granted, a secular one could exist (and I hope to found one some day) but we only have one other secular location for all ages shows, and it neither provides additional programming or an actually safe environment. I too hear your frustration about the bad rap that Rcktwn gets becuase of its Christian affiliation.
Dear Luke from Character: Your frustration is understandable but then should you not set foot in any store or business that has ever accepted any money from someone who votes conservative?? If that's the way you feel then fine, but you ought to carry it all the way through. Rcktwn is a business like any other, they have space that they rent out to just about anybody. The majority of the time its bands who come there and many tout liberal politics. Please do not take this as disrespect. Also, your band is awesome and its sad to know that you broke up. I actually just recently got a friend in San Fran hooked.
Actually, Hannity appeared at Lipscomb in a fundraiser for Rocketown, not at Rocketown.
Too true, I misread that line. Either way, is there not a flip side to this issue? What may seem like a tribute to Rcktwn's conservativism could also be read as a sign of liberalism amongst Hannity's conservative overtones. Another example is his website called Hannidate: Where conservative minded singles (gay or straight) come to mingle. Hmmmm...I think we're hitting on an interesting issue here my friends :)
If we want to talk about Rcktwn's spiritual and political components then let's get right to the source: Michael W. Smith! Now there's an interesting specimen.
I've never been to RCKTWN and I'm likely to keep it that way. Not for any ideological reasons, simply because they have yet to bring in a show that I could sit through sober. That's a good thing though. I appreciate what rcktwn does to keep bad mallpunk and emo from where ever I'm likely to be. I guess I'm sort of like a musical separatist. So Rcktwn keep dropping popsicle sticks for teenagers to march to on 6th ave.
I'll take Jesus-lovin' teen punks over Jesus-lovin' twenty-something hipsters any day. At least the teen punks can't vote on their weird right-wing politics.
The Decline of Western Civilization can only be good for them, as long as they don't pray for Darby Crash afterwards.
it's so nice when people that write for the scene come out and admit their biases. gold reports about music for the scene/cream, yet he is unwilling to go to ANY event at RCKTWN. nice. i'm sure the fact that thousands of kids attend concerts there on a weekly basis is not newsworthy when you've got springwater, 5spot, etc doing such big things.
Although this is a very cool movie and event idea (I love the music swap part!), I have to agree with Luke.
Kaiser does make a good point about business philosophy tying in with where you spend your money. However, I don't mind supporting Portland Brew because they make damn good coffee and just happen to be a business owned by Christians. That's irrelevant to me.
What I DO think twice about supporting is a place that gets part of its funding from events like the Hannity speech. I also think that their policy on expression is vague and could be construed as restrictive. But whatever, I've argued that before. Really it's just the principle for me. That being said, kudos to Kaiser for putting together what looks to be a fun event.
Hey, if a band I like plays there, and only there, I'll go. Incidentally that hasn't happened yet. I'm not unwilling, just simply not compelled. I don't have a "policy" against going there. The fact is the club only has shows a few nights a week, they start before 7pm and they tend to mostly feature emo bands that ALL SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME and have long names like "In Shadows I Waif Like Actual Angel Tears". Moreover, there are others who write for the Scene/Cream that do go their and cover events. There was a fucking cover story on the place for Christ's sake (no pun intended). That I fully support. Also, fuck Sean Hannity! Did any RCKTWN patrons protest or publicly object to his support of the venue? That would have been kind of "punk" or whatever.
Didn't Mastodon play there?
I need to go back and ask myself why I didn't go.
Leviathan is fuckwin.
Sadly, I didn't receive the Decline VHS on time. The fool who sold it to me (why would anyone give up such a treasure?) didn't mail it out when he said he would.
So we will be playing "The Filth and The Fury" Sex Pistols doc instead tonight, and postponing the Decline showing til next week. Music swap is still on.
I wonder if it would be better to attempt a film viewing of the entire Decline series at Belcourt. Would Cream readers be more likely to attend?
good point. don't forget about the shack shakers guy whipping it out on-stage at RCKTWN. get down with G.O.D.
Sorry about the error in associating the film showing at Rocketown with their regular movie night. They often show unexpected and controversial stuff (like all the Michael Moore films, for instance) and have discussions afterward. My mistake.
RCKTWN is a non profit. so it doesn't really choose who keeps it open. its run by a board of people, and whoever they're into is how the place stays open. sometimes you got to take bread from the bad man to feed the baby (kids that need a place to go after school or for personal/family reasons). and trust me, sean hannity is the bad man. but just because he's bad doesn't mean RCKTWN as a building has to be into him, or he's intrinsically evil, that would be old fashioned christian superstition.
and, obviously, some people refused to watch him speak.
It's a-OK! :). It was just funny because yesterday when I was over there one of the staff members was surprised by this because they did not even know it was going on. We really appreciate the Nashville Scene's authors taking an interest in our group and the local music-related events. We plan on hosting other events in the future and will keep you posted.
Thanks!
i've been thinking a bit more about my ideological stance against rocketown, and i'm starting to think it untenable. i guess, as with most things, i probably shouldn't put such a hard and fast rule on the topic.
Someone could easily say to me, 'well, you shouldn't go into the Frist Center if you disagree with where the money comes from.' And of course i go to the Frist all the time. There are also thousands of people who donate time and money to Habitat for Humanity despite their personal distaste for Jimmy Carter. (just as an example.)
I think what makes the Hannity/Rocketown situation different, however, is the fact that Sean Hannity is not just some politician that I disagree with. He is, to me, one of the most vile and offensive human beings that exists on this planet. So going to see a cool movie at Rocketown would be a bitter pill for me to swallow.
Maybe someday i'll care less and i'll go see a show i really want to see at rocketown. In the meantime, i'll just applaud the efforts of those who are trying present ideas and artforms at rocketown that run counter to their board's thinly veiled ideology.
dude.
don't feel bad
sean hannity simply exists to divide people, and make bank in the process.
the world can't stand to swallow his suppository
Even though my opinion doesnt involve politics. The venue is a waste of money because of the SAE Graduates that run sound there. All you hear is kick drum and vocals. Only the fucking drummer and the lead singer should just show up to that place. lol Bastards
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