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As a boater on Lake Michigan, you're entitled to profanity-free air. At least that's what a group of 300 boaters and motorists, who came together to protest on Sunday night, are saying. They're, as the punny Trib puts it "honking mad" about the youth-infecting rap music that's been occurring at Northerly Island for the past two weeks.
There were apparently complaints after the show on Aug. 26, which included Wu-Tang, MF Doom and Pharoahe Monch. (Boaters don't take kindly to girls being asked to "rub on your titties.") Sunday's Snoop Dogg show (part of the Download 2007 festival) really put them over the edge, though, and inspired them to come together for one collective honking of their horns at 8 p.m. that evening.
Despite the fact that performers at Northerly Island abide by noise guidelines set into place in 2005 and that the venue posts a schedule of its performers for the boaters and everyone else to see, people are still pissed that while sitting outside enjoying the nice, sunny weekend, they had to hear rappers allegedly talking about bustin' caps in cops. In fact, the Trib quoted one of the protest organizers as saying, "You shouldn't be able to do that, out there in the open air."
Actually, Mr. Protest Organizer, a little something called the First Amendment says you can. These performances you are not too excited about take place at a venue with a permit to book live music shows. And while the music shows must abide by set guidelines, i.e. maintaining certain noise levels, censoring content is not the venue's steez.
Looking at the upcoming Northerly Island schedule, which includes Stevie Wonder (anyone want to give us tickets?), Joss Stone, Common and the Beastie Boys, we're pretty sure the boaters and lakefront path enthusiasts will be a little happier with the words they hear blasting out of the speakers, invading their eardrums. We just hope these silly protests don't affect the booking choices of Live Nation (the company that operates Northerly Island) next year. As much as we respect a child's right to go his or her whole life without hearing RZA yell "bring da mothafuckin' ruckus" (but what a boring life to lead), we also respect the whole Wu Tang clan's right to proclaim they "ain't nothin' to fuck with" to the entire Chicago boating community. Game on.
"The worst part of censorship ..." photo via net_efekt.
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First they're pissed that planes could potentially crash into their boats if they miss the Meigs runway. Next they're pissed at the noise when Daley decided to rip up said runway. Now they're pissed at a concert venue.
For being able to spend their weekends away from their homes on their $500,000 (and much, much higher) boats, these boaters sure seem to find a lot to complain about.
I agree w/guest #1.
But, regardless of whether they're in a half-million$ yatch or a row boat, boaters off chicago can move away from the line-of-noise while there are concerts at Northerly Island.
The venue's only concern should be whether concerts mess up a visit to the Planetarium. Or the Shedd (unlikely). Or Soldier Field (bwaaaa!)
Even better, no one in the lineups that have played Northerly raps about "busting caps at cops." Jeebus H. Snoop is more concerned about these hoes and the weed, MF Doom doesn't give a shit about anything, and since when do we hate the calls for "Ladies...rub on your titties"? Isn't that universally awesome?
"bring da mothafuckin' ruckus" (but what a boring life to lead),
My heart bleeds at the thought of one denied such uplifting discourse. Such deep music for the ages.
I'd rather hear the horns.
Yes, the first ammendment allows WuTang to yell about titties, but your forgetting the boaters have similiar protections to gather and protest about whatever they want. I'd imagine the goal of such protests is to influence management of Northerly Island into booking 'friendlier' acts. And if successful, you will be pissed at the boaters no doubt, however they did nothing wrong and in fact exercised their said rights just as you are pointing out these musical acts are doing.
And, What difference does it make if its people with expensive boats complaining?
And guest +1, when were boaters pissed at the noise of ripping up meigs field?? That was done at 2am in one night, remember?
and since when do we hate the calls for "Ladies...rub on your titties"? Isn't that universally awesome?
no.
Fck rap music! I'd much rather chill at Diversey Harbor as the sunburned pleasure boaters and waverunners await their turn to enter the open water. For real, there's nothing better than the smell of cigars and exhaust in the air, the sight of greased up guts on display, and the soothing caress of (insert shtty band here) pumping from a kick-ass power boat stereo.
What difference does it make that they're rich? Could the lesson be delivered to you with a heavy enough hand? Rap is the music of poor black people while boating is for wealthy white people. It's important therefore that we keep rap music where it belongs--in black/brown neighborhoods. But something tells me you knew that already.
I defend Jimmy Buffet's right to sing about blender drinks and doing nothing, at Wrigley Field, as offensive as it is to my intelligence and presumed level of taste. Pricks in boats (appropriately enough) should learn to do the same. Have another wine cooler and shut the fck up. Oh...then drive your boat and car home while intoxicated.
Guest #3, I agree that I am not aware of any of the artists who have played at Northerly Island in the past two weeks rapping about bustin' caps, in cops or anyone else, but I was paraphrasing what the frightened boaters, etc., were expressing. I don't know if they actually heard someone call for a cop to get shot, or if they're just the reactionary type who hears rap music and immediately thinks it is all guns and sex.
Fuck it, I said it, rub on your titties.
and it's 1-8-7 on a motherfuckin' yacht!
This from breastcancer.org:
"Try to get in the habit of doing a breast self-examination once a month to familiarize yourself with how your breasts normally look and feel."
Translation? Rub on your titties. I suppose the boating community has a problem with cancer prevention too?! Assholes.
Pharoahe Monch is just looking out for the ladies? He's not misogynist? Damn, I had him all wrong!
jay, the fact that Pharoahe doesn't say "BITCHES, rub on your titties" really gives the people who think all rap is misogynist pause.
No, I take that back. They'll think it misogynist if only to keep their worldview neat and organized.
And thank you, Sarah, for having some knowledge of your subject matter. Seriously, no snark.
A lot of rap does objectify and hate on women. Why can't it be more like mainstream America where women are valued as equals and never used as objects to, say..., sell soft drinks and promote sports?? If only black people weren't besmirching women all the time we would finally have a nation in which ripping on poor people could happen without gender to complicate things. Come on already!
This is how it works yall.
Rich white men decide who gets the fat contracts.
And they pay idiot rappers like “Snoop Fool” because he talks about “rubbing titties", his gold, his cars,etc. Just like the pay “Stupid "fiddy" Cents” to talk about killing people, rubbing titties and to flash his wealth around to symbolically demonstrate that he is "just as good" as "The Rich white man".
This music makes other rich white men, including those that make Courvoisier, BMW's, Rolex, etc, Bently, even richer.
These songs are then played on the radio and TV by the same rich White men and the brain washed "negros" who run B.E.T .i.e. "Booty Entertainment Network"
Hip Hop artists like Mos Def,Common, MF Doom, Pharoahe Monch, The Roots, etc, don't get the fat contracts because they “keep it real” by talking about the real world issues-as opposed to mindless materialism, studio fake killing, and sex,-so they are lucky if they get to perform at the same venue as Snoop Stupid Dog.
I hope this gives some perspective..
p.s As twisted as this sounds I support the boaters. Guess this is the "strange bed fellows" equation
you know what i think is hilarious? northerly island creates a bill for the rap loving public, essentially sequestering them from the non-rap loving public (win-win, right?) and there are rich dipshits that decide that out of the 22,300 square miles of surface area of lake michigan, they're going to chill right outside said gathering. and hate on it, honk, and cause issues.
really: 22,300 square miles. get a hobby, assholes. or get a little more power in that inboard so you don't find yourself helplessly "stuck" off northerly island.
these are the same people who choose to live downtown in one of the country's largest cities and then complain about the noise at night during looptopia or lolla, effectively ruining those events. if you want peace and quiet, what the hell are you doing living in downtown chicago? move to winnetka, idiots. kitties are soft, babies are cute, CITIES ARE NOISY. doy.
oh: and elr - quote of the day. i'm dying.
rap-lovin' public? didn't that bill also have the shins, wolf parade and band of horses on it?
Jocelyn: Regardless - my point is that some people wanted to be there, and some didn't.
The people that wanted to be there went.
The people that didn't want to be there shouldn't have thrown achor over within earshot, right?
Has anyone else seen the Girl's Gone Wild nightmare flotilla next between Navy Pier and Oak Street Beach? Sometimes I jump off that pier and swim. When that mess is happening, I move elsewhere. It may make me sick, but it's what's going down there - majority rule - and there is plenty of shoreline off Chicago so that I can avoid it.
Is this rocket science?
Spook, I don't know how much of this post you read, but MF Doom and Talib Kweli were also part of the performances that got the boaters pissed off. And Common is playing there in just a couple of weeks.
As someone who seems to take race issues seriously, I figured you'd be the first to call out the predominantly white fancy-boat-owning population for placing traditional stereotypes on rap music (i.e. assuming they must be talking about killing cops).
The people that didn't want to be there shouldn't have thrown achor over within earshot, right?
The boaters' beef is that this happened on Northerly Island, and their boats are located in Burnham Harbor. So it's not that they threw anchor and were shocked at what they heard when they pulled up. This is where their boats are docked for the summer.
It's funny that they complain about the noise when it's a hip-hop show. I didn't see any news stories about boaters protesting last year when it was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers...
Guest 19; Tom petty doesn't tell the mommies and tweens to 'rub titties' either.
Also, who gives a shit when these people started to complain and about what music. The boat dock has been there long before Northerly Island's music has been. I wouldn't be too happy either if a nice evening under the stars was interrupted by such a raucous. What the hell does it matter if they are rich white people?? Your implying they have less of a right to complain??
yea alright, I guess I did engage in some very selective reading.
Who was I kidding, as if bunch of white fancy boaters, in the name of progressive
politics, made a distinction between hip hop( talking about cop killing against a back drop of killer cops) and stupid rappers talking about “titties” and then organizing a boat protest around it.
Funny. Guess we all wanna cop out sometimes
Ma bad, I hope being called out by Chicagoist is punishment enough
p.s and how did I miss the play off of slick Rick!
The only appropriate response: Fans of hip hop need to head over on the 12th an raise some hell during the Hillary Duff concert.
"But shes not cursing!" you say?
Who cares. Not only is it ALL within city code and avoidable by anybody who wishes to not hear it, i think you could make a case that Hillary Duff's selling of sex to young girls is just as likely to contribute to the decay of our society.
Do i really believe that crap? No, no more than i believe whatever snoop says is going to ruin somebody. At least most people recognize gangsta rap is fiction, akin to opening up a Harry Potter book.
Get something real to worry about, people. Or pull up anchor a cruise a few thousand feet away to where you can't hear it. Cool? Thanks.