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Birmingham song after 2 games
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BlazerGreen Offline
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Post: #41
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 05:13 PM)Qwilliams07 Wrote:  Hope they do away with the song. If not, I’ll just stop going to games and watch them on tv and stick to basketball. No one should have to feel offended because some of you don’t understand or care why the artist is a bigot. That’s like playing R.Kelly at a sex trafficking event. I’ll always support the blazers because it’s not on the team but I’m not supporting that “tradition”

Good grief, Randy Newman is not a bigot. Far from it. He's actually a progressive and a great American satirist and songwriter.

Don't care if we keep the song or not but don't paint Newman as a racist. That's bull****.
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2021 05:22 PM by BlazerGreen.)
10-11-2021 05:21 PM
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BlazinBham Offline
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Post: #42
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
Now I have to support the song since the cancel culture is here. Just say the song sucks and move on.
10-11-2021 05:23 PM
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Qwilliams07 Offline
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Post: #43
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 05:23 PM)BlazinBham Wrote:  Now I have to support the song since the cancel culture is here. Just say the song sucks and move on.

If it offends any of our fan base then I support doing away with it. I don’t care who it offends, if there’s a legitimate reason, I do not support it. We should all feel comfortable, especially when it’s something that isn’t important or necessary to the game day experience.

And I’m going off of the explanation about.
10-11-2021 05:40 PM
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Qwilliams07 Offline
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Post: #44
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
I actually didn’t care for it before the discontent with some of our fellow blazers. I song the chorus but the song is pretty lame. Bet our students hate it too lol well I know because my sister and her friends told me it was stupid.
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2021 05:42 PM by Qwilliams07.)
10-11-2021 05:42 PM
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demiveeman Offline
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Post: #45
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
I don’t know where the Randy Newman being a bigot came from, but none of us want to cancel Randy Newman ?

Just the lame attempt at a forced sing-along tradition using this song.
10-11-2021 05:42 PM
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Qwilliams07 Offline
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Post: #46
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 05:42 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  I don’t know where the Randy Newman being a bigot came from, but none of us want to cancel Randy Newman ?

Just the lame attempt at a forced sing-along tradition using this song.

Somebody spoke about his albums and him using the N word or something. If none of that is true, great! I still hate the song though. But hope they look into all the negative I’ve heard about the song and the artist and not force it down everyone’s throat
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2021 05:48 PM by Qwilliams07.)
10-11-2021 05:46 PM
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BlazinBham Offline
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Post: #47
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
It’s lame, the song. We don’t have to hear roots about everything. It’s annoying and folks like that need to get some ***** or find a hobby.
10-11-2021 05:58 PM
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DuelingDragon Offline
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Post: #48
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
The song should be canceled just because it was part of the Finebaum Show for two decades.
10-11-2021 06:30 PM
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GreenFreakUAB Offline
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Post: #49
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 06:30 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  The song should be canceled just because it was part of the Finebaum Show for two decades.

..true! I watched some of his show for the first time in awhile this afternoon, after what happened in College Station this past weekend... ...it did not fail to entertain with the Bammers calling in... 03-lmfao03-lmfao03-lmfao
10-11-2021 06:38 PM
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demiveeman Offline
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Post: #50
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 05:46 PM)Qwilliams07 Wrote:  
(10-11-2021 05:42 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  I don’t know where the Randy Newman being a bigot came from, but none of us want to cancel Randy Newman ?

Just the lame attempt at a forced sing-along tradition using this song.

Somebody spoke about his albums and him using the N word or something. If none of that is true, great! I still hate the song though. But hope they look into all the negative I’ve heard about the song and the artist and not force it down everyone’s throat

The N word is used from the perspective of a white suprematist living in the South. It’s jarring, but that’s the point. Even still, he probably wouldn’t have written the song the same way today. But he’s definitely trying to shine a light on racism and passive ignorance.
10-11-2021 06:50 PM
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BlazerGreen Offline
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Post: #51
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 06:50 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  The N word is used from the perspective of a white suprematist living in the South. It’s jarring, but that’s the point. Even still, he probably wouldn’t have written the song the same way today. But he’s definitely trying to shine a light on racism and passive ignorance.

No doubt. The old article I posted pretty much said the same thing thirty years ago, he wouldn't or couldn't do that song by 1991.

(10-11-2021 06:30 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  The song should be canceled just because it was part of the Finebaum Show for two decades.

I really think that's why the song remains in our consciousness to this day. You're right. If only for that reason it should be put to death at dawn.

I wish I was clever enough to put together a video of a dragon from GOT torching it. That might be a hit.
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2021 07:12 PM by BlazerGreen.)
10-11-2021 06:56 PM
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UAB Schnauzer Offline
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Post: #52
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 05:46 PM)Qwilliams07 Wrote:  
(10-11-2021 05:42 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  I don’t know where the Randy Newman being a bigot came from, but none of us want to cancel Randy Newman ?

Just the lame attempt at a forced sing-along tradition using this song.

Somebody spoke about his albums and him using the N word or something. If none of that is true, great! I still hate the song though. But hope they look into all the negative I’ve heard about the song and the artist and not force it down everyone’s throat

he wrote songs that called out racism. people today have no ability to take context into consideration. if you really want to be triggered read the lyrics to "Sail Away" without paying attention to the context
10-11-2021 07:14 PM
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ATTALLABLAZE Offline
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Post: #53
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
This is why we can’t have nice things.
10-11-2021 07:52 PM
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58-56 Offline
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Post: #54
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 07:52 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  This is why we can’t have nice things.

No. This is why we HAVE nice things. because people like me, like Demivee, like a couple hundred more saw something that was wrong, stood our ground and said that this was not acceptable.

Newman wrote a song from the point of view of a racist idiot, to highlight the stupidity of racists. Yeah, the sing-along is probably the work of some intern or fresh hire with a sports marketing degree still dripping ink and wearing his/her very first tie/heels. It's not a big deal, but it's still stupid. So shelve it.

We have nice things because we did not settle, because we did not shut up and just go along with what the athletic department and university administration tried to ram down our throats. The Sard-Verbinnen report said we'd just find other colleges to root for. Who would you have been cheering for on Saturday, had Demivee not led us into the streets?

I don't really care much about a song I can easily ignore. But I poured out every ounce to make The Return happen. So don't go telling me "this is why we can't have nice things." The Vocal Few are the reason we have them.
10-11-2021 08:23 PM
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BatesUAB Online
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Post: #55
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
Man, so much unpack here. I've genuinely enjoyed this thread. I will start by saying I don't like the song because I don't like the song, and I don't like fabricated traditions. That being said, kudos to demiveeman and 58-56 for the backstory. It is enlightening. And it reinforces my dislike of it being played. It would be like playing Neil Young's "Southern Man." Not a flattering take on us.

I will give a critique on a couple of posts- don't censor primary sources. If what you're quoting uses "the N word," then quote it. Let it hit as it was intended, good or bad. And talking to blazers9911- you say "There is no separate meaning. There is no excuse." That's a terrible way to look at all this. I don't mean to pick on you, as others shared your sentiment, and I mean no disrespect. But sometimes there is excuse, and reason. A perfect example is in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are people who want that book banned in schools, or at least censored, because it uses "the N word." To do that takes the meaning of the book away. Harper Lee wrote that as an indictment of the people portrayed in it, or at least a lot of them, and by extension real life people they represented. You censor that, or cancel it, and what she was trying to say is lost. This idea that a word can't be heard- how do we learn that way?

Which leads me back to Randy Newman. If what has been said about the background of the song is true, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, then anyone who is being sober minded and thoughtful about this can't say he's a bigot just because of the language he used. Satire really is becoming a lost art, and people are getting too soft about "feeling comfortable." After all, I imagine that's what the song was all about. Making people feel uncomfortable with an eye toward causing a change in peoples' thoughts and behaviors.

All that being said, I still don't like the song. I don't believe Randy Newman is a racist. The DJ plays too much. Our band doesn't play enough. And we looked a lot better on the field. Go Blazers.
10-11-2021 08:35 PM
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mixduptransistor Offline
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Post: #56
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 08:35 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  A perfect example is in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are people who want that book banned in schools, or at least censored, because it uses "the N word."

I'm pretty sure if the Bibb County Board of Education realized my fifth grade teacher doing such a number having us read the book in class and watch the movie is a large reason I'm a giant lefty they'd probably ban it from the other direction
10-11-2021 09:07 PM
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BlazerBlitz Offline
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Post: #57
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
(10-11-2021 11:38 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  
(10-11-2021 11:15 AM)demiveeman Wrote:  
(10-11-2021 10:56 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  My biggest problem is that it's actually a song about making fun of the simpletons of Birmingham. It was written in the 70s in the context of George Wallace and all of the problems in Birmingham, Alabama, and the South at the time. It's not actually a great song to be proud of. It's like the line about Birmingham in Sweet Home Alabama, it's meant as a bad thing

Yes...this is what kills me the most. People that want to shove this song down our throats don't even know what it means. Good Old Boys was a concept album about the South in the late civil rights movement era. Go look at the lyrics of the song that precedes it on the album titled "Rednecks" if you want to get the picture.

Birmingham is about a guy thinking life is great in Birmingham and ignoring basically everything that is happening around him. Even his "big black dog" being referred as the meanest dog in the state is commentary about the subject's point of view.

So many Randy Newman fans that don't even know that his bread and butter is satire. Makes us look as clueless now as that song did in 1974.

maybe they could swap it out with Black Betty

This ^!! Black Betty by Tom Jones would be fun to see occasionally, after a win. Not suggesting they play it after every game; https://youtu.be/XXl98QQcVxM
10-11-2021 09:34 PM
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UAB90 Offline
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Post: #58
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
Maybe you all missed it but in the third quarter during the stadium DJ’s “old school jams” set, I clearly heard Naughty By Nature’s “OPP”. I could not have been more outraged. This song clearly promotes infidelity. Do the research. This is so totally against traditional family values that I couldn’t enjoy the rest of the game. Is it possible that I’m nitpicking? Maybe, but I’m calling for whoever chose that song to be summarily fired.
10-11-2021 09:57 PM
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ICB Offline
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Post: #59
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
Wow. Let me say that I had no clue of the history of the song before reading facebook and this thread. When they played the song, my family and I were very underwhelmed. If the song has this kind of history, it is probably best we shelve it. I didn't like it before I knew the history, but was willing to allow it to grow on me, I'm almost certain now, it won't ever grow on me.
10-11-2021 10:13 PM
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BAMANBLAZERFAN Offline
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Post: #60
RE: Birmingham song after 2 games
B'ham native Hugh Martin wrote a musical play in which he inserted a song named "Birmingham" as a tribute to his hometown. Is the Randy Newman song a new one with the same name or an adaptation of Martin's song?

Trivia -- Jack Benny had a butler named Rochester who for a short time hr had a brother named Birmingham.
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2021 11:45 PM by BAMANBLAZERFAN.)
10-11-2021 11:41 PM
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