Does "Rock music is evil / of the devil" have racist roots?

As a Christian most of the circles I’m around are pretty chill…no stone-cold fundamentalists. But I have been around people (and even had family members) who are 100% convinced that rock music is evil and will lead people to engage in witchcraft and draw pentagrams all over their home.

The root of the belief is that rock music uses drums, which are used by voodoo tribes in Africa to entrance people.

Along a different track of thinking, from where did rock music originate? Slaves. They created the guitar because slave-owners didn’t allow them to make music with drums.

So then is “rock music is evil” sort of an echo of that attitude?

Kolanaki,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

I only recall seeing rock n roll start receiving hate after Elvis Presley became big because prudish Christians didn’t like the way he gyrated his hips in most of the things I’ve seen covering the history of rock.

Nemo,

Short answer: Yes.

the_q,

Short wrong answer.

XTL, (edited )

There is an answer to any question that is simple, quick, and wrong.

– somebody

Voyajer,
@Voyajer@lemmy.world avatar

What’s wrong about it?

SeeMinusMinus, (edited )
@SeeMinusMinus@lemmy.world avatar

Some blues guitarist back in the day sold his soul to the devil to become the greatest guitar player of his time and with his powers he wrote a album and invented rock n’ roll. He died at age 27 and since then lots of great rock stars have died at age 27. Its called the 27 club. Personally I think that’s fucking cool and it makes me like rock n’ roll even more 🎸

maegul,

Bob Dylan certainly thinks so: medium.com/…/like-it-is-bob-dylan-explains-what-r…

His take is that Rock n Roll was bringing white and black people together and so the establishment sought to shut it down.

Riccosuave, (edited )
@Riccosuave@lemmy.world avatar

The core of Abrahamic religion is based around an in-group / out-group ideology. When you dove-tail off that premise it is clear that Abrahamic religion uses labelism such as “evil” or “from the devil” in order to obfuscate their suppression and opression of the out-group.

radix,
@radix@lemmy.world avatar

Tangential to the question, but Elvis was famously censored from the waist down in an early TV appearance for being too sexy. Then, of course, lots and lots of rock in the ‘free love’ 60s and 70s was explicitly about drugs.

Going from ‘sex and drugs’ to ‘of the devil’ is a pretty short line to draw for some people.

ivanafterall,
@ivanafterall@kbin.social avatar

I'm liking the sound of this devil fellow.

Noel_Skum,

Would it be true to say that perhaps you have some Sympathy For The Devil?

radix,
@radix@lemmy.world avatar

I’ve been Runnin’ with the Devil since 1978.

Pat_Riot,
@Pat_Riot@lemmy.today avatar

Well, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine.

jjjalljs,

I’ve never heard anyone blame the drums before. Usually it’s thinly veiled “rock is blues, blues is black, black is bad”

Also sometimes “too left wing. Damn commies”, sometimes.

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