Jethro Tull singer remarks irk fans(FR Popular political mention)

Zwire ^ | 11/13/03 | DAVE SOMMERS

[Pikamax]

Jethro Tull singer remarks irk fans

DAVE SOMMERS , Staff Writer 11/13/2003

Is he really "Thick as a Brick," or as classic rock lovers insist, just suffering from "Locomotive Breath?"

Whatever song they choose, Jethro Tull fans across the state are boiling mad at the band’s lead singer Ian Anderson, and are planning some type of payback for remarks he made to the Asbury Park Press recently in which he claimed Americans should in essence be ashamed to fly their country’s flag.

In fact, classic rock station 94.5-FM "The Hawk" has not only stopped playing all Jethro Tull songs, they are urging anyone who attends the two scheduled Anderson shows in New Jersey this weekend to bring along an American flag, just to wave it in the Scotland-born rocker’s face.

Jim Spector, program director for WTHK "The Hawk," explains the decision.

"I’d estimate that 99 percent of the phone calls we got (this week) were from people asking us to pull all Jethro Tull songs from the air," said Spector, who cited comments Anderson made to Asbury Park Press reporter Mark Voger.

"And that’s what we did."

In the article, Anderson told Asbury Park Press reporter Mark Voger that he despises President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair so much for "invading" Iraq, but that he thinks we are despised by the world due to our "invasion."

And if that wasn’t enough, Tull went on to express disgust in seeing "the American flag hanging out of every bloody station wagon, out of every SUV, every little Midwestern house" across the country.

"Unfortunately, the way the world sees it, we don’t look kindly on the flag-waving stuff anymore. In Europe the only time you see flag-waving is at soccer games when people beat the (excrement) out of each other," Anderson told the Asbury Park Press.

"But most of the time we keep the flag-waving out of normal society these days because we know that it just engenders old animosities. (W)e old Europeans ... are a little sadder and wiser as a result of having the (excrement) beaten out of us a number of times, and our cities and national monuments destroyed," the rocker said.

"It’s easy to confuse patriotism with nationalism," he added.

Anderson’s tour, entitled "Rubbing Elbows with Ian Anderson" tour, is designed to be more than just a musical event, he noted.

For example, during each show, Anderson will invite a local radio or TV personality with him onstage, along with several audience members.

Occasionally the talk turns to his views of the world.

As for containing Saddam Hussein, Anderson said that task should have been handled by the U.N. not the U.S. led coalition.

"I mean, you know, to call (the Iraq occupation) a war is to attempt to dignify a spurious invasion as something that sounds rather grand. As a career-molding war for you-know-who. I mean, to call it a war is just a disgrace," he said.

"We are all going to have to learn that sad lesson that what was done in Iraq is the wrong thing. We had Saddam Hussein pretty much under control. To do what was done by Blair and Bush is, I think, a great sin for which I suspect both of them will pay in terms of career and reputation in the way that it is written up in history."

America must work better with other countries if we expect to have peace, Anderson said.

"We have to work over the next two or three generations, not the next two or three months or years (to step) out into the world and gently show a kinder and more human face."

Many music fans do not seem to agree.

"If you don’t wish to see our Flag, take your butt back to Great Britain ... (and) don’t let the door hit you on your way out," one anonymous critic known as Gunner Mike wrote last night on the popular political Web site, www.freerepublic.com.

Anderson/Jethro Tull is scheduled to play Saturday at the Count Basie Theater in Redbank and in Collingswood tomorrow at the Scottish Write Auditorium.

Meanwhile, Spector said he has invited Anderson to be interviewed on 94.5 "The Hawk," but so far has received no reply.

"The morning show "Free Beer and Hot Wings" is strongly encouraging anyone attending area Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull shows to bring American flags and wave them proudly," the station said in a press release.

[dead]

"Worst Band Ever"

Flute solos in rock and roll! In every song! ROFL!! And they dressed like wee English gnomes.

Spinal Tap had nothing on Jethro Tull. They were impossible to parody.

[bird4four4]

stopped playing all Jethro Tull

You mean there are stations that actually still are playing their music??

[HungarianGypsy]

never heard him. no loss.

[bigfootbob]

Damn. Why can't these hasbeens and holdovers keep their mouths shut about political issues they know nothing about.

[OldFriend]

Guess he wanted for Iraq what the UN did for Rwanda.

[McGavin999]

Anderson/Jethro Tull is scheduled to play Saturday at the Count Basie Theater in Redbank and in Collingswood tomorrow at the Scottish Write Auditorium.

I think they meant Scottish RITE Auditorium. Too bad if there's some electrical problems etc. I can't imagine the men who are members of that particular organization would be too thrilled with having an anti-American performing on their stage.

If you don't like America, there's a whole big world out there where you can live. Don't think you can stay here, take advantage of all this country offers, and then bash it. These people make me sick.

[Michael.SF.]

These comments from the man who brought us this 'intelligent' dribble:

Aqualung

Sitting on a park bench
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose --
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Drying in the cold sun --
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Feeling like a dead duck --
spitting out pieces of his broken luck.

[Constitution Day]

"If you don’t wish to see our Flag, take your butt back to Great Britain ... (and) don’t let the door hit you on your way out," one anonymous critic known as Gunner Mike wrote last night on the popular political Web site, www.freerepublic.com.

PING!

[Beernoser]

More Classic Tull from Thick as a Brick

"My sperm's in the gutter,
Your love's in the sink."

Still, I have liked some classic Tull

"Once in Royal David's city
Stood a lonely cattle shed,
There a mother held a baby.
You'll do well to remember the things he later said."

[Tallguy]

As for containing Saddam Hussein, Anderson said that task should have been handled by the U.N. not the U.S. led coalition.

The UN couldn't prevent Ian Anderson's music from being broadcast of the airwaves, much less "contain Saddam Hussein." I never liked Jethro Tull's "music" so it would be no great loss to me if I never heard from him/them again...

[The Green Goblin]

"My sperm's in the gutter, Your love's in the sink."

You've got the lyrics wrong. Google before posting...

[moodyskeptic]

Brit pop stars can't seem to shut their traps about politics. They don't know their place as shallow entertainers. I was at a Phil Collins concert when he stopped the show to exhort the audience to contribute to peace or homeless or some crap. I yelled out "shut up and sing"! and I got thousands of angry stares.

I did hear a few men laughing however. I'd do it again in a second. Someone needs to remind these fools that we choose to get our politics from sober adults, not spoiled Peter Pan burnouts.

[Paulus Invictus]

When they were getting the excrement beaten out of them twice by the Huns and the Nazis, who did they call on for help and what flag did our troops carry? At the cost of thousands of our troop's lives, we saved their collective behinds in both world wars. This comment goes for the cowardly Frenchies too! Send these anti-American rockers back to socialist England where their hate messages are accepted by even more Britidiots.

[bobsatwork]

Brit pop stars can't seem to shut their traps about politics Pete Townshend seemed to be one of the most pro-American of the has-been pop crowd, then he gets busted for kiddie porn. You can't win.

[GeorgiaMike]

While Mr. Anderson has a problem with the narrow-minded nationalists who display the flag, he has no problem taking their money. He'd probably love it even more if they brought their friends along - even if it means they all have to fit in an SUV to get there.

According to a liberal, a patriot is someone who agrees with them. A nationalist is someone who opposes them.

[hellinahandcart]

"It’s easy to confuse patriotism with nationalism," he added.

Easy for him, anyway.

As for containing Saddam Hussein, Anderson said that task should have been handled by the U.N. not the U.S. led coalition.

I really get tired of explaining this to people. We already HAD him contained. It was necessary to *remove* him.

The UN would have been happy to have him "contained" forever, so that they could continue to skim off the Oil for Food funds, Saddam could continue killing and starving people (not to mention sending bounty payments to the families of suicide bombers, and building tacky palaces with that same money), and the US and Great Britain could pay for the "containment" in perpetuity.

Thanks, but no thanks.

[stuartcr]

Just as with the Dixie Chicks...I could not care less what the individuals say or think...if I enjoy their music, I will continue to listen to/buy it.

[Charlie OK]

I was wondering when someone was going to ping him...

[Billthedrill]

A pity, really - yet another aging musician who used to pride himself on independent thought turns out to have bought into conventional wisdom after all. If Ian and the lads ever do tour Iraq they might just have their eyes opened.

[united1000]

Guess he wanted for Iraq what the UN did for Rwanda.

 

Good guess

[Revolting cat!]

Flute solos in rock and roll! In every song! ROFL!!

Hey, but he done 'em standing on one leg! Doesn't that count for something?

[Michael.SF.]

While Mr. Anderson has a problem with "the narrow-minded nationalists" who display the flag,

We display our flag daily. We do so in support of our son who served overseas (10 month Tour on the USS Lincoln). Anderson lumps all flag wavers into this category, while over looking something more simple and basic:

The love and pride of two parents for their son.

But juding from some of Anderson's lyrics one could assume that love and pride were not part of his upbringing. One could assume that he was a masturbatory, pedophiliac and obsessed with bodily functions. But if I was to make that assumption I would be making a judgement based on limited knowledge and I am not going to do that.

Mr. Anderson would do well to consider other possibilities and to refrain from placing people into false catergories.

[COBOL2Java]

Why can't these hasbeens and holdovers keep their mouths shut about political issues they know nothing about.

"Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt"

This is often attributed to Mark Twain, although I can't find a definitive reference. Nice to see the entertainment world keeps this maxim alive...

[mtbrandon49]

I have the same reaction that I did when they picked Jethro Tull over Metallica at the music awards several years back.

Who the H@ll is Jethro Tull?

[mtbrandon49]

Tell him what you think.

http://www.j-tull.com/musicians/emailband.cfm?member=Ian

[dead]

From your link:

Avoid emails that lavish praise like "you're the greatest!" and "you guys rock."

LOL! That shouldn’t be a problem!

[Question_Assumptions]

In the article, Anderson told Asbury Park Press reporter Mark Voger that he despises President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair so much for "invading" Iraq, but that he thinks we are despised by the world due to our "invasion."

Of course he doesn't despise the UN for giving Saddam more than a decade to put hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis through toture chambers and into mass graves.

And if that wasn't enough, Tull went on to express disgust in seeing "the American flag hanging out of every bloody station wagon, out of every SUV, every little Midwestern house" across the country.

There is an airport in Newark. Please buy a one-way ticket and don't come back.

I think I now understand why my grandfather always said, "If I loved Scotland so much, I would have stayed there." I'm beginning to think all of the smart inventive Scots left and all of the socialist losers stayed beyond.

[Quix]

I deplore violence.

And I'd hate to see the flag desecrated.

But it still could be construed at poetic justice

if

some red strips, some white strips and some blue strips of cloth were found to be stuffed in orifi on both ends of the Dull Tull

[RedWhiteBlue]

And if that wasn’t enough, Tull went on to express disgust in seeing "the American flag hanging out of every bloody station wagon, out of every SUV, every little Midwestern house" across the country. "Unfortunately, the way the world sees it, we don’t look kindly on the flag-waving stuff anymore. In Europe the only time you see flag-waving is at soccer games when people beat the (excrement) out of each other," Anderson told the Asbury Park Press. "But most of the time we keep the flag-waving out of normal society these days because we know that it just engenders old animosities.

Well, Ian. When we wave fly our flags on our homes or our cars here, we are not waving them in some other country's face. This is a big country, and unlike Europe, where alot of cars go from one country to the other with ease, 99% or our cars probably never even leave the US. And the flags on homes generally are never viewed by someone from a different country. So we generally do not engender animosity from foreigners by diplaying Old Glory, nor do we do it for that purpose. Get over it, you has-been.

I'll never understand why some people find it wrong to be proud of one's country. I don't find it in the least unnatural when someone from another country is proud of their homeland.

[BSunday]

And if that wasn’t enough, Tull went on to express disgust in seeing "the American flag hanging out of every bloody station wagon, out of every SUV, every little Midwestern house" across the country.

He's just mad because nobody knows what the Scottish flag looks like, but everyone knows Old Glory

[CaptRon]

In Europe the only time you see flag-waving is at soccer games when people beat the (excrement) out of each other," Anderson told the Asbury Park Press.

I guess the Europeans are right; they are more cultured than us. How could we have missed it?

I feel so ashamed.

[RedWhiteBlue]

Mr. Anderson would do well to consider other possibilities and to refrain from placing people into false categories.

His critical thinking skills are definitely lacking. Instead of fully dissecting and examining the issue, he chooses to stereotype. The man is intellectually lazy.

[KevinDavis]

Who?

[proud American in Canada]

Here's my email:

We all appreciated your remarks made to the Asbury newspaper--it's always enlightening and educational to hear what actors and musicians think about global politics.

It's particularly edifying since the typical American is so unbelievably stupid and naive, right?

You're just another of the countless "entertainers" who think patriotic Americans--many of whom have family members with their lives on the line in the service of democracy and human freedom--are stupid, unthinking morons. Yet isn't it strange that you and the rest of the "entertainment elite" are quite content to be paid in American dollars.

You like the U.S. dollar just fine, but not the flag... However that flag that you find so nauseatingly ubiquitous is a cherished symbol of freedom, bravery and sacrifice.

So stay in Europe with the flags of your choice and get paid in Euros. Welcome to near-empty American stadiums for the rest of your career.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Jethro Friggin' Tull?

Another one from the "Where are they now?" bin.

[Bon mots]

He was a fat porker 25 years ago, he must be a full-blown whale by now.

[Teacher317]

"But most of the time we keep the flag-waving out of normal society these days because we know that it just engenders old animosities. (W)e old Europeans ... are a little sadder and wiser as a result of having the (excrement) beaten out of us a number of times, and our cities and national monuments destroyed," the rocker said.

Better to hide your allegiances and your pride rather than to risk offending someone... just like a whipped old dog. Pathetic, and a disgrace to the rebellious heart of rock and roll. "Wave that flag and eff 'em if they don't like it!", is what any rocker (with any balls left) would shriek from the highest rooftops!

[scotsman1]

SO ALL THE INTELLIGENT SCOTS LEFT AND ONLY SOCIALIST LOSERS ARE LEFT?.NO.PLEASE DON'T INSULT US........HAVE YOU EVER BEEN HERE?.IF YOU WERE PROUD OF YOUR SCOTTISH BLOOD,YOU HAVE AN OFFENSIVE WAY OF SHOWING IT...............I LIKE AMERICA,BUT I AM PROUD TO BE SCOTTISH,AND LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHICH,UNLIKE YOURS,HAS A NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM AND PUTS MORE PEOPLE PER HEAD THROUGH FURTHER EDUCATION THAN ANY COUNTRY IN EUROPE...........NOT BAD FOR A NATION OF SOCIALIST LOSERS........AND I AM A CONSERVATIVE...........

[scotsman1]

MANY FOLK KNOW WHAT THE SCOTS FLAG LOOKS LIKE(THE ST ANDREWS CROSS----WHITE CROSS ON A BLUE FLAG IF YOU DONT KNOW,MATE).HOW PATHETIC THAT YOU FELL THE NEED TO INSULT A PROUD COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE,WHO ARE AMONG YOUR FEW ALLIES.........

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Welcome to FreeRepiblic. Do you Scots always SHOUT when you write?

[Tijeras_Slim]

You need a tin-foil sporran.

[proud American in Canada]

calm down, take a deep breath...

No one meant to insult Scotland.

Look we're just responding to the insults of one Scottish man--a Scottish man who feels like he can disparage patriotic Americans and the American flag while trying to make American dollars.

That attitude on behalf of entertainers just doesn't cut it anymore.

There was no offense against Scotland meant by anyone, I'm sure.

[BSunday]

MANY FOLK KNOW WHAT THE SCOTS FLAG LOOKS LIKE(THE ST ANDREWS CROSS----WHITE CROSS ON A BLUE FLAG IF YOU DONT KNOW,MATE).HOW PATHETIC THAT YOU FELL THE NEED TO INSULT A PROUD COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE,WHO ARE AMONG YOUR FEW ALLIES.........

HEY FIRST OF ALL JACK THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL LIKE A FAT HEADED MORON!

Secondly you need to re-read my post. How many people recognize Old Glory vs. how many people recognize Old St Andrews Cross Flag or whatever you guys call it. And if Scotland were our only ally as you seem to think, we would be in the HURT LOCKER. Seems to me the Coalition numbered about 40 Countries. Allies or not, how pathetic that the superiority of Old Glory escapes your myopic view.

PS I have nothing against Scotland at all. I have been there and it is a very beautiful land. However you are over-reacting "MATE" (I thought only Aussies used the word mate, BTW)

[The Green Goblin]

But juding from some of Anderson's lyrics one could assume that love and pride were not part of his upbringing. One could assume that he was a masturbatory, pedophiliac and obsessed with bodily functions.

Huh?

[Jhensy]

We had Saddam Hussein pretty much under control.

No, Ian, YOU and your type never did a damn thing EVER to stop ANY totalitarian thug. What's this "we" crap? Thank the U.S. every day for allowing you the freedom to be a millionaire prancing minstrel. Idiot.

[sauropod]

Well, I have one JT CD.... Am beginning to hate being so well informed. My music collection will consist of bare shelves ;-).

[sauropod]

True, but it still is a beautiful country.

[hellinahandcart]

"He's going to blow, Captain!!"

[sauropod]

I HAVE BEEN TO YOUR COUNTRY AND I AM HALF SCOTTISH. AM PROUD TO BE SO. THE POSTER IS CORRECT. MOST, IF NOT ALL THE INTELLIGENT SCOTS HAVE LEFT.

ISN'T SCOTLAND BASICALLY SOCIALIST? AND WHAT IS SO BLOODY ADMIRABLE ABOUT A NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM? YOU WILL DIE IN A WAITING ROOM BEFORE YOU ARE SEEN BY A DOCTOR.

SOME OF US SCOTS DON'T NEED OUR A@@S WIPED BY A NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM THANK YOU VERY MUCH!