most ethical and conscious band?

musicismylife78
musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
edited June 2008 in Other Music
I think the obvious choice, and only choice for number one is fugazi. When you have a lead singer who runs one of the most important indie labels in the world, and he refuses to even take a salary from his work there, you have the makings of a selfless and unique individual.

but my pick for number two would be radiohead. Seems like they seriously considered never touring again because of the impact on the environment, and I know many bands have taped performances for talk shows, but never heard of a band taping a performance for a talk show because they didnt want to negatively impact the environment. Hell even their live show lights are environmentally conscious.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Jack_C_Gregory
    Jack_C_Gregory Posts: 540
    When I read the title of the thread (and before I read the content in it) I instantly thought Fugazi.
  • Joe2TheRevenge
    Joe2TheRevenge Posts: 904
    i am not going to contribute to this thread, i just want to say:

    FUCK BONO.

    Ahhhhhhh, i feel better now.
    You can't spell "dumb" without DMB
  • glasshouse
    glasshouse Posts: 1,762
    All this Radiohead talk is starting to.......whatever
    Athens, Greece: 2006/09/30

    "Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
  • Lukin66
    Lukin66 Posts: 3,063
    I'll say Fugazi too....they're pretty hard to beat
    deep, deep blue of the morning
    gets to me every time
  • Blind Melon
    Blind Melon Posts: 911
    glasshouse wrote:
    All this Radiohead talk is starting to.......whatever

    piss you off because they don't tour enough? haha, I know what you're saying... they were like everywhere you looked on the internet for a long while there.
    If I could, think I would give in.
  • CM1847
    CM1847 Posts: 577
    Radiohead loses points for charging $25 for a reusable bottle of water at their shows.
  • Evolution6579
    Evolution6579 Posts: 624
    The reusable water bottle is a great souvenir and you are helping the environment.

    I also think that Bad Religion should be up for consideration, too.
    Chicago 8-23-09

  • Murderers.
    Murderers. Posts: 1,382
    Fucked Up Got Ambushed Zipped In.

    Pearl Jam anyone?
    What the fuck is this world?
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    radiohead33 wrote:
    I think the obvious choice, and only choice for number one is fugazi. When you have a lead singer who runs one of the most important indie labels in the world, and he refuses to even take a salary from his work there, you have the makings of a selfless and unique individual.
    No other band comes close to Fugazi for this. MacKaye is like some kind of ethical puritan of punk. People might call him preachy, boring and judgmental but I couldn't give a shit. For nearly 30 years he has been the absolute watermark against which all bands professing some kind of DIY ethos must be measured. You know Dischord Records is still run from his parents house? And that when Ian kicked kids out of gigs for being violent he would give them their entrance fee back so that he didn't owe them anything? :p My love and respect for this man knows no bounds. I drink a fair bit and have nothing against drugs but I even respect the Straight Edge thing.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Igottago
    Igottago Posts: 483
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    No other band comes close to Fugazi for this. MacKaye is like some kind of ethical puritan of punk. People might call him preachy, boring and judgmental but I couldn't give a shit. For nearly 30 years he has been the absolute watermark against which all bands professing some kind of DIY ethos must be measured. You know Dischord Records is still run from his parents house? And that when Ian kicked kids out of gigs for being violent he would give them their entrance fee back so that he didn't owe them anything? :p My love and respect for this man knows no bounds. I drink a fair bit and have nothing against drugs but I even respect the Straight Edge thing.

    Can someone go a bit deeper into this? Does the band support certain causes or anything? Or is it strictly an anti-corporate punk thing? Do they do charitable shows?

    I'm asking because I don't know. If they do, then that is pretty great. But in my opinion, if it is just an anti-corporate punk attitude thing, that seems pretty useless in terms of bringing about positive change to the world.

    People call Bono all sorts of things, but the guy is doing a lot of good with his celebrity. Really, being "punk" means absolutely nothing to people in Africa or elsewhere dying of starvation.
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    Igottago wrote:
    Can someone go a bit deeper into this? Does the band support certain causes or anything? Or is it strictly an anti-corporate punk thing? Do they do charitable shows?

    I'm asking because I don't know. If they do, then that is pretty great. But in my opinion, if it is just an anti-corporate punk attitude thing, that seems pretty useless in terms of bringing about positive change to the world.

    People call Bono all sorts of things, but the guy is doing a lot of good with his celebrity. Really, being "punk" means absolutely nothing to people in Africa or elsewhere dying of starvation.
    They definitely support charity yes. Fugazi have never made merchandise because they felt that they wanted to be represented strictly by the music. Some bootleg t-shirt maker capitalised on that and made a tongue in cheek t-shirt saying "This is not a Fugazi T-Shirt" (which I own :p) and Ian MacKaye told him he could continue to do so without being sued as long as all the profits went to charity :D

    They also played benefits and free shows and the like. Regardless of that though, the reason I think it is great is that they have always been about music for the people rather than being anti-corporate for the sake of it. Back as far as 1981 with Minor Threat, they would only play all-age venues because they remembered how much it sucked when they were kids being turned away from Ramones and Clash shows because they were under 21. They put $10 prices on the artwork for all Dischord Records releases so that stores can't change the price. They never charged more than $5 for a show if they could help it and often played for free and did benefits. They wouldn't do interviews for magazines that had alcohol and tobacco adverts because they felt that using their music to be complicit in corrupting young people was wrong. MacKaye still runs Dischord Records, which he started with Minor Threat's drummer Jeff Nelson and is involved in the day to day business because he wants to keep it DIY.

    Basically Fugazi (and all of his bands) operate in a way that means that it is ALL about the music. No bullshit. They aren't trying to change the world like Bono, they don't pretend to be. The ethic seems to be that if they can change the life of a couple of teenagers with nowhere to go because they can't get into rock clubs and play gigs to them to stop them from boredom and wasting their lives, it'll all be worth it.

    Plus, the music fucking ROCKS :)
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"

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