I remember seeing a Japanese user post something on Tumblr way back when we were all using Tumblr about how Americans lumping all anime together is kind of like saying The Godfather is similar to, like, Ernest Goes to Camp. It’s unfortunately a pretty familiar sentiment to much of the Western world’s approach to media even as the walls of genre start to come down, with the slow but steady desegregation of DIY scenes providing another space for this same type of ignorance to boil over.
Leave it to Philly’s Soul Glo to give voice to the irritating phenomenon of “white people trying to be helpful.” After answering white folks’ burning question of “What’s it really like being the only white member of Soul Glo?” the hardcore group rail against the instinct to make purely superficial and just truly awful comparisons between bands in their new video for “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?).”
The visual for the confrontational opener to the band’s notable new LP Diaspora Problems sees the same cult of white folks from that “Jump!!” video visit the band members at their homes, handing out graphic-design-is-my-passion leaflets titled “Did You Know Bad Brains Sounds So Much Like Soul Glo?” with a proud grin. “If you’re a Black person who is into any kind of hard rock, you’ve probably had a white person try to talk to you about Bad Brains,” vocalist Pierce Jordan shared in a press release. “We are constantly compared to them. Apparently, I even look like HR. Can I fuckin’ live?” Understandably, violence ensues.
Check out the video below.
