{"id":19730,"date":"2026-06-11T07:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/how-do-we-confront-hatred-in-rock-music\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T07:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:30:12","slug":"how-do-we-confront-hatred-in-rock-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/how-do-we-confront-hatred-in-rock-music\/","title":{"rendered":"How do we confront hatred in rock music?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_qap4wUB2b0a?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.1.5\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=CCELI4914096293\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>(RNS) \u2014 The Stones put it this way: It\u2019s only rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, but I like it.<\/p>\n<p>And I do \u2014 the Beatles, the Stones, David Bowie.<\/p>\n<p>But there are some things I don\u2019t like about it. Author and musician Daniel Rachel has written a new, disturbing and quite overdue book, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/danielrachel.com\/this-aint-rock-n-roll-pop-music-the-swastika-and-the-third-reich\/\">This Ain\u2019t Rock \u2019n\u2019 Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich<\/a>.\u201d And I interviewed him about it for my podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The book documents something that has been hiding in plain sight for more than 60 years. As Rachel writes:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For over seventy-five years, musicians have been drawn to the language and provocative imagery of Nazism, fascinated by its power, menace and underlying sexuality. They have flirted with the theatrical spectacle of the Third Reich, displayed the swastika, flaunted memorabilia, worn Nazi uniforms and marveled at the grandiose rallies of 1930s Germany.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Decades ago, Woody Guthrie had a guitar with the words inscribed on it: \u201cThis machine kills fascists.\u201d We never thought that future rock stars might have guitars that could say they celebrate fascists.<\/p>\n<p>The worst part is the rock music industrial complex industry spent seven decades simply looking the other way. And so did the audiences, including me. However, \u201cThis Ain\u2019t Rock \u2019n\u2019 Roll\u201d makes the fascist connection very clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4262829\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 740px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4262829 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Beatles-Hitler-salutes.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Beatles-Hitler-salutes.png 740w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Beatles-Hitler-salutes-427x354.png 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Beatles-Hitler-salutes-300x249.png 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Beatles-Hitler-salutes-600x497.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">(News clipping)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with the Beatles, particularly John Lennon. As his half-sister wrote, according to Rachel\u2019s book:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>John was absolutely fascinated by Adolf Hitler. As a boy, he used to collect and swap Nazi badges, medals, daggers, and things. He used to call himself John \u2018Adolf\u2019 Lennon, instead of Winston. I can remember him telling me that Hitler was like a modern-day Jesus Christ figure and how he took on the world \u2026 and nearly won.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When you consider that Lennon was born during the Blitzkrieg, it is beyond disturbing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4263487\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 254px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4263487 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Brian-Jones1-254x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"254\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Brian-Jones1-254x640.jpg 254w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Brian-Jones1-147x369.jpg 147w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Brian-Jones1-300x755.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Brian-Jones1.jpg 318w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 254px) 100vw, 254px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Brian Jones in a German SS uniform. (News clipping)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Brian Epstein, The Beatles\u2019 manager, came from a prominent Jewish family in Liverpool. Lennon teased Epstein relentlessly \u2014 about being gay, about being Jewish \u2014 and the people around him laughed, the book describes.<\/p>\n<p>Then, there are the Rolling Stones. In 1966, their guitarist Brian Jones donned a full SS uniform, complete with an Iron Cross and a swastika armband, for a photo shoot.<\/p>\n<p>And then, the Who. Their late drummer, Keith Moon, dressed in full Nazi regalia, hired an open-top Mercedes to drive through the London neighborhood of Golders Green, where many Holocaust survivors lived, the book describes. A shopkeeper, wielding a meat ax, chased him through the street. Apparently, he did not find it very funny.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Then, there is David Bowie. In 1975, Bowie said, per the book:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Rock stars are fascists. Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars. Look at some of his films and see how he moved. I think he was quite as good as Jagger. And boy, when he hit that stage, he worked an audience. Good God!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bowie called for an \u201cextreme right front\u201d to come and sweep Britain clean. He told journalists that Britain was \u201cready for a new Hitler.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Eric Clapton? In 1976, at a concert in Birmingham, Clapton declared: \u201cDo we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? Wogs, I mean, I\u2019m looking at you \u2026 leave our country. I don\u2019t want you here, in the room or in my country,\u201d as reported in Rachel\u2019s book.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, punk rock was deliberately provocative \u2014 to the point of embracing Nazi imagery. The Sex Pistols recorded a song called \u201cBelsen Was a Gas.\u201d Rock critic Lester Bangs called it \u201cone of the most frightening things I\u2019ve ever heard \u2026 cheap nihilism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joy Division named their band after the forced prostitution units in Nazi concentration camps \u2014 between 300 and 400 women trafficked and subjected to what Rachel rightly calls \u201clegalized rape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the British rock scene, you might say. What about in America?<\/p>\n<p>Consider the Ramones. Joey Ramone (born Jeffrey Ross Hyman) was Jewish. Tommy Ramone was Jewish \u2014 born Tam\u00e1s Erd\u00e9lyi in Budapest. His parents survived the Holocaust, but his extended family did not.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And yet, Ramones lyrics included lines like: \u201cI\u2019m a Nazi Sch\u00e4tze, you know I fight for fatherland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s punk rock, you might say. What about more middle-of-the-road stuff?<\/p>\n<p>It did not need the Nazi imagery. It could go straight to antisemitism \u2014 as did Michael Jackson. when he sang: \u201cJew me, sue me, everybody do me, kick me, kike me \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is a current debate on whether there is a necessary connection between anti-Israelism and antisemitism. <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/unpacking-the-controversy-behind-roger-waters-latest-tour-207380\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roger Waters,<\/a> the Pink Floyd co-founder, is Exhibit A.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4262832\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4262832\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-427x284.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-427x284.webp 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-807x537.webp 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-768x511.webp 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-600x400.webp 600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg-380x253.webp 380w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/roger-waters-59.jpg.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">A variety of the questionable imagery in a Roger Waters concert in Berlin, Germany, in 2023. (Video screen grabs)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s talk about the concert in which he floated an inflatable pig, adorned with a Star of David. Or his choice of stage costume \u2014 an <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2023\/05\/25\/roger-waters-wears-ss-uniform-projects-anne-frank-on-screen-at-germany-concert\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outfit<\/a> that resembled an SS officer\u2019s uniform, as the name of Anne Frank was projected on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Consider the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/davidgilmour\/status\/1622735222562226176?lang=en\">assessment of Polly Samson<\/a>, the wife of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Her father came to London in 1938, on the Kindertransport. She wrote to Waters on X: \u201cSadly you are antisemitic to your rotten core. \u2026 Enough of your nonsense.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But her pushback was a minority response. Most of the time, it was the sounds of silence.<\/p>\n<p>Notice that as Rachel points out, rock musicians do not celebrate the work of the Ku Klux Klan or admire the clothing of a slave overseer. But they do flaunt Nazi regalia. Similarly, there was the Rock Against Racism movement. But there is no Rock Against Antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, this book is about rock music and Nazism. It is a cultural history of arrogance, born of artistic privilege and willful tone-deafness. Who can say how many young people were exposed to this and how much damage it did?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But its real theme is something deeper: complicity and acquiescence. That is what allowed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.org\/news\/5-of-kanye-wests-antisemitic-remarks-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kanye West,<\/a> the rapper who now goes by Ye, to praise Hitler, to release a song titled \u201cHeil Hitler,\u201d to share his admiration of \u201cMein Kampf,\u201d to post a swastika inside a Star of David and to sell a $20 swastika shirt during a Super Bowl commercial break \u2014 the most-watched television broadcast in America.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4263506\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4263506\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-427x284.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-807x538.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-Kanye-Swastika1-380x253.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Kanye West, right, in February 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif., and a swastika shirt he sold, left. (West photo by Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP, File)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This ain\u2019t rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. This is a reckoning. And it\u2019s about 75 years overdue.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/10\/how-do-we-confront-hatred-in-rock-music\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 The Stones put it this way: It\u2019s only rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, but I like it. And I do \u2014 the Beatles, the Stones, David Bowie. But there are some things I don\u2019t like about it. Author and musician Daniel Rachel has written a new, disturbing and quite overdue book, \u201cThis Ain\u2019t Rock \u2019n\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}