In Canada, Taxpayers Subsidize Punk CD Titled 'Holy S---, The Poo Testament'
Government support for the arts can easily go very wrong. "Indie" bands in Canada are often funded by the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), and Life Site News found this amazing story:
Canadian punk group "Living with Lions" has drawn outrage for its obscene anti-Bible artwork and representation of Jesus Christ on their new album – funded by the Canadian government.
The album, entitled "Holy S—-," is designed to look like a Bible, with black cover and gold writing, yellow, faded pages, and lyric layout similar to Bible verses. It is subtitled, "The Poo Testament," and represents Christ as excrement...
The group’s project was funded by the Canadian government through a fact the band acknowledges on its back cover. FACTOR approved a $13,248 grant to Black Box Recordings Inc. to assist the band’s recording.
Brian Rushfeldt, president of Canada Family Action, raised the obvious points of protest:
"While these disturbed individuals have the right to produce such hate the Canadian government has no right funding groups that produce hate and discriminatory materials. FACTOR must never receive one more tax dollar."
"What actions will Prime Minister Harper take? What would he do if this attack was upon Buddha or Mohammed?"
The Vancouver Sun reported the record label that issued the "Poo Testament" said someone doesn’t have a sense of humor:
"I’d like it to be well understood that the lyrical content on this record makes no reference to any religious themes whatsoever," Black Box Recordings co-owner Ian Stanger said in a phone interview. "To say that this band has a unique and sometimes provocative sense of humour is nothing new.
"We allow our artists to take whatever artistic course they decide to and we value the support of FACTOR through Canadian Heritage," he added, saying the album has been receiving plenty of support from retailers and media alike. "I think there’s a tongue-in-cheek element of this record people may be missing. I don’t think it’s meant to be a serious criticism or commentary on religion. It’s a joke."
This is not the first time Canadian Heritage has been critical of artists or albums with objectionable content receiving public funding.
In 2008, critically acclaimed electro-noise act Holy F--- was named as one of the main culprits in the Harper government’s decision to cut funds to thePromArt program after the band received $3,000 for a U.K. tour.
Most albums produced in Canada receive small amounts of public funding, especially albums by independent acts, which rely on FACTOR and other initiatives more often than not because they do not have the support of a major label.
Courtesy of our own country's leftish alternative paper LA Weekly, which first published these images, here's the Jesus as excrement image, with the caption beneath reading "The Ascension of the HOLY SHIT: The above image depicts the moment after the HOLY SHIT was flushed, but then inexplicably came back up the drain in to the heavenly 'throne'" :
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Comments
I'm not so sure
Submitted by amnigo on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 8:57am.
As a conservative listener of punk rock and hardcore, while there actually being many Christian bands in the genre, I've had to endure lyrics of bands that bash (or at least question) the validity of religion. But in this case, I have to stand up for Living With Lions.
While I don't agree with the fact a government agency would partially fund any piece of music, especially one with a vulgar music title and questionable artwork, the band is being wrongly accused here. They were not trying to offend Christians. It was a play on words with the term "Holy Sh*t". Could it offend? Yes. If taken the wrong way. This, in no way, was a statement that "Christianity/Jesus is sh*t".
In fact, if you listen to the album, or even just read the lyrics in the liner notes, there is not ONE mention of religion in the music. Not once.
This is not meant to be commentary on religion. Simply, it is a joke (albeit touchy one) about the phrase "holy sh*t."
I'd like to add
Submitted by The Irishman on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 10:40am.
It's not a very good album either. Blinkish guitars with Chuck Ragan wannabe vocals... kinda recycled.
Definitely not anything
Submitted by amnigo on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 10:59am.
Definitely not anything original. But I wouldn't say that it's a bad album.
Well
Submitted by The Irishman on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 11:15am.
$13,000 goes a long way in the studio these days. For around $10k you should be able to set up a pretty decent home studio and still have some money left over for an recording engineer.
Anyway, it's a pretty big F-You to the Canadian government, so unless that was their intention they should probably give the money back to the tax payers. Or at least give away the first 1000 or so CDs.
iz notta trolliz. Iz firz timez heah nah. Promizez. Honextingz.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 11:32am.
Oh look. Another Angry Black Man Zippers is making pronouncements about punk rock bands. Wow. That has never happened.
#1Does the media need to
Submitted by Guttermouth's Return on Thu, 12/23/2010 - 2:54pm.
Does the media need to respond each time a musician uses the F word in a song? I don't remember...was there an outcry when NOFX recorded Fun Things to F***?
++++
Yeah. That has never happened. Right Dead Kennedy guttermouth stewMckin?
Idiot. You out yourself again and again and then get all butt hurt when the word bullies point out your milquetoast mollycoddle troll ways. U crazzeeeez wurd bulliz. izza no no trolliz.
How Sweet!
Submitted by The Irishman on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 11:42am.
You're here too! Some of us like to research beyond what the story provides. You too can fire up iTunes and hear the album in question without going all punkrock on me.
It is sweet.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 11:50am.
Some of us like to use just the one account, one persona, one history.
govt funding strikes again
Submitted by g00se99 on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 10:28am.
Reason number 23465 why govt funding of the arts is wrong.
And You Think LifeSiteNews Is A Reliable Source?
Submitted by TheReal7Sticks on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 12:05pm.
I read this rag all the time and it is by far one of the most biased "news" sites I've seen alongside HuffPost, WorldNutDaily and their ilk. In fact, they get many of their links from WorldNutDaily. Please, for a media bias site, you can do better than that.
And FYI: Since religion is a matter of choice, it ain't hate speech to mock a religion. The only exception is Judaism because it is uniquely a race and religion. Other than that, you might want to cut down on getting tipsy from all that communion wine while thinking about them seventy-two virgins.
Your mom read LifeSiteNews in prison.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 12:16pm.
She didn't have much else to do after we took away all her medicine.