It’s not a terrible song, it’s ok. And it’s a little bit racist.
The world doesn’t live on the extremes. There’s a whole middle out there.
It is a black band telling a white rocker to shift his play into funk. If you really want to have fun, think of this as a song celebrating cultural appropriation as he steals the funk of the Commodores, Parliament Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, etc.
One line reflects the homophobia of its era. That line now makes me cringe, though at the time I thought it was hilarious.
Obviously the merits of the song will vary according to personal taste.
“Terrible” is simply my opinion. I understand others may enjoy it. I can live with that.
I don’t see anyway to characterize it as racist.
It wasn’t Mark Knopfler’s point of view. It was the point of view of the narrator of the song, a real-life delivery person Knopfler had encountered in a department store who casually used the word “faggot” to describe the singer in a music video. Yes, it was a product of the times that the song got airplay with the verse in it, but Knopfler now regrets having written it.
Most (if not all) definitions of racism includes the notion that one race is superior to another. I think it’d be very strange to think that white people not being able to play funky music means that black people are superior to them (as opposed to being more likely able to do so because of cultural reasons). Unless you do believe that the playing of funky music is a marker of a superior being ;).
I have a dream that children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the quality of their funk.
Don’t make me drag out “Surfin’ Bird” again. Cuz I will.
I come from another era, obviously.
My formative years / indoctrination was during this liberal/ egalitarian / cultural exchange/ disco / funk is cool era
This does not serve me well in the current era of progressive / identitarian/ cultural appropriation / “It’s not disco, it’s dance music”
While I had never seen the video, I would have assumed the singer was white and self deprecating, acknowledging his outsider status in the Funk scene,
“Hey, look at the me the dancing bear!”
Calling a black man “boy” would obviously not be equivalent to calling a white man “boy”, because history.
Same answer as basically every other “why is X more offensive than Y” thread.
The line “See the little faggot with the earring and the make up” is followed by the lines “Yeah buddy that’s his own hair/That little faggot got his own jet airplane/That little faggot he’s a millionaire”…it’s a bit hard to say if those bits are more grousing, or a sarcastic retort. (i.e. “That ‘little faggot’ is a millionaire.”)
Those little quotation marks alone can really buy your way out of the doghouse, in a pinch. John Lennon probably shoulda done it for a certain single of his.
Seriously? So what do you think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers? :dubious:
White Cherry is a local band, and I’ve always known they were white. (Donnie Iris is a member, but he joined up after they released this song)
Did you watch the video? It’s mimicry. There is nothing natural about that vocal. I don’t think it’s racist, but it was painful to watch. I couldn’t get past halfway.
RHCP? Sort of middle-of-the road and boring. Sure they dip into different genres but the lead singer sounds natural enough. It’s not the style of the music that’s weird with Wild Cherry…it’s the unnatural, burlesque quality of the vocal.
Play That Funky Music is on a list with Ice, Ice Baby. The Cringey Top 40.
I think it depends on how old you are. The song was always seen as being a bit Will Ferrell silly - white guy in the middle of a silly situation and kinda going for it - so the real question is how it is viewed. I was in high school when it came out so I’ve seen the song age over the years. Most folks my age, black, white, whatever, think of it as a fun old song, like Kung Fu Fighting, Superfreak, and Shaft (Who’s the Black private dick who’s making time with all the chicks? Shaft!! Dick, shaft, black guy - nothing to see about stereotypes there!), and so, so many others.
It is a fun, good, danceable song that old farts like me enjoy. It won’t endure much past us, because later generations see it as an artifact of the days when their grandparents didn’t get it. I see that view of this song more as collateral damage vs. something needing a direct hit due to impropriety. But I won’t lose sleep when it fades, because I know that other completely inappropriate songs like Superfreak will endure, because they are simply too badass to put down, and that most women agree with me and will lead the charge to the dancefloor when Superfreak comes on. 
The world is still safe.
My $.02
Man, the 70s produced some awesome novelty and one hit wonders.
Simply awesome.
I was a white boy when it first came out and I didn’t find it offensive. 
I find this thread interesting, as there seems to be two different angles of how it could be “racist.” One is the simple racial tone of the phrase “play that funky music, white boy!” (which is sung by a white singer, so I don’t see how it could be racist, anyway) and the other is that it is mimicking and almost cariacaturizing black funk in a way that can be seen as racist and offensive (also something I don’t agree with.) I’d be curious to see what the breakdown of the 7 “yes it’s racist” votes so far would be.
But, no, it’s not racist either way, in my opinion.
The assumption a white guy might struggle with playing soul or funk is mildly racist. Imho
I don’t recall it being an issue back then. People are more aware of subtle racism these days.
I’ve always liked the song. It’s unusual and quirky. Good fun.
Funny you should mention that… (Now THIS is cringey)
Seriously though, I see a bunch of dudes getting really into the music. I think some people here are just looking for something that isn’t there.
Yeppers. Also an acronym that looks too much like RHPS, for those of us who remember doing the Time Warp.
My defining memory of the Chili Peppers is when they were the closing act at one of the last WHFStivals, back in the spring of 2000, IIRC. Since they were the closing act, their contract must’ve included an encore. They were sufficiently uninspiring that people were leaving the stadium in droves as soon as they finished playing their mini-set, and there was a total absence of the usual audience noises to demand an encore. But they came out and played one anyway as the stadium emptied. It didn’t noticeably slow down the movement to the exits.