Discovering Metal in the War Zone

I've been a fan of Rachel Maddow ever since she started as a commentator on MSNBC. A push by Keith Olbermann - my favorite TV pundit, period - landed Maddow her own show. Aptly called The Rachel Maddow Show, Ms. Maddow breaks down the biggest political news of the day. She's a pundit - after all, Maddow is a liberal like me - so of course we'd get along great. Now, I wasn't surprised when Maddow's producers selected a story about the return of Heavy Metal to Baghdad. After all, Maddow is a progressive. I'm sure she likes to rock out like the rest of us. What did surprise me, however, is that a clip of the show popped up today on Blabbermouth.

Now, the point here is not that I'm excited a lot of kids are getting exposed to Maddow's show thanks to Blabbermouth. She's doing great in the ratings all on her own. The point is that it's great that Metal is finally beginning to seep back into Iraq. Metal musicians are largely shunned in conservative Baghdad - and it's dangerous for fans to gather at underground concerts. Getting bands - and fans - back together in Iraq is a great thing! Perhaps someday it will be safe enough for our Glam bands to travel to Iraq for shows.

From the reading and research I've done, there's a big pocket of die hard Metalheads in Iraq. Those kids (and some adults) love Metallica and Motley Crue just like we do. Sure, the Metal that is born from the region tends to be super heavy. Then again, I wouldn't expect a Sunset Strip party tune to originate in the middle of a war zone.

I wonder if the constant occupation of allied forces in the region has anything to do with the rise of Metal's popularity? A lot of our fine enlisted men and women take music from home with them to the war zone as a way to cope and relax. If I was an Iraqi and I heard, say, Megadeth blasting from a tanker for a the first time, I'd definitely be intrigued. I'd want to discover the music and find a way to own some of the forbidden fruit. Better yet, I'd want to share this new found glory with my friends.

Seeing Rachel throw up the devil horns on network television is about as awesome as it gets. The only thing that would excite me more...is if Tom Brokaw does the same during tomorrow's pre-election edition of Meet the Press. Something tells me I have a better shot at winning the lottery than seeing old Tom make the international sign of Metal. Ah, a girl can dream.

Comments

[Gary]

I like Rachel Maddow also.That was a pretty cool vid.Thanks Allyson!