Jethro Tull sorry for bashing flag

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Tuesday, November 18, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

THE RED, WHITE & BLUE
Jethro Tull sorry
for bashing flag
Lead singer apologizes after WND publishes anti-U.S. comments globally

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Posted: November 17, 2003
5:36 p.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Ian Anderson, front man for British rock bank Jethro Tull, has apologized for comments he made blasting American patriotism.

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson

"In an interview with a U.S. newspaper, I expressed my concerns regarding the 'flag-waving' mind-set – not only of some Americans – but across the world," Anderson wrote on the band's website.

"I now regret the tone of these statements and offer my belated apologies to those offended by any perceived slur on the Stars and Stripes. I really didn’t understand – even after 35 years of visiting the USA on a regular basis – that this symbol had such fierce resonance for so many people as is now apparent to me."

As WorldNetDaily reported, in an interview published in New Jersey's Asbury Park Press, Anderson said, "I hate to see the American flag hanging out of every bloody station wagon, out of every SUV, every little Midwestern house in some residential area. It's easy to confuse patriotism with nationalism. Flag waving ain't gonna do it."

In response, radio station WCHR-FM on the Jersey shore decided to no longer play songs by Jethro Tull, best known for its 1970s hit "Aqualung."

"The reaction of our audience has been 99 percent in favor of the ban and 99 percent incredulous that he would say such stupid things. He is a smart guy," program director and disc jockey Phil LoCascio told the Press. "As far as we're concerned, this ban is forever."

LoCascio rejected the notion the ban on Tull songs amounts to censorship.

"Our listeners' right to ask us not to play the music is equal to his right to say what he wants," he said, according to the report.

The Associated Press reports today LoCascio will leave any decision to restore the band to the station's play list to listeners.

"Some of the listeners think [the apology is] too little too late," LoCascio told the news service.

The controversy is part of continuing fallout in the music world in connection with the war on terror. As WorldNetDaily has previously reported, the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, and Moby have all come under public scrutiny for their personal political statements.

Formed in 1967 in Blackpool, England, Jethro Tull took its name from an 18th century agricultural inventor and has enjoyed widespread success on both sides of the Atlantic.

[JohnHuang2]

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Quote of the Day by South40

[Dane]

Sorry Ian, can't help it if your head is as "thick as a brick".

[Squantos]

Hope Ian will accept my apology in kind for shoving that flute up his ass if I ever I meet him in person......

These POS losers say what they mean, what they really mean and then their bankers make em apologize like a 6 year old . Trash......nothing but human trash.

Stay Safe Ya'll......rant over !

[MayDay72]

Sorry Ian, can't help it if your head is as "thick as a brick". -Dane

Actually I think that we exhausted all of the obvious Jethro Tull references over here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1020355/posts

[Rockitz]

"Poor old sod..."

[skr]

Despite being a teen in the 70s, the only thing I remember about Jethro Tull is that they had horrible album covers. I can't even imagine what "Aqualung" sounds like. Certainly no big loss in my musical education.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Oops! My bad, I thought they were referring to our Jethro Tull.

BTW: did he ever come out of his bomb shelter after Y2K?

[JohnHuang2]

BTW: did he ever come out of his bomb shelter after Y2K?

hehehe

[Strider]

"I now regret the tone of these statements and offer my belated apologies to those offended ... "

He can appologize all he wants. As far as I am concerned, he can go to hell.

[dasboot]

I love some of his stuff. "Skating Away" is a monumentally good tune; and I think it will be sung in pubs 500 years from now. Of all his tunes, I think that is the most universally loved. He's a damn gifted writer.

"Bungle in the Jungle" is another great one. One of those 'sing-along' choruses everybody knows.

Why would anybody get upset by political commentary from a guy who wears a cod-piece? [g]

[KneelBeforeZod]

which one is jethro tull?

[FlyVet]

I really didn’t understand – even after 35 years of visiting the USA on a regular basis

Well...maybe yer stupid.

[JohnHuang2]

Well...maybe yer stupid.

Bingo.

[geege]

I walked out of a Tull concert at Madison Square Garden years ago after getting in for nothing......Their music did nothing for me then and still can't move me...

[Bonaparte]

"...as is now apparent to me?"

I guess Ian was asleep in a vault during the Ditzy Chix fiasco.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Seriously, did he ever come up? I haven't seen him post since 1999, and enquiring minds want to know: is he still down there, checking out his stock options and baseball cards? Or did he come up, and was so embarrassed that he blew the call so badly that he remains in anonymous obscurity to this day?

[xp38]

From the Britannica website....

Jethro Tull (1674-1741)

Born: 1674 at Basilson, Berkshire Agriculturalist

Died: 1741 at Hungerford, Berkshire

Jethro Tull (1674-1741), born in Basildon in 1674, was a major pioneer in the modernisation of agriculture. The son of a Berkshire farmer, he trained for a legal career, but financial problems compelled him to opt instead for farming. Determined to improve agricultural methods and increase yields, Tull experimented at Howberry farm, Crowmarsh, near Wallingford with a seed-drill which could sew three rows of seeds simultaneously. Later, he devised a horse-drawn hoe to clear away weeds. In 1731, Tull published his ideas about farming and plant nutrition in The New Horse Houghing Husbandry: or, an Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation'. Despite initial resistance to Tull's revolutionary ideas, they were eventually adopted by large landowners, and in time formed the basis of modern agriculture. Tull died at Prosperous Farm, near Hungerford on 21 February 1741.

[FlyVet]

Their music did nothing for me then and still can't move me...

I grew up in the '70's and never did see what was so good about them either, although many of my friends thought they were great. I had a friend who worked at the local minor-league hockey stadium in Kalamazoo, and Tull played there one night. He told me that backstage, after the concert, Anderson would look at someone and start laughing uncontrollably...a little too much acid that night, perhaps.

[JohnHuang2]

Haven't seen him either. I suppose he's still down there...