Rock musician Todd Rundgren hasn't been prominent as a performer since the 1970s, but his Sunday concert at the Birchmere here in MRC's hometown of Alexandria drew a mixed review in the Washington Post. Tuesday's review by Stephen Brookes ended with this strange paragraph about Rundgren's failure to offend people:
And for a guy pushing 60, Rundgren still works hard, digging into the vocals and closing most songs with a leaping scissors kick. But his promises to "offend each and every person in the room" didn't quite deliver, starting with a tame "Fascist Christ" and ending with a listless jab against -- yawn -- neoconservatives. Sorry; if you want to talk politics in this town, you have to hit a lot harder than that.
Since when is a song viciously attacking American Christians as fascists considered "tame" and inoffensive? The only arguments in the Post's favor: The song is old (from 1993, hardly the zenith of Christian conservatism), and it's a very lame white rap song.
The video is on YouTube. In it, the cross swirls into a swastika. It's also illustrated by fuzzy images of Pat Buchanan, Randall Terry, and Jesse Helms. Rundgren also sings at several points in a sophomoric attempt at a bishop's robe and mitre, and also, dressed in black, pulls out a long pistol to shoot sinners.
It should go without saying that rockers seeking to "offend everyone" haven't exactly recorded "Fascist Muhammad." Lyrics are here.
