Today's obscure track explores the theme of controversy in rock music. The track in focus is entitled 'Monobrow.' Lyrically the song could be considered tame in contrast to a vast majority of work spanning genres, while the song itself is a loud ebb with violent swells and vocal outburts, it still does not present anything too shocking to contemporary artists (though it is fairly progressive for '88). The major controversy deals with the name of the band. Rapeman. Formed by hardcore punk veteran Steve Albini of Big Black (also working with Nirvana, the Pixies and Cheap Trick among others), Rapeman was named in tribute of a bizarre Japanese comic book of the same name. Rapeman was often met with a barrage of protest on the basis of their band name alone, with allegedly supporting or glorifying rape and violence to women. While naming a band Rapeman may superficially seem to reinforce said allegations they could not be further from the truth (at least according to Albini), as feminist ideology has often been absorbed into the ethos of the punk movement, particularly hardcore (and the straight edge movement of the late 80's). Were the protesters wrong for misinterpreting tribute or satire? Was Rapeman in the wrong for exploiting a social taboo or were they in the right for doing so? Either way you look at it such controversy helps add to the appeal, allure and (even minor) publicity of a work... as well as providing the larger social function of discourse surrounding the issue itself (rape) and censorship and self expression.
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