Yeah Alex, such a idiotic line-up that tickets start at $975 on Stubhub. You may not like the lineup but clearly enough people do that they are willing to pay good money to see this show.

clearly you know nothing about alicia keys....dont talk about who you know nothing about.

i recognize talent and Kanye West is a foulmouthed wannabe-he was a foolish addition to an otherwise superb lineup! I recognize diversity not auto tuned pc.

Alex, lighten up. These stars have volunteered their time and talent to help your neighbors and are raising a lot of money. The show sold out very quickly at very high ticket prices. I assume you are not going, so if you don't want to listen to some or all of it on the radio, no one could care less.

Alex,

Given that you single out specific styles for criticism and recommend their exclusion, it sounds as if you more then just "don't like" rap or R&B. It sounds as if you vehemently "dislike" rap and R&B. At any rate, no one has told you to like or listen to Rap or R&B. But you ought to learn to appreciate that other people do and that they might like to see their tastes represented and not just yours. And if you open yourself up a little bit to those you see as being so different from yourself, you might even learn a thing or two from them.

This is not a hard rock concert. It's a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy. It's supposed to be about people coming together.

Alex i'm pretty sure it's called the "12-12-12," The Concert for Sandy Relief, not The ROCK Concert for Sandy Relief.
It is a benefit with artist from a variety of genres to attract a large and diverse audience.
I could make a dumb comment like you and ask why is bon jovi (a cheesy hair band) playing with talented artists, however i realize this is a benefit concerts who that wants to attract as many people as possible, even people who like corny music like bon jovi.
your comparison saying would you go to a west concert doesnt make any sense and shows your lack of intelligence. Its not like West is opening for the stones. It is a benefit concert that features classic rock artists, alternative rock artists, hip hop artist, r & b artist, and even a cheesy hair band like bon jovi too appeal to all audiences.

Alex, do you know that when Michael Lange was planning Woodstock in 1969, people could not understand why he was mixing hard rock bands like the Who and Hendricks, with folk singers like Richie Havens and Joan Baez, or funk bands like Sly and the Family Stone? Why was he wasting his time with newcomers that no one had heard of, like Santana, Crosby, Still, Nash & Young, and Joe Cocker??? And why, oh why was he hiring a bunch of guys from Columbia University who danced around onstage lip syncing 50’s music, who called themselves Sha Na Na???

Is a big concert necessarily better if you just have one type of music???

This concert was never touted as a " Rock Concert". The official posters list it as a Celebrity Benefit Concert. Alex may have been confused because there was more Rock groups than any other and assumed it was a rock concert. It was a diversified group of musicians and comedians. I thought Kanye West performance was a joke that is when the remote control changed the channel for 10 minutes

... because the "Stones" represent such good wholesome values? Right. Only gentility and peace there. No drugs or anything. lol

Sir-I have been to over 100 concerts in my life and I have had to walk through many metal detectors and I have been patted down quite a few times. Not one was a rap concert. The guitarist for Pantera/Damageplan (most definitely not rap groups) was shot while performing on stage. Violence has no musical preference.

Nice racist comment there.

well SIR......
i for one have never caused a problem in my life. thank you very much and have a great day with your horrible generalizations.

Well, "Sir", that seems a touch racist if you ask me... Maybe you should remember that cute little saying that "Disney's Bambi" taught us... "If you can"t say something nice, don't say nothing at all"

Last time I checked "Tammy" the Stones didn't sing about gunning people down and the degradation of women. If your to stupid to realize that and want to suffer through 30 min of hatred blame aimed at all different races and gender be my guest. I for one feel it has no place at concert benefiting hurricane victims. Pull your head out of your ASS.. That goes for you too Ridgewood..

Chris - You've never heard the Rolling Stones sing about gunning people down and the degradation of women?

I've got a debt to repay
I ain't gonna cry
I put a gun in your face
You'll pay with your life
-- from "Gunface"

As for the degradation of women, where does one start? "Brown Sugar", "Under My Thumb", "Some Girls", the list is pretty long.

Chris - "If your to stupid ".

How about YOU'RE TOO stupid to know how to write English.

Hey Chris, "Cause summers here and the time is right for fighting in the streets, boys."
What is that a love song?

susan unfortunatly we are in an age where people can post whatever they want, usaully under fake names, and have no accountablity for what they say. people like alex have too much time on their hands and for some reason think people care about his opinion and what bands he'd prefer to see. the sad thing with sites like this is when there is a positive article about a local high school student acheving something great or a local resident doing volunteer work there will be a couple comments, however if it is in article about something negative like the county executives kid getting in trouble, there will be hundreds of comments by people with fake names thinking people care about thier opinion.
unforunatly it seems with this social media people are just interested in gossip and being negative

Gary, I think I know what you mean. But, again, my comment is purely music related, and not along the racial lines. I'd be happy to see another Jimmy Hendrix in the line-up..But, if it is Kanye West or Alicia Keys that take his vacant spot in a "rock" concert..then don't call it "rock" concert! Call it "rock-rap-r&b", or whatever. I'd still send money to the victims of Sandy, but I am not sure I'd pay those staggering amounts for the somewhat "rock" concert.

Wow Gary. Who would have ever thought that individuals who attends concerts together all share the same motives as one another? Just so you can be specific, why don't you use plain English to name the "Certain Groups" that political correctness guards us against criticizing, and share your oppressed criticisms of those groups with us. I wouldn't want to just be reading your mind. I'd rather hear your own words about it.

Speaking of mind reading, you are incorrect about my tastes in music. I don't listen so much to rap. I just don't really have such a problem with it, as you do, nor do I mind that others might enjoy Alicia Keys or Kanye West (is Alicia Keys even a rapper?). I'm also not sure how I feel about any of the above named pop stars - Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters, Kanye West, The Who and Paul McCartney - performing in Van Neste square. But my issue there would have nothing to do with my preferences for certain musical styles.

I should add, Gary, that you will likely find many rap fans at Ramapo and Indian Hills High Schools just as you will at Ridgewood High School.

My stars, Alex, you've been gnawing on the same bone for days; have you considered not watching the concert?

Hmm. We must respect the freedom of others not to respect others. That doesn;t quite sound right.

Tammy, any person with an average or below average IQ would know that one can see ( not necessarily read) all the comments from the internet provider. The responses are sent directly to the original author's e-mail address. Speaking about "idiotic".

I don't think that Tammy is "idiotic" or has demonstrated anything in the way of having a low IQ Alex. Is that really necessary?

do you people realize this concert was thrown together quite quickly?!?! can we all start using our brains as we comment on these ridiculous posts...to each his/her own...

Alex, im sorry, stop calling it a rock concert, you are only making yourself look silly... never was this concert labeled as a "Rock Concert". yes many of the talent who volunteered their time were rock stars, but that does not make the 12.12.12 Benefit concert rock.

Not a rock but a benefit concert, period.

On behalf of all the Patch readers, thank you very much for your valuable opinion, Alex. We are lucky to have the Internet so that we can be blessed by your wisdom and your mere presence. I feel honored just to be on the same web site as you. Can I please have your autograph?

Yankel, when I see comments like yours, I wish Patch had a like button.

Dude, in the time it took you to write those two sentences, you could have Googled it and found the answer.

See, Thomas has the right idea. Appreciation!!!

Tammy, I won't kick that idiotic ball back into your court. Consider your self intelligent.

People like you make me sick to my stomach. People died, people lost their loved ones, people lost their houses, their pets, their memories, their cars, everything they owned and you want first crack at Robin Hood’s money because you lost revenue. I’m willing to bet you if had the storm brought record profits to your business, you wouldn’t have donated one cent to any charitable originations, and I bet you’d still be wanting to stand in line for your handout!

Guess you should have had better business interruption insurance!

So vacation homes aren't worth anything now? You were able to get your business up and running as soon as the power and heat came on, I'm sure. These people won't be able to come back until their houses and businesses are rebuilt. A lot more time than it takes to recover from a few days of money loss.

For the record, people cannot receive assistance from FEMA on secondary/vacation homes until they go through their homeowners insurance first. However, once they have exhausted whatever their homeowners can do, then they can turn to FEMA to see what they are eligible for. This was a big topic in one of Christie's press conferences right before the snow storm, just after the hurricane.

I'm sorry, maybe I didn't get my point across correctly. Yes, I lost revenue and yes I'm stil effected by it and no I DON"T WANT RobinHood's money! AND YES, that is my point, people lost EVERYTHING and sorry but a secondary "vacation" home that you use as a tax write off to supplement your own income is nothing compared to people that lost their PRIMARY residences and little or no insurance compensation, those are the people that deserve the money! Let's make sure they get it first, before the people with 2 or 3 "vacation" homes.

What behavior are you referring to XJS?

Seriously, RM? You don't remember his outburst re: George Bush?

Do you mean when he said that George Bush didn't care about Black people?

Yea, Rm, the completely ridiculous and inappropriate comment about GW not liking black people while standing with Mike Meyers (who, for once, was speechless) during the Katrina benefit. Seriously? The guy is an attention whore & a-hole.

I personally would have not allowed him to perform in this one because of his antisocial behavior in the past. I'd also ban Psy from the White House Christmas Concert for his prior lyrical indiscretions (anti-American stuff he wrote/performed in 2004).

Also, I might have banned Kanye just for dating the train wreck that is Kim Kardashian, too.

Seems to me like our little discussion here doesn't bode well for the idea of blacks being cared about for inclusion.

An what about Eric Clapton's Birmingham speech:
http://rockaliser.blogspot.com/2010/12/eric-claptons-evil-speech.html

Should that not have disqualified him from performance in the way that Kanye West's comments should have?

It is an amazing time that we live in, where it is a worse thing to say that someone has done something that is racist then it is to actually say or do something that is racist.

XJS Ban Him! Ban him for what? Exercising his first amendment right to free speech? This is America XJS, where we here have the freedom to listen to who we want, and also the freedom to not listen to who we don’t want too. Anyone who bought tickets knew he was on the bill, and anyone watching on TV could have simply turned him off, or up as loud as they can. It is their choice not yours.

Personally, I thought he sucked more than a 110 volt vacuum cleaner plug into a 220 volt outlet, but that is my personal opinion.

As for you XJF, read the 1st amendment, and understand we here in this country don’t ban anyone for saying anything, even if you don’t want to hear it!

Ban him? My god XJS please tell me you aren’t an American, and please, please tell me you don’t consider yourself a patriot!

@Edward- it's a private charity event & yes, I'd ban him from participating in such events if I were the organizer of one for the reasons previously stated.

For your information: Your guaranteed rights (such as freedom of speech) in the Constitution (technically in the Bill of Rights, which amended the Constitution) is between PRIVATE CITIZENS and the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and has nothing to do with the organizers of a private event. Maybe you didn't realize this? Now that you know, you're welcome

PS - I happen to own two Kanye discs. Nothing recent, but I thought gold digger was a fun song.

Well RM, the problem w/ your last post is you seem to think that someone did something racist besides Kanye when he made that statement accusing Bush of being a racist. And if you look up Kanye's apology, even he admits he had no grounds for calling Bush a racist.

to the guy re this korean guy exercising his "First Amendment Rights". Um, he isn;t a U.S. Citizen, he has no First Amendment Rights.

Ojo Rojo,

Eric Clapton's comments were explicitly racist- a genuine manifesto of hate, replete with numerous epithets and declarations of the need for white supremacy. Yet, no discussion of a need for him to be excluded from the event has been made here.

Kanye West criticized George Bush's questionably poor and callous response in assisting victims in Katrina who were, most intriguingly, largely of color. That is not racism of any sort. Perhaps it was a false accusation of racism, but it does not constitute racism in itself.

Moreover, Kanye West did not apologize for this as you seem to have misunderstood. He apologized for labeling George Bush as a "racist," admitting that it was not constructive or appropriate to label people who commit racist acts as "racists" when they are not deliberately meaning to be racists nor aware that their racist behavior is racist.

This is not the quote of someone who is anything but a racist " “George Bush doesn't care about black people.” Sorry lady but the man made an off the cuff racist comment and no amount of pretending otherwise will ever change that. And I really don't care what Clapton said. My point was you were excusing someone for accusing Bush of being a racist when even Kanye said afterwards that his comments were unfounded. Next time choose your words more carefully. You should not say "or do something that is racist" if you don't plan on standing by your words and your indirect accusation at leveled at Bush. We know you hate the guy, you are blinded by your partisanship.

Ojo,

Accusing someone of being racist, whether it is the truth or whether it is false, does not meet any meaningful definition of racism.

You don't like what he said. Fine. I find it troubling that you would find this more offensive then what Eric Clapton has said, and a more meaningful grounds for barring him from an event.

Listen more closely to Kaye's "apology" statement. You absolutely missed out on what he said.

For the record, I am not partisan.

Stop w/ the deflection. I don't care what Clapton said. I am not defending it, I don't even know what he said. What YOU SAID is what I am pointing out you racist apologist.

XJS -- Are these you words or not? "I'd also ban Psy from the White House Christmas Concert for his prior lyrical indiscretions (anti-American stuff he wrote/performed in 2004)."

I don't know about you, but I think the White House Christmas Concert is considered Public and therefore protected by the 1st!

If you think that concert is public then how about you try and attend or perform there.

"racist apologist."

Wow. By your definition you are a racist BECAUSE you have accused me of racism. Hahaha.

And Ridgewoodmom proves yet again she barely can read and can't think straight. Must be that fine education she got from the wrappers of Bazooka Gum she found on the sidewalk. A racist apologist is someone who makes lame excuses for racists. Now go back to defending the racists. You bore me with your sophomoric level of reading comprehension.

Ojo,
How was Kanye West's statement about George Bush not caring about Black people a racist statement? Who was it racist toward and how was it so?

Also Ojo,

Why are you deflecting from my points about Eric Clapton. XJS's comment was a case of singling out Kanye West for exclusion from the event. Why would you argue that Kanye West should be excluded but that Eric Clapton should not?

Moreover, why is actual racism toward minorities acceptable to you whereas the claim that a particular white person is racist, whether it is true or false, is unacceptable for banning?

Edward P Campbell- Psy is Korean and has no 1st Amendment Rights. What else is there to argue on that point?

You really are dense lady. I never defended Clapton. I went after you for your statement where you said "It is an amazing time that we live in, where it is a worse thing to say that someone has done something that is racist then it is to actually say or do something that is racist."

You clearly were referencing Bush w/ that statement you windbag and you are too cowardly to admit you were wrong about the man. Now back under your rock.

Then you digress from the topic Ojo. This thread is in reference to XJS's comment "After Kanye's behavior at the Katrina benefit I'm surprised he was invited to this one."

Kanye West has not been shown as having said anything racist. I asked you for substantiation of this accusation and you have provided nothing. Eric Clapton has been shown to have made severely racist statements. Your prioritization of what you perceive to be a false accusation of racism over what all can plainly see to be an actual case of racism is disturbing. You have not even made a case for anything that is wrong with Kanye West's words.

At any rate, if you just want to rant about how some people are sometimes falsely accused of racism, then you are doing it in an inappropriate place. This discussion is about the 12-12-12 concert. It has proceeded with mention of the concerts diversity and that diversity's critics.

BTW, what is really laughable about RM's post about singling out Kanye is in the same post where XJS suggests Kanye shouldn't have been invited to the event, he also suggests a completely different artist should be excluded from another event for what that artist has done. So it is pretty stupid IMO to claim anyone is singling someone out, well except for RM who wants to defend at all costs her favorite racist artist and deflect attention from his statements and make excuses for the guy or somehow mitigate his disgusting behavior. And to think we still haven't even gotten to what the guy did on stage when Taylor Swift was getting her award or any of his other antics.

BTW, I completely agree on banning Psy from an invitation only event at the White House. Let the anti-American artist exercise his right to express himself outside the gates if he so chooses. People have a right to say what the want on the street out in public. They don't have a right to attend an invitation only event and that invitation can certainly be pulled at the whim of the host.

If I digress from the topic when attacking you for going after Bush when defending Kanye, then I submit that I am only off topic because you yourself were off topic. I attacked your statement, your unfounded attack, an attack Kanye himself admitted was groundless yet you still insisted on repeating it indirectly. You are so blinded by your hatred that you just can't admit you are wrong and that is truly pathetic.

Ojo,

I have not suggested, in any way, that Eric Clapton should have been excluded from the event. I am appreciative of his contributions in effort to assist those who were effected by Sandy, just as I am appreciative of of the efforts of Kanye West and all others involved in this noble benefit concert.

I have simply illustrated what is wrong with the idea of uniquely excluding the likes of Kanye West and Alicia Keys, and the double standard of singling them out from the others in the lineup as uniquely bad moral exemplars. It appears, on the surface at least, that this attack is the product of some sort of racist sentiments.

And, again, I think that I have clarified that Kanye West's statements about George Bush, whether we agree or disagree with those statements, were not in any way racist.

@RM- I would have no invited/banned Kanye from any future public events after his continued anti-social behavior (see: Katrina & Swift incident). That was my point. I never said he's racist. You brought that into the mix.

And who the heck is singling out Alicia Keys? Now you're just lumping everyone who isn't white into the banned category. Who's racist now? Clue: You

WTF does Alicia Keyes have to do w/ this thread? Nobody has said anything about her at all. She certainly didn't accuse a sitting president of disliking black people on national TV in front of an audience of tens of millions of people during a benefit concert for hurricane victims. Get a clue already lady. The man has no business being invited to this sort of event ever again.

see the first comment to understand where alicia keys came from in all of this. =)

XJS & Ojo Rojo,
Read comments one and two about this article above, then the sequence that leads to this trail of comments about Kanye West that was initiated by XJS. As you can plainly see, I did not bring race or Alicia Keys into the discussion. Make recommendation to both of you is that you try, in the future, to have a better sense of what you are getting in to when you join a conversation.

XJS,
Again, your comment singling out Kanye West's behavior as particularly inappropriate does not make much sense in light of my Eric Clapton example and also comments made by others and myself regarding the Rolling Stones, etc. You demonstrate a very selective bias, as per Kevin's point above.

RM- Here's some advice- When someone posts a freestanding comment, one that is neither in response to any other comment nor directly in line with the previous thoughts already posted, you should respond to that comment as though it is an original thought from an original person. I could not care less what anyone thinks of any of the talent. I'm not speaking to talent. My point was and remains that Kanye has shown he's a fool before in the same scenario, therefore he shouldn't have been invited this time. That's it and that's all.

I later pointed out that Psy is an ass & doesn't belong on a national stage in front of our president if he hates Americans as much as his lyrics suggest he does.

As to your point about Clapton - how you can compare the words/actions of a younger man 36 years ago at his own concert where people paid to see/hear him, vs the words/actions of a performer at the same type of benefit concert 7 years ago is beyond me. It's apples and oranges. What Clapton says/does at his concert are to his peril. I'm sure he lost lots of fans. I don't like his music so I don't pay much mind to him. But Kanye was on a national stage at a benefit concert and he was an a**. Therefore, I think he shouldn't be included in benefit concerts. That was and remains my only point. If you can't see that, buy a pair of glasses.

maybe XJS, Ojo and Ridgewood Mom you all should exchange email addresses so people dont have to be bothered by all of your immature and boring rants... enough is enough Youre bickering about rascism...and now the rest of us suffer.
PLEASE STOP NOW!!! Thank you.

Re: Autotune. He's a rapper, not a singer.

Who's more likely to donate to charity? The old white men in the audience who can afford $250 tickets, or the 25 yr old kids with limited disposable income who dance to Gangham Style?

Judging from the Billboard 200 list, my guess is that Alicia Keys brought in the most audience to the 12-12-12 lineup. Her song "Girl On Fire" is currently in position seven. Even some "old white men" are listening to and buying it. The Rolling Stones' "GRRR!" comes next at position 42.

I don't see any of the others, from the lineup, selling so many records this week. But don't worry XJS. No one is out to get "old white men" here. They are important and we care about them too. I have a feeling that even Kanye West does.

RM - you follow me around like a dog in heat.

I couldn't agree more. As far as I'm concerned, Obama is now managing my charitable donations through his wealth redistribution programs.

LOL Harland -I'd like to give credit to congress for liberally giving away my funds as well.

If you people feel that way then you don't believe in charity anyway. I am sure you will feel the same way when the Republicans remove charitable deductions from your income tax deductions.

Dan Grant-do not pretend to know me or put words in my mouth. I give heavily to charity. Now I will no longer do that. My taxes coming out of my paycheck is now the only charity I will give.

I actually donate to the Salvation Army as well as 501(c)(3)s yearly.

XJS-I used to, now they can call Obama for donations.

How ungenerous and hateful of you, John Wisneuski. And all to make a point. Yay.

Jim - many times I've said to many different people my thoughts on Kanye being in this lineup. Nowhere in my posts did I make it about his music or his race. It has always been about his behavior at the Katrina benefit. What's controversial about that?

Exactly, his behavior at the Katrina benefit was completely inexcusable. Go watch the tape if you are unfamiliar with why people think he should never have been invited back for another benefit concert.

The go back and read the link that I posted about Eric Clapton's live concert statements, and decide for yourself if Kanye West's statements are better reason for being banned from performing in a concert.

Yes, there are many groups in this world who would love your idea. They have used posts made by people on social networking sites to find out who their detractors are and target them for retaliation. If you wish to live in this sort of environment, might I suggest relocating to North Korea or Iran? There you can have all the accountability you want.

thats the whole point "ojo"; in north korea and iran there is no freedom of speech so people are targeted for retaliation. however in america you do have freedom of speech and will not be prosecuted for what you say unless it is a threat.
in america people are free to say whatever they want, no matter how idiotic, however its everyones right to know who the idiot is.

Jim, our founding fathers completely disagree with you. They penned plenty of stuff anonymously and if you knew anything about history, you'd know that anonymous speech has a long standing tradition in this country and is protected by law and by court precedent.

And no Jim, you are wrong that people aren't retaliated against for what they say in this country. The government may not be doing the retaliating but plenty of individuals are perfectly capable of crossing that line themselves. People have been fired for saying something someone disagreed with. People have been sued for saying something someone disagreed with. People have been ostracized for saying something someone disagreed with. People have been harassed and stalked for saying something someone disagreed with. People have even been attacked for saying something someone disagreed with. In the vast majority of these cases, the people being bothered for saying something someone disagreed with said something that was completely legal but still they were harassed. Seriously Jim, get your head out of the sand and go look up all the instances where non-anonymous speech has gotten people in trouble with people like you who want to muzzle free speech and make those who wish to exercise their right to free speech targets for harassment and retaliation.

But, but it's Bob Menendez. He grew up in poverty. He made his way to the top. He is living in the American dream. How can you possibly think there's a story here? //end sarcasm.

I can't stand his policies or his persona. I've never voted for him, I've actively campaigned against him & I've railed on my friends who think he's anything other than a crook.

What is "not putting a lot of effort into the story"? Should it be on the front page of The Times? Everyone feels that their own personal axe should be ground loudly, but you'll probably just have to wait for the story to shake out. http://blog.nj.com/hobokennow/2007/10/report_stevens_subpoenad_in_pr.html

Jack Q, "Alledgedly"? That is a word that covers alot of false insinuations. What do you work for Faux News? He was here on a Student Visa that had expired. He didn't enter illegally and since his pedophile conviction happened as a minor we don't know what the circumstances were. It could have been as simple as having sex with his minor girlfriend or it could be something we would want to string him up for. The point is that the Senator has no involvement in any of this as far as anyone knows.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SENATE_INTERN_ARRESTED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT