by Linda Holmes

Kanye West is a powerful performer and kind of a fascinating guy -- it's not for nothing that he's won twelve -- yes, twelve -- Grammy Awards. Tomorrow night, he brings his act to VH1's Storytellers, long a showcase for singer-songwriters. Based on the clip above, it may well be a fine show, but it's currently being eclipsed by controversy over what you're not going to see.

According to Reuters, you won't see either an airing of grievances about Radiohead's Thom Yorke or -- more interestingly -- a statement that the public should give singer Chris Brown "a break."

Brown is currently the subject of one of the ugliest public investigations in recent memory, and West's comments are likely the most headline-friendly aspect of the entire show. But you won't see them; they were cut along with the Yorke business.

Bill Flanagan, the show's executive producer, says that this is all perfectly normal as part of the process of editing a much longer performance down to what's usually a one-hour show -- but has been extended in West's case to 90 minutes. The idea, Flanagan says, is to encourage people to "keep talking" on stage, in return for which the show agrees to "eliminate any 'gotcha' moments."

That seems like a dangerous bargain, doesn't it?

The scratching of backs, after the jump...

If I'm understanding the bargain as Flanagan explains it, the artist comes on the show and performs and speaks openly, in return for which the show removes anything that makes the artist look bad. Is that...smart?

What, really, is the value of candor if you later have the final cut?

Speaking for myself, I associate the "gotcha" moment with "When did you stop beating your wife?" questions; with asking about the same detail forty times until a tiny inconsistency emerges that can be seized upon; with brain blips that blow up into stories that aren't stories.

I'm not sure how voicing your belief that Chris Brown needs to be cut a break -- when you're speaking freely to a crowd on your own -- constitutes a "gotcha" moment. Is the suggestion that West does not actually believe the public should give Brown a break? Or is it that he realizes in retrospect that it's bad to say that out loud? Or is it that someone else thinks it's bad to say that out loud?

Kanye West has never shied away from controversy. Remember the Hurricane Katrina special where he stood next to a hilariously nonplussed Mike Myers and said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people"? Why start editing him now?

categories: Music, Television

10:21 - February 27, 2009

What is this?

Share