Artist vs. oeuvre

Music doesn’t exist without context, ie a human listening to it, so any ill feelings towards it are just as real as the music itself.

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I think I know who you are talking about @Hans_Olo

If indeed it is who I think, they were a huge influence to me as well, when I found out it really made me feel shit and question if I should listen to the music any more.

It is a tough one for sure, I have not listened to his music since, I certainly won’t buy any new music from him, but his earlier work is so tied to my past that I might listen to that again in the future, not sure, but it certainly won’t be the same. I guess that that music pre dates the events we are talking about, but still it taints it for me.

Shitty.

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Criminals should be punished. Artists are only human. As we learn more about artists we are going to have to figure something out collectively and as individuals. Obviously the really scummy people we might consider “canceling” (to use the parlance of our time). If we only consume art by “perfect” people we only ever get to watch Tom Hanks movies.

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I had the same issue with an artist a while ago. You can see music as something that is separated from the artist once it is released. But as you know his/her personal backround, you hear the music differently.

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Not for me, I find it a bit of a turn off, personally, “don’t preach to me, entertain me”. Yes I’m being somewhat flippant but I don’t want to hear politicians music or musicians politics. Mostly.

But I mainly prefer instrumentals anyway. :slight_smile:

This I agree with, but I don’t think this is exclusively limited to politics.

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I’m pretty good at ignoring dog shit behaviour from people/artists I like but I sure as hell use it as ammo for slagging off artists I think are shite.

No correct answer to this one, just got to respect someone else’s viewpoints if their moral compass points in a different direction.

Edit: I did find it hard with Morrissey mind you. He’s a gigantic prick. Thankfully his solo stuff is dull.

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I don’t think it’s something one can avoid in art. If your music is apolitical - “I am doing this to give people a good time” - that’s a political stance. And then that gets into who exactly you are aiming to entertain. Not that the artist intends it to be political; I just don’t think art can avoid its inherent politics.

But that’s by the by and maybe OT

@J0n35y

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Of course, that’s why I made a joke about it being Rolf Harris.

I’m guessing you’re neither English or Australian, so might not have got the reference.

For clarity, Rolf Harris was a very popular (and I mean very popular, he got to do a portrait of the queen) Australian children’s presenter, painter and frankly awful singer from the 80’s and 90’s who got caught out expressing amourous intentions towards a 13 year old girl.

But I’ve had to explain my joke, so I’m off to go and cry in a cave.

Mostly I couldn’t give a shit what people do, except for touching kids or being a bit of a rapist, I kinda draw the line at that sort of thing.
Not interested in people’s politics either, unless they’re giving it the full Hitler, then I’ll probably give them a miss (although I do still listen to Pantera, mostly because Phil Anselmo isn’t a Nazi, just a knob).

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That’s a great point.
I’d give Louis CK another chance if he went out and actively put in the effort to repair the careers of all the women he discouraged through his vile behavior.
But nah, he just decided to lay low and wait till it blew over and then went back to doing his thing and paints it as some kind of “comeback”. Yawn.

He doesn’t come across as someone who regrets what he did, only regrets that it caught up with him. And it is difficult to empathize with such a person.

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You just reminded me that I should listen to Ariel Pink. Thanks

I tend to think that people can’t know the oeuvre without knowing the artist. I’m sure we all know lots of great artists whose art judged on it’s own merits is worthy of greater recognition than it gets - equally vice versa. So, it comes down to the specifics of a given artist and the pieces of art in question. And that’s a very personal thing about your own values and how much you love the piece of art.

I’m fortunate that none of the artists I cherish the most have ever done anything too bad… those that have, I’ve not lost too much sleep over ignoring their stuff thereafter. There’s always so much other great music out there!

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Yeah, my apologies. In fact I‘ve been accused by an Aussie in Scotland to be „no fun at all“. :rofl:

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Ah I see. Well yeah I would agree with that too from a purely aesthetic point of view. Proselytizing leaves nothing to the imagination; too explicit.

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I think it depends on the crime, some things are not redeemable IMHO.

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I was a private investigator for some years. My experience is that if you observe anyone for an extended period of time, you are going to discover some things about them that they wouldn’t want anyone to know.

I think the real problem here is our propensity for deifying artists who publicly behave in ways that we admire.

I don’t think anyone should be deified. But even if they are, their art == them.

Art is something else. It has a life of its own. Artists might stand in front of their own paintings, or revisit a song they wrote on stage, but the truth is that their art lives a life separate from them.

If you feel like you’ve curated a stable of “admirable” artists that you can safely put on a pedestal, share with friends, and preach the virtues of like some kind of digital missionary, I would suggest that you are merely participating in a subcultural religious experience.

I would also invite you to acquire a PI license, contact an investigative agency, and participate in some real surveillance. You will come to understand and speak of humanity with a set of terms that is far removed from your current lexical sensibilities.

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I remember thinking what a nice old bloke he seemed when he did Animal Hospital, you associate people who are kind to and empathic toward animals as good people.

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Gotcha :wink: I misunderstood that you were talking about the case in question.