Eric Clapton - Friend or Foe?

Gary, I edited your post pursuant to my post above yours. We are not going to debate COVID, claimed censorship, the legitimacy of the vaccines, etc.

Hope you are doing well. Well said. The thread title was not intended to be taken literally, and I’ll leave it at that.

To your continued health and continued participation on the forum. :grinning:

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Any other thoughts on the concepts expressed in the articles? For example, does Clapton’s racism affect your views of his music?

Sadly, he has had neurological health issues affecting his hands for years, including peripheral neuropathy (something I have in common with him). How do we deal with/react to a musician with failing facilities?

I think I can say with confidence that we have all been guilty of improprieties one way or another in this life…Casting stones does not turn a wrong into a right…it just makes for a more self serving condition of the heart.

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I wasn’t aware of the racist comments he made years ago, until recently. He has however apologized and admitted he was a racist in his earlier years.

He described himself at the time as having been a “full-tilt racist” and admitted: "I did really offensive things. I was a nasty person .

Good on him for fessing up.

The fact that he has suffered with neurological issues in his past, shouldn’t distract from the fact the jabs he had taken severely worsened his condition.

It is not a distraction; he has had serious ongoing issues with his hands which predate COVID.

But yes, as the articles note, in rare cases the vaccines can exacerbate these issues, nothing is 100%. He reports his second dose resulted in additional issues which is exceedingly unfortunate. As I understand it, this has resolved to where he is back where he was with the ongoing neuropathy.

I can attest this is far from fun. For me, from my right elbow down it simultaneously feels like hitting your funny bone and having slept wrong on the arm so that it tingles. Mine is a result of trauma and required working hard to regain the ability to play trumpet after the accident. I am certain it is at least just as bad for a guitarist. (Please remember, I mentioned Clapton’s condition in the context of asking “How do we deal with/react to a musician with failing facilities?”)

Does his racism, support for fox hunting, etc. impact your appreciation of his music?

Absolutely, but is there are point where a musician’s acts are intolerable and he cannot be supported, regardless of how good his music? If so, where is that line drawn?

And to what extent dos it matter if the musician is still living or dead?

With Clapton, I find fascinating his career is based on playing “black music” while at the same time expressing such hateful thoughts with respect to these same people, as well as non-white immigrants.

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I’ve never been a huge fan of his music, and don’t own any of his albums. His playing does appear on a few compilation CDs I own, and I can appreciate his work on the guitar.

As far as the impact from the recent airing of his dirty laundry, on my appreciation of his music, nothing has changed, still not a huge fan.

Do I approve of his past racist behavior, or his support for fox hunting, hell no! I’m sure if other musicians, or anyone else for that matter, were put under a microscope, there would be behaviors that most of us would not approve of.
If I judged musicians based on behaviors that I do not agree with, like hunting, or their dietary choices, my music collection would be pretty much non-existent.

As far as judging Eric Clapton as a person, I give him some kudos for recognizing his past racist behavior, and for speaking up, and standing strong on the side of freedom, and personal choice.

Sometimes the musician themselves allow our reactions to their failing facilities to be more gracious. One of the best cases, off the top of my head, is Peter Frampton. He made an announcement about his health struggles, booked a “farewell tour”, and then wrote a heartfelt autobiography (plus he started calling himself “Framp-pa” when his grandchild was born - I mean… come on!).

Seems like a good dude.

Not in the least.

It depends on what they play and the degree to which they are impaired by age, etc. Rockers who can no longer sing annoy me for example. When it is clear you are unable to hold a melody it is time to stop singing.

But an instrumentalist who simplifies his playing to fit his abilities does not bother me.

…Then you’d LOVE my playing

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His 1979 album “Allied Forces” was brilliant for its time & era for that transitional punk period.

image

Accidents Will Happen and Peace, Love, and Understanding were highlight tracks.

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I do not believe Robert Fripp to be anti-vax. See, for example, this King Crimson press release, which states in relevant part regarding the band’s 2021 touring prospects:

Much will depend on the success of the vaccine programmes on both sides of the Atlantic. We will announce dates as soon as we have them.”

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The premise of this is stupid. If you disagree with Clapton, who cares? If you agree with Clapton, who cares? This is not a political or science forum (clearly based on the outrageous sums of money spent on cables) so posts should focus on an artist’s music, not their political views or takes on any science.

This thread should be deleted…

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So, how do you really feel?

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The moderator must be scared of the truth.

I doubt anyone here is afraid of any post. :slight_smile:

I am however amused speed-racer took so many broad swipes in a few sentences. It is perfectly fine for him to express his opinion.

Keep in mind it is easy to avoid any thread which is not of interest to you.

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I agree w speedracer , allowing political posts drags down the nature of the forum. All you have to do is visit Inmate asylum over at the Audio Asylum to see the kind of trash that is spewed there… dont allow PS Audio to become what has happened there. It surely is not balanced . Political posts have also carried over to General asylum… just my point of view…the owner of that forum seems to be only interested in the number of visitors and doesnt seem to care about content…

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And I too agree this is not a place for politics even if those politics involve music and musicians.

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