Whenever I see a Brian Eno album posted in the “What Are You Spinning Now?” thread, my first thought is: “Brilliant and creative artist whose positive influence on contemporary music is incalculable.”
And my immediate second thought: “B.D.S. asshat.”
It is a case of “I like the music, but not the musician.”
As another example, Ginger Baker was an incredibly talented rock and jazz drummer whose music I enjoy greatly. But by many accounts, Ginger was a deranged jerk who was sometimes prone to violence.
Which musicians do you admire for their music, but dislike for other reasons? And how do you reconcile the dilemma when you like the music but have major issues with the person making the music?
A friend lent me two books that I recently read. Autobiographies by Keith Richards and Eric Clapton.
Two A-holes for sure. Clapton seems to have mellowed into a real human now. But what a waste of paper.
I like Pink Floyd’s music, but I would not break bread with Roger Waters. I consider him to be an anti-Semite. This presents a conflict for me when it comes to consuming the band’s music. Thank goodness for ROIO’s (freely traded unofficial concert recordings), which enable me to listen to Pink Floyd without helping Roger Waters to fund a political agenda that I find anathema.
Waters denies it, of course. I will resist the temptation to post links here. Google “Roger Waters Anti-Semite” without the quotation marks. If it walks like a duck . . .
That’s just it … Elk bashed Ginger Baker in the ‘RIP Ginger’ tribute thread right after Ginger died, which some found disrespectful. This new thread is, IMO, a more appropriate venue for such forms of venting. A similar thread ran for years on the Steve Hoffman forum and resulted in some very interesting commentary:
My interest in this topic is the dilemma that presents itself when we like an artist’s music but have major issues with the artist himself/herself, and how we reconcile that dilemma. If people think the thread concept is too ‘negative,’ then I imagine the thread will die on the vine.
It is an interesting concept for a topic. Just the other day I was thinking I really love the music of BLANK but I am not a fan of the Person. Now I cannot remember who BLANK was.
But Yeah, Roger Waters is so near the very bottom on my list. No redeeming quality.
Maybe I was thinking of Morrissey. Robert Fripp perhaps. Oh wait, it was Peter Murphy, of course.
While I’m only an occasional opera attendee/listener, I’ve always considered James Levine’s orchestral performances and recordings to be exceptional. His recording of The Planets with the CSO is riveting and without rival, in my mind. I debated whether or not to listen to his work again, after he was fired by MetOpera, but I still do. If half of the reports are true, he’s a complete monster.
Charles Dutoit’s interpretations of Debussy, Ravel and others imprinted on me in my youth and really changed my relationship with music. We’ve now found out he sexually harassed numerous women and changed their lives for the worse.
I have always made a strict mental separation between the character of an artist and the quality of their productions. Turning the topic on its head, the only non-classical musician I knew reasonably well was Frances, Vi Subversa, of Poison Girls. I thought she was a thoroughly nice person, but still felt that her music sucked.
With the advent of CD back in the days before the internet I would search through newspaper ads, Exchange and Mart, etc. seek out LP vinyl collections up for sale. In one the many LP collections I snaffled up for a song was an album that stood out from all the rest.
Of all the many artists and music I’ve posted on the “What Are You Spinning Now?” Well, for obvious reasons - never posted this LP from a person who took rejection badly… now, unless there’s Idi Amin ‘Greatest Hits’ that’s passed me by…!
Certainly lo-fi, not a sonic masterpiece… Flushing toilets in the background!!! That said, I do actually own worse sounding albums…!
My wife has problems listening to artists whose personal lives are unacceptable as mentioned above. I don’t consider much outside of the music and how it makes me feel. Artists of all types are who they are for a reason. Many have inner demons that are the source of their wanting to write and perform.
