I had heard rumors about him and Hannah, but admit that, based solely on limited media coverage, I chose to think that her credibility suffered. That may have been blindness on my part - reading Mitchell’s lyrics just now, her song seems a damning indictment, for sure, though it appears to focus on his wife Phyllis, who killed herself, rather than Hannah (or perhaps both, suggesting a pattern).
All I can say is that no one is an ideal human being. The threshold between civilized and not is at a different level in all of us. That certainly doesn’t excuse anyone who hurts or harms others, but human frailty exists in all of us, even to tragic extremes, as is so often the case. There’s no reason to expect artists to suffer from that any less than the population at large.
It’s certainly everyone’s prerogative to allow the artist’s personal choices and behavior to influence your own perception of their art, and your choices in whether to support them. But if you filter your selections based on a model that includes an artist’s behavioral perfection, or even just a model in which the artist’s socio-political views align with your own, you’re going to live a life devoid of a lot of creative expression.
Interesting that there has not been any mention of Jim Morrison. I enjoy the Doors’ music, but I would not have invited Jim over for Thanksgiving dinner!
Love the art, not necessarily the artist. That certain other worldly element that makes this or that sublime might have unsavory origins. Explore at your own risk.
Thanks for some reality in this conversation, Dan. Particularly in this country, we need to stop imagining what it might be like to talk to those with other views, and try the Old School talking thing again. Or more simply - assume nothing in the absence of experience. Stop basing everything on the internet, opinions and imagination.
Sorry man - just saying, here’s a guy who has actually spoken with the guy as opposed to us armchair gossiping about the views of someone we’ve never met. Been enough/too much of that lately. Looking forward to a bit of a political breather - maybe. Don’t need to introduce it into my music listening. If you feel the need to boycott or protest Brian Eno, et al., I would defend your right to do that.
I guess the other thing would be - other than him (assumedly) reflecting your views, what makes Nick Cave’s views more or less valid than Brian Eno’s?
I do not have a dog in this fight I guess, though you would appear to be arguing that I should. Dan may, however.
Not sure where you got the idea that I think you have a dog in this hunt. Your position , as I understand it, is that you do not want to think about a musician’s politics, ethics or morals when you are enjoying the music. That is your prerogative, but this thread is for people who wish to express concerns with artists whose music they admire.
As long as Brian Eno and Roger Waters and their BDS ilk are out there politicizing music in counterproductive and antidemocratic ways, there will be those who feel compelled to call them out as asshats.
Lastly, on the Nick Cave versus Brian Eno thing … Cave wants musicians to be able to perform where they want. Eno wants to intimidate others from performing where they want. There is no moral equivalency in my opinion.
Thanks, @Elk. I appreciate your willingness to allow this ‘safe harbor’ politically charged thread while you protect the music-only threads from becoming politicized.
