I was putting together my list of favourite albums and quite a few artist have serious allegations or charges against them, which came out well after I’d grown attached to said art. Maybe I just have bad taste in artists but to be fair it is sadly very prevalent in the artists of my generation. Which selfishly sucks to taint music I had positive feelings about.



Burzum is probably the most infamous example, by all measures Varg Vikernes
is a horrible human being but his music is a staple in the black metal genre and is a guilty pleasure of mine.

I couldn’t listen to a band like Lost Prophets though, the thought of that just makes me ill. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Watkins_(Lostprophets_singer)


Is separating the art this something you do or is an artist done for you if something highly unfavourable comes out about them?

Certainly, Kanye for example is a certified spastic, but he's a genius.

I have this internal argument every now and then with Kanye after he does something silly, but then I remind myself he made The College Dropout and to a degree, The Blueprint.

This is a tricky one because I probably do this in quite a contradictory way.

I listen to Kanye a lot less than a few years ago, but I think that's predominantly because his new music sucks rather than anything he's done or said, which is obviously odious but dude is very evidently suffering from mental health issues. I feel sorry for him more than angry.

Hip hop is blighted with misogyny and homophobia, so it's like can I really be holier than thou about some artists when I enjoy the genre in general?

I basically stopped listening to Arcade Fire since the sexual assault allegations were made against Win Butler, but will still listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Maybe the timeframe makes a difference subconsciously?

I can separate the art from the artist mainly because 1 person doesn't end up ruining the entire product from all the men & women who worked on something. It's why I didn't get the Hogwarts Legacy outrage last FEB where despite JK Rowling saying some crazy shit, there's so many people who worked hard on that game that have no connection to Rowling and maybe despise her as a whole.

Ruroni Kenshin's creator is a pedophile(got busted for child pornography) but I can still watch the show(And Samurai X) because the illustration is still good, the voice acting of the characters/character development is still superb and the fight scenes in either show are great. 1 person doesn't ruin that entire franchise for me.

Jan 10, 2024 1:53:06 GMT Blindy said:

I can separate the art from the artist mainly because 1 person doesn't end up ruining the entire product from all the men & women who worked on something. It's why I didn't get the Hogwarts Legacy outrage last FEB where despite JK Rowling saying some crazy shit, there's so many people who worked hard on that game that have no connection to Rowling and maybe despise her as a whole.

Ruroni Kenshin's creator is a pedophile(got busted for child pornography) but I can still watch the show(And Samurai X) because the illustration is still good, the voice acting of the characters/character development is still superb and the fight scenes in either show are great. 1 person doesn't ruin that entire franchise for me.

I find that different than musicians or actors personally. You don’t see JK on screen, so I’d feel less confronted than for example listening to the vocalist of the band
Brand New or seeing Kevin Spacey on screen.

Not saying one is worse than the other just my thought process.

It's hard for me. I struggle with this a lot. Most recently with Rammstein. I feel almost guilty supporting a band, actor, etc. with known and proven allegations about them, but there's so many. I can tell you it does diminish my enjoyment and I have stopped listening to/watching some all together. 

However, If we go off the premise that most of Hollywood and the Recording Industry is evil, then no music or movies are safe. Where does it stop then, does that make it right and what does that mean for those who have made their living in these industries not guilty of anything but making a life for themselves? I'm not sure there's an answer. 

Jan 10, 2024 11:55:02 GMT System said:

Jan 10, 2024 1:53:06 GMT Blindy said:

I can separate the art from the artist mainly because 1 person doesn't end up ruining the entire product from all the men & women who worked on something. It's why I didn't get the Hogwarts Legacy outrage last FEB where despite JK Rowling saying some crazy shit, there's so many people who worked hard on that game that have no connection to Rowling and maybe despise her as a whole.

Ruroni Kenshin's creator is a pedophile(got busted for child pornography) but I can still watch the show(And Samurai X) because the illustration is still good, the voice acting of the characters/character development is still superb and the fight scenes in either show are great. 1 person doesn't ruin that entire franchise for me.

I find that different than musicians or actors personally. You don’t see JK on screen, so I’d feel less confronted than for example listening to the vocalist of the band
Brand New or seeing Kevin Spacey on screen.

Not saying one is worse than the other just my thought process.

Her thoughts can dictate how a story is told to some though and there's a group of people who feel that by buying anything Harry Potter related that it contributes to Rowling financially.

I know when it comes to comedians there's tons of high tier comedians who have been accused of joke stealing. Robin Williams in particular was notorious but he's still beloved and has a good legacy with tons of people. Like what Louis CK did ages ago doesn't mean his jokes on other topics don't hold any merit. 

If the music is good and I can dig it, I can throw away what an artist did or how they feel but I get it that not everyone is able to do it. 

I feel somewhat conflicted. I like to live in delusion and pretend that all my favourite artists - while have done maybe questionable things haven’t done anything truly revolting.

For example, I love Marilyn Manson. Always have. Do I believe he has done some weird and questionable things, yes. Do I believe the current accusations against him by his ex? Honestly I don’t know. Do I still listen to his music on an almost daily basis and would purchase new music - yep!!

Then there are other artists. System introduced me to the band Brand New years ago. Absolutely loved their music, one album in particular. Then allegations came out, they aren’t as bad as a lot of accusations but it still put a sour taste around their music to me, so would I buy new music from them? Nahhh I’ll pass.
Even with the latest crazy shit Kanye West has said, I loved his previous music but I’ve lost interest in anything new. Is it because of the things he has said, or because the new music isn’t as good though?

So then I think maybe it’s about how long I’ve been a fan of someone. If I’ve been a fan of someone my entire life can I seperate the art from the artist easier, or is it truly about whether I believe what they’ve done is wrong? And is it about their past work or their future work? OR is it different if it’s a musician verse an actor verse an author.

I think Kevin Spacey is scum of the earth, but I love some of his old movies. Do I want to see him in anything new? Fuck no.
Amber Heard is a rotten turd - yet she’s been in movies I like. Do I want to watch them still? Yes. Yet I refuse to see Aquaman 2 because she’s in it. I was never an actual fan of her though so maybe that’s another problem when it comes to art verse artist.

I adore Brad Pitt and think he is an incredible actor, Angelina Jolie and her kids claimed he threatened/hit them. The FBI denied it, Pitt made a statement about alcoholism - but it has never been truly proved one way or the other. Do I still rush out to see every new movie of his? Yep I do. I even have his face tattooed on my back (his role as Achilles in Troy).

The question is? Would I still support him if it came out that he did in-fact hit her or the kids, or because I’ve been a fan for so long I’d just ignore it and seperate the art from the artist?
Where Amber Heard is guilty of everything against Johnny Depp, and I wouldn’t support her if you paid me a billion dollars.

Does this make me a hypocrite?
Or do we just make up our own rules for what we like/enjoy and everyone just simply accepts it and uses ‘the love of art’ as an excuse.

Someone on the old PW recommend The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and were talking about how much they loved it in high school, if you still post here let me know. Between that and what I thought was an interesting cover I checked it out and loved it.

Obviously we didn’t know back then Brand New was how Jesse Lacey likes girls.

Jan 13, 2024 1:21:58 GMT System said:

Someone on the old PW recommend The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me and were talking about how much they loved it in high school, if you still post here let me know. Between that and what I thought was an interesting cover I checked it out and loved it.

Obviously we didn’t know back then Brand New was how Jesse Lacey likes girls.

Still an amazing album tbh

I recently had this conversation with my daughter. They came to my wife and I and said something like "I need to stop reading about creators I like." They were referring to an anime artist they have followed on YouTube for a while that turned out to be a groomer. And this isn't the first time that has happened with an artist or musician that they liked.

We discussed it and told them they should never stop reading about people they admire, and always keep an open mind. They should learn about and support whoever they feel comfortable with. And I think that goes for everyone. We're all going to make up our own minds about what we are comfortable with and what we can handle. I still listen to Louis CK specials on Spotify when I am driving. I know that despite all the information that has come out, some people are still not comfortable supporting him, and that's ok. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life and you don't get to tell me how to live mine.

We also talked about not believing the first thing you read about someone, unless it is proven and stated as fact. Believe victims, believe survivors, believe anyone that comes forward...until proven otherwise. Always keep an open mind. If someone makes an allegation against someone you don't have to just make your mind up right there on the spot. It's ok to step back and go "alright lets see how this plays out." People are so quick to judge and that's a problem in and of itself.

I could go on twitter right now and say that Chris Pratt fingered my ass in an airport bathroom, and if it got half a million retweets then people are going to believe it happened.

It didn't though. He just blew me. Wasn't even that good. He kept making Mario noises.

Being completely ignorant of anything besides the "show" and not being active on social media helps...

Now if you guys could stop reminding me of allegations that'd be great.

Bring Burzum back for a Hip-Hop/Black Metal collab like Collision Course, I’m sure Varg would love that.