YOUR QUESTION

10/25/2020 eric

Is it easy for you to separate art from the artist or does it depend on the situation? Case in Point: Burzum....A groundbreaking band in the black metal genre. But the sole member Varg is about as divisive as it gets. From church burnings, to going to jail for 15 years for murder and his admitted neo nazi views it can easily turn people away. The flipside is one car argue that its extreme music. The fact this music was made by an extreme person only adds to its "authenticity" Kind of like if a gangster rapper goes to jail for murder, it may add an authenticity to his albums. Then you look at people like R Kelly or Morrissey. They play simple R&B or indie rock so them being fucked up doesn't really add anything to their music (as opposed to Burzum or gangster rap)

MY ANSWER

Ah, this question. Trying to get me cancelled? It is a tricky question. It’s fairly well known that Miles Davis beat his wives. Does that stop me from listening to his music? No. It does not enter my mind when I listen to his music. I suppose it is a case by case situation, but as an audience member one simply has to make personal choices and separate or not based on their own moral compass. No one is an angel, and I bet most of us would be taken aback if we really KNEW what some of our favorite artists were up to behind closed doors. Ignorance is bliss. In this day and age, we are privy to too much information. There are things we aren’t supposed to know.

I mean, I’m not going to listen or support a neo nazi under any circumstance. I also wouldn’t listen to music by, say Charles Manson, mostly because I feel it would conjure negative energy that I don’t want in my house and ears. Do I continue to enjoy Polanski movies despite his deplorable behavior? Yes. That’s a personal and conscious choice that I make. Perhaps on my compass what he has created outweighs what he has destroyed. Humans are complicated and multifaceted and never black and white. Art might end up being the only positive aspect of a person’s whole.