Separating the Art from the Artist
 

So this happened today: https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/...Z3&sh=c6288f5e

I know we've discussed this before, but I feel like it's a bigger issue than two odd pages can fully summarize. What do you guys really think about listening to artists who've done abhorrent things in the past? How does it affect your opinion of them and the music? Or can you just avoid the person altogether and focus on what you like about the music?

I love Burzum.

As do I.

****ty people can make awesome music, but I imagine it helps if it isn't sappy, indie twat music that you're supposed to cry and eat ice cream to, like whatever the **** you seem to be talking about. I guess you're supposed to connect with it or whatever women do with music.

Being an indie twat is a way worse offense than being a Nazi murderer.

This isn't the direction I thought the thread would take for some reason.

Here's a question...

Do you like The Beatles?

If the answer is no, you're allowed to have an opinion on this matter.
If the answer is yes, shut up, because John Lennon was a huge twat and therefore your opinion is nullified.

Okay, so that was mostly in jest. You're allowed to have an opinion, and so am I. My opinion is that if you avoided all music made by douchebags, perverts, rapists, murderers, twats, greedy twats, assh*les, domestic abusers, scumbags, and total f*cking lunatics...then have fun listening to Dave Grohl for the rest of your life.

Life is short. Enjoy what you enjoy. Just don't deny the fact that they're awful and maybe think about sending them money directly and you can be a decent human being.

Case and point. I love Swans. I buy Swans albums, shirts, and concert tickets. Michael Gira is a deplorable c*nt. I still love Swans because there are other members of the band but I will not support Michael in solo work ever again. Christoph Hahn is too awesome to not support because Gira is a douchebag.

That's how I see it at least.

This is how I see it too. A lot of other people go at lengths to discredit these bands and denounce everything they've ever done at the mere announcement of claims like these, and it's really unfortunate that they be wiped from history like this with more recent allegations (Beach Slang, Cheap Girls, now PWR BTTM) who usually have one member do wrong and then are discredited by former fans.

I think there's a threshold and a ratio. How much of their ideologies flow into their music, and how ****ed is their ideology.

In the case of this band, they speak out against this sort of thing and have been a platform for the past couple years for the LGBT community and support for for them. When something like rape allegations and the extreme anti-queer language Ben uses (which I have heard of before this), it makes sense that the fanbase would abruptly turn their backs on them.