i wrote a thing about Ariel Pink. but it’s more of a wrestling match with the cognitive dissonance that comes with enjoying music that’s made by gross people. kinda a “separating the art from the artist” thing, kinda not. bound to inspire some negativity from some, but the goal is to explore this weird dynamic that happens between art and artist and fan in an open, cordial way.
Had never heard White Freckles but had a vague knowledge of Ariel Pink’s music. ‘Time to live, time for life’ sometimes gets on repeat in my head when doing monotonous tasks. Can’t say I’m not super disappointed to find out that the genius behind the music is just skin deep. First thing I thought was to banish him from my playlists because yuck! I did enjoy WF and I’m afraid to listen to it again lest it become some unconscious anthem.
I think I have trouble separating the art from the artist maybe because I can’t separate the source from the emotional baggage. I need their voice to replace my own for a time when listening. At least not without enough space for me to hermetically seal the two from each other. Like I won’t ever stop following/playing Doom because John Carmack has become an edge-lord jackass. I don’t know. Anyhow, really enjoyed the blog post.
There’s plenty of other good songs. I don’t need this one.
Fuck this dude and his eagerness to enact violence on other people. I don’t care how good his little song was before I found out he’s a fascist. It isn’t worth the calories required to think through the moral implications.
I’ve always thought “separate the art from the artist” should be a conversation, not a hard and fast rule. I’ve never heard White Freckles so I don’t really have an opinion on this. But if the track is meaningful and brings beauty to people’s lives, that’s valid despite the artist being a piece of shit.
There are some artists where I feel the artist’s behaviour does not outweigh the impact of their work on my life, for example Eric Clapton, but there are other artists where I feel their work stands up despite the artist’s actions (Prince, David Bowie).
