The F Word. An online column for me to pontificate, ruminate, placate, and salivate. We’ll have reviews and previews, we’ll discuss trends in local and national music scenes, and we’ll try to do it as reverently as possible. Yup. Let’s get started.
There’s a menagerie of despicable people roaming the Earth today. Sexual predators are in our midst and are being uncovered for their pasts — men with closets full of skeletons are now deservedly coming to face the music.
It’s playing out across America, and heads are rolling, not just because what they did was an abuse of power and trust, but in the fact that we as a society (especially us, men) have ignored it for far too long. As allegations are rolled out, we’re making up for lost time with righteous anger, shame, and a profound sense of disappointment.
But as we address these revelations, an interesting (probably unanswerable) question is raised: In the creative fields, how do we react to an accused person’s past art?
Are we supporting bad behavior when we consume an abuser’s music, film, or theater, or does art stand over and above those who created it?
I grew up listening to Bill Cosby; I collected his records. He’s now a pariah, and his career, all his philanthropy, has been called into question. But should his comedy be shunned as well?
Look back to the not-so-distant dark ages and the artists that made major contributions to their fields but crossed the line morally. David Bowie and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page both had relationships with 14-year-old girls, but in the grand scheme of things, society largely considers them musical legends and they haven’t lost their lofty position in the courts and the court of public opinion. William Burroughs was a junkie who killed his wife. Is his writing less relevant? Go ahead and Google Frank Sinatra and the FBI. The Feds had a 1,300 page case file on the singer. And don’t even get me started on Woody Allen.
There is no bad art, some might say, just bad artists — people who suck as human beings. But it could be said there’s no telling what art and music would become if left strictly in the hands of the sanitized, the vanilla, the good. We shouldn’t encourage bad behavior for the sake of art; I just don’t know if good is up to the job alone.
That leads back to the unanswerable question: Does the artist’s art get a pass? Can we in good conscience still enjoy it?
Chime in. Let’s have a conversation. What do you think?
By the way
Congrats, attaboys, and hearty back slaps to Rochester’s Joywave. The band performed its song “Doubt” from the album “Content” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week. The band also released a music video for the song.
This article appears in Feb 7-13, 2018.
Hi Frank,I have a collection of Bob Brozman’s music and was enjoying it until I discovered his unlawful sexual habits.I stopped listening to his music for a while because of that but then found I was missing listening to his music because it was so good.I started listening again but not that often and when I do I have the nagging thought in mind of what he did to children.I think it’s up to the individual to decide how they perceive art and to not be led by the masses.Michael Jackson’s musical legacy is still hugely popular and people seem blind to his habits too.
Good question! I think it could be what makes good artists is a little dirt, a little daring, a bit of edginess. Not necessarily evil but maybe to have been in the gutters once or twice. Streetwise vanilla is delicious but not in art
thanks for your responses… this is exactly the kind of conversation i wanted to start… there is no clear answer at this point or at least an absolute one, but the debate still goes on…
Youre right, Frank. Theres no clear answer to this. Only what the individual wants to deal with.
I, for one, grew up on Bill Cosby albums and still think his comedy was amazing. It was clean. Non-racial. And was fun for the whole family. The recent allegations crushed me and a little bit of my nostalgia of my youth listening to those records. But I can compartmentalize the artist with the art.
With the other artists previously mentioned, look at Jerry Lee Lewis and his past. Heck, look at Robert Johnson and his womanizing past as well. He among us without sin cast the first stone
My advice to anyone on the fence about this is simple:
If you need to, separate the art from the artist. Art should be appreciated for what it is. Every artist, because theyre human, already come to the table flawed. Thats not to say someone like Cosby shouldnt be tried and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But if the art is good to you, then leave it at that.