We live in an era when misdeeds seem to be amplified-which raises an interesting question. How easy is it to separate great art when the people making the art are creepy/icky/criminal/horrible people?
The Blerd Radio team: Big Money, Dr. Z, Michael Parr and Mike Cunningham The Packet Man, discuss this in the latest podcast.
Intro Music: The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (this gets explained later in the show.)
Let's break down some of the highlights of the discussion:
-Dr. Z has headed straight to Blerd Studios from the dentists's office, where his oral hygienist proceeded to give him an unwarranted political lesson.
-On the day this show was recorded, "Cosby Show" co-star Joseph C. Phillips posted a thinkpiece online dedicated to this very topic: obviously in reference to his former television father-in-law.
-We wonder if there's a natural sociopathy that comes with being an artist or wanting to be famous? Deep psychological shit here.
-Do we have a different set of standards for creative/famous people than we do for ourselves?
-Does fame breed even more sociopathy? We talk about how celebrity can make one less a person and more a character, and we also wonder what it must be like for someone's sense of self when they're surrounded by sycophants.
-Kanye & Kim: Everyone's most hated rock star (except by us) and his equally hated wife. Does Kanye feed off of the hate? And are feminists who slam Kim K total hypocrites?
-A distinction is made between artists who are just obnoxious (Kanye) and artists who have criminal pasts, with an example being Axl Rose, who wrote "Sweet Child O' Mine" for a woman that he later was accused of beating the shit out of.
-We discuss R. Kelly and his insistence on making overtly sexual music when it's fairly clear that he's some kind of criminal sexual deviant (lack of conviction be damned.)
-Is it easier to forgive sociopathic behavior in our artists when their public image is that of a lunatic? (Example: Ol' Dirty Bastard)
-The Cee Lo Green saga of 2014 is explained to half the panel.
-Death: The Great Equalizer?
-What's the line at which we would no longer support/enjoy an artist's work?
-Why do female artists tend to avoid the same criminal behavior as their male counterparts?
-Hell, are there _any_ artists whose personal lives don't cause us to reconsider their work a little bit? (The Packet Man is severely disappointed when he's told about age-old Bill Withers rumors).
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