Does your own worldview impact on the music that you listen to?

jollyboy

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This thread was inspired by another thread (in Uke Talk) about whether people were happy to buy from suppliers and manufacturers who held values and beliefs that did not match their own.

So, the question is - are you happy to listen to music made by artists who have expressed opinions you strongly disagree with, or who openly support causes you are opposed to, or who hold beliefs you find objectionable?

And to expand a bit - what about songs with questionable lyrical content? Both in terms of language use and/or some apparent 'underlying message'.

Me - All my music is digital now, kept in the form of mp3 files in a folder on my laptop. I occasionally have a bit of a clearout of this folder and sometimes wonder if a song should be deleted, not because I don't like it, but because it is 'problematic' in other ways. An example would be the song Bangkok by ex-Big Star frontman Alex Chilton. It includes the lyric "Two slanty-eyed men, lying in bed" and every time it played I would find myself inwardly cringing and eventually it just had to go. On the other hand a couple of Cream tracks continue to survive the culling process (and a Blind Faith one) despite an awareness that Eric Clapton has openly made racist comments that I personally find deeply objectionable.

What about you?
 
I go with the music usually. The artists can believe whatever they believe. However, I hafta hold my nose while listening to some of their songs.

I don't like political or antisocial or filthy language though, so I just don't listen to music with it. :eek:ld:
 
As far as listening goes, no I don't let opposing actions, values or viewpoints held by the artist affect whether I listen to them or not. If I did, the scope of what I listened to would be a lot more narrow. I'm a big jazz fan and a lot of my favorite artists were junkies, alcoholics, unfaithful and some were abusive to their women. I sit on the conservative side of the teeter totter and people in the music business don't tend to be on the conservative side so it's not at all uncommon that I would be at odds with their viewpoints.

As far as what I'll play on the ukulele, there are songs that I've chosen not to play because of their content. There are also some songs where I've changed a lyric in what was otherwise a good song.
 
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Generally, I won't seek out or avoid an artist's music because of their political, religious, social or moral beliefs. But certainly my worldview impacts the styles of music I enjoy and listen to. My interests are varied but three that I currently avoid are contemporary christian (I don't want to be preached to), modern country (more like country-pop and not in the same league as old-time country) and rap (for it's mostly offensive lyrics and overpowering bass line).

This is interesting though - since I have finally gotten to the point where I can sing and play at the same time I have become much more aware of the lyrics of the songs I have always enjoyed. Often I realize how trivial, banal, or outright stupid many of those lyrics are and I have to ask myself, "Do I really want to pursue this any farther?"
 
Well, in high school English class they told us a work of art should be considered on its own merits, entirely apart from the individual who created it. Thus, we read "The Waste Land" without getting bogged down in a discussion about what a total dick T.S. Eliot was. We can (theoretically) love or hate "Tannhauser" no matter what we think of Wagner. The farther away we get in time, the easier this gets. Was Sophocles a nice guy? Who knows?

I think this is much harder when the artist is contemporary. Bill Cosby's early albums were a huge influence on me growing up. The recordings have not changed, but my experience listening to them is certainly different now.

Can I separate the work from the artist? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Not quite the same topic, but closely related and very amusing: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/entertainment/soundtracks-do-you-know-this-song/index.html
 
I don't usually follow what artists do or what opinions they have. Actually, I don't follow specific artists at all and rarely buy albums with lyrics-based songs. I often learn of artists through a specific song, not of a song through the artist. Most of what I buy are instrumental albums without sung text, so I don't typically know the views of an artist or their life history.
 
Just looked at my digital music folder. More than 90% of it is instrumental ... and the remainder is classical or sacred choral music and opera. I'm sure there is some outrageousness in the opera stuff, but it's mostly in languages I don't speak. LOL

bratsche
 
Really don't care about a musical artist's opinion about anything other than the music, and I doubt whether the artist is concerned about my views on anything, either. Having the music in common with someone is enough, and why ruin that with other stuff.
 
For the most part, I judge by the music and not the artist - like mikelz777 above, I'm pretty certain that many of the artists I enjoy were less than perfect humans. As long as their music doesn't glorify physical abuse, alcoholism, drugs, racism, killing, war, etc. it's all good. I might feel differently if one of the (few) still-living perfomers that I admire came out in support of bigotry or violence or a political party or cause that I strongly oppose, but that hasn't happened yet.
 
I'm not a prude but I have altered lyrics to songs that I enjoy but would not be comfortable performing in public. I also don't sing songs with what I consider to be a negative message...thought provoking ok, negative not ok for me. I don't really give a hoot about an artist's lifestyle choices or political opinions, outside the content of their song. I'm pretty conservative and from what I see and hear, I think that a lot of artists do not share my views and values. And that's ok. If I only played music by artist that I admired personally (on all levels), I'd have a very small music library. That said, if a musician, actor, or company for that matter, is in my face with an offensive view then I certainly won't support them.
 
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Hi, thanks for all the replies :)

To draw some general conclusions - it seems that folks are more likely to have issues with songs that have 'problematic' content rather than with artists. There seems to be a consensus that artist and music should ideally be considered separately. However, this is sometimes easier said than done - and the 'in your face' factor seems to come into play here. If, for example, someone is known to have done something pretty despicable in relatively recent times then it's harder to filter that out of your appreciation of their work.
 
Often I realize how trivial, banal, or outright stupid many of those lyrics are and I have to ask myself, "Do I really want to pursue this any farther?"

I also don't sing songs with what I consider to be a negative message...thought provoking ok, negative not ok for me.

So, maybe a little bit of edginess is desirable? Otherwise all you're left with is bland, disposable crap?
 
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So, maybe a little bit of edginess is desirable? Otherwise all your left with is bland, disposable crap?

Maybe. Let me relate lyrics to poetry. My poetry tends toward a lyrical and rhythmic style; I often want to engage the reader through story-telling, humor, shock, unexpected turns of events, and the like. I think the lyrics of a song, because of the emotional effect of the musical accompaniment, can do very well without these types of devices and without deep meaning, introspection, avant-garde thought, etc. So, some lyrics can tend toward the banal and still succeed very well in the format of a song.

Why would those lyrics matter to a performer? How does that differ from poetry? When one experiences poetry, it's something that happens in the head through reading the words of the poet. Of course there are oral poetry presentations, but most poetry is experience by a person in the written form. The thoughts are never anything more than the thoughts of the poet. When one experiences a song, particularly in the context of hearing or singing the lyrics, one experiences that out loud with his own voice or through the voice of another. I think those are two entirely different means of relaying ideas and thought. For me, the added emotion involved with music and the singing of the lyrics of a song lends a more personal context to the experience.

Let me say it a different way. When I sing - the lyrics, the words, the thoughts become mine. And then I start asking the question, "Are these my thoughts? Do I really want to sing this song?"

In the end, it might be easier for some to sing the "bland disposable crap" than it would be to sing the song with "edgy" or "offensive", or overtly "political" lyrics. And though those songs may contain "bland disposable crap" lyrics, they are likely really good songs.

Interesting topic. Sorry for the incoherent rambling.
 
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I often wonder whether the words are of utmost importance or is the tune?

I mostly play and sing folk music, and many of the words to my favorite tunes are really stupid and uninteresting. Quite a few don't even make much sense. Irish music is better, I think, but I don't usually sing much Irish stuff.

Being an English major, lyrics and poetry are important to me, but I'm also a music lover. I dunno . . . :eek:ld:
 
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