Forums / Media / Music

6,757 total conversations in 425 threads

+ New Thread


What are some songs or musicians you like to listen to, but it's awkward to listen to them because the person behind said music has done bad stuff?

Last posted Jun 19, 2023 at 03:57PM EDT. Added Jun 08, 2023 at 10:29AM EDT
12 posts from 11 users

What prompted this topic was the recent news that Stringstorm, a musician mainly known in the Warhammer fandom for making good fan music, was outed as someone who groomed a minor and the dude later admitted it is indeed all true. The timing of this news acted as whiplash to me as the very weekend before the news broke I was just listening to some of his "Warhammer Idol Month" music. Like to start off the topic I will say my favorite of these songs IMO were the Tau songs he did (in particular "Kitty," a song based on Kitten and Shadowsun's past relationship in fellow Warhammer fan parody "If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device"), but no doubt listening to some of the music will be awkward going forward knowing Stringstorm's history.

Another thing that prompted this topic was a random comment made by YouTube game reviewer GrimBeard and a reference he made to the band "Daughters," an industrial band that was really popular in the scene, but in recent years news has come out that the band's leader was really abusive to his now former girlfriend.

One big personal example for me is the metalcore band "As I Lay Dying." Back in high school during the 00s they were one of my favorite bands in the metalcore scene alongside Killswitch Engage (heck a member of Killswitch Engage even acted as a producer on some of AILD's albums). I won't deny I sometimes still like to listen to AILD's material from the 00s because it is nostalgic, bringing back to my teen years. However it can feel awkward because the band's lead singer, Tim Lambesis, was arrested in the early 2010s for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his wife, which was at least partially linked to the dude also abusing steroids around this time, so despite the wholesome image he put on to the public (AILD even once used to label themselves a "Christian band") the guy was actually an abusive roid rager who wanted to murder his wife instead of simply getting a divorce.

Another huge one is one of my biggest guilty pleasure bands "Blood on the Dancefloor," though more specifically to the band's most consistent member Dahvie Vanity. Former bandmate Jay Vonn admitted on camera during a drag show that Vanity was abusive to him in certain ways, such as not paying Jay Vonn money he was owed, which was especially bad when Jay Vonn got HIV and needed money for his life saving medication but yet Vanity still hoarded the majority of the band's profits for himself. But the biggest problem with Vanity is it's become more well known in recent years he's done some illicit stuff with underage groupies, something which he was accused of in the past but was able to dispute due to lack of evidence, but now evidence against him has piled up to where even Chris Hansen has gotten involved in trying to take him down. I admit I still occasionally listen to some of BOTDF's music from when Jay Vonn was still part of the group, but wish it was someone other than Dahvie Vanity who was singing alongside him.

Rock and Roll, Pt. 2

It’s such a nostalgic song for me, even got it on my phone. I’m aware Gary Glitter’s a convicted pedophile, but one monster’s actions shouldn’t carry over to the rest of the band. Plus, I can justify my purchase of the song by pointing out that 2019’s Joker used the song for the stair dance.

Some of you wouldn't consider this "bad", but I can sometimes still enjoy listening to some of Kid Rock's songs despite his overtly conservative nature, specifically with that last album he put out which was pandering to the alt-right.

I would feel the same way as I do with any other controversial artist, separate their work from their personal life. Whenever this topic comes up, I think of that line from Ratatouille "Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere" and I sincerely believe that also includes awful people. A shitty person can still make great art and I don't think that should stop someone from appreciating it.

To answer the question though, there are some choice songs from XXXTenacion that I quite like such as Revenge. How I think of him a person though, he's violent criminal thug and horrific abuser, I don't sympathize or pity his death, he got exactly what was coming to him.

Last edited Jun 10, 2023 at 05:54PM EDT

Queen's of the Stone Age lead Josh Homme seems to have done some bad stuff. Apparently choked his ex-wife in a drunken stupor and threatened to throw her boyfriend off of balcony. He also seems to be a less than perfect father. That being said it was all revealed during a still ongoing custody battle, so it might be all a plot to take the kids.

It did sour the taste of their upcoming album for me a little.

Frenchie here, to add a few more controversial musicians that you tea-drinkers/tossers probably don't know of.
One very famous case of a singer who is very popular discography-wise but frowned upon otherwise is Bertrand Cantat, ex-singer of the band Noir Désir. He wrote several great hits, like Le Vent Nous Portera and Aux Sombres Héros De L'Amer within Noir Désir, or much more recently (as in, after his trial) Palabra Mi Amor in collaboration with Shaka Ponk. He is also known for having beaten to death his mistress, Marie Trintignant. Moreover, according to his ex-band members, the dissolution of the band was accelerated because they couldn't stand his stance on the matter, saying he sounded as if he felt barely even responsible for her death, or for the subsequent suicide of his wife.
It's also worthwile to mention Claude François. This one is not as popular nowadays, he's often even classified as outdated and "kitsch", but many of his songs remain classics to this day (let's just mention Comme D'Habitude, a timeless song about unhappy couples stuck in their daily routine, and whose melody inspired Sinatra's My Way), and back in his prime, he had Bowie or Lennon-like levels of popularity in France. As his popularity faded, a few years after his death, people started to be more and more vocal about his violent behaviour towards his family and employees, and his taste for very young fans.
Now, in context, 70's France was overall a very sus time regarding pedophilia, with on one hand the "old" side and its usual concealed dramas, and on the other hand the "modern" side, which had just discovered sexual liberation and hadn't learned yet where to stop, to the point where some famous progressive pediatrists would unironically push the "(s)he secretly wished for it" narrative. Still, Claude François managed to sound creepy even in regard to that context, outright admitting in an interview that he wasn't quite interested in girls aged over 18, due to their lack of innocence. There even was a scandal long after his death, with a woman abandoned at birth turning out to be his illegitimate daughter, conceived with a fan no older than 15, and possibly as young as 13.

I didn't listen to much of Mandopony's music, but his Little Mac fan rap song "Fighter" so happens to be my favorite song. Catchy, genuinely inspirational and fits Mac's character pretty well.

Around 2020, there are allegations on Mandopony's inappropriate relations and actions towards minors as well as cheating on his wife. The investigations are ongion, Mando mentioned a 2nd police investigation is underway. With screenshots provided and Mando having yet to prove his innocence however, it seems to be true and the end of his career. His actions pretty much soured his fanbase and lost lots of support.

I wasn't much of a fan of Mandopony, mostly a glancer so it didn't affect me too much. And I still listen to Fighter even with the allegations/actions since Fighter is so damn good. But that incident will make listening to his songs odd now if I get the chance now to listen to the rest of his collection and I will unlikely hear the rest of his songs anyways. I'm much too attached to Fighter, being a Little Mac main.

Kanye West is horrible for saying the stuff he said not too long ago, but that won't stop me from listening to "All Falls Down" among other stuff he made.

"Rooftops" by Lostprophets.

I really like it and it is very nostalgic for me, but the singer was arrested because of several sexual offenses towards minors, including planning to sexually assault a literal baby. Even managed to sneak in some bestiality, the sick fuck.

Oh I just remembered another one that's also more recent.

One of my favorite electronic musicians in recent years is "Mr. Kitty," a dude best known for making a type of synthwave music known as "darkwave," but with his song "After Dark" reaching meme status I know some people began jokingly referring to his music as "doomercore." One bit of news that came out in 2021 that makes listening to the dude's music extremely awkward now is he confirmed he sent nudes of himself and explicit messages to a 15 year old fan in Russia. The thing that makes it extra awkward is the person he sent these messages to was also fine with the situation as it was happening and said they didn't realize how fucked up it was until they turned 17, so it's a fucked up case of an adult and minor eagerly engaging in something they both knew was wrong. Worth noting Mr. Kitty himself apparently makes no money off his music at the moment, his former record label gave all rights to the dude's music to his estranged ex-husband, whom apparently parted ways with Mr. Kitty on terms bad enough that all legal rights to money earned from this music goes to the ex-husband in order to "help him rebuild his life."

Skeletor-sm

This thread is closed to new posts.

Old threads normally auto-close after 30 days of inactivity.

Why don't you start a new thread instead?

Word Up! You must login or signup first!