So it has been a few weeks since I last spoke here, and to be honest, it was almost a good thing this took so long, because the world gave me a great slab of evidence lately.
Musicians have almost always been known to be politically outspoken. Most musicians in the mainstream are of the liberal mindset, with a few conservatives out there (specifically in rock and country). And if you ask a lot of them the message is that of universal tolerance, peace, no war, and vote for [insert name here].
While these are noble messages to pass on, it's the fact that a LOT of these views are half-baked and for the most point made to create the controversy needed to push the upcoming album/single/tour to the top.
Sometimes musicians need to take five and not speak out, for reasons being that what they say can do more damage than good. Here's a quick example...
Soulja Boy may have killed his career with an ill-suited and really stupid throwaway bar dissing the troops. Had he not said anything, his extended 15 minutes of fame wouldn't be in serious doubt.
Hank Williams Jr was essentially set up for life. Cushy gig on ESPN/ABC for nearly 20 years and as long as he lived he would get extensive royalties from every time the opening notes of "All My Rowdy Friends" played. Not anymore.
By making irrational comparisons to Hitler and Obama than even caught GOP members aback, Hank lost all of that and now has a brief flicker of hope with a re-released diss song called
And there's so many other examples of fallout from being overly outspoken. Dixie Chicks fell off the radar forever after calling Dubya a disgrace overseas. Overseas.
Not smart.
So in all honesty, why do musicians say stupid and unprovoked remarks like that in interviews? Because they need the attention and what better way to get it than faking relevance with political comments that are half-baked?
There's nothing wrong with being political and edgy, just that half-baked ideology that goes nowhere, that's what's wrong. By selling misinformed views, people get misinformed as well, and before you know it, people take it for face value and believe the muck they've been sold.
So musicians out there should take heed: you want to play politician, better have a great base to work off on and facts that you can back up in the moments of truth. Otherwise you get exposed...as a phony.
And no one likes that.
This has been the Ill Opinion. Stay gold.
