Recommendations of the editorial team
It was not an easy week for hardcore fans: First the celebrated band Zulu from Los Angeles dissolved. The reason: After allegations of sexual violence against founder and vocalist Anaiah Muhammad, the rest of the crew left the project. A few days ago, Muhammad then countered with his own statement in which he categorically denies all allegations. An 18 slids long statement. The rest of the band is not really convinced.
And then there was the thing with Gel from New Jersey: the group also published a kind of farewell letter on Instagram. It shows that her long -standing guitarist has caused such bad psychological damage to the band that they simply cannot continue. He stole tens of thousands of dollars, posted nude photos of his band buddies on Reddit and endangered her physical integrity, as the music express cites the statement, among other things. The original has now been deleted, together with the entire side of gel, but can still be read on other media.
But the actually creepy are the comments, for example, at “Stereogum” or “Pitchfork”, who either make fun of the band’s words, or worse: they ask them to “tear down” and simply continue.
What the fans want
A few days ago I talked to a musician on the edge of an event: there are often a few years between his album publications because he is a perfectionist at every tone. So far, so normal. After the last release, however, a super fan reported after three days: when will new music come? He had spent the last three days to hear the new album, but now he wants new fabric.
Fan culture is a strange plant: On the one hand, fans are the basis of every success for musicians: inside, they have as much share in the development of a pop -up henomen as the artists: inside. On the other hand, fan love can quickly turn into something different, gloomy. You don’t have to go that far and think of attacking stalkers or the stories of fans, who also stop at the family of their favorite musicians: don’t stop at the inside, as Chappell Roan made public previous year. It is enough to think about what we expect from musicians: inside and bands: that you can simply continue how machines? Without emotions? That creative creative processes work like to work through a to do list in the office?
What is lacking
This is not supposed to be an audience at all, but a lighting with artists throws a light on a topic that is repeatedly addressed these days: empathy. And the lack of it.
Elon Musk was very open at the beginning of the month at Podcaster Joe Rogan: For him, he explained, empathy is one of the biggest problems in the “West”. Do you know who empathy was a big problem for her plans for and even stated in writing? Yes, exactly, the other people who like to raise their right arm to greet.
Of course, not every fan or just casual music listener who does not want to treat artists do not want to give a break, a Nazi. But the lack of empathy in a small scale is also reflected in the large. And isolation of social media feeds, whose algorithms captivate us at most personalized and no longer let go, probably does not help to develop more instead of less empathy for musicians: inside and other creative people.
Art and especially music with its direct access to emotions are the very best vehicle to feel empathy – if you want to allow them.