Music Industry Discussion

No, I would never want/accept censorship.
I'm just saying that I believe there is some responsability for what we as artists are motivating people to do and those who are doing it know full well what they are doing and they dance around the free speech and expressionism defense.
It's called accountability and I don't feel you should get a pass for what you are preaching to people because it's done via music.

Yes - it's a slippery slope.

How do you mean "accountability?"

Do you mean that someone who burns a church can sue the artist who told him to do it? That the church can sue the artist?

If you mean we must hold ourselves accountable, then you're leaving it all in the hands of the particular artist..which is where we are now, unless one is calling for the death of a political figure, which has been outlawed.

Reggae artists have been urging ppl fight the powers that be for generations...would you address the fool who blows up a gov't building after being swayed by the music, or check his record collection?

LOL - it's really hard for me to say.
This is one of those topics that I swing on the fence.
I don't know - I don't have the answer, only what I feel.

Music is powerful.

I feel the person who does the act is the only one whom should be held accountable. However if someone was to die in the aforementioned fire. and the victims family poped a cap in the singers ass for his role. And I was on the jury I'd have a hard time convicting him. So I understand what Chris means by on the fence.

The guy who lit the fire was guilty.

The guy who popped the cap is guilty.

The guy who sang the song, just sang a song.

The guy who wrote the song, just wrote a song.

It all seems pretty black & white to me.

Let no one pass the buck for what they do.

Otherwise, you get into liability for presenting your thoughts, your ideas, your whims.

Screw that!

Life ain't kindergarten, & we are not children. We are ultimately responsible for our actions.

I have read some seriously sick stuff in my life. I've also heard it, seen it, thought about it, even said it on occasion. Never have I acted it out. Not even if the stray thought came into my headbone that I could get away with it.

I expect nothing less of others.

Quite simply put and totally correct.
I did not infer that the cap popper was not guilty just emotionally I would find it difficult to convict him. Kinda like the man who blew away the animal who raped and killed his son in the Miami air terminal. He was guilty of murder by our justice standards but by mine he is a hero.
I feel sure that if he had felt that justice would have been done in court, he would have let that piece of sh*t have his day in court.

We are ultimately responsible for our actions

I agree - full circle, from teacher to tool.

Sans, I see a huge difference between offing a guy who hurt you or your family & offing a guy who urged someone to do it in a song.

After saying all this, I must admit to once writing a sick little song about a stalker-type of guy that seemed so inherently evil that I never sang it to anyone but one guy, who said "wow...do you really think like that?"

I told him no, but I had put myself into the mindset for the lyric to sound real...then I never played it for anyone again for fear that I MIGHT influence someone. (Besides, I'd never want anyone to think I could think like that...it kinda freaked me out when he said that.)

Peter Gabriel did the same thing in his song "Intruder" very well, but I doubt that many would be so swayed by his delivery or lyric content that they would think it justified to emulate his character in that song. And if they were, I'd still say that it wasn't his fault for writing it.

I will defend anyone's right to sing or play what they want, as long as I am not forced to listen. It's all personal choice.

I'd like to keep it that way.

Yas sir I am in agreement with you. Personal responsability for one's action is just that, very simple and concrete.
Despite whatever my emotional wanderings may be, It is a stark reality that only the actor is responsable for his action .

I will just have to agree to disagree and leave it at that.

Can do Chris, your a good man aint no sense arguing over the fine points of opinion.

Likewise.

This was fun! What else can we argue about?

LOL - nah, this wasn't arguing.
This was very good and healthy discussion. The only thing missing was cold beer.
I like stuff that makes me dig deep inside to my core. This was good.

As a musicain I believe in freedom to do or say whatever I want in my music, be it good or evil.

But there is a certain group of people in the world who have some kind of mental instability that I think can be triggured by a song or a musicians actions.

I have a 15 yr old who is into some of the nu-metal and some of these bands kind of scare me about what they are saying. My son is pretty intelligent and he and I talk about it all the time that these artist are probably just as goofy as we are, I mean look at Ozzy or Gene Simmons. But Im sure there are a lot of parents who dont take the time to realy listen and see what their kids are going thru, who need someone to say dont take this so seriously.

I know I will get slammed for this but I think that as a songwriter I have a responsibility to the listener to not influence someone to do something wrong.

The argument on here is against censureship, If I drive my car down a highway is it all right that I run over someone crossing the road cause they shouldnt have been in the middle of the road when I came along?

If more artist didnt glorify decadent lifestyles I think a lot less people would adopt these lifestyles, so I feel that an artist is responsible to a certain extent.