Albums you own or used to own from artists that turned out to be awful people.

i suspect when jerry lee lewis finally kicks it (and it can't be long) the coverage of his death will be v different now than it might have been 10 years ago.

Well, they already made a whole movie about how he married his 13 year old cousin.

As far as likely murdering a later wife, the Rolling Stone article I linked to above was published in 1984 and I only came across it by dumb luck earlier this year. afaik that story is completely lost to time.

Clapton might also be the only guy on the thread who said he was "into racism".

I once heard that Rik James brutally abused women but I don't know anything about it.

Dude, if you're serious, look this one up (or don't, depending on what you can stomach). A contender for the most messed-up story on this thread.

i'm not actually a fan of hers but courtney love assaulted kathleen hanna back in the 90s, and the way music writers tended to frame it as a "fight" or a "brawl" or whatever has always bugged me

wait what

http://www.mtv.com/news/506111/lollapalooza-back-biting-thurston-moore-squeals-on-courtney/

She got a one-year suspended sentence for assault for that.

Being a fucked-up, drunken mess (but intermittently smart) was always part of Courtney’s persona, so this one should hardly surprise anyone.

A lot of people seemed to go off Thurston Moore after he left Kim Gordon. Wasn't a problem for me though, as I was never into him in the first place.

well Thurston's just your common or garden slimy prick rather than an actual abuser

Re Townshend. Tommy has some pretty messed situations and the child pr0n situation put them in a different light for me. how awful a person is he? I dunno for sure, but he seems very messed up (I still enjoy his art fwiw)

Yeah, in this context, I think the bar for "awful person" is higher than "had an affair".

And there’s a viewpoint that being a customer of Sonic Youth records doesn’t make Thurston Moore’s domestic arrangements any of your business.

not a v popular one at the moment

aint that the truth

I did know a little bit about the Rik James story but I wasn't sure I could trust the site. For all these true fucked up stories there's probably a lot of myths spread by fans and haters.

Anyone know anything about the NWA stories about them beating up journalists? In one case throwing a woman down the stairs and giving her a beating? Was this the whole group? Is it a myth?

Rick James stuff was national news at the time.

NWA was Dr. Dre specifically. I had not heard of it until a couple years ago. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dee-barnes-reflects-on-traumatic-dr-dre-1991-assault-exclusive-interview_us_55f6c9c1e4b063ecbfa4c77f

music writers tended to frame it as a "fight" or a "brawl"

The underlying (and pretty sexist) assumption being that women fighting is somehow "cute." They might break a nail! Or, better yet, tear some lacy clothing. Ugh.

that also highlights the abysmal way music journalism treated women in those days

did anyone notice that headline about Thurston "squealing" on Courtney. What a narc!

the rick james thing was hardly some rumor, that's well known history at this point

Courtney punching Kathleen was well-known at the time and just emblematic of Courtney's general shittiness imo

Yeah Rick James was not a rumor, there was enough evidence that he even went to prison. Of course rich and famous people just do 2 or 3 years at prison for things that normal citizens would rot in jail for.

Yeah Rick James was not a rumor, there was enough evidence that he even went to prison. Of course rich and famous people just do 2 or 3 years at prison for things that normal citizens would rot in jail for.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, November 14, 2017 8:22 AM (forty-six seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the rick james stuff was a joke to people, like part and parcel of his legend, oh that troublemaker and those women, etc. people often forgive shit by artists they like or find amusing. rick james hero worship was equal parts music and image.

I think Dave Chapelle is partly to blame for turning him
into a meme with the “I’m Rick James, bitch” and “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” catchphrases.

my fave rick james detail. he actually took the PERFECT amount of those drugs. we may never know what killed him:

"He had died from pulmonary failure and cardiac failure, associated with his various health conditions of diabetes, a stroke, pacemaker, and heart attack. His autopsy found alprazolam, diazepam, bupropion, citalopram, hydrocodone, digoxin, chlorpheniramine, methamphetamine, and cocaine in his blood. However, the coroner stated that "none of the drugs or drug combinations were found to be at levels that were life-threatening in and of themselves"."

as far as rick james and this thread go: when was the last time someone listened to a rick james album?

I gave Garden of Love a spin or two this summer.

I don’t think I’ve ever listened let alone owned a Rick James album which is why I didn’t bring him up in the first place.

Only know him because of Dave Chapelle and the Super Freak sample on U Cant Touch This. I wasn’t even born when he rose to fame.

the mary jane girls, on the other hand, are essential listening.

Rick James has at least two all-time classic songs

Street Songs is a fucking great record.

I don't know anyone who thinks Rick James is funny; I do know a bunch of people who think Dave Chappelle imitating Rick James is funny, because it was.

Indeed. As much as I love Street Songs, I think Rick James became a joke, and not in the funny sense.

just saying, aside from super freak and chapelle show he's mostly forgotten. and if chapelle show had never happened he would be almost entirely gone aside from fm super freak airplay. he has a LOT of albums that nobody listens to. other than nerds. like you guys. joking! not really. a little!

Well, there's a sample of him shouting "GIMME SOME GANJA!" all over a Kendrick Lamar track that came out this year.

Not comparing it to Rick James or anything - well, maybe a bit - but Boy George handcuffing someone, keeping them prisoner and beating them with a metal chain doesn't get mentioned too often these days.

In an apparently accidental allusion to Culture Club's 1982 No 1 hit Heather Norton, for the prosecution, asked the jury during the trial: "Did he really have to hurt him?"

Very true, and he was only on TV last night singing a rendition of 'Purple Rain' during a show to promote a children's charity.

(xpost)

just saying, aside from super freak and chapelle show he's mostly forgotten by white people

^^^ more accurate in my experience

Haha yeah

also mary jane girls and 'party all the time'

also "Mary Jane" the song

xp: I love the part in that video when he steps out from behind the console to mime playing the bass for a few bars and then stops playing before the song's over to hug Eddie Murphy.

he was definitely huge. and a crossover hit. for about three or four years. and no doubt people loved those records but aside from super freak he's kinda gone in the wider world. is all i'm saying. people will always love lots of old stuff that they loved (and old r&b/soul fans are totally loyal to their faves of yesteryear) but it doesn't always linger or stick around in pop culture other than THE BIG HIT. lots of people sold millions of records. he's not marvin gaye. to bring up another troubling icon mentioned on this thread.

did he write party all the time?

Motown totally sold him to rock fans too. There were huge ads in every rock magazine for months on end for that first run of records. And it worked.

y

^ xp there

more "garden-variety prick" than actual abuser but even what little is public about the falling out between trent reznor and tori amos makes me very uncomfortable listening to NIN's stuff