Some comments. I'll put 'em in [brackets,] since we have no automatic way to mark what I just cut and pasted from Whistle-Stop's posting.

>There are a lot of musicians that I admire, but if I really knew them intimately, there would probably be something about most or all of them that I did not like or approve of. [True. Some of them are right bastards, when you come down to it. ] I reserve the right to like their work, regardless of other considerations. [Again, I agree, although it is sometimes hard to separate the one from the other, AND it's also sometimes the point that the artist is attempting to put his message into his work, and knowing about the artist makes the message-insertion more obvious. In other words, sometimes it's easier to see the method in the madness when you recognize the madness.]

What I think is interesting is that we exalt certain musicians because we admire their art, and deliberately try to distort their less-appealing characteristics to make them seem more appealing even in non-musical areas. Then we go even further when they die.

[Not only that, but -- and this ties in with so much of popular culture these days -- we also ascribe qualities to other aspects of their lives that may not be accurate. For example, you mention Lennon's politics below. Why did we even ask him what his political views were? Why did we care? Writers of "message" songs we should care about, but not pop songsters. I know, I know, the 60s turned EVERYONE into political pundits, and "freedom of opinion" came to mean "has to have an opinion," an equation I think we should negate as soon as we can.]

John Lennon is a great example -- talented guy, with a certain incisive wit and insight into the madness that is fame. But let's face it, the guy was a bit of a nut, and a lot of his political opinions were really half-baked.

[As a creature of his time, though, they were perfectly normal. That is, very much of the "truth" we took for granted then was poppycock, just as it is today (different days, different truths, same old song). And Lennon's "truths" were as half-baked as the rest of those on either side of the idealogical divide.]

For myself, I don't have any problem admiring certain things about the guy, and not admiring others. But there is a tendency to worship the man in all his various and complex aspects, which can really get pretty comical if you try to look at things rationally.

[See above.]

[The inability of the typical man or woman to think for him or herself is amazing, and the various media outlets pander to the quick and easy answer, which just encourages this.

The Big Lie technique in politics results in a "fill-in-the-blank" reaction on all sides. For example, what words do you "hear" preceding the word "liberal?" Because of the "Great Communicator's" ability to make the connection in our minds, we (US Americans, anyway) actually "hear" the words "tax-and-spend" preceding the word "liberal," even if we think of ourselves as liberals, as I do. A great effort to divide the populace in pavlovian fashion, and all for mere political advantage.

Damn. I'm depressing myself. Think I'll go sing a song. And I won't even care who wrote it!]

Bob Clayton