This is a personal decision, of course. But I think sometimes music SHOULD touch on subject matter that makes us uncomfortable, in order to illustrate a greater truth.

An example would be the many musical references to drugs. For myself, I don't necessarily think drug users are evil or worthy of condemnation. But even if I did, I think there would be value in listening to these works. Many songs about drugs sound as if they are about a romantic relationship. Why? Because a user's relationship with the drug can be very much like a romantic relationship between two people. Sometimes it's a mutually satisfying relationship, sometimes it's unrequited love. Often it's an unbalanced relationship, to say the least, with the user constantly seeking more from the drug than the drug will provide. I can be moved by the passion in these songs if I DON'T know what inspired them, and I can learn from them if I do. Either way, the artistry is working, to my benefit.

Nabokov's Lolita is another example that was cited above, and I think it also illustrates this point. Most of us are uncomfortable with pedophilia, and rightly so. Lolita plays upon this discomfort, as well as Humbert's own discomfort, and cleverly induces in the reader a sense of shared fantasy -- promoting understanding, without condoning the behavior itself. That is art at its best, in my opinion. [By the way, I'm glad I'm anonymous in this forum -- I am as horrified by pedophilia as the rest of you, but I recognize that these comments could be misconstrued, and I could be condemned for them.]

There are other "artists" who simply trade in shock value, without bringing anything else of value to the table. We each get to decide who those artists are, and may refuse to support them if we choose (having identified and categorized them to our own satisfaction, we probably will decide that we don't like their stuff anyway, so refusing to support them financially is an easy decision). But if there is true artistry involved, maybe it's okay that we're uncomfortable with the subject matter.

This topic reminds me of the story of Beethoven's Third Symphony, which was among his greatest works. It was inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte, whom Beethoven admired greatly, and was originally intended to be named after him and dedicated to him. After it was finished, but had not yet been performed publicly, an acquaintance brought Beethoven the news that Napoleon had just declared himself Emperor. This offended Beethoven's republican sensibilities greatly, and in a rage he ran to the table where the finished manuscript lay, and tore up the dedication page. The symphony was renamed Symphonia Eroica -- the "Heroic Symphony" -- and dedicated "to the memory of a great man" (Napoleon was still very much alive). Regardless of its original inspiration, I am happy that Beethoven saw fit to publish it, and that the orchestras of the world have seen fit to perform it.