So, if you haven't heard, Mike Lombardo is under investigation by the FBI according to this article on the Smoking Gun (please just read the article if you want to understand this post) and I'm going to try real hard not to ramble on too much about how disgusted I am or how I feel my trust in the online community has been betrayed, but if you DO want to hear all that, please just read the "mike lombardo" tag on tumblr. (Lauren Fairweather's post has been the best I've read btw if you wanna check that out too).
When I finally settled down from all the crying-because-my-favourite-youtube-musician-could-actually-be-a-convicted-sex-offender, I thought about it for a loooong time and came to this conclusion. I don't listen to music because the artist is a good person or looks pretty or anything; I listen to it because it sounds cool. Yes, MiLo's music will now be "tainted" as many of you have pointed out, but I'm not giving up on it.
Maybe I made the mistake of listening to Songs For A New Day too soon and that's why I feel this way, but whatever. People still listen to Chris Brown and Boy George and Michael Jackson even after they did irrespectable things (maybe. I never found out if MJ was innocent or not.)
Anyway, none of this has much to do with what I'm trying to say. WHAT I'm trying to say here is that we don't have to take sides. I do feel sympathy for the alleged victims and I do believe that no one should have to go through any of this. But I also believe in second chances and that people can change (Snape was only a Death Eater for about five years, remember).
However much hate I get for saying this, I will continue to support Mike Lombardo as an artist, whatever the outcome. It's the sensible Dumbledore thing to do.
P.S. I am aware that we still don't have all the facts and that I shouldn't be making my mind up about this so soon but it could be months before he's charged (IF he's charged) and I kinda needed to share this like now.
P.P.S. Um, does anyone else have any opinions on this? Please share...
I have only bought one song of his and have considered buying an album before. Now, not so much. Of course you still have the right to support him as an artist, but I personally would be uncomfortable actually buying any more from him. But you should do what you feel is right. It's not wrong to keep listening to his music.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's hard to buy his music now and I would definitely feel the same if I hadn't been such a fan before.
DeleteI don't think it's wrong to believe in redemption. But Dumbledore and Snape are fiction.
ReplyDeleteMike messed up bad. It's sad to think that he has shot his career in the foot like this. What Mike did was thoughtless, tasteless, reckless and possibly criminal. The way we picture an artist influences how we see their art, in the same way that their art influences how we see the artist.
I don't think you have to stop liking the songs. Mike is a good songwriter and a fine musician. The songs remain the same. And Mike's art isn't generally skeevy and rude. Mike can be a charming and funny fellow, a very entertaining performer. But he's got some real personal problems that he needs to deal with, no matter how this FBI investigation turns out.
I agree with you. I've been blasting The Alchemist over and over all weekend long, and I have come to the same conclusion: I could never condition myself to hate this music. And more than likely, I will never be able to condition myself to hate Mike.
ReplyDeleteMore than anything, if he is guilty, then I can only hope that he will admit his wrong and work to change his life around. That would be enough proof to me that he is still the intelligent and admirable person I thought, and still hope he is. If he is proven guilty and does not admit his fault, well, then that's a different story.
I just wish all of this had never have happened . . .