Discovered recently that Electric Wizard were kinda dicks back in the day. “At the time, we were pretty bad people. I got arrested for arson of a car, outside a police station. Tim [Bagshaw] went to nick a crucifix off a church roof so we could use it onstage…”
R. L. Burnside killed a man “possibly at a craps game.”
Varg of Mayhem Burzum burned a couple churches and killed a bandmate.
I could list other examples, but would like to hear from other people and other music genres.
Weird Al Yankovic is… really just an all around awesome person and probably won’t show up anywhere on this thread.
I dunno, him and Coolio had some beef in the 90s. When Weird Al parodied Coolio’s Gangsters Paradise with his Amish Paradise Weird Al didn’t do so with the consent of Coolio. Gangsters paradise was a deeply personal song to Coolio so he was understandably upset. As a direct parody it was protected under fair use but Weird Al didn’t feel right about it. So he reached out to Coolio, apologized and ever since then Weird Al has gotten the artist approval to parody their work despite the fact he doesn’t need to. Coolio did eventually come around and agree it was a pretty funny parody. Plot twist, (not really) that’s how humble Weird Al is, he didn’t do anything legally wrong and yet he still recognized he could do better.
That was all from a miscommunication- Al had his people reach out to Coolio’s people, and somehow wires got crossed. Al created it with the belief that he had Coolio’s blessing. Al has always asked permission, and a number of artists/songs have not been done because they would not grant permission. Examples include Paul McCartney (Live and Let Die/Chicken Pot Pie, because of his strict vegetarianism), Michael Jackson (Black or White, because he felt the message was too important), and everything by Prince.
While it’s never been tested in court, most of these parodies probably count as derivative works (i.e. permission is required) rather than protected fair use. A notable exception might be Smells Like Nirvana, since it was used to mock the original creator.
Edit: spelling
Al assumed that since Coolio’s people gave 100% approval they had cleared it with Coolio so it’s really on Coolio’s management…but Al being such a stand up human being felt bad as he wants artists to emotionally be ok with their art being used. I also suspected at the time Coolio manufactured a little outrage thinking he was being laughed at…wanting to seem tough. Although beefing with Weird Al is not very gangster lol.
I’ve always felt sad that Coolio didn’t appreciate (early on) how amazing the Amish Paradise phenomenon was, it kind of made him and his song even more immortal…and his life has always seemed kind of sad. Plagued by health issues, mental health problems, family and legal trouble, financial struggles, criminal involvement. He did keep making some music and touring, had 10 kids, was on some TV shows. Ran for President with a porn star. But he has never seemed like he was happy or enjoyed success. When he died of an overdose he was alone…like OD’s always are. They cremated him and didn’t even have a funeral. 10 children and none of them said no, we have to have a funeral for dad…? As a father that is devastating.
I wanted to inject a bit of wholesome into a question that will be littered with pedos, murderers and white supremacists. In the modern world it’s way too easy to focus on the negative and forget that some people actually do live up to your expectations.
I didn’t just want to troll with an off-topic response but make sure there was a glimmer of hope.
So, I’m the moderator of !ClassicRock…how do you want me to start the list? Chronologically, quantity, severity??
How about in order of “Most Pedophilic” to “Least Pedophilic”. I’m aware that this list will be pretty top-heavy
jimmy page too, with his 13 year old girlfriend that he kept locked in a hotel
Well, if it’s shitty things you want: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Matthews_Band_Chicago_River_incident
Passenger boat Chicago’s Little Lady was hosting the 1 p.m. Chicago Architecture Foundation tour of the Chicago River.
all passengers were issued refunds.
The boat’s deck was swabbed by its crew, and service was resumed for its scheduled 3 p.m. tour.
This boat crew is the most metal thing in this entire post.
What probably happened is that the boat absolutely stank, and they decided not to tell the people at 3pm what had transpired
On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) of human waste from the bus’s blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto a passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below.
800 pounds?! How?!?!?!
Came in here to mention how much a of a dick Maynard was to a seamstress friend of mine. It was an hour or so before showtime and she had the audacity to replace the button on his vintage leather Cavaricci pants with one that wasn’t an actual Cavaricci button. He treated her like a foolish peasant that should have been more prepared to deal with an elite. Seems kinda light considering the other posts, but anytime I can call him out for being a dick, I’mma do it.
Edit: a letter.
Tool has been my favorite band for ~25 years now. I’ve been a fan through nearly their entire history and if there’s one thing that’s been a consistent element of the band, it’s that MJK is a fucking prick. No two ways about it. He’s a little shit with a HUGE ego and he’s just not a pleasant human. Creative as hell and damn good at what he does but a massive massive dick head. He’s not the reason I like Tool though and I wouldn’t even call myself an MJK fan, I dislike him in a lot of ways but when it comes to him, Danny, Adam and Justin laying down some badass fuckin jams, no one does it for me like Tool. Danny and Adam especially. They are the core of Tool for me and I think MJK gets waaaaay too much credit for the band.
I used to love Avenged Sevenfold back in like 2005/2006. They used to fly confederate flags at their concerts, and even had custom guitars with the confederate flag panted on them. Back then I didn’t understand the significance of that, but that’s really fucked.
At least they have apologized for it and said they regret doing it. I believe people are capable of learning from their mistakes, but tbh, I haven’t kept up with them so I’m not sure if they have truly become better people than they were back then.
I never knew that about them. I casually enjoyed a few songs here and there when I heard them and thought they were good but not really my genre of choice. I really respect that they apologized and changed behavior. As somebody in my mid 30s and was therefore mid teens 20 years ago, I also was unaware of the hurt and hate involved with things I saw and said and did at the time. But you’re right, it’s important to be capable of learning and growing and changing behavior and apologizing for the damage done. We all make mistakes, and to pretend otherwise and deny ones own mistakes is a sign of immaturity and responsibility.
As someone also in their mid 30s, I think a lot of people really misunderstand how the confederate flag was viewed so casually by many people up until recently. It was always offensive to some, but I genuinely was unaware of that as a teen growing up in the 2000s. It was just an image of being kind of edgy and rebellious but I genuinely didn’t think much of it seeing any band using them. Watching Skynyrd or Guns N Roses videos of live concerts? There were “rebel flags” pretty often and I just kind of let it go. It meant nothing to me.
I was in my mid 20s, probably, when it really was explained to me how insensitive that can be. I never associated it with racism or slavery up until that point - and I’m pretty sure that’s the same thought that a lot of these bands had. The absolute best thing to do is exactly as you said: own up to it, change your ways, and grow.
