HOT: Artists Respond to Morrissey
Alt music icon Morrissey has been getting a lot of flack recently for his show of support for U.K.’s far-right political party For Britain, which some call racist and anti-immigrant. Artists have also been weighing in. A recent interview with Paul Banks from Interpol, which is touring with Morrissey, made it sound as if the band was overlooking the controversies in favor of a nice payday. But Banks recently clarified that he was misquoted and that he didn’t say he thought the tour was “good for the band” but rather “good for our fans.” He also made clear he was against racism and other forms of bigotry, which is a sad thing for someone to have to do and also a sign of the times. Elsewhere, another legendary singer — Nick Cave — wrote a thoughtful essay about the current ordeal and how one should be able to separate someone’s work from their wrongheaded beliefs. He wrote that he believes once music is released it ceases to be the artist’s: “The integrity of the song (then) rests not with the artist, but with the listener.”
WARM: Lil Nas X Comes Out
For the final day of Pride Month, music sensation Lil Nas X came out as gay on social media. He also tweeted the rainbow-adorned cover of his debut EP, 7, and wrote, “deadass thought I made it obvious.” Fans who apparently believe gay people can only write about their sexuality began speculating that the singer/rapper’s huge hit, “Old Town Road,” was about sex, to which Lil Nas X tweeted that, nope, the song was “literally about horses.”
old town road is literally about horses.
— MONTERO 🦋 (@LilNasX) July 1, 2019
COLD: Jack White Calls Out Press
The Raconteurs’ new Help Us Stranger album recently topped the charts (the group's first No. 1 LP), but Jack White still isn’t in a great mood. White is taking issue with the music press (again), this time for a Spin article that took a joking quote out of context that made it sound like the White Stripes frontperson had a drug problem. White — a well-known teetotaler — was making a joke about the lengthy wait between Raconteurs albums, saying it was partially because he “started doing heroin.” “Spin never lets the facts get in the way of good clickbait,” White said on social media, while also calling out Stereogum and Pitchfork.
