Hitler, Post Rock and Michael Jackson
Foreword
I come from Germany and Adolf Hitler has always played an important role in my life, as the epitome of evil — devilish (I hope it’s not just me …). Even as a child I could not imagine that someone like that would go to the toilet and then pee and poo! Not someone like that. Later I realized that many people unfortunately have such a “potential”, although they are actually quite nice. In the meantime I try to make use of Hitler in my everyday life by using provocative, cynical and sarcastic comparisons to clarify certain situations or take a position (which is partly, not always meant as serious or drastic — but in principle it is!) Exaggeration illustrates, but also tends to level the playing field — nevertheless sometimes useful …
But now to the story
I’m sitting in the car, just coming out of the garden outside the city and listening to the radio. Normally there’s nothing but dirt coming in anyway and I turn it off right away. But no, not today — or maybe yes? Anyway, the radio is playing a song by Michael Jackson (unfortunately I can’t remember which one). I realize how free I feel and think what amazingly good musicians who recorded the songs. The music drives me on and I even start to move my body a little bit to the music (which normally doesn’t happen to me very often). It just grooves like shit — unbelievable.
But after a while I think: “oops — wasn’t there something with Michael Jackson? May I still hear him?” I notice how my mood becomes a little bit cloudy and my body slowly becomes calmer and I think. Now I inevitably have to think of Hitler and I construct a comparison :). I think to myself: “If Adolf Hitler had released the best post rock album ever — I wouldn’t listen to it and above all I wouldn’t like it …”. Now I have to smile a little about my stupid comparison. Of course the comparison is hard, as always, but how many murders must one commit or many abuses, how bad must one be, how good or what do I know? Where is the line? Is there one? Does there have to be one? Is there allowed to be one? I don’t know … While it was clear to me that I wouldn’t listen to Hitler’s music (or at least not with pleasure and with an unbelievable disgust), I wasn’t so clear about Michael Jackson — it’s not. Nothing is clear — except the one with Hitler! That’s quite clear — if I were to say that’s why extreme comparisons with that guy work so well!
Well, while I was thinking about it all the time, if I can represent it morally now, to find it good, the song is already over and I feel a bit bad. I said to myself that the thing with Michael Jackson wasn’t 100% proven and that it would be absolutely unfair to banish his music because of that. Or do I talk myself into it, how you have to talk yourself into certain things, or simply ignore them, so that you don’t have to go down in flames out of contempt for yourself.
Later I told some people about it and I have also talked about it in the past. Whether you can separate the art product and the person to it, or not. Again, the opinions are very different. Also regarding the borderline of the crime or the character of the artist. Probably here too a preferably not absolute/extreme opinion on one side or the other is the appropriate one. But what do I know …
