Well, we are getting closer to election day in this fine country and, as usual, that means musicians are coming out of the woodwork to throw about their views on the current political landscape.
And I hate it.
Now, I am not shocked when Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine writes a column in Rolling Stone on why he dislikes Paul Ryan (Ryan is, strangely, a fan of RATM); I usually just don’t read it. But I know where he stands on politics. His band is a very political band, and so it comes with the territory.
Same with Ted Nugent on the other side of the political spectrum. He is well known for his support of the Republican Party. So, I can just ignore him 365 days out of the year; I know where he stands.
But when it comes to those whose music is not political at all, and they start throwing around their opinions on the economy, war and so forth, it becomes quite annoying.
For instance, not only was I reminded that Scott Stapp from Creed was still alive (the fact I was reminded of Creed in the first place drove me up the wall), I heard what he thought about the Obama administration (he doesn’t care for it). I don’t care what some guy who was relevant well over a decade ago thinks about modern politics.
Everyone has a right to an opinion. I have the right to ignore their opinions. I can 99 percent of the time. Come election season, I can’t escape it.
I don’t care if the Foo Fighters think Obama is the bees knees. I don’t care that Hank Williams Jr. thinks Obama is a Muslim Socialist. Just play your music.
For the most part, I dislike pundits. Musicians acting as pundits are the worst. I don’t need my news regurgitated by someone with their own agenda — especially by someone whose main job is to basically sing and play three to four chords on a guitar.