NEWS4U APRIL 2022 | ENTERTAINMENT
THE ROCK & METAL PROFS W I T H M AT T A L S C H BAC H & D R . CO U RT L E W I S
Associate professors at Owensboro Community College and Pellissippi State Community College, respectively, Alschbach
and Lewis host the popular podcast The Rock & Metal Profs: The History & Philosophy of Rock & Metal. Now they're bringing their keen insights to the pages of News 4U with a monthly deep dive into some of the best bands of the rock/metal genre and thoughts on music in general.
TYRANNY OF FANS: MUSICIANS ARE NOT OUR SERVANTS
A
few months ago, I was chatting with a
play music.”
fellow metal fan in a record shop, and I mentioned that I liked the band Machine
They are “schizophrenic”
Head. In response this chap said, “I can’t listen
because many of the same
to them anymore, they’ve become way too
people who want artists to be
political.” This surprised me, because for two
silent are the same who praise
decades Machine Head has taken on various
the importance of the freedom
social and political themes in their music.
of speech. They support their
However, recently they began to speak out
freedom, but when others
against racism, corruption, and the deception
choose to actively use their
that permeates our newsfeed. It occurred to me
freedom, they are offended,
that what this gentleman was uncomfortable
dismayed, and even enraged.
with was the shift in tone. In other words,
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: MATT ALSCHBACH AND DR. COURT LEWIS
Machine Head was fine when they were singing
We all have opinions, but
about political themes that lined up with HIS
why do some disdain artists
ideology. But when that changed, they had to
who voice theirs? Celebrities might have a
go. Boycott! Cancel Machine Head!
louder voice because of their “followers,” but we shouldn’t envy their voice. Why don’t these
artists, yet despise their freedom of speech, implies a contradiction in one’s thinking. Do you suffer from this tempting contradiction? Is it that you just don’t like it when people disagree with you, or that you can’t enjoy your
Musicians express ideas, concepts, and
same people rail against the entertainers,
viewpoints. It’s a form a speech, and though
nutritionists, lawyers, and self-educated
it can often be mundane, it is just as often
dropouts who are famous merely for voicing
profane. Thanks to the freedom of speech,
their opinions? Just like the artists, they have no
most artists enjoy the freedom to express
special training nor education in social-political
themselves in all sorts of varied ways; and we
theory. Surely, it’s not because they have
as consumers are free to enjoy the fruits of their
confused artists as their jesters, as servants to
labors. Yet, there is a vocal part of the culture
do their bidding? (But I’m afraid that’s the truth.)
use of it, even if we don’t like what they say.
speech. They’re often quoted as saying: “Stay
For music to flourish, we must protect the
The Rock & Metal Profs podcast is available on
out of politics, keep your mouth shut, and just
cherished value of freedom of speech. To love
that schizophrenically abhors artists’ freedom of
40 | APRIL 2022
• www.evansvillemediagroup.com
favorite entertainer without thinking of her or his political position? No matter the answer, remember, artists are not your servants. They are free people, just like us, and if we enjoy the art that flourishes in an environment of freedom of speech, then we should celebrate celebrities’
iTunes, Google and Spotify.
