Some pretty grim allegations are surfacing about Maynard James Keenan of Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer fame.
Tool meant everything to teenage me, and Aenima is still top 5 all-time records, but I believe the accusers.
How do you respond when one of your favorite artists is outed as a predator? To me, there's no question about future support. I'll never buy another record, see another show, stream another track. Is it acceptable to enjoy records you've already paid for that may pre-date the abuse? What if they coincide with the abuse?
Danny Walker was recently outed as a domestic abuser, and Intronaut did the right thing by firing him immediately. I still have all those records, I listen to them, but I won't stream them.
Undertow and Aenima both pre-date the current accusations about MJK, but it's possible he was doing this stuff during the Aenima tour or even earlier. It's been a few days and no response from the Tool camp. If they do the right thing I'll feel better about hanging on to those two albums, but if not I may have to cut them loose.
Ruminations on artists outed as abusers Show more
@fobo I went through this a few years ago with Swans who were hugely important to me and whose live shows were nigh on religious experiences for me. For me, it wasn’t a matter of should I no longer listen to and enjoy their stuff so much as I could no longer do so. Every time I tried, the work had taken on such a totally sinister new meaning that I couldn’t handle it at all, anymore. I got rid of my records and merch and it felt right.