The question of whether you should separate the art and the artist is an interesting one.<\/p>\n
Obviously, if that artist is an abuser and an active danger with a platform, the art has to be impacted. But how about if the artist simply lets you down, like when Bob Dylan suddenly didn\u2019t live up to Pete Townshend\u2019s expectations?<\/p>\n
This is exactly why they say that you should never meet your idols. That bubble-burst feeling can be earth-shattering if someone you\u2019ve deeply admired turns out to be a person who doesn\u2019t deserve that, or merely can\u2019t match up to the god-like image you\u2019ve built in your head.<\/p>\n
There was definitely some of that at play for Townshend. Dylan was his hero, especially when it came to songwriting. He called the artist a \u201cmaster\u201d, saying that for him, Dylan\u2019s recall and references were fascinating and inspiring.<\/p>\n
\u201cA folk singer is someone with a good memory, basically. He had a wealth of American folk songs and Irish, Scottish folk songs. If you\u2019re an expert folkologist, it is infuriating to be a Dylan fan,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cYou know, someone like Roy Harper is always banging his head against the wall saying that \u2018Masters Of War\u2019 was written in Scotland in 1706!\u201d<\/p>\n
That was part of the issue, though. Townsend clearly saw Dylan as his sage, full of worldly intelligence and almost limitless knowledge. He wanted to dig deeper into the mind of the man and learn more about him. \u201cWhen I was a kid. Well, not a kid, but younger and listening to Dylan. I couldn\u2019t wait for the day when somebody would get to him and do that in-depth interview. (It would be) where everybody would find out what really was in the back of his head,\u201d he said, desperate to know him better and hear more from behind the public persona.<\/p>\n
But as anyone who has ever read a Dylan interview knows well, that isn\u2019t what you get. Instead, the average Dylan interview is full of short, empty answers, or even straight-out lies, as he\u2019d often completely fabricate stories to further avoid telling the truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I discovered that there was nothing there at all. Nothing, I must say I was incredibly disappointed,\u201d Townshend said as he had to admit that the man behind it all wasn\u2019t quite as smart as he\u2019d thought. \u201cFrom that day onward, he ceased to be my hero,\u201d he said, straight up dethroning him then and there.<\/p>\n
However, the music did remain untouched by the letdown. \u201cHe remained somebody who wrote music that I loved. I still love the earlier stuff for the pure nostalgia of remembering how stimulating he was,\u201d the guitarist said, managing to hold onto that at least. But had to sadly admit, \u201cHe wasn\u2019t quite the gladiator I had expected.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The question of whether you should separate the art and the artist is an interesting one. Obviously, if that artist is an abuser and an … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n