I have long advocated for separating an artist from his work. I listen to Michael Jackson without the slightest twinge of guilt, and I watch Roman Polanksi’s movies without the slightest twinge of guilt.
But “separate” is key. Had Michael Jackson been convicted of child molestation, I would have supported his punishment. Being a talented artist should not give you a pass for repellent and criminal behavior.
The case of Roman Polanski is especially disturbing. His guilt is not in question. He gave a thirteen-year old girl alcohol and drugs, and then anally raped her. He knew her age. He also knew what the word “no” meant.
For normal people, the fact that it was a long time ago is irrelavant–Catholic priests are routinely prosecuted for decades-old crimes. However, the “arts community” seems to believe that their elite members deserve a pass for such trifles as sodomizing an unwilling minor. Sadly, the list of people rallying to the defense of this creepy rapist includes many whose works I admire.
So far as I know, there has been only one American artist of prominence who has stated the obvious. That is Jewel, who posted to her Twitter page:
Polanski-admitted raping a 13 yr old-whys every1 in the arts upset hes facing jail? cause hes a gifted director? what am i missing?
Thank you, Jewel, for bringing the common sense and decency that seem to elude so many of your fellow artists, causing them to support someone who drugged and anally raped a thirteen-year old girl.
Jewel asked in her first hit, “Who Will Save Your Soul?” Who indeed? Who will save Polanski’s soul? Who will save the souls of his defenders? I know this statement is contradictory: They better pray that there is no God.
Posted by Gordon Winslow 
I’ve always told people that I wanted to start a band that mixed Bluegrass and Punk Rock. Most people looked at me like I was crazy, but now one band has made sense out of the idea.
New York-based band fun. have released their debut record, Aim and Ignite, and I am an unabashed fan (thanks, Kirsten, for the heads up!). Formed by Nate Ruess, previously the lead singer of The Format, fun. shares some of the unabashed pop sensibilities of that band. However, as opposed to the straight up guitar power pop of The Format, fun. takes things in an outlandish direction of magnified sugar and, well, fun. Pulling out all the stops, Ruess channels Freddie Mercury at almost every turn, and the arrangements of the songs at times veer from A Night at the Opera on speed to Caribbean-tinged bounce to sweet, symphonic strings liberally garnished with Sgt. Pepper-style horns. The most obvious comparison that will inevitably be made here is with 
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Seattle band Throw Me the Statue are a difficult band to classify. Sure, there’s the catch-all “indie pop” label that could easily be applied, but that’s not the classification I am talking about. This band is a chameleon, and their latest effort, Creaturesque, is one hell of a shapeshifter of a record. Opening track “Waving At The Shore,” with its bouncy melody and horns, immediately recalls The Cure’s “Close To Me.” The shuffling psychedelia of “Tag” and the bouncy pop of “Dizzy From The Fall” are dead ringers for The Shins. “Ancestors” is a great (if slightly out of fashion) imitation of a Joy Division/Interpol song, with lead singer Scott Reitherman sounding eerily like Ian Curtis at points. Deliciously sugary guitar tune “Hi-Fi Goon” unabashedly copies the style of fellow northwesterners Built to Spill, throwing in a bit of Blur and Pavement for good measure. Before the album’s close, we also have what sound like dead-on imitations of Beck in his Mutations/Sea Change acoustic mode (“Baby, You’re Bored”) and Neil Young (“Shade For A Shadow”). These are all pretty impeccable influences to have, and it’s understandable when a band makes obvious reference to the groups that inspired them. However, Throw Me the Statue haven’t yet found a way to blend together the elements of their influences into a cohesive or defining sound of their own. The result is a collection of songs that sound like individual tributes to other bands rather than ones that build an identity for their creators.
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Gordon Winslow
