Before January 6th, 2021, and the Capitol attack, insurrection, riots, or whatever you want to call it, Ariel Pink was a critically adored indie rock musician, who, in my humble opinion, made some of the most interesting records of the modern era.
Afterwards? Not so much. He wasn’t actually part of the riots, but that doesn’t matter in a world where truth is at a premium, and in the year and then some that has followed, he’s lost his record label, his fanbase, and to all extents and purposes his career. I don’t share the same politics as Ariel – not on party lines, anyway – and I don’t agree with everything he says, but I do believe in his right to say it, to think it, and to have a career that isn’t blighted by mobs and misinformation.
I first reached out to Ariel early last year, to see if he’d speak to me for my Shame project – episodes from which you can hear if you scroll back on the feed to this podcast. He wasn’t interested. But then, after hearing him talk of Bridget Phetasy’s ever interesting Walk-Ins Welcome podcast, I tried again, and finally we connected to talk about… well, all sorts of things. Trump, the Clintons, Ukraine, Kanye West, cancel culture, and what his first Hotmail address was.
This is an interesting if sometimes batshit conversation, and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed having it.
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En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.