I’m sure you’re all aware of the recent stream of sexual misconduct allegations coming out against people in positions of power. Comedians, politicians, and musicians have been acknowledging these claims as truthful and have release statements of their own, expressing regret and apologizing. An apology, however, doesn’t change the past and the consequences of their actions - for their victims along with for themselves now that the word has gotten out.
One band member who I’m really disappointed in is Jesse Lacey, the lead singer from Brand New. Brand New has been my favorite band for the past three years. I saw Brand New live at Madison Square Garden and it was honestly unreal - I felt a connection to everyone in the audience like never before, and felt that I was being united with my microculture (Angell, 10/18/17). I truly resonate with his lyrics, and feel his music describing events in my life and speaking directly to me. I’m sure many other fans feel the same empathetic and deep way as me regarding his music - which is what makes us a microculture and not just average fans - but now we have all been notified of his true character and not the man he portrays in his songs (Angell, 10/18/17). We are left to ask ourselves how much of his music is really coming from his heart, and cognitive dissonance engulfs me when I listen to his songs ever since he admitted to sexual misconduct.
His statement came days after a woman accused him of misconduct from when she was a minor up until she was 23, using his power and fame to solicit photos from her and eventually engage in physical acts (Yoo, 11/13/17). Another woman described a similar situation, and both women stated that they were led on through Jesse’s selfish acts and suffered significant emotional damage (Yoo, 11/13/17). His acts of misconduct include threats along with coercion and a debatable lack of consent, and his are described under multiple felony offenses (Yoo, 11/13/17).
The emotional value that I used to receive from his music has been replaced with a feeling of betrayal and uncertainty (Angell, 9/13/17). I always found value in songs that I could relate to, and lyrics that describe hardships and struggles (Angell, 9/13/17). Although his songs could very well be written from the heart, and definitely still resonate with my life, these values are outweighed by my strong moral values against bullying, sexual misconduct, abuse, and selfishness (Angell, 9/13/17). In addition, I question his personality as a whole since he was capable of these disgusting acts. Emotional expressiveness falls under personality, and the emotional expressiveness in his songs seem to contradict his personality (Angell, 9/13/17). For example, in Sic Transit Gloria he sings about being used for sex and having his heart broken by a girl. These allegations, however, show that he is not the victim that he portrayed himself to be in that song - or that maybe he was the victim at one time, but also acted in the enemy’s shoes. You can listen to the song below.
At this point I need to avoid listening to Brand New. It bears too much on my conscience and I do not want to show support towards someone like Jesse Lacey. I will not be purchasing any Brand New concert tickets in the future, as I do not feel that he deserves my money. My entire consumer behavior towards the band has changed due to these allegations, and I don’t think it’ll ever recover.
Angell, A. (2017, September 13). CB Chapter 2 Value. Lecture presented in University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Angell, A. (2017, October 18). CB CB Chapter[s] 9 [and 10] Culture and Microcultures. Lecture presented in University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Yoo, N. (2017, November 13). Two Alleged Victims of Brand News Jesse Lacey Detail Years of Sexual Exploitation of Minors. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://pitchfork.com/news/two-alleged-victims-of-brand-news-jesse-lacey-detail-years-of-sexual-exploitation-of-minors/
http://www.viportal.co/media/entertainment/brand-news-jesse-lacey-shares-statement-on-sexual-misconduct-allegations/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOHg1rKzWuE
https://music.mxdwn.com/2017/11/11/news/jesse-lacey-of-brand-new-issues-statement-following-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct/
http://kosu.org/post/brand-new-frontman-jesse-lacey-apologizes-sexual-misconduct-postpones-tour
Amanda, I love this blog topic! With all of the horrible news coming out of Hollywood lately, I'm glad you decided to take a look at this from a larger scope, showing how it can (and has) happened anywhere. Personally, the biggest disappointment for me was Kevin Spacey. As awful as sexual harassment and assault is in the first place, Spacey used his position of power to take advantage of under aged boys and then tried to use coming out as a homosexual as an excuse for his actions. No one should ever be excused for these types of decisions, and it pains me to hear more and more stories coming out every day. I'm so happy and proud of all the women/people that are standing up together and bringing light to these terrible acts. Here's a timeline of accusations that I found, and the prevalence and severity of it makes me sick.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/10/us/men-accused-sexual-misconduct-weinstein.html
I hope that people continue to stand out against these awful men and these one day they will face actions for their crimes. I think cognitive dissonance is the perfect term to use when describing how I feel. While no musicians I like have been affected, it's hard for me to watch movies involving accused actors or stand-up comedies by people like Louis CK. This is a great blog all around and it's always good to bring attention to this type of thing so it's not swept under the rug and forgotten.
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI really loved how you brought in current events to your blog. Despite the fact that your blog is about music, you were able to connect the two together and I thought it was a great use of the platform you were given to address something that is very prevalent in our lives right now. Although I am not familiar with Jesse Lacey or his band, it’s clear that you have been a fan of and looked up to him, but you didn’t allow your involvement for his music get in the way of exposing or announcing your disappointment in him (Babin & Harris, 64). It was difficult to read the allegations of his actions and even more difficult to have knowledge that he admitted to these horrific acts of crime. In terms of connecting this to consumer behavior, unfortunately these terrible acts are a great example of how one thing can influence the situation of one’s entire willingness to support a brand or company and in this case a band (Babin & Harris, 26). I am sorry that this news has you rethinking your love for something, however, I admire your values and the stance that you took and think that you should be proud of yourself (Babin & Harris, 28)! Here’s a link to a BuzzFeed article about how this news has effected another individual and hopefully it will help to hear someone else’s story: https://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonkeating/the-end-of-the-emo-era?utm_term=.pt3NNdEZ8y#.vjVyyAa8Gb.
Keating, S. (n.d.). The End Of The Emo Era Is Breaking My Teenage Heart. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonkeating/the-end-of-the-emo-era?utm_term=.pt3NNdEZ8y#.vjVyyAa8Gb
Babin, J.B., Harris, E.G. CB, 7th edition