I recently heard a song by Amy Winehouse and discovered that I really like her music. So I mentioned this to a couple people I know, who immediately started telling me about all the recent news she has been involved in.

Tell me… how does this change how I feel about the music? Granted, if I found out that she was using the profits from the sale of her CDs to organize a crusade to kill kittens and puppies with baseball bats and chainsaws, or anything else for that matter, then maybe I would be hesitant to buy one of her CDs.

Fact is that her baggage and issues are just that, hers. By purchasing her CD, in no way do I make myself party to her problems. I am merely buying the CD. She will continue to have whatever problems she has whether I buy it or not, so why should I not?

Unfortunately I also feel this way about other artists that seem to draw media attention like so many moths to a bright light. People like Brittany Spears and such… regardless of how many albums are purchased or videos are sold, then are still going to implode taking their career, if you could call it that, with them. With people like that, fans are merely a doorstop, holding the door open a little longer but eventually it will close.

When I buy a disk, it is because I genuinely like the music and because I will not buy a CD until I am sure I will like it, you can surmise that it takes me a while before I break down and get it.

Artists are just what they are. They belong to a class of people that are not too much unlike very bright stars. They burn brightly for a short period of time, then collapse on themselves and either become burned out embers of what they once were… like Milli Vanilli, or becomes so dense that not even like can escape… we will not talk about those ones.

No… When I buy the CD, I could care less about the situation of the artist. Their music, if it is truly well done, stands on it’s own merit. That is all that is important to me.

All that said, if you like that bluesy, soulful sound that you remember from the late sixties and early 70s, then listen to “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse. Very good.

Tags: Music and Entertainment