ニック・ケイヴさん、Ｋ・ウェストさん論争参戦 「音楽と人格は別」

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストラリア人ミュージシャン、ニック・ケイヴさんは２７日、米ラッパーのカニエ・ウェストさんの最近の反ユダヤ主義的な発言について、「恥ずべきもの」だが、その音楽の才能は「人格における最悪な面」を超越しているとの見解を示した。（写真はニック・ケイヴさん）
　カルト的人気を誇るケイヴさんは新著について語るため、ロンドン文学祭で登壇した。発売されたばかりの自伝「Ｆａｉｔｈ， Ｈｏｐｅ ａｎｄ Ｃａｒｎａｇｅ（原題）」は、４０時間にわたるインタビューを元に書かれている。
　質疑応答の際にケイヴさんは、ウェストさんに言及。「私にとって彼は、この時代における最も偉大なアーティストだ。彼の音楽は大好きだ」と語った。
　ウェストさんは近年、奇異な行動が相次いでいる。２０２０年には、大統領選への出馬を表明するもすぐに撤回し、当時大統領だったドナルド・トランプ氏支持を表明した。また、奴隷になるのは「選択」だったとの発言で非難を浴びた。
　最近では反ユダヤ主義的、人種差別的言動を繰り返しており、多くの企業が提携を解消している。
　こうしたウェストさんの言動についてケイヴさんは「本当に残念だ。カニエの曲を聴きたくないと思うこともある」とした上で、「でも、私は作品に価値を置いている。（こうした言動は）個人的な選択だと思う」と話した。
　「自分の人格の最悪な面に永遠にとらわれたままではないだろう。彼の音楽と人格は別物だ」
　ケイヴさんはさらに、英人気歌手でバンド「ザ・スミス」の元ボーカル、モリッシーさんを例に挙げた。モリッシーさんは、移民に関する発言や、英国の極右政党への支持から人種差別主義者だと非難されている。
　「モリッシーは膨大な数の名曲を生み出してきたし、私たちの世代で最も美しい曲も幾つか作ってきた」としながらも「彼は容認されないような意見を持っている」と指摘した。
　「これは個人の選択だと考えている。独善的な人々が、自分がある種の上にいると思っているのを見るといらいらする」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/10/28-17:35）

Australian musician Nick Cave acknowledged that Kanye West's recent anti-Semitic comments were disgraceful but argued the superstar rapper's musical genius far exceeds the worst aspect of his character.
The rocker was at the annual London Literature Festival on Thursday to discuss Faith, Hope and Carnage, his new book created from more than 40 hours of interviews conducted by journalist Sean O'Hagan.
He's for me the greatest artist of our generation. I love his music, Cave said during a Q&A session.
The 45-year-old rapper has long been a contrarian, having half-heartedly run for US president in 2020 before throwing his weight behind Donald Trump. West also infamously said slavery was a choice.
But West's lean into white supremacist messaging went a step too far for his business partners this month, when he showed up at a Paris fashion show with a White Lives Matter shirt, then went on an anti-Semitic rant on Twitter.
The rapper and fashion mogul on Thursday said he had lost $2 billion in a single day after Adidas severed ties with him and Gap said they would remove his Yeezy Gap merchandise from their stores.
It's deeply disappointing to me, and for some time it might be difficult for me to listen to a Kanye record, said Cave. But I value the output more ... I think it's a personal choice.
The Aussie cult artist added that Kanye won't forever be trapped in the worst aspect of his character ... his music is a journey away from his character.
Cave pointed to another beloved artist, English singer and Smiths frontman Morrissey, who has faced accusations of racism over his rhetoric on immigration and his embrace of Britain's far-right party.
I think Morrissey has done an enormous amount of good work, he's written some of the most beautiful songs of my generation ... he has views that I guess are unacceptable, Cave said.
I think it's a personal choice. I get impatient about how self-righteous people seem (to have) a kind of superior position, he added.
Cave, dressed in his signature black suit, also joked earlier that, for his generation, it was our duty to be offensive.
He used to feel a free flow of contempt for every institution, our government, people around me, other musicians.
But that position was obliterated by the loss of my son, Cave said, an event that makes for harrowing reading in his new book.
Cave's macabre lyrics have long been influenced by the loss of one of his twins, Arthur. The 15-year-old fell off a cliff in 2015 near Brighton, England, where the family lives.
Cave also lost a half-brother of Arthur, Jethro Lazenby, aged 31, this year. The cause of death was not disclosed.