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Was it confirmed that eric hard jams was actually him? How strange it is that we so easily forgive bad behavior from people we love.

_alaya 9mo ago
It’s strange but common. I love the music of Miles Davis and consider him a genius. I also give him a pretty poor review in terms of his behavior as a human being. People are complex.
- coldtea 9mo ago
  There's also that fact that Miles Davis doesn't get to review our own behavior as human beings. He might not have liked us as his audience either. His behavior is publicized, and ours (whether it is) is not.
spacechild1 9mo ago
It hasn't been confirmed 100% but I remember reading a post by James McCartney (author of SuperCollider) himself, going something like "Shut the fuck up, Richard!". Since they both knew each other personally, I assume that JMC thought that "eric hard jams" was indeed Richard James.
mft_ 9mo ago
It's not in vogue these days, but rather than forgiving, we can compartmentalise and rationalise. Being a bad person in one domain doesn't mean that someone can't generate value in another.
- Kreutzer 9mo ago
  The genius label we bestow on a select few is often a license to behave badly. I always enjoyed Richard’s music but never quite bought the stories told about him.
- shimman 9mo ago
  Why are you putting "value" above human decency? Maybe you shouldn't be considered to generate any "value" if you put misery on others, how can any "value" make up for the direct suffering? There are plenty people just the same, with the same capabilities without the quality of being a tarpit of suck.
  - publicdebates 9mo ago
    Is there really a distinction? Isn't the altruistic concept that we all have innate value also a statement of offering value, even by our mere existence? I find it so odd that people overlook severe faults in those whose other qualities they rather love and greatly appreciate. It seems so unjust, yet it's universal.
  - bigyabai 9mo ago
    A lot of James' discography is predicated on making other people suffer. The album art is offputting, the track listings are usually cluttered and useless, his music videos are scary and confusing, random tracks are designed to torture you (eg. Ventolin), and half of his music is released under unrelated aliases. If you're not familiar with Aphex Twin, it's hard to understand that this hatred does nothing to inhibit his success.
    - sneak 9mo ago
      Just because art is challenging and unpredictable doesn’t mean it’s interned to make you suffer. Is Giger’s art created to cause suffering? How about Beksiński’s paintings? The emotions they invoke are not happiness or joy, but neither are they purely dread or loathing. Aesthetic pursuit isn’t solely (or even primarily) about the emotions it conjures in the consumer. Remember: the customer is always right in matters of taste.
    - spacechild1 9mo ago
      What? Just because an artist makes artworks that some people find challenging does not mean that they hate their audience or want to make them suffer. Also, what you personally find offputting, other people may enjoy. For example, I don't find 'Ventolin' particularly challenging to listen to.
- hamburglar 9mo ago
  You guys are doing a lot of hand-wringing over what was likely just tongue-in-cheek trolling among people who considered each other friends. I could easily see creating a thinly veiled persona to do some annoyance of a close friend and call them an ass-licker in my early days. It’s a form of affection.
esperent 9mo ago
I mean, I haven't even seen any of the messages. Just a one sentence accusation and no proof that it was actually him. Jumping to the decision that there's anything to forgive would be weird based on this. Even if it was true, who cares? I like the guy's music, it's had a strong influence on me at various times in my life. But I have never had a strong opinion of whether I like him, and I still don't. Why would I?
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
bondarchuk 9mo ago
>Was it confirmed that eric hard jams was actually him? Nope. By then RDJ (the actual person) was of course known for using anagrams so it would be an obvious thing to do for any troll.
coldtea 9mo ago
>How strange it is that we so easily forgive bad behavior from people we love. That's part of what loving someone means. It's easy to love someone convenient who never does anything to bother or hurt you. Besides, he was trolling. It's not like it's a big deal. If you were on a mailing list or usenet group or forum in the 80s and 90s everybody did that, and few if any had an issue with it, we could take it! We not only forgive but tolerate 100000x worse stuff everyday that directly fucks our lives that we could prioritize not tolerating.
runjake 9mo ago
If you look in the right places, you'll find some meetup photos that essentially confirm it.
spacechild1 9mo ago
He (presumably) trolled a mailing list for a short period of time in the early 2000s. If that's the worst thing he's done, there's not much to forgive.

_alaya 9mo ago

It’s strange but common. I love the music of Miles Davis and consider him a genius. I also give him a pretty poor review in terms of his behavior as a human being. People are complex.

coldtea 9mo ago
There's also that fact that Miles Davis doesn't get to review our own behavior as human beings. He might not have liked us as his audience either. His behavior is publicized, and ours (whether it is) is not.

spacechild1 9mo ago

It hasn't been confirmed 100% but I remember reading a post by James McCartney (author of SuperCollider) himself, going something like "Shut the fuck up, Richard!". Since they both knew each other personally, I assume that JMC thought that "eric hard jams" was indeed Richard James.

mft_ 9mo ago

It's not in vogue these days, but rather than forgiving, we can compartmentalise and rationalise. Being a bad person in one domain doesn't mean that someone can't generate value in another.

Kreutzer 9mo ago
The genius label we bestow on a select few is often a license to behave badly. I always enjoyed Richard’s music but never quite bought the stories told about him.
shimman 9mo ago
Why are you putting "value" above human decency? Maybe you shouldn't be considered to generate any "value" if you put misery on others, how can any "value" make up for the direct suffering? There are plenty people just the same, with the same capabilities without the quality of being a tarpit of suck.
- publicdebates 9mo ago
  Is there really a distinction? Isn't the altruistic concept that we all have innate value also a statement of offering value, even by our mere existence? I find it so odd that people overlook severe faults in those whose other qualities they rather love and greatly appreciate. It seems so unjust, yet it's universal.
- bigyabai 9mo ago
  A lot of James' discography is predicated on making other people suffer. The album art is offputting, the track listings are usually cluttered and useless, his music videos are scary and confusing, random tracks are designed to torture you (eg. Ventolin), and half of his music is released under unrelated aliases. If you're not familiar with Aphex Twin, it's hard to understand that this hatred does nothing to inhibit his success.
  - sneak 9mo ago
    Just because art is challenging and unpredictable doesn’t mean it’s interned to make you suffer. Is Giger’s art created to cause suffering? How about Beksiński’s paintings? The emotions they invoke are not happiness or joy, but neither are they purely dread or loathing. Aesthetic pursuit isn’t solely (or even primarily) about the emotions it conjures in the consumer. Remember: the customer is always right in matters of taste.
  - spacechild1 9mo ago
    What? Just because an artist makes artworks that some people find challenging does not mean that they hate their audience or want to make them suffer. Also, what you personally find offputting, other people may enjoy. For example, I don't find 'Ventolin' particularly challenging to listen to.
hamburglar 9mo ago
You guys are doing a lot of hand-wringing over what was likely just tongue-in-cheek trolling among people who considered each other friends. I could easily see creating a thinly veiled persona to do some annoyance of a close friend and call them an ass-licker in my early days. It’s a form of affection.

esperent 9mo ago

I mean, I haven't even seen any of the messages. Just a one sentence accusation and no proof that it was actually him. Jumping to the decision that there's anything to forgive would be weird based on this. Even if it was true, who cares? I like the guy's music, it's had a strong influence on me at various times in my life. But I have never had a strong opinion of whether I like him, and I still don't. Why would I?

deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]

bondarchuk 9mo ago

>Was it confirmed that eric hard jams was actually him? Nope. By then RDJ (the actual person) was of course known for using anagrams so it would be an obvious thing to do for any troll.

coldtea 9mo ago

>How strange it is that we so easily forgive bad behavior from people we love. That's part of what loving someone means. It's easy to love someone convenient who never does anything to bother or hurt you. Besides, he was trolling. It's not like it's a big deal. If you were on a mailing list or usenet group or forum in the 80s and 90s everybody did that, and few if any had an issue with it, we could take it! We not only forgive but tolerate 100000x worse stuff everyday that directly fucks our lives that we could prioritize not tolerating.

runjake 9mo ago

If you look in the right places, you'll find some meetup photos that essentially confirm it.

spacechild1 9mo ago

He (presumably) trolled a mailing list for a short period of time in the early 2000s. If that's the worst thing he's done, there's not much to forgive.