Do you listen to bands with shite lyrics?

[Raven X Army]

So I've been looking at the consistently crazy Pancho's pick ups and this thought started to lurk in the back of my mind...

[Raven X Army]

I admire people who said NO to this haha. You've got to stick to your principles.
I went with drawing the line
I'm not even talking about any of the Driver/RAC shit. That's to be stayed away from unless you're completely fucking devoid of any working bits of brain. I once had a conversation about this with Guav. Apparently he thought some Driver records were cool.

I spotted Strongarm Advent in the Pancho's want list. To this day I will defend this record as one of the best HC records of the 90s. When I first heard it, it literally blew my mind... But then I looked through the lyrics and god (no pun intended) were these guys a bunch of wallies.
Same goes for the rest of the religious HC. Who the fuck doesn't like Shelter or 108? But on lotus feet of your nearest svami wasn't a lot of it just fucking stupid?

It's 2024 and you have free access to Bill Nye the science guy or Neil the deep voice Tyson. So how the fuck are grown men with grey hair and them little pianos still on about some blue, flute playing, cow hopping babies?

Anyway, what I want to know where's the line in the sand as far as stupid in punk is concerned?
Driver a definite NO but OLC just about acceptable?
Is it OK for a die hard SXE kid to have The Real McKenzies Drink Some More (an awesome tune) sandwiched in the playlist between EXC The Discipline and STRIFE's Force of Change?
Because if something that goes against your personal beliefs, like B&H (not the photography shop lol) type shite, is a def no no then where does the buck stop? Genuinely curious.

[Raven X Army]

Considering the above I am now on the fence about buying Cappo's new book. On the one hand he's the nicest person I ever met.
So I'm rather curious: is he really that gullible at his fairly advanced age and still 100% stands behind all of that supernatural rubbish he claims to be believing, drinking feet water included or did he just inadvertently forced himself into a corner where he no longer believes any of that rubbish but this is the only way he can make a decent living by playing that stupid little piano and coning idiots to pay him money so they can go and look at some cows in India?
I thought the book might offer some insight. Or will it just be a wasted time I could have better spent on reading anything by Feynman, Sagan or Schrodinger?

[chungking48]

I clicked 'yes'.
I still listen to Shelter. I am sxe but I listen to Black Sabbath. The OLC LP is hard as hell. I like Morrissey.
I think part of the above is nostalgia. But also, I feel that none of the lyrics have any affect on me and my life. I do what I do in life and I believe that I am a good person. Listening to some people sing about things I don't necessarily agree with doesn't really change that. I think you can tolerate other people and listen to their opinions even if you don't agree. That's kinda what life is about. OK, so there may be an argument that by buying or listening to the above that I am 'supporting' these people. But at this point in life I genuinely do not care what people may think about what music I listen to.
I still buy the Shelter reissues, but I'm not buying the book.

[Raven X Army]

Morrissey is a proper tool. I have a good story for another time which involves him and my sister eating all of his food in Chester.
And I do have all of his records.
I understand the nostalgia etc and largely agree with what you're saying. Except that for me personally lyrics matter a great deal. I didn't grow up on USHC originally. I grew up on a steady anarchist diet of CRASS, Conflict and essays by BAkunin and Kropotkin. And while Conflict made some raging records Crass was mostly impossible to listen to but for the lyrics and killer artwork. I always wondered why HCPunk scene had absolutely zero tolerance for all the nazi bull but were fairly accepting and welcoming for all sorts of religious nutbaggery which could and did in many cases cause as much if not more damage.
All that aside I agree that people are free to do what they like, listen to what they like and say whatever they like, other than to call someone with a wrong pronoun or say something like: "women can't have knobs". But other than that you can definitely say whatever you like. Unless you're not gay then you can't play gay roles. Or a midget. Is it a midget? What do they call them nowadays? Dwarves? Little people? Someone please bring me up to date on the midgets. But yeah. Other than that you can definitely say what you like. Unless you live in Russia. Or America.