Leave Ariel Pink Alone

You probably hadn’t heard of Ariel Pink before last week, but you might’ve heard some of his music on shows like Castle, Bates Motel, and The Wilds. I’ve heard a few songs of his in various places over the years (he co-wrote the best song on MGMT’s latest album), and he seemed like an interesting guy but a bit esoteric for my tastes. His music has been described as “hauntological,” which I think means it’s kinda creepy and it makes you ponder the nature of existence. I don’t know about any of that, but he makes weird, gentle guitar pop and you might like it if you like that sort of thing.

Plus, “Butt-House Blondies” is possibly the most intriguingly evocative song title ever, so you have to give him that much.

Well, lots of people know who Ariel Pink is now, but it’s not the sort of attention anyone would want. Rania Aniftos, Billboard:

Mexican Summer has removed Ariel Pink from its roster following his attendance at a pro-Trump rally outside the White House on Wednesday (Jan. 6)…

Mexican Summer was set to release Odditties Sodomies Vol. 1, Sit n’ Spin, Odditties Sodomies Vol. 3, and Scared Famous/FF>> later this month, marking the final installments of its “Ariel Archives” series…

Pink clarified on Twitter that he was not a part of the mob because “I don’t and never have advocated for violent confrontation or rioting.”

Due to recent events, Mexican Summer and its staff have decided to end our working relationship with Ariel Rosenberg AKA Ariel Pink moving forward.

— Mexican Summer (@MexicanSummer) January 8, 2021

As his now-scuttled album titles and eponymous hair color might indicate, Pink isn’t your stereotypical Trump supporter. And now he’s out of a job because the music industry is about as tolerant as everybody else these days. He’s nowhere near as rich and famous as Kanye, so he can’t just retreat to a Wyoming ranch and wait for everybody to move on.

Pink talked to Tucker Carlson last night, and according to August Brown at the LA Times:

Days after attending a rally that led to a deadly right-wing insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the L.A. indie musician Ariel Pink tried to defend his actions on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show on Thursday.

“I had no choice, there’s nothing else for me to do,” Pink said, looking shaken and nervous. “I can’t even afford my lawyer right now…”

“I went to the White House to see our president, I went to the hotel, took a nap, end of story,” he said, claiming he was not at the site of the attempted overthrow of American government. “I was there for a peaceful rally, that’s all it was to me.”

“Sore winners” is right.

The LA Times says Pink “tried to defend his actions.” What actions? If Pink was involved in any of the rioting, nobody has bothered to try to prove it. He says he didn’t storm the Capitol. And he definitely wasn’t the one standing on that stage calling out Mike Pence for refusing to violate his oath to uphold the Constitution. (Thank God the rioters didn’t hurt or kill Pence, but it was closer than we realized.)

Pink doesn’t think Biden stole the election, and he’s “perfectly fine” with Biden as president. He’s not spreading conspiracy theories. He’s not condoning the Capitol riot that happened after he left. He’s not calling for anyone to be harassed or hurt in any way.

Ariel Pink was just… there.

So now you have to destroy his life?

Back in the ’60s, John Lennon made a wisecrack about the Beatles being “bigger than Jesus.” Fundamentalist Christians throughout America were outraged and publicly burned Beatles records in protest. If you’re doing this to Ariel Pink now, how are you any better than those people?

I’m as angry about the Capitol riot as anybody, and every single person who participated in it must be held accountable, up to and including the president of the United States. But this is just wrong. Speaking as a cuck RINO traitor who, as of last week, now hates Donald Trump more than I’ve hated any other president in my lifetime: Please leave Ariel Pink alone.