Indie Rocker Ariel Pink Trolls Fox News’ Tucker Carlson in an Instant Classic
Cancel culturists are also hungrily gulping down the bait.
It’s not often that my music-reviewing sideline spills over into my passion for writing books about internet trolls, but, well, it’s happened again.
Lo-fi indie rocker Ariel Pink, former member of the Lilys (just like half the hipster musicians in LA), has been saying bizarre shit for years, giving interviewers the impression that he’s a misogynistic right-wing sympathizer or just generally batshit. He’s bon motted about “loving pedophiles” and claiming to be a supporter of the gay-hating loons at Westboro Baptist Church, while also playing the role of awkward, slip-on-wearing hipster dude who “always votes for whoever’s in charge.” Lots of hardy-hars. But last week he pulled off a whopper big enough to give Sacha Baron Cohen a run for his money.
Before we proceed, please note that I can’t prove any of this, I just believe it, the same way I believe that I’d get wet if I were to ever put my hand in water (I’m allergic to that stuff, by the way).
Ahem. While the entire world was still reeling from Trump’s (allegedly) sending his legion of QAnon Morlocks to ransack the US Capitol on a mission to rummage for Pizzagate evidence and rolls of fruity Mentos in the drawers of Nancy Pelosi’s desk, Pink was suddenly, out of nowhere, being interviewed by Tucker Carlson, bemoaning the fact that his recording career was over because he’d been “caught” (so it was claimed by an Instagram follower, who of course could have been his girlfriend or band-mate or whatnot posting under a fake account for all anyone knows) attending Trump’s rally.
It sure looked real. His record label even took to Twitter to announce that they had dropped him! Where could he possibly record his bedroom-laptop opuses? O Fortuna, guys, O for-fuckin-tuna.
Tucker, gravely and appropriately po-faced, sympathized. “So,” the Tuck-man said to Pink, “for going to a political rally, not participating in any violence, not seeing any violence… for that, your career disappeared in one day.”
“Yup,” said Pink. “No apologies, no support,” and blah blah blah.
Pink may as well have been wearing a Pepe The Frog tee shirt. In the aftermath, his fans rallied around him on social media, and MAGA dingbats who wouldn’t know an Ariel Pink tune from Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual,” swore to buy his albums that very instant.
Granted, like I said, the guy has confused the shit out of interviewers and fans alike for years now, and for all I know in the world, the lawsuit his former girlfriend threw at him for abuse wasn’t a publicity stunt.
So confusey. But Pink did leave a clue. He wore a big Star of David necklace during the interview, which one would never expect, given that in 2010 he said that he thought “Jewish national pride is silly since ‘potatoes are our brothers’” in a Heeb interview.
As one YouTube commenter observed: “This is some Andy Kauffman [sic] shit.”
Anyway, that.
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If you want to be fully, genuinely informed about the political troll/bot invasion of Election 2016, 2020, and Elections-Yet-To-Come, buy my book. There’s the tiniest bit of technical stuff in there, but you’ll get it, I promise. Another book is coming, but meanwhile, my Twitter is @esaeger.
