# Contradictory philosophies by the same artist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165 "2013-01-23T23:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/1 "2013-01-23T23:58:31Z")
The Beatles said: _I don’t care too much for money For money can’t buy me love_ The Beatles also said :\* Money don’t get everything it’s true. What it don’t get I can’t use. Now gimme money (that’s what I want)\* Any other examples where an artist has given works with such opposite messages? Not restricted to songs, any medium will do. Feel free to cite movies, books, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/2 "2013-01-24T00:17:35Z")
Bob Dylan wote a song called “Time Passes Slowly.” Five years later he observed, “Time is a jet plane–it moves too fast.” ---
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/3 "2013-01-24T00:26:57Z")
While not as direct a contradiction, there’s the Robert Heinlein stuff. On the one hand he wrote Starship Troopers, which many people insist is a genuine representation of his beliefs at the time, which argues a pseudo-fascist highly militaristic (and presumably conservative) world view. On the other hand, he wrote Stranger in a Strange Land, which AIUI is all about free love and libertarianism. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/4 "2013-01-24T01:43:50Z")
In \*\*\*jfk, \*\*\* Kevin Costner played Jim Garrison, who asserted that there was a vast CIA-led conspiracy to kill John Kennedy. In Bull Durham, Costner tells Susan Sarandon “I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/5 "2013-01-24T02:01:34Z")
Love is wonderful. Love is terrible. Cite: every artist ever. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/6 "2013-01-24T02:10:43Z")
Leonard Nimoy wrote a book titled _I Am Not Spock_ and then later recanted his story and wrote _I Am Spock_ now I don’t know what to believe ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/7 "2013-01-24T02:43:57Z")
Charlie Daniels, back when he still had some cred as an “outlaw country” artist penned a line in _Long-haired country Boy_…“I don’t want much of nothing at all, but I will take another toke”. A few years later he got religion, or something and changed the line to “but I will tell another joke”. And wrote another song, _In America_, with the line “Some panty-waist judge lets a drug dealer go”. Apparently his views on cannabis had undergone a sea change. Or maybe he was just pandering to his perceived fan base. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/8 "2013-01-24T02:48:24Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The Beatles said: > > _I don’t care too much for money > For money can’t buy me love_ > The Beatles also said :\* > > Money don’t get everything it’s true. > What it don’t get I can’t use. > Now gimme money (that’s what I want)\* > Any other examples where an artist has given works with such opposite messages? > > Not restricted to songs, any medium will do. Feel free to cite movies, books, etc. For that matter one might compare the song _Taxman_ which is a strongly libertarian/conservative song that the Tea Party would enjoy to _Imagine_ which advocates a Godless communist utopia (essentially). Robert Heinlein’s novels might count too. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/9 "2013-01-24T03:58:57Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The Beatles also said : > _Money don’t get everything it’s true. > What it don’t get I can’t use. > Now gimme money (that’s what I want)_ The Beatles may have said it, but they didn’t write it. That song was written by Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford. (and I know I’m picking nits) mmm ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/10 "2013-01-24T04:21:17Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The Beatles said: > > _I don’t care too much for money > For money can’t buy me love_ > The Beatles also said :\* > > Money don’t get everything it’s true. > What it don’t get I can’t use. > Now gimme money (that’s what I want)\* And, of course, they complained that “You Never Give Me Your Money,” (Even though we did. Lots of it.) Actually, though, _The Beatles_ managed to directly contradict themselves within a single line of a single song. “Revolution 1” off the White Album: But when you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out (In). Love does something similar in “The Red Telephone” from “Forever Changes”: And if you want to count me, count me out/in. and And if you think I’m happy, paint me white/black. (In the _Love_ song, different vocalists sing the contradictory words at the same time [or maybe it is all Arthur Lee, multi-tracked]. In the _Beatles_’ song, the “in” is added at the end of the line.) > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > For that matter one might compare the song _Taxman_ which is a strongly libertarian/conservative song that the Tea Party would enjoy to _Imagine_ which advocates a Godless communist utopia (essentially). Although you are no doubt right that the Tea Party could get behind the song, I don’t think the fact that George didn’t like paying income tax at the 95% rate really tells us all that much about his underlying ideological attitudes. You do not have to be a libertarian to dislike paying that much in taxes; you do not even have to think it is wrong in principle. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/11 "2013-01-24T04:27:51Z")
On the same album, Dion complains about the antics of _Runaround Sue_ and the brags about being _The Wanderer_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/12 "2013-01-24T14:23:14Z")
> [@H3Knuckles](#): > > While not as direct a contradiction, there’s the Robert Heinlein stuff. On the one hand he wrote Starship Troopers, which many people insist is a genuine representation of his beliefs at the time, which argues a pseudo-fascist highly militaristic (and presumably conservative) world view. On the other hand, he wrote Stranger in a Strange Land, which AIUI is all about free love and libertarianism. Heinlein also wrote books where he expresses a strong belief in democracy ( **Double Star** ) and monarchy ( **Glory Road** ). ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/13 "2013-01-24T14:57:36Z")
“Take It Easy” and “Take It To the Limit,” two songs by the Eagles ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/14 "2013-01-24T14:59:52Z")
Speaking of artists contradicting themselves: [QUOTE=Walt Whitman] Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself - I contain multitudes! [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/15 "2013-01-24T15:51:04Z")
John Lennon: “I am the walrus” vs. “The walrus was Paul” More seriously, I believe Lennon later repudiated the hyper-jealousy of the Beatles song “Run For Your Life.” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/16 "2013-01-24T16:41:02Z")
Lynyrd Skynyrd did _.38 Special_ and _Gimme Back My Bullets_. The songs are superficially opposite in attitude towards guns. Somebody told me the second song is really referencing the band’s lack of hits. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/17 "2013-01-24T18:14:24Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Speaking of artists contradicting themselves: [Whitman Quote] And before Whitman [QUOTE=Ralph Waldo Emerson] A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/18 "2013-01-24T20:58:24Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > On the same album, Dion complains about the antics of _Runaround Sue_ and the brags about being _The Wanderer_. Not contradictory at all, but an excellent example of history’s double standard. A guy is a stud; a girl is a slut. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/19 "2013-01-26T14:26:07Z")
There’s a short-story collection where Asimov introduces his _In A Good Cause…_ by explaining that 15-20 years prior he was trying to write an unexpected happy ending: one where the reader doesn’t see it coming by dint of not realizing what a happy ending would be. He closes by explicitly admitting that his interest in the technique had blinded him to content; he didn’t notice that he disagrees with its philosophy until after it was published. (Humanity has spread to other worlds, each pretty much going its own way and occasionally warring on each other; we follow the adventures of an idealist who wants mankind to unite in the face of united aliens; a government official stymies our hero at every turn with forged documents and the occasional paid informant easy as breaking up the occasional peace conference. Turns out that bureaucrat’s plan has been to stir up that in-fighting for decades, with enough suspicion and mistrust to provoke a desperate arms race – such that Earth can now take on the aliens solo. See, we don’t need to unite with potential allies; we only need 'em to sit out the inevitable conflict, refusing to back either side.) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165/20 "2013-01-26T15:02:45Z")
Mark Rothko: [http://chatterbox.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c86d053ef016762eb3bd1970b-popup](http://chatterbox.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c86d053ef016762eb3bd1970b-popup) Mark Rothko: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/%27Magenta%2C_Black%2C_Green_on_Orange%27%2C_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_Mark_Rothko%2C_1947%2C_Museum_of_Modern_Art.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/%27Magenta%2C_Black%2C_Green_on_Orange%27%2C_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_Mark_Rothko%2C_1947%2C_Museum_of_Modern_Art.jpg) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contradictory-philosophies-by-the-same-artist/648165.md?page=2)