# Harry Nilsson: Douchebag **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413 "2019-08-09T16:46:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/1 "2019-08-09T16:46:08Z")
Just got done watching a [documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoFpvG5fb-0) about Harry Nilsson. I remember his music from when I was a kid. I didn’t think much of it then and that never changed. Now, I also don’t think much of him as a person. It doesn’t surprise me that he was a great friend of John Lennon’s. They can stand shoulder to shoulder in the annals of douchebaggery. What did puzzle me, a bit, was all the raving by his contemporaries about Harry’s voice. He always sounded just so nasal and whiny to me that I don’t see how anybody can give a wet shit what his range was. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/2 "2019-08-09T16:48:21Z")
I love Nilsson. But I love Lennon, too. I like snarky, funny people. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/3 "2019-08-09T16:50:50Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I love Nilsson. But I love Lennon, too. > I like snarky, funny people. We all do. How are you on abusive, family-abandoning alcoholics? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/4 "2019-08-09T17:03:45Z")
I certainly don’t wanna live with one. Musicians are still human. And subject to all human failings. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/5 "2019-08-09T17:05:55Z")
Personal failings don’t affect art–there’s an argument to be made that damaged people are more likely than the well adjusted to produce great art and that the results of successful art production are likely to exacerbate said personal failings. My dad’s an abusive, distant, alcoholic asshole but he doesn’t produce any sort of art at all so in my books that makes him double useless. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/6 "2019-08-09T17:10:12Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Personal failings don’t affect art–there’s an argument to be made that damaged people are more likely than the well adjusted to produce great art and that the results of successful art production are likely to exacerbate said personal failings. No doubt such an argument can be made. Whether that argument is the least bit compelling is an altogether different question. Does [Eric Gill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Gill)’s work outweigh his personal loathesomeness? ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/7 "2019-08-09T17:18:27Z")
[Harry Nilsson - How to write a song - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt8kY2V54iM) Creative genius. Undoubtedly an asshole at times. Did not manage his drugs and alcohol well. I’m a big fan of his work, not so much his life choices. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/8 "2019-08-09T17:18:41Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > No doubt such an argument can be made. Whether that argument is the least bit compelling is an altogether different question. Does [Eric Gill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Gill)’s work outweigh his personal loathesomeness? does it have to? it’s entirely possible to both appreciate his works AND abhor some of his behavior at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/9 "2019-08-09T17:20:50Z")
When normal people act like assholes, they’re held in check by the pushback from people around them; their friends will shun them, their spouse will leave them, their boss will fire them, the guy in the bar will punch them in the face, etc. So normal people learn to behave well enough to get by. People who become rich and powerful go beyond this limit. They’re insulated from the consequences of being an asshole. They can surround themselves with people who will put up with their asshole behavior. If they’re lucky, they’ll learn to hold themselves in check when they get to the point where other people won’t do it for them. But some people just revel in being as asshole. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/10 "2019-08-09T17:32:43Z")
Why watch a documentary about someone you despise? What’s the pay off? Confirmation? Righteous condemnation? Spread the word on the internet? Help me understand! I wouldn’t bother to watch a documentary about someone I don’t care about. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/11 "2019-08-09T17:34:44Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > No doubt such an argument can be made. Whether that argument is the least bit compelling is an altogether different question. Does [Eric Gill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Gill)’s work outweigh his personal loathesomeness? What I said was that personal failings do not affect the art. How a viewer feels about the artist can and often does affect their relationship with that person’s art but it does not change the objective worth of the art itself. Art becomes its own thing independent of the one who created it and often lives on long after the creator, with all their personal failings, is gone–how would it change our objective view of the Venus de Milo if we discovered the artist was a total asshole? Answer, not one bit. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/12 "2019-08-09T17:39:44Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Why watch a documentary about someone you despise? What’s the pay off? Confirmation? Righteous condemnation? Spread the word on the internet? Help me understand! > > I wouldn’t bother to watch a documentary about someone I don’t care about. I didn’t despise him before I saw the documentary. Apparently I didn’t make that clear enough for you in my OP? > [@](#): > > Now, I also don’t think much of him as a person. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/13 "2019-08-09T17:40:49Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > What I said was that personal failings do not affect the art. How a viewer feels about the artist can and often does affect their relationship with that person’s art but it does not change the objective worth of the art itself. Art becomes its own thing independent of the one who created it and often lives on long after the creator, with all their personal failings, is gone–how would it change our objective view of the Venus de Milo if we discovered the artist was a total asshole? Answer, not one bit. Can you still watch Bill Cosby’s shows or his stand-up act and laugh? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/14 "2019-08-09T17:45:17Z")
Dude, are you slow or what? Did you not notice that I VERY SPECIFICALLY stated that personal failings of an artist can and often do affect the relationship of a viewer to the art? Did you not comprehend what that means? Or are you being intentionally thick? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/15 "2019-08-09T17:47:55Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Dude, are you slow or what? Did you not notice that I VERY SPECIFICALLY stated that personal failings of an artist can and often do affect the relationship of a viewer to the art? Did you not comprehend what that means? Or are you being intentionally thick? We’re done, you and me. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/16 "2019-08-09T17:52:05Z")
Imagine my dismay. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/17 "2019-08-09T18:28:29Z")
It isn’t hard to do. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/18 "2019-08-09T18:33:06Z")
OP has missed the point. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/19 "2019-08-09T18:37:09Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > What I said was that personal failings do not affect the art. How a viewer feels about the artist can and often does affect their relationship with that person’s art but it does not change the objective worth of the art itself. I’d modify that with an exception for any case where any of their works of art are directly associated with (or a result of) their bad actions. kind of like Louis CK. none of his stand-up acts have anything to do with the things he made women watch him do, and shouldn’t discourage people who still find them (the stand up acts) to be funny. But when he made _I Love You Daddy_, that really strongly gave insight into his creepy proclivities and I don’t blame the outlets which cancelled their plans to show it. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413/20 "2019-08-09T18:37:28Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > OP has missed the point. No, I didn’t. If “Art becomes its own thing independent of the one who created it and often lives on long after the creator,” then Cosby’s comedy is independent of Cosby-as-rapist. Do you still laugh at his routines? His stage persona wasn’t who he really was as a person, after all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-nilsson-douchebag/838413.md?page=2)