Adrianne Lenker speaks out against strangling joke bumper sticker
Adrianne Lenker has responded to a bumper sticker joke about strangling people who aren’t fans of her music.
The Big Thief vocalist and guitarist posted a photo of the bumper sticker on her Instagram story over the weekend, revealing a stock image of a man strangling a woman with the caption “when they don’t like adrianne lenker :/.”
In a statement (per Stereogum), the artist said that the sticker “makes me feel sick and sad”. She continued: “Even jokingly, I do not like the idea of any form of violence, verbal or otherwise, under the name of my music — which is created to create the opposite of that.
“I want my music to spread love, compassion, gentleness, self-respect and the respect of others.”
The musician continued by asking that if “someone you encounter does not like me or my music, it doesn’t matter”, adding: “Be kind to them please. There is enough fighting , the last thing I want is fighting over something as small as my music.
“This, to me, is sad. If you are a real fan of what I am creating, Wear kindness, and compassion on your sleeve, and be kind to those who disagree with you. Show love to those who dislike me. Thank you.”
In a follow-up post, Lenker added: “I know it’s meant to be a joke, but jokes can affect people too, jokes often have a sliver of truth. mean jokes are what bullies use. be conscious of the messages you are sending. you never know how it will affect someone. mean sarcasm has never felt good to me, and it’s all the more diminishing when someone makes light of your genuine response to that sarcasm.”
The artist concluded: “What I’m saying is, this doesn’t feel good to me.”
Earlier this month, Lenker announced her new solo record ‘Bright Future’, out March 22 via 4AD.
Written with “some of my favourite people” (Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson and Josefin Runsteen), Lenker united the trio at recording studio Double Infinity. “I had no idea what the outcome would be,” she said. “It was magical.
“I think the thing these people have in common, they are some of the best listeners I know musically,” she continued. “They have extreme presence.”
Lenker has also announced a series of tour dates in Europe, the UK and the US. Find tickets for the US dates here and any remaining UK/Europe tickets here.
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
