That string of tweets from Car Seat Headrest's Will Toledo has now been met with opposition from another notable indie rock name. Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles took to Twitter yesterday (May 1), responding to Toledo's summation of the show.
After straight-up asking Toledo what he did with the money earned from the show's soundtrack (so far, he hasn't received a response), Stickles urged viewers: "Don't be afraid of the dialogue."
He goes on to outline his own battle with suicidal thoughts, and argues that "Pretending that suicide isn't real, and keeping it out of the art so it doesn't give anybody ideas, is the opposite of art's purpose."
He also singles out Toledo, claiming that just because a piece of art isn't helpful to "one particular indie rock singer," that doesn't mean it isn't helpful to others. Insisting that the world isn't one person's "private space," he claims that "real shit" is happening and "real artists" shouldn't be censored because "y'all can't deal."
Finally, he deems Toledo's approach — accepting money from the project and then bashing it and trying to take it away from viewers who do find the show helpful — "selfish and typically millennial."
Stickles did close by extending an offer to Toledo to "slide up in my DMs" to start a dialogue, but he has yet to publicly respond to Stickles's string of messages. Read the Titus Andronicus singer's side of the argument below.
@carseatheadrest At least sixty people want to know what happened to the money from the "kind of fucked" show to which you contributed yr song and I am one pic.twitter.com/gBhp4QOPoH
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) April 30, 2017
@lunis @carseatheadrest Don't be afraid of the dialogue
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest Well yeah -- the value of the song added to the "kind of fucked" thing, and, presumably, to someone's bank account
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest Also, "my deal" is that I have been "left behind" myself, and I have had my own suicidal obssesions
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest Pretending that suicide isn't real, and keeping it out of the art so it doesn't give anybody ideas, is the opposite of art's purpose
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest And just because one depiction of suicide doesn't "help" one particular indie rock singer doesn't mean that it doesn't help someone like me
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest And just because a depiction of a real thing doesn't give YOU the help YOU need, well, YOU are not the entire world
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest The world isn't yr private safe space, okay? Real shit is going on out here and the real artists don't wanna be censored bc y'all can't deal
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest If you don't like what you see on the screen, then turn it off and watch something else
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest Don't try to take away something that helps someone else just cuz it doesn't help you -- that's just plain selfish and typically millennial
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@mcyax34 @carseatheadrest And don't talk shit on the "bad guys" while you "add value" to their project and spend their money because THAT is "kind of fucked"
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@carseatheadrest Slide up in my DMs if you want to have any kind of dialogue about this because you, my friend, are way way off on this one, sorry to say
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
@carseatheadrest "Escape into the fantasy -- real life is not happening -- there is no teen suicide epidemic in America -- nor an opiate crisis -- party"
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
"MENTAL HEALTH ISN'T JUST *MY* STORY" https://t.co/4ze4YMnHM1
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 1, 2017
"I'll just leave this here..." - +@ https://t.co/xNC0dsTxfX NEW YORK CITY -- STAND UP
— Titus Andronicus (@TitusAndronicus) May 2, 2017
As reported yesterday (May 1), Netflix has confirmed that additional trigger warnings will be added to the first episode of the series.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can access information about 24-hour crisis centres across Canada here.
