Whether he's a pop-punker, a rapper, or weed on any given day of the week, Machine Gun Kelly will not apologize for his art reflecting who he is. Which, in general, is a decent stance to take — except, maybe, when your art leads you to design a guitar shaped like a razor blade.
Kelly has responded to backlash following the unveiling of his line of Schecter signature guitars, bemoaning the fact that most people "constantly interpret" his artistic messaging incorrectly in a de-facto defence of his choices.
Although he has recently returned to making rap music, the Schecter axe is a full embodiment of the pop-punk aesthetic he's been embodying in recent years. The artist showed off the guitar on stage and explained to the crowd that it's "kind of an ode to [2020's] Tickets to My Downfall, the line on 'title track,' and also an ode to my twenties and all the crazy times I had."
The song "title track" sees Kelly sing, "I use a razor to take off the edge / 'Jump off the ledge,' they said." Although the musician has explained the lyric — he apparently literally uses a single-blade razor to shave his face because he has so much anxiety that he can't keep still, and it's the only time he takes out of the day for himself? — a lot of people on the internet have obviously taken it (and the guitar) as a glorification of self-harm.
"I'll never explain my art, because true art is conversational and always up for interpretation, but I will say, most of you constantly interpret it wrong," Kelly wrote on the website still wearing a Twitter name tag last night (January 10), essentially defending the guitar's design. "And then blame me for your version of what you think my art is. Ultimately I'm sad at how people perceive me in general. Peace."
That seems like a fair way to feel, as is feeling gross about a musician's signature guitar seemingly promoting cutting. This isn't fun for anyone!
Kelly has responded to backlash following the unveiling of his line of Schecter signature guitars, bemoaning the fact that most people "constantly interpret" his artistic messaging incorrectly in a de-facto defence of his choices.
Although he has recently returned to making rap music, the Schecter axe is a full embodiment of the pop-punk aesthetic he's been embodying in recent years. The artist showed off the guitar on stage and explained to the crowd that it's "kind of an ode to [2020's] Tickets to My Downfall, the line on 'title track,' and also an ode to my twenties and all the crazy times I had."
The song "title track" sees Kelly sing, "I use a razor to take off the edge / 'Jump off the ledge,' they said." Although the musician has explained the lyric — he apparently literally uses a single-blade razor to shave his face because he has so much anxiety that he can't keep still, and it's the only time he takes out of the day for himself? — a lot of people on the internet have obviously taken it (and the guitar) as a glorification of self-harm.
"I'll never explain my art, because true art is conversational and always up for interpretation, but I will say, most of you constantly interpret it wrong," Kelly wrote on the website still wearing a Twitter name tag last night (January 10), essentially defending the guitar's design. "And then blame me for your version of what you think my art is. Ultimately I'm sad at how people perceive me in general. Peace."
That seems like a fair way to feel, as is feeling gross about a musician's signature guitar seemingly promoting cutting. This isn't fun for anyone!