Can we agree that killing innocent people is wrong?
Pop music, of all things, made headlines this week. I’m sure you’ve heard, but just to be sure, a quick recap:
Macklemore (the Thrift Shop guy) said “Free Palestine” while opening for Ed Sheeran (the Shape of You guy). Subsequently, Macklemore was dropped from the tour’s lineup, with billionaire Robert Kraft saying Macklemore wouldn’t be allowed to play in his stadium.
In solidarity, Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe have announced they will no longer perform at planned shows with Sheeran. Beoga, who accompanied Sheeran as his live band on parts of the tour, have also stepped down. And a badly timed contest to open for Ed Sheeran has gone haywire.
People are upset for good reasons: because a billionaire dictates speech. Because Sheeran said the decision was out of his hands, even though he clearly has a lot of leverage. Because Sheeran said that his music is apolitical. The latter quickly came back at him because he used his platform to support Ukraine.
Ed Sheeran’s tour falling apart in this dumpster fire may very well be the end of the era of apolitical, all-pleasing pop music.
It’s obvious why Ed Sheeran tried to tiptoe around this issue. He’s Mr Nice Guy trying to please everyone. Supporting Ukraine is consensus-safe, but Israel-Palestine is messy: The atrocities of Hamas, the atrocities of Israel’s government, the European history of antisemitism, the pressure campaigns.
And while some quickly hail Macklemore as a newfound champion for the oppressed, let’s not forget that he was justifiably slammed for anti-Semitic imagery in the past.
But underneath all the details, historic reasonings, and whataboutisms, the reality in 2026 is that innocent people die in an asymmetrical war.
It’s neither complicated nor controversial to stand against it. But Sheeran chose the silence that keeps everyone comfortable. And it backfired spectacularly.
We built the bland pop machine ourselves
It would be convenient to stop scratching the issue here. The public can rightfully demand that artists with massive audiences stand up for something in the face of growing authoritarianism, inequality, and injustice. Especially if that something is just basic human rights.
Still, we can’t absolve ourselves of responsibility for pop music’s notoriously apolitical stance. For years, we kept telling the stars to please shut the fuck up and stop their virtue signalling from their privileged pedestals. What we got were polished pop stars of insultingly inoffensive blandness, a canvas for everyone to project onto whatever they believe.
These times are gone now.
Public discourse has unravelled. There used to be real consequences for spewing hate and lies. The boundaries of what can be said are pushed further to the extremes. Shouting outright racist shit barely has any consequences. Meanwhile, saying “Free Palestine” or booking an Israeli musician is met with outrage. And staying silent makes you immediately complicit.
None of this justifies Sheeran’s inaction. Nor does it undercut people’s desire for artists taking a stance for humanity.
But we also have to admit that outrage is cheap. It lets us feel like we did something while changing nothing. A placebo for action in an unhinged, dehumanised, paralysed world.
This week on Negative White
Neumatic Parlo Get Pulled Under in “Undertow” Video. On Monday, we hosted the premiere for Neumatic Parlo’s new music video. Undertow swiftly envelops you in a hazy tapestry of sound and blurs the edges of reality. A ritual descent into trance, amidst the ceaseless whirl of indie rock that draws generously on shoegaze.
