I am not anti- rock. Rock music comprises 20% of my collection. The remaining are Celtic, Jazz, Electronic, Standards and Classical. So there is still that ‘protective towards rock stars’ kind of attitude in me. Although things have been watered down through years of seeing the same old thing.

Photo courtesy of Starpulse

My first reaction upon reading the headline featuring the former Lost Prophet singer was that of “I told you so.” But then I realize, nope you can’t be sure. Even though I listened by chance to one of their albums in the early part of 2000s, I could not understand the kind of devotion some people in my circles were attributing to the band and the lead singer. After a day of seeing the trend go up on Google trends another thought occurred to me.

There are sick people out there who remained undiagnosed because they think they can handle it. And this becomes dangerous  when the mentally sick person acquires fame and a lot of money. Based on one link  I read, his ex girlfriend already notified the cops but her story was dismissed. Because hey. It’s Ian Watkins. He’s popular. Remember Jimmy Saville?

The same mentality proliferates everywhere like in Politics. The ‘you can’t touch us because we are powerful’ kind of thinking pervades. Yes, until the black hole becomes bigger and it swallows everything. And secrets could no longer be contained. If you think about it, what he did to his super fans’ were monstrous, asking them what to do to their babies while he watches and then “take it to the next level.”

I think few people in this world are half monsters. The monsters in their souls are lurking underneath the expensive suits and celebrity smiles. The monsters inside are just waiting for the right moment to pounce. I think given a chance, people would always succumb to their dark fantasies. I think this is because perversion and mutation are part of our evolution. It’s about the powerful eating the weak. The predator. The vampire. The werewolf.

When you think about it, most of these fans aren’t really there because they love the(rock) music. They pretend they do. But they’re don’t. They are there because they worship the rock star. The embodiment of sex, excess and physical beauty. After all, the rock scene is all about that-few if not all. The music is just a secondary tool that people will learn to appreciate after. But it is always about the youth, looks and eroticism.

I wonder what most of his fans think now. Do they want to put their minds in the washing machine hoping to remove the stains of idolizing him? Are they disappointed? You would be surprise to discover that there are those who actually love this. I mean why did Charles Manson got many converts that led to the slaughter of actress Sharon Tate and her friends? Who am I to judge Ian Watkins? Maybe I have my own monsters to deal with. But raping babies? Shit!

There are people who worship darkness and excess. I think it is because it is a primal need. Deep down inside part of us hope there is no such thing as law so we can do what we want. Just like animals. It is only through societal conditioning and religion that we try to curb these deep fantasies. But like I said, given the chance….