One half day later, with the marginal benefit of hindsight and the monumental benefit of sobriety, I'd like to follow-up on last night's cringe-worthy rant. Please feel free to cringe at this one too. Rest assured that I will also be doing my level best to cringe in sympathy on my end. Later, if so inclined, we can settle things the old-fashioned way, with a cringing duel.
I'd just like to recap a couple of my points. First, I find it exceedingly hard to believe that the Merzcast boys were benefiting financially from Merzbow. This is pure conjecture, but I'd be willing to bet that a random sampling of subscribers to the now-deleted Patreon would be shocked if anyone suggested they had subscribed because they were interested in viewing artwork that could be unlocked via subscription. I accept that Akita evidently did not see things the same way. From this point, the issue was in the realm of simple misunderstanding and / or miscommunication. And very quickly could have been water under the bridge.
The secondary Merz-lobbed salvo regarding Akita's very well self-documented interest in porn seems odd in the extreme from a person who once set himself up as some kind of authority on the subject of Japanese bondage. The only word that works for me is an old one, and it's an ugly one: censorship.
It is an irony, and a brutal irony, and has served to tarnish Akita's good name like none of his second-rate laptop noise ever could.
I feel sorry for all involved, including Akita, whose image will never recover among the vast majority of his long-time fans. Akita could not have waged a more effective self-character assassination campaign if he'd tried.
Just funny how these things work out. I'm still a fan of the man's sounds. But the name Masami Akita has now ascended to that special lofty realm occupied by the likes of Richard Rupenus and Juntaro Yamanouchi. Brutal company.
