Amid the growing trend of "fans" throwing objects at artists while they're performing came Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, and his idea that maybe some of 'em deserve it. On the opposite end of that opinion is Corey Taylor, who feels artists have never been treated more like trash than they are right now.
In an interview with Loudwire, Taylor addressed the growing trend and called out everyone who thinks that sort of behavior is alright. "The fact that people can’t understand how utterly dangerous it is to do shit like that, how utterly rude it is to treat people like that, how utterly incredible it is to think that you are so special that the show is just about you and not about anybody else around you… the level of entitlement that is being brought out in people is fucking disgusting."
Taylor also addressed the overarching problem of social media and being disconnected from interacting with people face-to-face, noting that artists are basically not even people anymore.
"Oh, it’s fucking ridiculous," he said. "This is one of the problems with social media. Now artists aren’t regarded as people anymore. Even if they never were, they were still regarded as something that is flesh and bone. They were something to obsess about, but at least they were a person."
"Now, because of the feeling of being even more removed from the human experience, now, you might as well just be a fucking soda machine or a phone booth for fuck sake. You’re an object, and you’re going to be treated as such."
The New York Times has an interesting article on the recent spate artists getting pelted with items, noting that it's essentially fans finding a way to become part of the show. Obviously it goes deeper than "some people are assholes" and becomes a whole psychological dive into concertgoers wanting to be part of the show vs. that idea quickly becoming a reality.
