In defense of Doherty

Pete Doherty, easily one of the most controversial and hounded artists in modern music, has scheduled a solo album to be released on March 9th in the UK (no word on the US date, but one can assume around the same time). The album, which has yet to be titled, will feature the rest of Babyshambles, Dot Alison on guest vocals, and Graham Coxon playing guitar on every track except one.

It bears mentioning once again that Doherty is one of the most talented and heartfelt people making music today. This is easily forgotten as tabloids focus time and again on his drug addiction and legal troubles. Case in point: the announcement of the new album on the NME's website was overshadowed by Coxon himself, who shared on his blog a well-meaning post about Doherty's personal troubles--going so far as to say that the artist is a "scumbag magnet."

The tragedy of all this is that the quality of the former Libertine's work is lost in the shuffle of selling newspapers. So too is Doherty's own sensitivity to the world around him. Despite the "waster" image, Doherty has shown time and again to be acutely aware of the problems facing young people today (or perhaps that's why he's saddled with such a label). As this planet's economy swirls closer and closer to the drain, more artists like him are going to be needed.

Rarely mentioned is Doherty's alliance with Love Music Hate Racism. His lyrics speak intelligently to the frustration and alienation that kids feel in a world of shrinking opportunity. This writer remembers his first exposure to Doherty being not a shot of him shooting up or smoking crack, but an acoustic solo performance in front of thousands who marched against the war in Iraq after the 2004 European Social Forum.

Should we all hope that the artist get well, that he can one day conquer his addiction and get on the straight and narrow? Of course. But until we do away with a society that grinds people into the dust so much that they will look anywhere for an escape, then truly overcoming our demons is something of a pipe dream. That's a society Doherty has rejected through his entire music career. He should be supported for this, not villified.

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