Am I Allowed to Like This Song?

     (CHRIS and ALEX at a wedding.  A song comes on.)

CHRIS:  Hey Alex?

ALEX:  Yeah?

CHRIS:  Am I allowed to like this song?

ALEX:  Uh...I mean...

CHRIS:  I mean, I do like it, but am I allowed to?

ALEX:  Well, it's a great song.

CHRIS:  It is.

ALEX:  But he--

CHRIS:  Yeah.

ALEX:  The bad stuff.

CHRIS:  Yeah.

ALEX:  So...maybe...not?

CHRIS:  But question--

ALEX:  Yes.

CHRIS:  Is it possible--

ALEX:  Yes?

CHRIS:  That other people with good songs may have done bad stuff that we don't know about?

ALEX:  I mean...it's possible.

CHRIS:  Right.

ALEX:  But we KNOW about this guy.

CHRIS:  Right.

ALEX:  And you can't really do anything about the bad stuff you don't know.

CHRIS:  Right.

ALEX:  And the people who do it.

CHRIS:  Right.

ALEX:  So...

CHRIS:  But--

ALEX:  Yes?

CHRIS:  Many people worked on this song.

ALEX:  True.

CHRIS:  Not just this one guy.

ALEX:  True.

CHRIS:  Although he did write it.

ALEX:  Yes.

CHRIS:  And sing it.

ALEX:  True.

CHRIS:  And he got a producing credit.

ALEX:  Yes.

CHRIS:  But there were other people too.

ALEX:  You're right.

CHRIS:  And should we punish those people for this one--

ALEX:  But we do need to punish him.

CHRIS:  But he's dead.

ALEX:  Yes.

CHRIS:  So...can't really punish him now.

ALEX:  But we'd send a message.

CHRIS:  To who?

ALEX:  To...other people like him?

CHRIS:  True.

ALEX:  And to people who might work with people like him.

CHRIS:  That's true.

ALEX:  Right.

CHRIS:  That IS true.

ALEX:  But the again--

CHRIS:  Yes.

ALEX:  The song is in the culture.

CHRIS:  Yes.

ALEX:  It's IN the culture.

CHRIS:  It is.

ALEX:  We can't REMOVE it from the culture.

CHRIS:  But we don't have to play it.

ALEX:  We don't.

CHRIS:  We shouldn't.

ALEX:  We shouldn't?

CHRIS:  Should we?

ALEX:  But the damage has been done, hasn't it?

CHRIS:  Well--

ALEX:  And also--

CHRIS:  Yes?

ALEX:  What if we like the music while not liking the musician?

CHRIS:  Can we separate the two?

ALEX:  I think we can.

CHRIS:  We can?

ALEX:  We can.

CHRIS:  But doesn't liking something mean you have to, in some way, like the person who produces the thing?

ALEX:  I don't think you have to.

CHRIS:  You don't?

ALEX:  I don't think so.

CHRIS:  So I can listen?

    (A beat.)

ALEX:  I'm not sure you should listen.

CHRIS:  Me either.

ALEX:  And there are so many other songs.

CHRIS:  So many.

ALEX:  So many to listen to.

CHRIS:  So many to enjoy.

ALEX:  We don't need this one.

CHRIS:  We don't.

ALEX:  We don't need it.

CHRIS:  We don't.

ALEX:  We don't.

    (A beat.)

CHRIS:  We don't.

ALEX:  We don't.

     (A beat.)

CHRIS:  But if we don't dance to it--

ALEX:  Right.

CHRIS:  Then--

ALEX:  Yeah.

CHRIS:  I think that's fine.

ALEX:  You're right.

CHRIS:  I think so.

ALEX:  I think you're right.

CHRIS:  I think I'm right too.

     End of Play