Please enjoy these five modern music conspiracy theories.

[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]

The universe is always throwing random curveballs at us puny humans, something that we find very hard to accept. We’re always looking for explanations for the weird, coincidental, and sometimes evil things that befall us.

Occam’s Razor, the idea that the simplest explanation for something is usually the correct one, just doesn’t cut it for some people. They need to know that there’s a reason, a plot, nefarious manipulations by persons unknown, that’s the cause of our suffering and confusion. They believe that bad things just don’t happen; someone or something must be behind it. Once they start pulling on threads, they begin to find “evidence” and “truth.” Before long, a conspiracy theory begins to form.

Such theories have been around for centuries, with tales of the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, and the Illuminati. Modern conspiracy theorists focus on the assassination of JFK, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bilderberg group, whatever goes on behind the scenes at the Davos meetings in Switzerland every year, chemtrails, Sandy Hook as a “false flag,” fake moon landings, flat-earth proponents, anti-vaxxers, and the “truth” behind 9/11. (“Controlled explosions! And how do you explain the collapse of WTC 5?”) And don’t get me started on all the QAnon nuttiness.

Thanks to the internet, there’s hardly an area of society untouched by some kind of conspiracy theory. That includes music.

[Keep reading.]