411 Music Fact Or Fiction 11.12.09: Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Lil Wayne, DMX, and Piracy!

Posted by Ben Czajkowski on 11.12.2009

Does Rihanna still deserve sympathy? Is Steven Tyler of Aerosmith easily replaceable as his bandmates make it out? Should the Lil Wayne rock album ever come out? Does DMX still deserve respect after dropping out of the MMA fight? 411’s Ben Czajkowski and Michael Knowles debate these topics and more in the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction: Music!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to 411Music Fact or Fiction! Another awesome day in the 411Mania Towers. I'm your host, Ben Czajkowksi.

Sorry about missing last week. Life was sooo busy with work and such. But, no worries. We're here now!

I am joined by the esteemed Mike Knowles. He and I are debating this week's question set. Whooooo! It's a good one, too, folks.

Alright, let's do this!

READY?! FIGHT!!

Round 1

Question: Aerosmith replacing Steven Tyler wouldn't be a big deal at this point. They're one step away from a hospice anyway. (Read 1) (Read 2) And most recent: (Read 3)

Ben Czajkowski: FICTION.

It would be a huge deal to replace Tyler. He is an iconic frontman that has steered his band through multiple decades. As one of the best-selling U.S. bands, Tyler's signature look is honestly what gives the band the "recognizability" that has helped them stay afloat over the last several decades. And, at this point, why replace him? Why not just hang it up, sit back, relax, and enjoy the huge pile of money that you've amassed. Yeah, Tyler might be flaky with phone calls and communication, but you'll never be able to replace him; no matter how hard you try. He's like Kurt Cobain, Freddy Mercury, or a Beatle.

Mike Knowles: FACT . 

Steven Tyler is one of those people that I consider irreplaceable in the music industry. Aerosmith as a whole had a lot of tasty tunes, but if it weren't for Steve's glam look and ridiculously large mouth, I think Aerosmith wouldn't be as popular. For casual listeners such as myself, I can't name another member of the band, but this guy comes to mind whenever anyone mentions the words "rock frontman". I'd put him alongside Mick Jagger, Vince Neil, and Roger Daltrey in terms of recognition. You hear his voice and you can name him.

The way I see it, Aerosmith are a husk of their former selves as it is. They're too damn old; and despite having their own Guitar Hero, haven't replicated the amount of success the Rolling Stones have retained despite having a combined age somewhere in the thousands. They're just not very good anymore, and pretty much irrelevant in modern music. It's a shame really. Regardless, Steven Tyler leaving the band would be the final nail in the collective coffin of Aerosmith.

Score Card: 0 for 1

Round 2
Question: DMX backing out of the MMA match because they wouldn't fix it in his favor further destroys his cred. (Read 1) (Read 2)
Ben Czajkowski: FACT. This saddened me. I wanted to see DMX get the shit kicked out of him by an up-and-coming dude. At this point, I have no respect left for DMX, so his choice to back out of the fight just makes me shake my head and shrug. All I can say is: Let's go Coolio! "Too much television watching got me chasing dreams."
Mike Knowles: FACT .  What cred has DMX got left? The guy's a criminal idiot. The only two things I've heard recently about the guy are him getting arrested last year and that song "X Gon' Give It To Ya" that he released a couple of years ago, because it was quite good. Wanting to fix an MMA fight shows that the guy is all mouth and no balls. Typical wannabe street fighter talk. Sure, DMX could probably rough a guy up in the street if he jumped him, but he's a pedestrian in comparison to trained MMA fighters. He should go to TNA. They'll take anyone. DMX vs. Hulk Hogan for Bound For Glory 2010.
Score Card: 1 for 2

Round 3
Question: If Michael Jackson liked peeing in public, this only adds to the image of his mental instability. (Read 1) (Read 2)
Ben Czajkowski: FICTION. Just. Fucking. Weird. I can't pee in public to save my soul, and MJ went around flashing his junk to people as he peed? If that's true, I guess that's where the identification of the crotch anomaly came from during the child-sex accusation stuff. I know people have their perversions and hang-ups, and we live in a pretty repressed society, sometimes. This, though, is just out there. Thank God there is no video footage (hopefully not) because it would be such a fiasco. Just let the man rest in piece. Jesus.
Mike Knowles: FICTION .  How the hell can you add to MJs mental instability? We are talking about a man who's public image is that of a pedophile, baby-dangling, elephant mans bone-stealing, plastic surgery-worshipping wisp of a man with dead patches on his legs. Also, as someone who lives in Reading, UK, people urinating in the streets is nothing new to me. I just wish that everyone would let the poor guy rest in peace. He clearly had an awful childhood, and his entire adulthood was spent in the limelight. What's the point in digging deeper to find more weird stuff about him? He's dead; let him die.
Score Card: 1 for 3

Round 4

Question: The Lil' Wayne rock album is still a terrible idea. It should never be released.

Mike Knowles: FICTION.

What's the harm in trying something a little different? It's not like rock and rap don't go together. My only worry is that rock+rap has all been done before, and this would be brushed off because of a lack of originality. That could end up being really damaging to Lil' Wayne's music career, ending in him being a bit of a joke. Like he's not already. Unfortunately his rap skills are nothing special. I think it could be sick if it's pulled off correctly. They'd better make it real heavy to counter Lil' Waynes rapping. Otherwise it could be weak. Or He could improve his rapping. I don't really care.

Ben Czajkowski: FACT. 

Cross-genre works happen, but they suck. I'll be honest: I cannot name a single one that has been pleasing to me. And that bullshit Linkin Park/Jay-Z shit does not count. Yeah, I know that rock/rap have been collaborating for year. Problem is, Lil' Wayne has no talent as a rapper, to begin with. And as a rocker, HE SUCKS EVEN MORE! Have you listened to any of the stuff that was released online? "Prom Queen" is garbage. This piece of shit is one more bump back away from being shelved permanently. And I hope it gets there. 

Score Card: 1 for 4

Round 5
Question: God! When will Rihanna just shut up and go away? Your sympathies for her have long since worn off. She's not even all that good to begin with. (Read 1) (Read 2) (Read 3) (Read 4)
Mike Knowles: FACT. I have never been a fan of Rhianna. I think her voice is HORRIBLE. The fact that she was abused by Chris Brown means nothing to me. In a world where there is so much domestic abuse between couples, I don't see why the hell she should get so much more sympathy. All violence between people is bad, but why talk about it to the press? Money? I didn't wake up this morning and see front page news about a woman in Bristol telling her sensational story about her husband kicking her in the head. Why would they ever want to talk about it when it's bad memories? It does look like she's milking it now. It's a shame that anything that happens to her; good or bad, will never improve her awful singing.
Ben Czajkowski: FACT .  Yeah, this has been a media clusterfuck. Are they together? Are they not together? Are they bashing one another? WHO CARES! I hate browsing for news or checking my amazing 411Music RSS feed and Twitter stream to see so many things talking about Rihanna and/or Chris Brown. It annoys me almost as much as the Michael Jackson drama stuff. These are personal matters that belong to these people. And the most I hear it talked about, the less sympathy I have. It sucks, but that's the way it goes: desensitization to the situation.
Score Card: 2 for 5

Round 6
Question: If music pirates allegedly spend the most money on buying music, then the record labels should quit blaming them and fix their business model.
Mike Knowles: FICTION. God forbid that CD prices are raised further. I've personally had enough of the whole piracy issue. It's something that is clearly out of the control of governments across the world, so what's the point in continuing to pursue this? Let the pirates be pirates, and the people who remain loyal to the music industry can continue to buy CDs and stuff. I think that most people have already chosen what they do to get music, so just forget it. It's all just pissing in the wind, and an expensive piss at that. They should make it the choice of the bands to pursue it further, like Metallica with Napster. Oh wait…I forgot how that turned out. Lars became Lar$.
Ben Czajkowski: FACT .  As a "pirate" myself, I find the things I want to listen to, judge if they're worth my money, and if I want to support the bands, I do. So, I agree with what the study found. And being surrounded by technical-savvy people day in and day out, they have the same habits I do. So, from my worldview, we see there are major flaws, and we circumvent that. I do approve of how many bands are streaming their albums before the albums go on sale, but it's such a small change. Because of this, I haven't really bootlegged much in the last six months. I can save my bandwidth and flip through easier. Case in point: Them Crooked Vultures leaked this past week. Instead of bootlegging the album, I just listened to their sanctioned YouTube stream. Granted, I'm not really inclined to buy it after listening. The labels have spent so much time, effort, money, propaganda, etc. blaming everyone else for their archaic business model that it's left them high and dry. Yeah, record sales are down, for the most part but there are SO MANY reasons for that, over the better part of the decade. Piracy is one of them, sure, but TEN YEARS later, the model should have been adapted to allow for a shift. The major labels still seem to be in denial that there has been a fundamental paradigm shift in the way that the public, at large, wants their music delivered to them, how we listen, what we listen to, and how much bullshit we're still willing to put up with from them and mediocre bands jammed down our throats.
Score Card: 2 for 6

Anything you agree with? Disagree with? Sound off in the comment section.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!