Music's 3R's 02.08.10: Taylor Swift Backlash, Eminem and Kim Together?, Fall Out Boy Possibly Breaking Up, More

Posted by Aaron Titan on 02.08.2010

From the backlash of Taylor Swift's Grammy success to rumors of Eminem and Kim Mathers reuniting, Mary J. Blige's new cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," Fall Out Boy possibly ending, and a commentary on the trend of "hiatuses" in the music business, 411's Aaron Titan brings you all the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous in the music world in this week’s edition of Music 3R’s.



Greetings

What up motherfuckers! Aaron Titan here with another edition of the Music 3R's. Hope all is well with you and yours. Another long, cold week, but I celebrated my birthday recently and my tired bones feel another year older. Special thanks to my good friends who came out and got merry with me. Pinot grigio never tasted so great!

The column has news beats represented in all three categories this week, but be forewarned that I didn't cover much. There wasn't a lot that tripped my trigger out there, but what I do cover this week I did with much gusto and verbiage. I found some bigger issues to comment on within certain stories, so hopefully you dig it. I had fun writing it while pounding coffee. Perhaps I'm just getting esoteric yet tired in my old age. Who knows!?

I'm choosing to not comment on the Dr. Conrad Murrary/Michael Jackson story until it fully develops, just FYI. Let me just briefly say that while the guy used poor judgment in what he provided to the King of Pop that ultimately led to his sudden passing, Michael Jackson was clearly an addict and doesn't deserve the martyr status he's receiving now. He left behind children because of his bad habit. Why is nobody calling him a jerk?! Yeah he could sing and dance and entertain, but the guy isn't a martyr and he's receiving the accolades of one STILL.

And here's your Opus of the Week…



Opus of the Week: NOLA

I took a road trip this weekend and before throwing NOLA on, I would've said that Metallica's S & M live album was the "Opus of the Week;" I had just listened to the first disc of that album and was about to trudge on through disc two even though I'd have to get my feet a little muddy on duds like "Human" and "Outlaw Torn;" however, I looked over at the empty passenger seat and saw a gem sitting there in its jewel case that I'd just happened to bring along for the ride as well.

Thirteen tracks later and I was like, "Man, that was so much better than what I was doing before!" Down's debut album is so fucking good and although I love Pantera (Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown are members of both groups for the unaware), I'd opt for the heavy yet more relaxing – for some reason I don't quite understand – riffs more oft than not. My preferences have changed now that I'm a working stiff instead of a raucous college kid.

Philip Anselmo sounds pretty decent on the album and the lyrics reek of the south, hazy clouds of smoke, and relaxed aggression, but overall, I just love the groove and mood of this album. It's like, "Yeah I'm metal while listening to this but I can also sip my whiskey rather than pound shots too (not while I'm driving obviously, but you get my point)". If you've never heard this album, you should really get on that shit man.

Down's also the shit live, and I hope once Phil and Rex are healthy – Phil's back is acting up on him again – they can get Down IV out and get back on the road where they belong. I saw Down headline a show with a righteous two and a half hour set back in 2008 and it was absolutely amazing.

Titan's Key Tracks: "Bury Me in Smoke," "Lifer," "Stone the Crow," "Temptation's Wings"

And for your convenience, here's a recent video interview with Down's Philip Anselmo giving updates on all things Down:





The Column

For those unfamiliar with the 3R's concept, here's the breakdown. I will be reporting and commenting on happenings in the music world and categorizing all the hoopla into three sections: the Right, the wRong, and the Ridiculous. The Right will feature news, albums, and announcements music-related that I'm personally stoked about. The wRong will be the bad versions of all three of the aforementioned. The Ridiculous is the worst of it all, that which makes good ol' Mr. Titan shake his head in perplexing amazement.

The Right



Taylor Swift Backlash: HAHAHAHAHA!!! I've found the whole Taylor Swift backlash deal from her Grammy success and performance to be really funny and entertaining this week. So yeah, 20-year-old Taylor Swift won the coveted Album of the Year honor at this year's Grammy Awards! Like I've said in the past, a Grammy award doesn't mean shit in the grand scheme of things, but really, Taylor Swift put out the best album of the Grammy calendar year? Really? Mastodon's Crack the Skye wasn't listened to by all those people? Hell, I would have even been happier with U2 being in the discussion, despite their album No Line in the Horizon not being the best among the rest of their catalogue. There are many more albums I could mention here, but let's be honest here; we both have other shit to do today, right?

Anyways, Taylor Swift is kind of a successful amalgam of the pop-country movement combined with the successful bubble-gumminess of the more recent boom of youth consumerism. Nevertheless, people dig her shit, so she has her place in the music world and will for a while probably.

She's been taking a lot of shit because of her Grammy performance, being off key and such. What do you think?





I mean, yeah, she didn't sound the greatest and being considered this year's penultimate artist, the one who had the greatest collective album of songs out of EVERYBODY ELSE, you'd think she'd have the chops to back it up. Let the backlash begin! The CEO of her label (Big Machine Records), Scott Borchetta, had this to say in Swift's defense [Credit: Rolling Stone]:

"Maybe she's not the best technical singer, but she's probably the best emotional singer because everybody else who gets up there and is technically perfect, people don't seem to want more of it."

"This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."

OK, yeah, but I wasn't emotionally moved by her performance, so where's the passion he's talking about? Somehow, she's connecting with people, but in the end, I think she's somewhat deserving of the post-Grammy backlash she's getting. How she's connecting with all these fans, and the Grammy powers-that-be, for that matter, I'm not sure. Here's an example to illustrate my point more clearly:

I love the band Primus and frontman Les Claypool's side-projects. I've been fortunate to see the original Primus lineup live once and Les Claypool's solo show twice. Now, Les Claypool isn't the most talented singer in the world. Heck, he's just plain goofy and not good. He makes up for that though in several ways. On the vocal front, he's always got extremely ‘out there' lyrics and backward-assed narrative stories. He's good at using those types of lyrics to comment on issues too ("American Life" from Sailing the Seas of Cheese is a good example). Besides that, he's one of the most fucking talented bassists I've ever heard or seen play. He makes the bass as or more prominent that the guitar instead of just being an accoutrement to the music. And he's fucking fast too! So while he's a lousy singer, he makes up for it, and the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Taylor Swift, while she's not terrible and can sing well enough, I guess I just can't rise to her defense and I just don't dig how she won so many damn Grammy trophies this year. Hell, she even broke one!

Well, I guess that's kind of punk rock and anti-establishment, right? Maybe she can work out some cross-genre stuff in the punk or hardcore realm on her next album, unless she's babysitting for the neighbors or something. God, I sound like such a cynic right now. Let's keep on keepin' on! Sorry Taylor!

The wRong



"Stairway to Heaven" Covered: Let me preface this by saying I'm not a big, pretentious, Led Zeppelin-is-the-greatest-band-of-all-time fan. I've liked Zeppelin for the better part of my childhood/adulthood and think they were incredibly influential in rock music and songwriting. But really, I just like their music when it comes down to it, especially all four Led Zeppelin albums and Houses of the Holy, and I happen to own their discography box set as well as the How the West Was Won 3-disc live album and the partner DVD. Yeah, I know! I'll pick up The Song Remains the Same sometime soon. I've been busy, OK?

So last week, something that I see as what we call lame in the music biz happened. Steve Vai, Mary J. Blige, Travis Barker, Michael Jackson's former guitarist Orianthi, and Randy Jackson (on bass guitar) went into a studio and recorded a cover of Led Zeppelin's classic "Stairway to Heaven." Now, I'm usually a fan of cover songs and there's a miniscule chance I could be a fan of this one, as I started off my writing venture in my girlfriend's coffee shop with Shadows Fall's cover of a Dangerous Toys tune ("Teasn' Pleasn'").

But like, if this group of musicians got together to record something, why the hell would you choose "Stairway?" I mean, it's…"Stairway to Heaven." Isn't this a song outlawed in most guitar shops? It's certainly kind of taboo to play it at a party or something. It's like one of those songs that was epic, but we all got over it after a while and the nerds who still think it's super epic kind of get made fun of behind their backs, don't they? Like, it's not a bad song, but I can think of at least ten Led Zeppelin songs that are better than "Stairway." Really, I can! Here we go, in no particular order:

1 – "Black Dog"
2 – "Kashmir"
3 – "Out on the Tiles"
4 – "Custard Pie"
5 – "What Is and What Should Never Be"
6 – "Moby Dick"
7 – "Going to California"
8 – "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"
9 – "No Quarter"
10 – "Bron-Yr-Aur"

OK, yeah, see! I could list many more, but my point's already been made sufficiently.

On top of all that, how the hell are they gonna' get the rights to release this song in any capacity other than for free on the Internet, even if that's going to be allowed in the end. I mean, Zeppelin doesn't really let their music get out there very often, unless it's for a crappy, sell-out car commercial or something. For example, they had to reshoot a scene based around this song in Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny movie because they couldn't get the rights to "Stairway" for the film. If The D can't get Zeppelin rights, how will Randy Jackson? He's far less metal than The D, and Dave Grohl was even in that film too! Maybe Steve Vai has some pull with Jimmy Page, but we'll see. Overall, I'm just not feeling the idea of this cover though.

The Ridiculous



Fall Out Boy Done?: There's been a bunch of rumors ever since Fall Out Boy went on the dreaded ‘h' word about whether the group would even pick up where they left off and just call it a day. Pete Wentz recently posted the following in his blog:

"i dont know the future of fall out boy. its embarrassing to say one thing and then have the future dictate another. as far as i know fall out boy is on break. (no one wants to say the "h" word). as much as i dont have a solo project, i also cant predict that id ever play in fall out boy again. not due to personal relationships as much as a band we grew apart. in this statement id like to include there is the possibility that fob will play again with out me or i will be a part of it when everyone is on the same page. it is no ones fault and there is no animosity about the decision. i felt as fans you deserve to know. there is no singular reason for this. the side projects or bands are supported by all members of the band. i am the single biggest fan of fob and if this is our legacy than so be it. i am proud of it."

First, a comment on this particular situation, then one to follow about the popular "hiatus" status in the music business over the last few years.

As a non-fan of Fall Out Boy, I'm not truly affected by whether they choose to go on as a band or not. That said, I acknowledge that they have a pretty large fan base that want to see them soldier on for another album and/or tour at some point down the line. I have a friend whose band played a show with them a while back and said they were all really nice guys.

Some bands can handle the bigness of when they blow up and "make it;" some can't and drift apart. Thus seems to be the case here. They've essentially got to decide whether there's enough there to pull the pieces together and give it another go-around or not. I heard their 2007 album Infinity on High was pretty decent and would be worth checking out even for non-fans like myself. We'll see though. I mean, Patrick Stump is working on solo stuff and some of the other guys are doing a side-project with Scott Ian (Anthrax) and Kieth Buckley (Every Time I Die) as part of the hardcore/metal group, The Damned Things. Pete Wentz has his mitts in a bunch of projects, such as a song with Blink-182's Mark Hoppus on the Alice in Wonderland Soundtrack album.

Now, this "hiatus" thing is becoming more of a trend for bands anymore and really, it makes sense on the business end if you stop and think about it. When you're tired of playing together as a band, you acknowledge that by collectively ending the recording/touring that you do as a group. Really though, to acknowledge this to your fans and the media, you have two options: call it a "break up" or call it a "hiatus." I see that the "hiatus" can have a nicer sound to it.

A hiatus sounds like you're tired of that project and need the pleasantries of a break while you and your bandmates still go out to dinner together and have cell phone chats from time to time. Don't worry though! You're all still friends and like each other, but you're just on a vacation from Fall Out Boy or System of a Down or whatever. You're nice to each other in the press (well for the most part, but you've got to stir the collective shit pot from time to time so people like me will write about your band and give you free press). Your fans will then tend to think of you as still a band and remain emotionally invested in you. They will feel more inclined to buy and wear your T-shirts or posters. They will still see you as something they can believe in (not that you can't do that with inactive bands/artists).

The fan-artist relationship is still active and thriving, much like that in the dating world. There's still give-and-take and you it's almost like you guys can still be together, or at least like "friends with benefits." If the band had broken up, there'd be all that baggage in the way and listening to the band or wearing their T-shirts might give you sad feelings about how you can never have the love you two once shared.

So yeah, that's my take on the "hiatus." Just don't get me started on the "indefinite hiatus;" that's just a fuckin' tease…



Eminem and Kim…PSYCH!: It was previously reported that Eminem and estranged wife Kim Mathers were back together and expecting a child. Eminem's label has since refuted that and said all the two do is remain amicable and share custody of their daughter. I was kind of hoping for "Kim, Pt. II," because that's one of my favorite Eminem songs. Yeah, OK! Let's move on, shall we? I know, that was filler and you expect better of me… HA!

Hasta Luego: Well, I felt very passionate this week about a few issues and got seven pages out of just four news beats and the "Opus of the Week" before YouTube clips and images were added. Not too shabby for taking the minimalist approach this week. Please feel free to add your own thoughts below, whether you're agreeing with me or calling me a dumbass. Either way's cool! I'm gonna' go get some food now! Cheers!

Soundtrack to the 3R's this week was played by the following artists…
Shadows Fall – "Teasn' Pleasn'"
Bob Dylan – "Highway 61 Revisited"
Lupe Fiasco – "I Gotcha"
Scandal – "The Warrior"
The White Stripes – "We're Going to Be Friends"
Foo Fighters – "Breakout"
Ween – "The F**ked Jam"
The Who – "Love Reign O'er Me"
Pantera – "Up Lift"
Nas – "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)"
Johnny Cash – "Man in Black"
The Beatles – "I've Just Seen a Face"
Rihanna – "Lemme Get That"
Sublime – "Waiting for My Ruca"
Rush – "Fly By Night"
Static-X (featuring Dave Mustaine) – "Lunatic"
Marilyn Manson – "New Model, No. 15"
Lamb of God – "Choke Sermon"
Soundgarden – "Nothing to Say"