Music's 3R’s 01.21.12: LDR On SNL

Posted by Nick Krenn on 01.21.2012

From Chris Brown and Rihanna still hooking up and Lana Del Rey's SNL performance to Kings of Leon stealing shirt ideas, musicians against SOPA/PIPA and more, 411's Nick Krenn breaks down the Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous from the week in music!

Hello, I'm Nick Krenn, and I'm bringing you the newest edition of the most impolite 411mania column, Music 3R's, where I examine the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous in music, not to be confused with the excellent Love/Hate News Report written by John Downey. John takes a stance against smoking this week, and some readers don't like it. I always thought the only reason people smoke is so that they can look like dragons. That's my two cents. Also, be sure to read Chris Bell's column, 411 Music Ten Deep, where he counts down the ten best sleeper albums. Kinks' fans love this list. Both Chris and John write for Earbuddy.net, a music site that I run outside of 411mania. Be sure to check it out.

When I'm not disparaging the careers of mainstream musicians in this column, I'm writing 411mania's least appreciated column, Major Bands, Minor Labels. While MBML is never a headliner for 411mania music news, I do relish the fact that it gets a crazy amount of Tweets. I've changed the format up from what I was doing. If you want to download some free tunes, I think you'll appreciate the changes.

This week's 3R's may as well be a Valentine's Day edition as it focuses on love – the love of parents, the love of ridiculous fashion styles, the love of censorship, and the love of horrible music genres. Enjoy!



American Idol Dips in Ratings



Did anyone know American Idol started back this week? I didn't, but I wouldn't have watched if I had known. Many viewers felt the same apparently. Fox's staple show had the biggest year-over-year ratings drop for a premiere episode in the show's long running history. While the declined ratings were a disappointment, the show still outperformed everything else on television for the night, but many wonder how long the tired show can keep it up.

There are plenty of shows to compete with Idol, whether its NBC's three: The Voice, The Sing Off, and America's Got Talent and Fox's other singing competition and American Idol lookalike, The X-Factor. With an overly congested idea, viewers are bound to stop caring about any of them, especially when the winner only receives five minutes of fame, down ten minutes from Chris Daughtery's one time popularity.

All of the shows have already peaked in talent at just TWO – those being Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, both coming from American Idol. No one else has been memorable – even the winner on this past season of The Voice. I didn't watch, but I don't hear anyone saying "that person from The Voice" when talking about current music. I guess he/she didn't go anywhere.

Let American Idol die already. The four paychecks going to the pockets of Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler could be used towards actual scripted television shows that would likely get cancelled after airing two episodes (we're talking about Fox). However, one might stick. Here's an idea – throw Fringe on instead, give that show its just due for being smartly written and acted. But, no…we have to see the judges make silly faces over bad singers; that's HILARIOUS! I hope the ratings continue to drop, and I never see this show again.



Musicians Speak Out Against SOPA/PIPA



This past Wednesday saw an amazing Internet protest take place against the Stop Internet Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Acts. Wikipedia shut down, Reddit shut down, Tweets were fired off, Google blacked out their logo (still, I think they should have shut down their site). All of it worked successfully with many people signing petitions and government officials actually listening and dropping their support for the bills.

Not only are everyday joes against the two acts that could potentially ruin our Internet experience, but musicians, the very individuals affected by countless acts of piracy, don't like the bill either. Trent Reznor, Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls, OK Go and others all voiced their disapproval. An open letter from entertainment professionals stated the following.

As creative professionals, we experience copyright infringement on a very personal level. Commercial piracy is deeply unfair and pervasive leaks of unreleased films and music regularly interfere with the integrity of our creations. We are grateful for the measures policymakers have enacted to protect our works. We, along with the rest of society, have benefited immensely from a free and open Internet. It allows us to connect with our fans and reach new audiences. Using social media services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we can communicate directly with millions of fans and interact with them in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

It's nice to see some sanity amongst the artists. After the protest movement, SOPA/PIPA is unlikely to get passed; however, Megaupload fans are probably upset that the site has been shut down for violating piracy laws. Seven people connected with the site, including its founder, have been charged with "running an international criminal enterprise centered on copyright infringement on the Internet." As a guy that's used Megaupload in the past, it's a shame because not all of the activity is illegal. Several PR agencies used it as a way of sharing their artists' albums with reviewers like me and other members of 411's staff.

In response to the shutdown, hacker group Anonymous shut down websites for the Department of Justice, the RIAA, Universal Music Group and others. A DOJ spokesperson said, "We are having website problems, but we're not sure what it's from." However, Anonymous operative Barrett Brown reportedly commented, "It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.org."

A tweet from AnonOps read: "One thing is certain: EXPECT US! #Megaupload" An hour later, another tweet from the same account said, "Tango down! http://universalmusic.com & http://www.justice.gov// #Megaupload".

The group then brought up the recent SOPA battle over online piracy with their next tweet: "Let's just say, for #SOPA supporters their #SOPAblackout is today. #Anonymous."

All of this really begs the question, would the government even be able to control the Internet when Anonymous can control any website at free will?






Lana Del Rey's SNL Performance: Why So Serious?




John, fix your format back to the way it was. Inside joke there. Lana Del Rey made her debut appearance on Saturday Night Live this past Saturday despite being quite "new" and not having a debut album that is available to purchase (Born 2 Die is out January 31st). What has gotten Del Rey so much attention in the past months are her singles "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" that were mostly marketed to an indie listening audience, even though Del Rey is actually fronted by Interscope Records.

In the early months of her success with the singles, Interscope did a great job of hiding much involvement with Del Rey, possibly creating what I'm calling a fake record label -- Stranger Records, just to release her Video Games EP through to create some buzz. Many indie publications and bloggers were fooled at first. In order for any of them to like music, it has to be indie, not a drop of mainstream affiliation. However, Carles at Hipster Runoff did some digging behind the very attractive star and posted an interesting story on the singer's original start under her real name Lizzy Grant. The same post also pointed to her major label ties, which caused a commotion in the indie blogging community.

But if you're like me and you simply enjoy music because it's good rather than who releases it, then you didn't even pay much attention to the outcry against Del Rey. Many others did the same…until…this…past…Saturday.





The SNL performance drove many on-the-fence bloggers to side with the half demonizing Del Rey as a product of the mainstream music industry – all based on one live performance on a show not exactly known for defining moments in music history. Sure, Del Rey's vocals weren't on par with what we've heard, but they weren't outrageously bad. Most of us familiar with the songs already know that she goes from sultry and soulful to Britney Spears-baby voice. Were a couple of extra nervous quivers really that offending? It was her debut on national television. Her nerves also paralyzed her from having any stage presence. I'll also argue that her dress (a long, gorgeous gown) halted her movement for fear of tripping.

One nervous performance shouldn't cause the outpour of backlash that it did, so I'm going to assume, at the risk of making an ass out of ‘u' and ‘me' lol, that the main reason for the hatred was caused by Lana Del Rey appearing on SNL to begin with. It hammered home her perceived phoniness. Having just an EP warrants a trip to SNL? That was bought and paid for by Insterscope, maaannnn! Okay…so what? Are you mad that you actually liked a few songs that had no real "indie credibility"? Or are you mad because you were QUICK to the draw, typing up posts about the next big indie star, only to discover months later that she's not comparable to Annie Clark, Cate Le Bon, or Sharon Van Etten? Get over yourselves.

Lana Del Rey is a victim. Don't believe me? Let's play a game of clue. Del Rey's popularity was killed on Saturday Night Live (place) by bloggers (killer) using the Internet (weapon). But the bloggers had an accomplice in the form of the marketing and management at Interscope. After catering to the indie listeners for so long, they chose to push Del Rey to wider acceptance in one fell swoop rather than gradually building her popularity (you know, letting her debut album actually sell and gain some good word of mouth). Despite being well known by one group of music listeners (the hipster crowd), she was still virtually unknown to the mass public before her Saturday Night Live appearance. Many viewers didn't know either of Del Rey's songs or were accustomed to her singing style. Twitter exploded with comments from normal people and celebrities dissing her.

Actress/singer Juliette Lewis tweeted: "Wow watching this 'singer' on SNL is like watching a 12 year old in their bedroom when they're pretending to sing and perform. #signofourtimes."

Actress Eliza Dushku commented: "Who.....is.....this wack-a-doodle chick performing on #SNL..? Whaaaa?"

And NBC anchor (and self-identified hipster) Brian Williams said: "Brooklyn hipster Lana Del Rey had one of the worst outings in SNL history last night-- booked on the strength of her TWO SONG web EP, the least-experienced musical guest in the show's history, for starters..."

Only SNL's host for the night and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe seemed to defend the performance. While speaking from the BAFTA awards nominations, Radcliffe said the following, "It was unfortunate that people seemed to turn on her so quickly. I also think people are making it about things other than the performance. If you read what people are saying about her online, it's all about her past and her family, and stuff that's nobody else's business."

The family stuff that Radcliffe is responding about is Del Rey's millionaire father, Rob Grant, and her boarding school upbringing, more fuel adding to the flames behind the singer's fake image, one that some would call literally fake because of her surgery enhancements.

Interscope can't be satisfied that their gamble blew up in their hands, especially weeks before the album is set to release. A wiser decision would have been to not put Del Rey on SNL so quickly or continue catering to indie listeners with an Austin City Limits performance. Now the trail has been scorched with Del Rey losing her "indie darling" label and many people that didn't know her before the performance now view her as a joke rather than a real performer.

It's an unfortunate turn of events for the singer, and it's something that I believe has been thrust upon her unfairly. Going back to "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" before the unknown was known, I can still hear some magic behind those songs. And many Internet writers were posting about Lana's newer songs ("Born 2 Die", "Off To The Races") before SNL. Feelings are just going to change based on one crummy performance and her personal life? Continue liking her songs; the recordings haven't changed. Many of you once believed in Lana Del Rey.

I believe in Lana Del Rey.






Rihanna and Chris Brown Still Hooking Up?

According to tabloids like US Weekly (don't say they're a magazine) and "sources", the former couple of Rihanna and Chris Brown are still hooking up and have been doing so for the past year off and on, despite Brown having a girlfriend. And despite Brown beating Rihanna's ass like she owed him money. Whether or not the rumors are true is anyone's guess. However, Rihanna retweeted an interesting comment from a Wiz Khallifa fan.

RT @WizKhalllifa: #TheresNoReason to cheat, there never is. If you're not happy with the relationship then don't be a coward, just end it

Rihanna was asked about the tweet and replied that she simply liked it. This begs the question of whether or not it's in response to Brown cheating on his girlfriend with Rihanna. Is Rihanna saying that they're not cheating? Is Rihanna saying that Brown should dump his girlfriend to be with her? Who the hell knows? If Rihanna is back with Chris Brown, then someone needs to beat some sense into her. Or maybe it was already beat out of her. Who knows? Now here's a Rihanna onstage masturbation collage.











Kings of Leon or Kings of Theft?

Kings of Leon have been accused of ripping off indie noise-rock band No Age's rainbow logo. No Age's rainbow logo (appearing on the cover of the band's Get Hurt EP below) is quite popular in the indie punk community.




However, No Age recently discovered that another band seemed to be copying their iconic identifier.



Not lacking a sense of humor, the band commented, "t shirt designs by the kings of originality... looking good," after posting a picture of the shirt on their blog. The band also tweeted, "Imitation is the highest form of what now?" Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes responded, "THEY ARE THE WORST".

I stopped liking Kings of Leon around the time that the bird shat in the one guy's mouth, and they had to stop their concert. This doesn't surprise me, but most people won't know it's a rip off from another less known band. Kings of Leon have made a point in the past of demeaning indie bands (Arcade Fire), but they don't mind stealing ideas from them.



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And that does it for this week. If you want to chat about the stories I covered here, follow me on Twitter @earbuddy or leave me some comments below. Let me know where this column falls under the 3R's – meaning for you to rate it as Right, wRong, or Ridiculous. I promise to change nothing. Also, be sure to read my other indie-music oriented column Major Bands, Minor Labels on 411mania. And especially don't forget to check out the great writing at my music site Earbuddy, outside of 411mania for greatindie music reviews. Thank you for reading the Music 3R's.