411 Music Fact Or Fiction: Week 9
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 04.17.2007
Ben Czakowski and Samuel Berman talk up the new NIN record, ”American Idol”, Black Sabbath and more!
Welcome all to the ninth edition of the 411 Music Zone's Fact Or Fiction. Each week, two writers will be given statements regarding hot, up-to-the-minute music news and make a case as to whether that statement is fact or complete and utter bullshit (ie, fiction). And, just for the fuck of it, I'll be here to tally up how many times the writers agree. Got it?
This week it's another battle of the 411 Originals and the New Breed, as longtime columnist and guy who we Cannot Live Without, Ben "I swear don't know what happened to that email" Czajkowski, takes on recent Wrestling Zone crossover sensation, the ringofHonorable "Burnin'" Samuel Berman.
Here we go…
1. The whole crazy back story and "dystopian future" web sites revolving around NIN's Year Zero is an ingenious bit of marketing by Trent Reznor, but nothing more.
Ben Czakowski: FACT. I've been touting this piece of news since I first learned of the existence of Reznor's alternate reality series. He has gone to extremely elaborate lengths to pull this off, doctoring images, creating audio files, and telephone numbers with voicemails, email addresses, etc. The sum of the parts is that the whole thing has really created a huge buzz about Year Zero. And let's be honest. When was the last time you saw something like this just for a CD release? You don't. The only thing that comes to mind is the Matrix stuff that tied in with the movies. And with the talk of a movie and a video game ensuing, Reznor definitely wins this.
Samuel Berman: FACT. I think Ben pretty well said it. I'm not completely sure what ‘but nothing more' is supposed to imply, but I certainly agree that Reznor's approach has been ingenious and truly creative. Though I don't think these lengths would be good for most other artists (if only because of how stylized NIN tends to be), I think there's a lesson here for a lot of other musicians that sometimes going over the top can be a good thing.
Score: I'm the one (for 1) without a soul/I'm the one with this big fucking hole.
2. Paying $0.30 more for a DRM-free digital song download makes sense for consumers.
Ben Czakowski: FICTION. First of all, I don't believe that people should have to pay to put music onto their iPods and burn them to CDs. I, personally, feel that DRM is pointless and just increasing the prices is another way for the RIAA to make money. It's going to piss some people off, but a lot of them won't care. People are going to pay for the convenience sometimes, sure, but there are those people who obtain their music illegally, rip the DRM from the files, or just suck it up. With sites like www.ruckus.com offering free downloads for college students, I think this scheme is purely to make more money than it is to make it more convenient for music consumers.
Samuel Berman: FACT. I mean, I guess I'll go with ‘fact'. The truth is that paying for music isn't a bad thing. My real answer is that I don't think it matters much either way. With or without DRM technology, I'm vocally in favor of people paying for their music whenever possible. It's rare that I'll even copy a CD for someone unless the album is completely unavailable otherwise. I mean, if you want to listen to an artist's music (ESPECIALLY newer, up-and-coming acts), shouldn't you support them financially? Anyway, I'll get off the soapbox and back to the issue. Is there a massive difference between paying $0.99 and $1.29 for a song? Yes, but if that's the cost, then people will just choose whether or not to buy the song. It's all about choices. This amounts to asking whether it makes sense for a consumer to pay $2.85 a gallon for gas instead of $2.55. If the cost of gas is $2.85 and you want (or need) the gas, then guess what? You're going to be paying $2.85. If someone wants a DRM-free copy of a song, then they're going to pay the $0.30 more. End of story.
Score: Now the world is gone, I'm just one (for 2)/Oh God, help me (since Sam and Lars Ulrich seem to have so much in common)
3. The Broadway musical based on The Flaming Lips' music will flop and alienate the band's audience.
Ben Czakowski: FACT. This immediately sounded like a bad idea when I first read about it. Yes, I will agree that the Flaming Lips are a highly talented group of individuals, but I don't think it's going to translate well to Broadway. So, yes, it's going to alienate the fans…well, those of us that can afford to see anything on Broadway.
Samuel Berman: FACT, then FICTION. I think this is a two part question. (Ed. Note: Boolean logic would thus reduce your answer to FICTION.) Do I think the musical will flop? Yes, I do. I'm not particularly in touch with the Broadway theater scene, but it seems like the bubble may be getting close to bursting on the near-constant artist-inspired musicals that have been popping up over the last few years. Now, as for whether the play will alienate fans of the band, I'm going to say no. In most cases, fans of a particular band tend to view their artistic exploits with rose-colored glasses, and though they may not flock in droves to see the play, fans of The Flaming Lips will no doubt buy records by the dozens as soundtracks and further albums are released. I mean, does anyone really believe this is so egregious an error that the band's fan base is really going to jump ship?
Score: One (for 3) More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21
INXS says SWITCH!
4. Given his vast decline in popularity over the years, Howard Stern's claims that he is responsible for Sanjaya's continued presence on "American Idol" is ludicrous.
Samuel Berman: FACT. I don't watch "American Idol", so I've got to go global with this answer. Stern remains popular, but to think that his voice is so far reaching at this point is indeed ludicrous. "American Idol" gets upwards of 25 million viewers and a ridiculous percentage of those watching vote on the participants. To think that Stern's satellite radio listeners (estimated at about 5 million (Ed. Note: Stern's subscribing radio audience is actually in the 500,000 range)) would even make a dent in those numbers is silly. Wouldn't that mean Stern had what amounted to the most efficient voter mobilization operation in history? Yeah, I don't think so.
Ben Czakowski: FACT. It's good to see two things I loathe tied together here. I've never liked Stern and I haven't been an "AI" fan in years, but I tend to think that Stern is full of crap. I don't like Sanjaya, but the thought that Stern has been the sole reason responsible for Sanjaya's success, well, it just makes me do this little laugh of disgust that I am fond of. It's hard to believe that all the old ladies and people I work with, who absolutely love Sanjaya, are all part of the Howard Stern machine. I say this is a giant pile of BS.
Score: Cheek To (for 4) Cheek
5. With the recent release of The Dio Years and the Heaven And Hell tour, Ronnie James Dio will finally get the recognition he deserves for his work with the post-Ozzy Black Sabbath.
Samuel Berman: FICTION. Is it possible? Sure. However, the truth remains that many (perhaps even most) casual music fans associate Ozzy Osbourne with Black Sabbath and couldn't even tell you that Dio was in the group. Sabbath fans will probably attend the dozen or so announced shows on the tour in droves, but non-diehards will likely not take notice. I can't claim to be a particularly big fan of either Black Sabbath or Ronnie James Dio, so I suppose what I'm wondering is does Dio deserve some large amount of recognition that he's not getting?
Ben Czakowski: FICTION. No, I don't think so. I mean, I think Dio is a talented musician, and with the release of a remix CD and a new CD later this year, people are going to learn his name. But those are the same people who have been Black Sabbath fans since the Dark Ages. Even Zakk Wylde has a hard time, sometimes, breaking away from that designated role in Black Sabbath. In order for Dio to get the recognition he deserves, he's going to have to really, really, really get a lot of radio airplay and beat out other shitty music just for a 3-5 minute spot. I doubt it will happen, but I've seen stranger things.
Score: The new Sabbath The Dio Years album contains three (for 5) newly recorded Sabbath songs.
6. Modest Mouse's fall from last week's Top 10 proves that their #1 debut was merely a case of good timing.
Samuel Berman: FACT. Though I love the new album's title (it's We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank for the record) and have liked a lot of what I've heard from it (most notably "Missed the Boat" and "Little Motel"), I think that the band remains more of an alternative rather than the mainstream. Bearing me out is the precipitous drop from first place last week to eleventh on this week's charts. Certainly things weren't helped by the slew of new releases during the week, including ones from "can't miss" artists like Tim McGraw and Young Buck (rap and hip-hop albums always seem to have incredibly good debuts on the charts). Regardless of what the charts are saying, though, definitely check out We Were Dead…, especially if you liked their last record (the truly classic Good News For People Who Love Bad News.
Ben Czakowski: FACT. Oh, come the hell on. When I read that their CD pushed enough to take the first spot on the charts, I just laughed. My second reaction was that Neilsen had to have made some kind of mistake, like putting three extra zeros on the end of the figure. I will give them the credit that "Dash Board" has done itself justice. It never reached the number one seed; it was competing with bands that were just way too popular and, honestly, had better singles. I've always believed Modest Mouse to be a flash-hit, meaning they had one good song with "Float On", but that's it.
Final Score: Good News For (for 6) People Who Love Bad News
It was tight this week. Amazingly tight. Samuel Berman lost a couple points for not reducing his Boolean statement, while Ben lost a couple for having a name that I had to keep checking on how to spell. In the end though, both guys were DQ'd for not making an obvious joke when given a question containing the words "Broadway" and "Flaming". I mean, c'mon guys, Elton John's musical could've even been worked in here! So, for the ninth straight week, your winner is Mitch Michaels.
Thanks to Ben, Sam and YOU, John Q. ModestMouseTouchesMySoul for dropping by this week. Be on the lookout for more Music Fact Or Fiction!
