411 Music Fact Or Fiction 01.17.08: Week 41
Posted by Dan Haggerty on 01.17.2008
411’s Ben Czajkowski and Dan Marsicano enter the studio this week and take on the burning issues in the music industry: How surprising is Radiohead’s #1 debut after last year’s giveaway? Will AC/DC release a new album this year? Will Live Nation save us from Ticketmaster? Is Snoop Dog’s move into Rock a sign of trouble? All this and more, plus Amy Winehouse talks heroin in the quote of the week!
It's that time of the week again! The Music Zone is here to bring today's stories and yesterday's conventions under the spotlight of the internet music community and call out the facts and fiction of the whole sordid mess. Entering the studio this week are two men who continually tear down the house – Ben Czajkowski is holds down the news at the beginning of the week with Monday's All You Can't Live Without while Dan Marsicano holds up the columnist side of Mondays with the What The Hell Happened To… journey into classic catalogs! I'm the host and moderator for the show today, so let get it on…
Round 1!
1. You were surprised that Radiohead captured the #1 spot on the Billboard charts after they effectively gave their album away for free.
Ben Czajkowski: Fact. If you are unfamiliar with the fact that Radiohead originally released In Rainbows, their new disc, as a pay-what-you-want deal, then that is what the question refers to. It wasn't necessary free, originally, so much as users paid what they wanted. I was legitimately surprised when I read about Radiohead capturing a huge ranking! What caught my eye was the number of discs sold. I do believe it was about 112,000 to take the number one spot. That is incredibly low for a #1 seller. This furthers my ideal that people really want hard, legitimate copies of albums, and while digital is nice and convenient, "stuff" trumps a file on a computer any day. Maybe the number would have been higher (or lower) had the album not been released, accidentally, a week early, in some places. Originally, In Rainbows ranked at 156 because of some duckfucks' error. However, ultimately, all of the positive press about Radiohead recently, I believe, really helped propel this. I say good for them!
Dan Marsicano: Fiction: Radiohead getting #1 is not so surprising to me. Unless you were a hardcore fan of the band, you may have not even had known about the pay-what-you-want deal. Even if you did, some people are still hesitant to buy music off the internet and want a physical copy to be able to play in their cars and stereos. Personally, I've always been a fan of having a CD right in front of me, with the colorful booklet that goes into great details into the lyrics of each song. You also have to remember that this past week, there was nothing released. Well, almost nothing anyway. In Rainbows was the only high profile release, so that's why it got to the spot it did with so few sales. If this album came out any other week with a highly anticipated album coming out at the same time, the band's spot on the Billboard might have been different.
Score :0 for 1
2. We will finally see the release of an AC/DC album and world tour in 2008.
Ben Czajkowski: Fiction. Yes, because what the world needs is more hope that an old band is going to tour and sell tickets for $50 a seat and put out shitty music that isn't nearly as quality as it was 20 something years ago. I don't think we're going to see a new album this year from AC/DC. This has been in the writing process for three-ish years. The Plug Me In DVD will probably be all we see in terms of releases from AC/DC until at least 2009, assuming they ever put out another record. It would not surprise me, however, if they toured. Do I care? Not really. This question is basically GNR and Chinese Democracy copypasta with another band name.
Dan Marsicano: Fiction: I would have said fact to this because of the rumor that the band was actually working on both an album and a tour for 2008. Since I reported it on 411mania, I have read that that rumor has been crushed and that the band is doing nothing right now. However, that's not to say that we won't see anything of note from the band. I think they will release a new album…just not this year. Now, before everybody screams Chinese Democracy, as Ben already has, I think the perfect idea is for the band to work on the album in secret during the year. Then go on a tour, doesn't have to be of the world, during the summer of 2008. Then finish the record up and get it out early 2009. Of course, that's my perfect idea.
Score :1 for 2
3. The guitar riff in Rolling Stone's "Satisfaction" is one of the greatest guitar riffs in rock and roll history.
Ben Czajkowski: Fiction. I honestly have no idea how to answer this question. Sorry. My enjoyment of classic rock does not include the Rolling Stones. Frankly, I don't know which guitar riff this question is referring to. The song is full of them. And none of them sound particularly famous to me; maybe someone needs to put it in a car commercial; then I'd care and notice. And I'd whine about it.
Dan Marsicano: Fiction: These questions are all about personal opinion. To some people, "Satisfaction" is one of the greatest guitar riffs in rock and roll history. To others, such as myself and Ben, it really doesn't. Unlike Ben, I do listen to the Rolling Stones, and I do enjoy their work, but I can't bring myself to include that guitar riff as one of the greatest. To me, the riff in "Whole Lotta Love," "Paranoid," or "Highway Star" beats out "Satisfaction" by a mile. Then again, that's my musical taste.
Intermission Score :2 for 3
OK everyone… You know the words! Get some satisfaction while we switch:
"When I'm watchin' my TV
and that man comes on to tell me
how white my shirts can be.
Well he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
the same cigarrettes as me.
I can't get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, that's what I say."
SWITCH!
Round 2!
4. Live Nation entering the concert ticket business should provide some much need competition to help reduce prices.
Dan Marsicano: Fact: God, I hope so. Ticketmaster has always been hit and miss for me. I remember getting tickets for a Dream Theater concert last summer at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, that were about 20 rows back. I was excited, because those are decent seats. Imagine my surprise when I go back and try it again for concerts that fall under their jurisdiction. This will take business away from Ticketmaste, just to see how many seats have been sold, and finding tickets for the second row. Yeah, the second fucking row! Thanks Ticketmaster for screwing me over. So, I hope Live Nation will bring some competition to the ticket business, as a little friendly competition never hurt anyone.
Ben Czajkowski: Fact. Oh. Sweet. Mother. Of. God…Competition. That's what's going to drive down the cost of tickets. Knock on wood. What causes me to seethe the most is that Ticketmaster charges exorbitant service charges on top of an already bloated ticket price. Their process is shitty enough, as it is. Unfortunately, I can see this ticket race's impact going either way: Live Nation is either going to help or hurt this cause. Because I am the jaded cynic, I will believe that LN will increase the prices r; in return, TM will just jack up their prices to compensate for the lack of business. Or rainbows and kittens will appear and I won't have to mortgage my first house to see shitty bands.
Dan Marsicano: Fiction: Wait, jump start his career? I didn't even realize that his career was stalled. I mean, he sold almost three million copies in the first two months of his last release, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. Snoop is all over the television with his own show and his collaborations with rap artists such as Akon and R.Kelly became huge hits. Snoop's career is still going strong, so his desire to collaborate with rock stars is not a big deal, in my mind. Look at Timberland's last album. He collaborated with the Hives, Fall Out Boy, and She Wants Revenge and look at the success of that album. So let Snoop mix it up with some rock stars; he might have another hit album on his hands.
Ben Czajkowski: Fiction. What he fucking wants to do is keep his head above water. Rap is dead. And what's thriving in its place? Rock music, yet again. And if you want to keep making money, you learn to adapt your music to the trends in the marketplace or you're fucked. Snoop will always do hip hop; it's his staple. However, sometimes, you just have to try something else in hopes that it brings you a decent paycheck. Hence why Haggerty hooks on the weekend because he has a shitty job. Had to throw a dig at the moderator in somewhere.
[That was cheap, even for you Ben - And besides, I really don't see how I earn extra money to pay Ticketmaster prices is any of your business.]
Score :4 for 5
6. "Drinking long-term is a lot worse than doing heroin. Alcohol's a real poison." - Amy Winehouse in an interview with OK! Magazine.
Dan Marsicano: Fiction: God, I could find so many things wrong with this statement, but I'm going to keep it brief. Saying that alcohol is worse than heroin is like saying that McDonalds is worse than Burger King. They are both bad for you; no matter how much of it you take, whether in the short term or the long-term. Yes, drinking long term can hurt you, but so can doing heroin. What is wrong with Any Winehouse? Does she think about what she says before the words come out of her mouth? I'm going to go ahead and say no, no, no.
Ben Czajkowski: Fact. It's taken me a few days to really come to grips with this question and how I feel about this answer. Both ruin lives, but I have come to grips that alcohol does more damage to a more widespread group of people. And I think there are two main reasons. One is because of how easy to obtain, and the other is the legality of alcohol. I will not deny that heroin is probably way more addicting than alcohol, considering people get killed over it; they sell their shit; they steal; and let's not even talk about hygiene. Alcohol hooks people at a younger age and keeps many people for life. I think heroin's major drawback to not being as popular is the fact that it involves needles. And how many people do you know that are deathly afraid of them? Of those same people, how many of them can throw back their booze on a constant basis? I'd wager a good number of them. In the end, no one wins. Except rehab clinics and AA/NA meeting people.
Final Score: 4 for 6
Before we move on to the classic Fact or Fiction quote of the week, I'd like to reprint a post from Rick two weeks ago in Music's Fact or Fiction:
Hello, for sake of completion, is there any chance you can add a date and/or link to the source of your "Classic Fact or Fiction"?
Well Rick, that's a great idea. So I've done that this week for those who want to revisit these blasts from the past:
From The Archives - Classic 411Music Fact Or Fiction!
EM: FACT. I personally believe he sobered up long enough to realize he was talking about getting ready to be married to a man. Fortunately, his handlers were able to inject him with hallucinogens again and they were hitched under the watchful eye of his attorney, so he couldn't escape again.
And with that happy imagery from the mighty EM, we wrap up another week and foray into Fact or Fiction. I'd like to thank Dan and Ben for delivering the goods as always. Also, as always I'd also like to thank you for stopping in and making Fact or Fiction a part of your day. You make it happen baby, so don't be afraid of the comment section below and join in the discussion! I'm out of here for now, so I'll be seeing you this Friday in the The Mosh Pit, otherwise keep it real and I'll see you back here in seven.
