411 Music's Fact Or Fiction 5.14.08: Week 56

Posted by Dan Haggerty on 05.14.2008

This week in the music studio, Blake Lauderback and Rob Samuels join forces to take on the real music news you want to know: Is DMX going down? Can AC/DC still deliver a good album? Will Pink Floyd ever reunite? Is Jay-Z smart money for Glastonbury? I get to set the guys off by asking if Eric Clapton is overrated and a classic Beatles performance is your video of the week!

Oh my, is it Wednesday again? Oh hell yea. And you know what that means… Fact or Fiction! Time to roll up the sleeves and hit the ground, asking the tough questions normal mags on the rack are scared to ask. That's the great thing about 411Mania – We don't write for the fans, we're fans just like you and we're sounding off together baby!

It worked so well last time, I asked the same two columnists to return to join forces and tear the house down one more time. First up we have the man who brings you The Classic Record Review, Rob Samuels! Joining him is the man who answers your music questions in Ask 411 Music, Blake Lauderback. As for me, I ask questions, and blah, blah, blah… You know the drill.

Right?

Hey – Its Music… Its news… And we're 411 so you're getting real views!







Round 1!




1. DMX is SOL…

ORLY?

Blake Lauderback: Fact - I am going to go the fact route, because, yes, he is in deep with the law. That much is blatantly obvious due to his multiple arrests in one week. However, I don't think that these events will hurt his reputation or "street cred." (Is that what you crazy kids are still calling it?) An artist being busted for drugs in almost not even news worthy at this point, both in the rap community and the music community in general. In fact, wouldn't we all be more surprised if someone like Snoop Dogg or Keith Richards was stopped and they did NOT have some kind of drugs on them?

The real issue at hand is the potential damage that the dog-fighting situation could have on his career. With out a doubt, the biggest "incident" of this type has to be the Michael Vick scandal, which I believe to be different for one major reason. The NFL was scared about a potential backlash from PETA and their peers. In efforts to avoid scandal, the league attempted to distance their selves from Vick. In the music world, even negative publicity is good publicity; so don't be surprised if DMX enjoys a little return to the spotlight… after a little hard time of course.

Rob Samuels: Fact - There's no surprise whatsoever that a rapper has been arrested for drug use. Who gives a shit about that? The whole dog scandal is frankly appalling, I can't really discuss that without branding DMX with some unkind moniker, so I shan't. What I will say is, if found guilty this utterly appalling excuse for a human being (oops) deserves all the punishment he receives.


Score : 1 for 1




2. AC/DC will deliver the goods on their new album.

Blake Lauderback: Fact - I suppose this one comes down to perception. In my mind, good bands make good music, and these guys are definitely a good band. The problem that occasionally occurs in these types of situations is that the fans of said band have spent years and years building up their expectations of what another AC/DC album would be like. Such expectations can ruin comebacks for even the greatest of bands. I am sure this album will be no different. There will be fans claiming that it is just as cool as the second coming of Christ, and there will be fans calling for the apocalypse. What it really boils down to is, this is a very solid hard rock band that has more talent in their little fingers than most bands out and about today. Whatever they put out, even if it isn't the end all, be all of music, will be excellent.

Rob Samuels: Fiction - I agree in a sense with what Blake has said (well written, but lets not quibble over semantics) in that with any album of this nature each individuals perception makes a huge difference to what is being heard. I am a huge AC/DC fan, and am praying that the album will be accompanied by a tour (preferably with some UK dates). I however, do not believe that this new record will be anything to write home about. Their most recent offerings haven't been up to par, and if I hear anything like ‘Cover you in Oil' on this album I will not be impressed. I hope they prove my wrong because I'd love them to put out a great Hard Rock record – they're easily capable of it.



Score : 1 for 2



3. Eric Clapton is overrated as a guitarist.

Blake Lauderback: Fiction - Wow Dan. I think you are trying to kill me. Last time we joined you on the F or F, you threw in Bob Dylan being overrated. Now you are getting me all worked up about the idea of Clapton being overrated! Let's get this straight from the get go. Eric Clapton is one of the greatest guitar players of all time without the slightest doubt in my mind. In fact, I believe that there is a very short list of individuals that can be placed in front of him for the "greatest of all time" moniker without it being sacrilegious!

Now, there are guitar players out there that play faster than Eric, and there are plenty of guys that player harder than him as well. However, Clapton is a genius with that axe in his hand; brilliantly strumming his way through blues, jazz, latin, classical, old school rock and roll, and hard rock. He has been enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame multiple times from his work with different bands, and as his track record will prove, his time with acts like The Yardbirds, Cream, and Blind Faith have changed the path of rock music for eternity.

Rob Samuels: Fiction - I'm not going to pretend for a moment that I'm as passionate about Mr. Clapton as my colleague here, but I must agree that the sheer notion of Eric Clapton being described as ‘overrated' is simply outrageous. The man has proved himself constantly and shown that he can adapt to new styles with shocking ease. I'm not the biggest Eric Clapton fan by any means, but his genius cannot be denied.

On a side note Dan, I'm looking forward to arguing that John Paul Jones was not an ‘overrated hack with a stupid bob and a silly gay jacket with dangly shit hanging off it' next time I'm here on Fact or Fiction. [Ed. Note: You got it Rob!]


Intermission Score : 2 for 3



OK everyone… You know the lyrics!

What'll you do when you get lonely
And nobody's waiting by your side?
You've been running and hiding much too long.
You know it's just your foolish pride.

Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

I tried to give you consolation
When your old man had let you down.
Like a fool, I fell in love with you,
Turned my whole world upside down.

Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

Let's make the best of the situation
Before I finally go insane.
Please don't say we'll never find a way
And tell me all my love's in vain.

Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

SWITCH!






Round 2!






4. With all of the reunion tours and money to be had, it's a matter of time before we get a full blown Pink Floyd reunion.

Rob Samuels: Fiction - This is a tricky question, and I would answer ‘fiction-ish' if I had that delightfully vague option. It is popular opinion that Floyd were the purveyors of some of the best live entertainment around, and I'm sure that if they did decide to tour there would be no shortage of fans desperate to see them. Look at the popularity of the Australian Pink Floyd for proof – they're internationally renowned and they're a bloody tribute band!

I am however sticking to my answer of ‘Fiction', simply because Pink Floyd don't need to tour to earn a few bob. If they do decide to hit the stage again (and I'm not ruling it out) it will be on their terms, not because reunion tours are suddenly all the rage. I can't see Floyd crumbling that easily.

Blake Lauderback: Fiction - Haven't these guys made it pretty obvious? It is not about the money in their eyes. All the parties involved are set for life, and their families are probably set for generations to come. Had they wanted a cash grab I think they would have done so right after Live 8, for which the reunited for the cause and proved that they are still amazing. I want to say that I heard that they were offered somewhere near $300 million to tour. (don't quote me on the exact figure) Now do I think it could still happen someday? Sure. Never say never in this business, but I don't think it will because they are following the trend to a pot of gold. For now we are left with Roger Waters and David Gilmour playing a few Floyd tunes solo and the aforementioned Australian Pink Floyd. Although, if Floyd one day decides to team up again, I am pretty sure I would sell a kidney to witness it first hand

Score : 3 for 4

Could Pink Floyd still put asses in the seats?

5. Glastonbury is blowing it by having Jay-Z headline the festival.

Rob Samuels: Fiction - Ticket sales would indicate that booking ‘Jay-Zed' as I call him (because I'm English and therefore ignorant) is perhaps a mistake. Glastonbury in this day and age is a festival mostly attended by middle class white twenty-something's. Is this the demographic that buy Jay-Zed's records? I doubt it. However thanks to that gob-shite Noel ‘I'm desperate to be relevant' Gallagher's remarks regarding the situation, there's suddenly a huge buzz around the situation. As Pythagoras once hypothesized "Publicity + controversy x an angry Mancunian musician = money". Ok, I may have fabricated that somewhat, but my point is that all of this hype and buzz surrounding the situation has only strengthening the event. I mean we're discussing it on an American website! ‘Nuff said.

Blake Lauderback: Fiction - Tough to argue with the native Brit here, especially when he is armed with mathematical proof of his theory. I will add however that one could attribute the decrease in ticket sales to a little friendly competition on the festival scene. Each year it seems that 42 new festivals are opening up. I am not entirely sure that all 42 are in the UK, but they damn sure aren't here. (I am only slightly bitter, I swear) So, as stated above, the festival will survive and Noel Gallagher is an idiot to say the least.


Score : 4 for 5




Video Fact or Fiction!

6. This song might be turning 40, but it still feels less dated than others a fraction of its age…





Rob Samuels: Fact - Admittedly I'm disappointed that the promised Britney video is missing, which is a travesty in itself. However you have found an adequate replacement Dan, so bravo. I don't know about the situation over on your side of the Atlantic , but here int'north o'England (I'll stop writing in colloquialisms) this song still gets plenty of requests in bars and clubs. No one ever asks for ‘I bet you look good on the dancefloor' by the Arctic Monkeys (another northern band) and that's only a few years old. This is one of many Beatles tracks to maintain a ‘timeless' quality. ‘Hey Jude' is as good today, as the day it was written.

Blake Lauderback: Fact - This is an easy one. (What, like any of you thought that I wouldn't be pumped about a Beatles video?) In all of my time spent listening to the band, I have never really been about to put my finger on that special quality that prevents their music from aging as poorly as that of some of their contemporaries. I suppose we will just have to chock it up to their all around genius. It is everything that it is advertised to be.... a brilliant song by a brilliant band, and I am quite confident that in another forty years or so, the world will look on with the same admiration for their work that they did in the past century and that they do in this one as well. And Rob, if you have bars and clubs blasting with Beatles music, I must come visit you. All of the ones here are polluted with horrible country music. Let's see... if I start swimming now...


Final Score : 5 for 6

We're going back to Week 47
3. Nirvana is only huge today because of the mystique they got from Kurt Cobain's death.

Morgan Marx: Fact. As much as it pains me to agree, there's no doubt that Cobain's life and death overshadow the band's output and musical influence. I think that the interest extends beyond Cobain's suicide; he was a charismatic and intriguing figure before he put a shotgun to his head. But every article that mentions Nirvana, every Wikipedia entry related to the band, will discuss Cobain's death right along with their cultural impact.

I am a huge Nirvana fan, and I've never understood those critics who claim the band wasn't better than their Seattle peers. But bands like Soundgarden, TAD, and the Screaming Trees certainly never got the attention Nirvana received, and a lot of that had to do with Cobain. Even now, Nirvana remains a bigger talking point than even super popular groups like Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. Cobain's high-profile suicide extended Nirvana to audiences that never cared about Grunge or the alternative movement. The average person probably couldn't pick Layne Staley out of a line-up, but everyone knows Cobain.

That's not to say that the music the group produced wouldn't still be popular on it's own. But you can't listen to a track off the Unplugged album without feeling a bit of a chill and thinking of Cobain's death.

John Cullen: Fiction. I agree with Morgan, to an extent. There is absolutely no doubt that Nirvana gained a certain type of notoriety from Kurt Cobain's death. From the copycat suicides to the multiple movies to the countless articles trying to paint the suicide as a murder(and implicating Courtney Love in most of them), Nirvana definitely got themselves noticed. However, I have a hard time believing that they really made any "new fans" with Cobain's death. The fact is, Nirvana made abrasive music. Cobain's lyrics were offensive(especially back in the early 1990's), his voice was extremely rough, and the music was almost primitive. While there's no question that many casual fans could pick Cobain out of a lineup of similar musicians, are these same people actually buying Nirvana products? Are they the ones shelling out $150 for overrated box sets and even more for countless re-releases?

The answer is no. No one buys Nirvana products as an attempt at becoming part of some "mystique", or because they want a glimpse of Cobain's "tortured soul". Casual fans would rather do that through more conventional methods like documentaries or MTV specials, and those are much cheaper than buying albums or actually investing the time listening to music they don't like. Nirvana had TALENT. Lots. And the reason they remain popular is because so many bands are STILL using Nirvana as a reference point, as a key influence, and Nirvana continue to stay musically relevant as a result.

So is Nirvana ONLY huge because of Kurt Cobain's death? No chance. Does it play a role? Sure, at times, as it justifies the glorification sometimes associated with the band. But there's no denying that Nirvana made great music, which is the ultimate test. Many have died tragic deaths in the music industry, but a tragic death does not always a (posthumous) career make.

Well, I think that's enough damage for one week. I'd like to thank Rob and Blake again for participating this week. As always, they did a great job. I'd also like to thank you for taking the time to make us a part of your day. You guys make it happen, and don't let anyone tell you different. Finally, I'd like to thank all of the overrated hacks with a stupid bob and the silly gay jacket with dangly shit hanging off it who piss off PETA and call for the apocalypse. As for me, I'm out of here. I‘ll see you this Friday for a few drinks in The Mosh Pit and we'll see you back here is seven.