411 Music Fact Or Fiction 09.04.08: Week 68

Posted by Dan Haggerty on 09.03.2008

Ben Czajkowski and Dan Marsicano enter to take on your music industry: Will DMX’s problems help his music career? Have we had enough reissues already? Is Korn overrated? How surprising was Staind’s poor album sales? Plus we ask if Amy Winehouse’s drug problems are no different than the other great musicians of history and how viable would a Kirk Hammett solo album be!

Greetings, salutations, and howdy-ho to everyone - Welcome back from a holiday week and the absence of Fact or Fiction. Never fear, as we haven't disappeared, just took the week off. I'm sure you're relieved… Right?

Humor me.

An exciting week this time, as we take a bizarre news week and pepper two Fact or Fiction ringers with comments, news, and odd bits from the net. Do these stalwarts of truth and consequences have what it takes to stand up to the task? We'll see!

First up, we have Ben Czajkowski who is back in the house, once again proving why he is All You Cannot Live Without. He's opposed by the other Monday columnist and mass metal reviewer, it's What In The Hell Happened To… Dan Marsicano.

Bang a gong, it is on!


Round 1!


1. DMX's next album will be gold thanks to all the publicity and street cred he's getting.

Ben Czajkowski: Fiction Street cred? Publicity? Ha!! I don't know who said that no news is good news, but I think that DMX could take a few words of advice about staying below the radar. But I guess that at this point, he's fucked anyway. With multiple arrests, missing a pre-trial, and pleading guilty, this dog is bound to due some time, in the coming months. And hopefully more than just "time served." Earl needs to spend some time behind bars, in a corrections facility. Regardless, I think any new DMX material that comes out will go, practically, unnoticed. He's a train wreck, not a rapper anymore. Might as well call himself DMZ.

Dan Marsicano: Fact Believe or not, DMX still has his loyal followers, the ones that will stick with him through thick and thin. While the quality of his recent material may be suspect, the fact remains that all this publicity he has received can only help him. I mean, bad publicity is still publicity, and helps to keep his name in the spotlight. Sure, there might be better ways to do that, without risking jail time, but I still believe that he has some life left in him to pull out another Gold record or two. Think about it; when Britney Spears releases her new album, do you think that all the publicity over the past two years won't help sales? Of course it will, and I see the same thing happened to DMX.

Score : 0 for 1


2. Can we please stop re-releasing albums so damn fast.

Ben Czajkowski: Fact.My newest music pet peeve is when bands release the same album two, three, even four times. Okay, I realize four times, is a bit much, but it's bound to happen eventually. Do most people honestly care about a couple of b-sides, acoustic tracks, or worthless live cuts of the same song that's been raping our earholes on radio stations for the last six months? I know I don't. People who feel the need to own all of these copies are fucking morons and consumerist whores. All of the time, energy, and money that's spend re-releasing something, the band might as well just get their lazy asses back in the studio and work on some new material. You hear that, Daughtry? STOP RE-RELEASING YOUR ALBUM!

Dan Marsicano: Fact: Being a huge metal fan, nothing pisses me off more than when record label re-release albums quickly, with only a crappy DVD or a few worthless bonus tracks (usually just unmixed demos or "live" versions of songs from the album) to "satisfy fans." Roadrunner Records is famous for doing this and it irritates me to no end. I understand that the music industry is in a bit of a downfall right now, but that doesn't mean that fans need to be forced-fed the same shit time and time again.

Score : 1 for 2


3. Korn was overrated. They just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Ben Czajkowski: Fiction Many bands that happen to be discovered and/or make it big happen to be in the right place at the right time. In Korn's case, they were not overrated. Korn had a unique sound, not unlike Marilyn Manson. Their success was predicated on the massive blow up of a few key tracks from Follow the Leader. I remember being present for the worldwide release of the video for "Freak On A Leash." From that album, they built a solid following. Over the years, though, with the death of nu-metal, the band hasn't had near the amount of mainstream success that they benefited from a decade ago. And they don't appeal to me anymore, aside from, maybe, their singles. So, I would say, overall, they're not overrated, not so much as other bands.

Dan Marsicano: Fiction: Say what you will about Korn's influence on the uprising of the "nu-metal" genre, Korn had a unique sound for their time. I have to agree with Ben on the fact that Follow The Leader was a massive blow up for Korn. Without the success of that album, Korn may never had the widespread success they were able to obtain for themselves. A decade later, Korn is still around and kicking, though their core sound has changed a bit. With this, their fan base has dwindled, but like most bands, they have enough die-hards that I can see Korn possibly being around for at least five more years. Dan is right by saying they were at the right place at the right time, but that doesn't make them overrated. It's just makes them somewhat lucky, but Korn also had the attitude and talent to push themselves further than most bands of the "nu-metal" generation.

Intermission Score : 2 for 3


FACT OR FICTION OPEN CHALLENGE

OK – We missed last week, and the previous week didn't get enough responses. So let's get things rocking this week – Is Korn overrated? Are do you agree with Ben and Dan.

And don't forget to start with Fact or Fiction. It's like Jeopardy, but even easier – Plus it insurers your comments get noticed. A few great comments will get posted next week!


SWITCH!


Round 2!


4. People need to get over the drugs that Winehouse is doing. The bands of the 60's and 70's did far worse and are still highly regarded.

Dan Marsicano: Fiction The issue, in my mind, is the fact that Winehouse is letting the drugs consume her daily life. While bands in the 60's and 70's probably did a lot of drugs, they were still able, at one point or another, to produce quality albums. Winehouse is still young and has a long career ahead of her, but her addictions are swarming her, slowly drowning her life away. At least bands like Black Sabbath, Beatles, and Led Zeppelin had relatively long careers before the drugs took over the band.

Ben Czajkowski: Fiction Ha. Ha. Ha...I wish there was something to get over. It's not that the people care; it's that the paparazzi care, and then people who troll Perez Hilton get an eyeful of her nips and diapers, thus making her into more of a "media darling" than she's even worth being. The bands of yesteryear managed to put out what some people considered good music, making them highly regarded while doing a lot of LSD and banging anything that wouldn't struggle back. With Winehouse, she's not making good music that should be regarded highly. Back In Black was mediocre, at best, with a few good tracks. It was and is a great start for Amy. She has the voice (but, Dear Holy Satan, not the face) for that soulful sound. Now, if only she had one, she might get off the dope and back in front of a mic.

Score : 3 for 4


5. You were surprised at the poor sales the new Staind album did in its opening week.

Dan Marsicano: Fiction As my review of the album stated, The Illusion Of Progress was, in my eyes, a weak Staind album. The band suffered from having "Believe" as the first single. Could the band be any more predictable than using the acoustic-driven ballad as the first single? It may have worked five years ago, but only the die-hards will get excited about another "emotional" ballad from Lewis and company. The album was hyped up way too much (as most albums are these days) and the end result didn't match the anticipation built up. Staind will always have those hardcore fans that will purchase anything the band puts out, but as record sales have showed, those fans are dwindling as the years go on.

Ben Czajkowski: Fact I talked about this very thing in my weekly WTF portion of my highly regarded news report. While the band opened at #3 on the billboard charts, they only managed to push ~91k albums, which is a sad, sad number for a band that once opened with a little over 700k. I'm not good with numbers or anything (or words for that matter, or pictures, shapes, and sounds), but that's like a 10,000% decrease in sales. What I was even more surprised about was their first single and how it has garnished no cross-genre radio play. It's the same puppies and kitten paws that "It's Been A While" is made of. I honestly expected better, but it's kind of hard to get your fan base excited when you (Aaron Lewis) have become comfortably numb. I don't even think they're trying anymore. You heard it hear first: Aaron Lewis will be seeking a full solo career within the next year.

Score : 3 for 5


6. The new Metallica cuts prove one thing: Kirk Hammett should form a new band and cut loose.

Dan Marsicano: Fiction Metallica without Kirk Hammett is like Extreme without Nuno Bettencourt. I just can't imagine it happening. Hammett is a talented guitarist, but where would he be without Metallica? Maybe playing some club shows with Exodus, but that's about it. I would say that Hammett should form a side project, but Metallica fans know what happened last time a band member tried to form a side project…

Ben Czajkowski: Fact The whole band should be cut loose. Put them in an assisted living facility now and get it over with. It's not that I dislike Metallica or that I'm trying to incite the fans here. I just don't care anymore. Even if he were to up and leave or be thrown out, he'd find success in a dive bar somewhere in Minneapolis. I'm ready for the hype of another washed up band, please.

Final Score : 3 for 6


Well that out to get people talking, so on that happy note we'll call it a wrap. I'd like to thank Ben and Dan for jumping in on a short week and delivering the usual eclectic and insightful answers. I'd also like to thank John Q, I'm washed up, going solo, drugged out, overrated, over-released for being over publicized. But enough about my holiday weekend - I'm out of here so we'll see you Friday in the The Mosh Pit and we'll see you back here is seven.