411 Music Fact or Fiction 12.11.08: Week 77

Posted by Dan Haggerty on 12.11.2008

This week Mitch Michaels and Paul Hollingsworth take on the music news you want to know: Did Dr. Pepper drop the ball on the promotion? Is Kanye West a diva? Does Noel Gallagher still got what it takes? All that plus we see if record companies are ripping off artists, if 2008 was the hear of classic rock bands, and Britney Spears breasts!

Welcome back folks, it's Thursday and this is your eclectic mix of music news, views, gossip, and whatever else gets thrown at the wall in the crazy business we call music. Paul Hollingsworth of Thrifty Tunes fame is joined by Mr. Quick N' Dirty himself, Mitch Michaels. Buckle yourself in, grab a cold one, and lets burn the motha' down…



Round 1!



1. Dr. Pepper dropped the ball on the Chinese Democracy giveaway.

Paul: Fact : After i drove sixty miles (one way) to the nearest Best Buy to buy a vinyl copy of Chinese Democracy , I was really thirsty. I logged on to the Dr. Pepper site and tried to get my free drink, but the page never loaded. I tried several times during the day, but with no success. I'm afraid to say that the only thing this record will likely be remembered for is the whole Dr. Pepper giveaway. It certainly won't be remembered for giving the world some good music. Maybe some of the higher ups at the company actually listened to the record and decided to try to disentangle themselves from the whole scheme.

Mitch: Fiction: Dr. Pepper hit the jackpot with the fucking Chinese Democracy giveaway. You have to believe that it was all just a joke press release, a la the Taco Bell/50 Cent thing from a few months ago. But now, wow...I mean, seriously, at what time in your life can you remember talking about Dr. Pepper so much? That's a fucking WIN. As for the contest...eh...I didn't get my free Pepper, and I know the site crashed due to heavy traffic (not a bad thing for the company, by the way). But really...a Dr. Pepper is like a dollar and change. If anybody wants one, they can get one. It's not like people were entering the contest and thinking, yeah, I haven't had a Pepper in years, and went on to become loyal customers after drinking their free one.


Score : 0 for 1



2. Kanye West needs to stop being a whiny Diva.

Is he a diva?

Paul: Fact :Kanye West really needs to go away. Having one great album does not make you the voice of a generation nor give you the right to think of yourself as a diva. I'm not sure why he believes himself to be the greatest thing since...well, ever, but he's in dire need of a reality check. Kanye, make your little records, try to find something interesting to talk about, and live your life as quietly and as unassumingly as possible.

Mitch: Fiction: Let me preface this by saying that whiny baby Kanye disgusts me. However, the fact is that Kanye's bad temper tantrums are what keep him in the news. We live in a day and age where just talent isn't good enough. Kanye is a great producer and a pretty good MC. But he's got the superstar mentality and knows what feathers to ruffle to stay in the news. Is he childish? Absolutely. Believes his own hype? No doubt. But what is Kanye without the hype? Lupe Fiasco? No thanks.


Score : 0 for 2



3. A Noel Gallagher solo album has win written all over it.

Paul: Fiction: Noel Gallagher's solo album is interesting from a purely personal standpoint, but I didn't see the kids going insane for the last Oasis record. No matter how different it is from his band's work, it's not going to set the world on fire. It may sell well in England and okay in the States, but I'm sure no sales records are going to be broken.

Mitch: Fiction: Gotta agree with Paul here. Noel Gallagher could put out a great CD, but the only time that would matter if it were right after that Oasis "Unplugged" show when Liam left them high and dry and Noel had to sing all the songs. If Noel had went solo then, the rumors would have been flying and the CD would have been dissected for clues of a breakup and compared to his work with his brother. But that was like 10-12 years ago. Now the best we can hope for is a vague reference to Jay-Z. I'll skip.


Intermission Score : 1 for 3



FACT OR FICTION OPEN CHALLENGE

OK everyone, what do you think of the whole Dr. Pepper "debacle". Did Dr. Pepper screw up?

Hit the comment section and let us know!





SWITCH!






Round 2!



4. You agree with Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars when he says: ''It's all about fairness. It's about companies treating artists fairly. It's an age-old debate and, unfortunately, it will probably continue into the distant future. Record companies - and in particular, EMI - want their bands to work for free. They want their bands to work for slave wages. We would do this for free, because we love doing this - but there's a principle there."

Mitch: Fiction: Oh, I agree with Jared Leto that the music business is shitty when it comes to artists, but you have to realize that Jared is coming at this from an actor's point of view. In Hollywood, actors don't sign multi-picture deals with studios for the most part. Musicians still do. Does this excuse EMI? No way. But, of all people, Jared should know a little about reading his contract beforehand. 30 Seconds to Mars owes EMI another album and they don't want to play ball because...why? Because they're not getting special treatment? Thus far they've proven to be no more than a novelty and a one-hit wonder sales wise (though not a bad band to listen to in my opinion). Leto wants out of his deal...I get that. But "slave wages"? Please dude. You're getting paid to tour and make music. If you'd truly do it for free, then why are you whining about having a major label behind you?

Paul: Fact : This argument has gone on forever in the music business. Young musicians usually don't understand what they've agreed to when they sign with a major label, and by the time they figure it out, there's no way to get out of their contract. The music business is obviously taking advantage of their naivety and willingness to make it big and the bands rarely pay attention to the small print. Is it illegal? Technically, no. Is it dishonest? Most definitely. I understand that the major sports leagues have 'rookie camps' where young players are schooled by former players about the ins and out of what is essentially a business. Perhaps some of these young starry-eyed bands should have something similar before they sign their contracts.

I think the record companies are acting underhandedly, but a binding contract is a binding contract, and there are very few ways out of it. Prince , who signed a long term contract when he was 19, felt he was being held hostage by Warner Brothers back in the 90's, hence the name change to the symbol and all the 'Artist Formally Known As Prince' silliness. He eventually got out of his contract, but he lost a lot of fans and support over the years of legal wrangling. I'm afraid the public won't remain interested in Jared Leto's band nearly as long if they try something similar. Do the record, make it the best of your career, and then you'll be in a much better position when the next contract comes round.


Score : 1 for 4

100% AJ Grey approved!

5. Silly Britney, thinking of getting rid of the few marketable features she has left!

Mitch: Fact. Now I am not one of those mondo boob lovers that says the bigger the better. There's a point (I call it the Pam Anderson Line) where that shit just gets gross. But Britney? Those things are perfect man. This is just a girl whose had her ego bruised by all the '07 "she's fat" gossip, and now she's saying "I think they're too big", just so we'll all be like, "no, baby, they're PERFECT!". And I just did.

Paul: Fiction: I guess I'm just too old because I've never felt Britney was sexy at all. I didn't get the whole Lolita thing she did in the beginning and it's only gotten worse since then. I like natural blouse bunnies and as Mitch says, there is a line, (can we agree to call it the Pam Line from here on out at 411?) but I guess mine's just shorter. I don't know if Circus is any good, but I'm certainly never going to listen to it, not intentionally anyway, but it doesn't really affect her music one-way or the other. I'm sure a bunch of fifteen-year-old boys may be disappointed, but is that really her target audience anymore?


Score : 1 for 5






6. 2008 has been the year of great releases from classic bands, and they have owned the music scene.

Mitch: Fact: When you start out the year off a Led Zeppelin and Van Halen reunion (both successful, no less), you know classic rock will have a big year. But the older bands have also managed to really pull it off. Metallica, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC and others have manages to own sales and ticket sales this year, plus they put out some great albums too. While you could say every year has its share of returning dinosaurs (see The Police and Eagles last year), in 2008 they've had some real substance behind them.

Paul: Fact: I think this year's success by bands like Metallica, G'n'R, AC/DC, and R.E.M. is both good and bad. On the good, it's nice that at least a few of the bands I grew up with are still releasing new material and that they are selling lots of copies. I remember buying and/or hearing the debut records of all these bands and at the time I had no idea that they'd still be touring and recording so many years afterwards. (How to know you've turned into your dad, part one: When Santana had a couple of hits a few years ago, my father happened to hear one of them, the one with Rob Thomas, I think, and he immediately knew who it was. He was surprised that Santana was still alive and still making music. 'He was popular my first year in college,' he said. When I heard the new Metallica single on the radio, I was likewise surprised, but felt even older than I am.) Whether they've grown musically over that time is, of course, debatable, (especially in the case of AC/DC) but there's no denying that they still have fans who are interested in their new stuff. On the bad side, it's sort of frustrating that there are very few new bands who seem able to match the 'main-event' feel when they release their records. Eventually, all these older bands will quietly or not so quietly retire and then what? Will the kids today give a flying rip if Fall Out Boy or whoever reunites in ten years and releases a record that sounds an awful lot like one from their glory days? What band, if any, ten or so years from now will be able to claim the title of the world's biggest band from aging dinosaurs like Metallica and U2?


Final Score : Classic Bands OWNED this year


And on those words of wisdom, we're calling it a wrap this week. I'm out of here so we'll see you tomorrow in the The Mosh Pit.

Keep it real and we'll see you back here is seven.