Well, I normally write this column on Monday night during wrestling, but with a new bowling league that might not be possible anymore. So, I’m giving the Tuesday morning thing a shot, but I don’t know how that’s going to work. I guess we’ll find out.
So, some stuff with the quickness today.
Guess Who’s Back
In a totally Ironic Twist of Fate (V_1), Roxio, the makers of CD Burning software EZCD Creator (which is good shit) has purchased struggling online music service Pressplay and all their catalog rights for just under 39.5 million dollars.
The interesting thing about THAT little detail is the fact that in 2001, Roxio bought the Name, Likeness, and technology of Napster for the low bargain price of only 5 million dollars.
What’s this mean to you? The Net Geek?
It means Napster is getting ready for a relaunch.
On the heels iPlay’s success, that being Apple’s download service which has already sold about 2 million songs at the bargain basement price of .99 cents per download, the struggling services like Pressplay and MusicNet, the ones that charge a monthly subscription service, have stood up and took notice and… well… sold out.
Chris Gorog, Roxio’s CEO, expects Napster to launch before the end of fiscal 2003, which ends in March of 2004.
Napster is the most prominent brand in online music. It’s a massive competitive advantage, Gorog told Reuters. Larry Kenswil, president of Universal Music Group’s eLabs, agreed. We thought this deal would bring a lot more subscribers to Pressplay a lot quicker because of the branding.
Of course, the Napster brand is synonomous with FREE music, but neither of them mentioned that.
No word on how long it will take for people to Hackster Napster.
Big Week of Releases
Good week to be a rock fan this week, and even an old school rap fan. Public Enemy getting all back up in yo’ grill with Son of a Bush… I’ll leave the review of that to the Bootleg, who knows better.
Staind is bustin out with 14 Shades of Grey which comes with a bonus DVD. I haven’t heard the new song, Price to Play get that much airplay in Albany… but it shouldn’t matter for them. After the success of Break the Cycle, I don’t think they’ll have much trouble scoring huge with this one either.
Live with their sixth studio release, Birds of Pray… which you can read MY review of Right Here.
Weird Al, who makes it back to the scene with his latest Poodle Hat. On this he parodies Eminem and Avril Levine, among others.
Deftones come at you with the new, creatively titled Deftones. You’re guaranteed at least ONE good song on the album, but no more than three, if history holds true.
And the recently reunited Vermont Jammers Phish with yet another Live CD. The 17th if the title Live Phish, Volume 17 is any indication.
Speaking of Weird Al
It’s been widely reported that Eminem refused to give Weird Al permission to make a video of his Lose Yourself parody, Couch Potato. The story goes: Al’s people got full permission from Em’s people to make the parody, so Al went ahead and made it… upon hearing the parody, Em then would NOT give permission for Al to either make a video OR release the song as a single. This was AFTER pre-production on the video had already started, and had gotten too close to release for Al to select another song off the album to lead with.
Now, legally, Al doesn’t need permission from the original artist to do a parody. It’s one of the few copyright things which the Music industry hasn’t gone about trying to block. Parodies are protected under the “Fair Use†clause of copyright… the same clause 411 makes use of in our newsboards. However, as was discussed on Weird Al’s Behind the Music, he doesn’t feel comfortable doing a parody without the original artists permission, going so far as to have Victoria Jackson ask Kurt Cobain for permission when he happened to be on Saturday Night Live. The issue came up because when Al parodied Gangsta’s Paradise into Amish Paradise, Coolio came out on some awards show and expressed his anger about the song being made because he thought Gangsta’s was too serious to be made fun of or some shit.
Of course, Al gave a him a big fat Royalty check, and it wasn’t so serious anymore… go figure.
So, anyway, Eminem apparently ALSO feels that Lose Yourself is far too important to be made fun of on a large scale through a medium such as MTV or the Radio… because, well, he’s a douchebag… more so now than he was before. The same guy who constantly uses samples, and makes his money being a parody of a boy band, now is refusing to give permission to someone to parody him. Why? Because it’ll detract from his position as a “serious hip-hop artist?†Which I guess means Michael Jackson was never a serious pop artist or Kurt Cobain, who’s music arguably changed the music genre, was never a serious rock artist. Nor was Aerosmith, Madonna, or any of the countless other’s who have been subject to Al parodies over time.
Newsflash, Em… you’re not a serious hip hop artist. You’re a shock jock. When you’re collecting old royalty checks in five years and out of the public spotlight, guess what? Weird Al will still be around. When no remembers who you are, people will still know who Weird Al is. When you can’t get a video played on MTV anymore, people will still know who Weird Al is. He’ll still be able to write his own pass after you’re washed up and sitting alone, because you just can’t shock people anymore.
Suggestion, Em… swallow a gun or get shot now, while you’re on top. Then you’ll go down in history as something greater than what you were… because this move proves you’re nothing more than an insecure little boy.
“Too Serious to make fun of?†Bullshit. This more than anything proves how tenuous Marshall knows his grip on the spotlight is. He’s afraid to let anything portray him in what he sees as a negative light. “Too Serious to make fun of†is a convenient way to say “too scared to be MADE fun of.†The guy begs to be taken seriously, after making three albums, most of which revolves around hating your parents, beating/murdering your wife or girlfriend, and how much of a badass he is. Wow, takes a real genius to figure out how to make a controversial album and revel off the publicity… all the while having Dr Dre making you sound like a mastermind. Fuck, I could sound like a genius if Dre was making my albums, that’s how good the man is.
And, don’t get me wrong here… I love Lose Yourself. The song is terrific and I feel him during it. The last verse of that song is probably one of the best rap verses I’ve heard in recent years… because I’ve felt that way about things. Success is my only motherf*cking option, failure’s not is a great line as well. My problem is with Eminem thinking he’s above getting made fun of… and he’s lucky that Al doesn’t enjoy blatantly stealing people’s work without their permission… because he doesn’t need the permission to do it.
I wish he’d go ahead and do it anyway.
Guess Who’s Back 2
Scott Weiland got pulled over in Cali last week for driving with no lights on. Well, the cops pulled him over and just happened to see a syringe lying on the backseat, which gave them probable cause to search the vehicle, which led to Weiland getting arrested, yet again, for drug possession. The argument this time is “they weren’t mine.â€
Of course, I don’t know if that matters when you’re on parole.
Regardless, Weiland says the syringe and the drugs belonged to the woman he was riding with, a 28-year-old, female passenger who Weiland was giving a ride home.
This coming on the heels of Weiland recording two songs for the upcoming Incredible Hulk soundtrack with the members of ex-Guns n Roses, entitled The Project. The members of the band, according to their publicist, are already annoyed with Weiland. Why are they annoyed with Weiland? Because the members of GNR have been on heroin FOR YEARS AND HAVE NEVER ONCE BEEN CAUGHT. On the other hand, Weiland has been arrested on drug charges twice before in California, in 1995 and 1997. He was also busted in New York in 1998, and the next year served prison time in Los Angeles after a heroin overdose that a judge found violated his probation. After his release, Weiland tried to go clean, but was arrested in Las Vegas in 2001 after an argument with his wife Mary over a prescription turned into a domestic violence charge.
Again, I will say…
Dumbass.
Staind Tour News
Staind will be touring to support their new album, starting today with a free show. Tour dates are below:
May 20: Los Angeles (The Wiltern; free show)
May 23: Chicago (House of Blues; free show)
May 24: Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre; WRZX festival)
May 26: Burgettstown, Pa. (Post Gazette Pavilion; WXDX festival)
May 28: Toronto (Kool Haus; with Cold)
May 30: Buffalo. N.Y. (Dunn Tire Park; WEDG festival)
May 31: Sterling Heights, Mich. (Freedom Hill; 89X event)
June 1: Cleveland (Tower City Amphitheatre; WXTM festival)
June 3: Columbus (Promowest Pavilion; with Cold)
June 4: Grand Rapids, Mich. (The Orbit Room; with Cold)
June 6: Louisville, Ky. (Freedom Hall)
June 7: Chicago (Old Town YMCA Park; Q101 festival)
June 8: St. Louis, Mo. (UMB Bank Pavilion; KPNT festival)
June 10: Oklahoma City (Bricktown Event Center; with Cold)
June 11: Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion; with Godsmack and Cold)
June 15: San Diego (Coors Amphitheatre (91X)
June 17-18: Las Vegas (The Joint; with Cold)
June 21: Seattle (The Gorge; KNDD festival)
June 22: Estacada, Ore. (Timber Bowl; KNRK show)
July 3: Atlantic City, N.J. (Grand Canyon Ballroom; WJSE show)
July 4: Hartford, Conn. (The Meadows; WMRQ festival)
July 5: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center; WHRL Big Day Out)
July 7: Charleston, S.C. (The Plex)
July 9: Orlando, Fla. (Hard Rock Live; MTV taping)
July 12: New Orleans (House of Blues; Budweiser show)
July 17: Denver (Gothic Theatre; Budweiser show)
July 18: Cheyenne, Wyo. (Cheyenne Frontier Days)
July 19: Minot, N.D. (North Dakota State Fairgrounds)
July 26: Des Moines, Iowa (Waterworks Park)
Aug. 1: Norfolk, Va. (The Norva)
Aug. 2: Bethlehem, Pa. (Musikfest)
The show that I bolded is the one I’m going to, and also includes Hoobastank, Trapt, Evanescence (yay), and Static X.
In Other Reading
Evocator’s Time Machine.
ME WITH A LIVE BIRDS OF PRAY REVIEW.
Murphy with an album he really hated.
The quiz that Murphy was talking about yesterday, Which 411 Music Writer are You?, is located right here. I am, in fact, me according to the quiz.
In Conclusion
My beautiful princess returns on Thursday… and you got Cocozza till then. Two weeks ago, both her and I were out the same week?
Coincidence? You decide.
