This Month in Rock and Roll - April

This month in Rock and Roll – April
By Hunter60

April 13th, 2000: Metallica goes toe to toe with Napster. When Metallica learned that fans were downloading copies of their unreleased song "I Disappear" plus their entire back catalogue, the band filed a lawsuit against Napster igniting the fight over Internet file sharing. Although several labels had filed suits against Napster previously, the public debate did not kick into high gear until one of rocks premiere metal bands got into the fray. Lars Ulrich sounded the musicians battle cry when he was quoted by the press by saying "If music is free for downloading, the music industry is not viable … Nobody else works for free. Why should musicians"? Although his theory was sound, somehow Metallica ended up looking like the bad guys in the fight; millionaires filing suit essentially against their own fans for the almighty dollar. Eventually the band and Napster reached an agreement. The band was given a say over downloaded songs in exchange for making some songs available to Napster "from time to time". It didn't last long. Napster eventually was re-born as a pay service.


April 30th, 1996: The Dave Matthews Band releases "Crash". Although the band had already gone multi-platinum with their debut album, "Under The Table And Dreaming", it was their second album, "Crash" that solidified them as bona-fide stars in the United States by riding on the strength of their biggest hit, "Crash Into Me". "Crash" was a melodic blend of folk, rock, jazz and world beat with a shift of moods through out the entire disc. Lyrically, the album was a bit more melancholic and sedate than their debut album but it struck a chord with twenty-somethings. Interestingly, the success the band saw in America did not translate to the U.K. The underlying theory seems to be that fans in the U.K. tend to be attracted to more colorful and eccentric characters which did not translate to the more sedate and 'un-flashy" Matthews. As one U.K. critic explained it "British people take one look at that name and run".

April, 1975: Prog-rockers Camel release concept album "The Snow Goose". Taking the fringe rock idea of 'concept' albums, British progressive rock band Camel released the album 'The Snow Goose' to an unsuspecting audience. Based on the novella by Paul Gallico, 'The Snow Goose' was completely void of lyrics and the accepted rules of song structure. The music is complex and rich, complete with full orchestration on several tracks and beautiful guitar and organ work on others. The lack of lyrics crippled the success of the album in the United States but it did reach number 22 on the British charts. Gallico's publishers threatened to sue the band forcing them to add the notation "music inspired by" Paul Gallico. Gallico, a non-smoker, had a bad impression of the band because of their name.

April 4th, 1964: The Beatles occupy the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100. During this week in 1964, The Beatles solidified their stand as the 'hottest' band in the country by tying up the first 5 spots on the Billboard Charts. 5) Please, Please Me, 4) I Want To Hold Your Hand, 3) She Loves you, 2) Twist and Shout and 1) Can't Buy Me Love demonstrated their virtual stranglehold on pop music in America and around the world. Add to this list the fact that they had seven other Top 100 singles and the top two album spots and the overwhelming popularity of the band becomes readily apparent. No one, not Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley or even Frank Sinatra has ever come close to this record. Oddly, if their label, Capitol, had their way, only "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Can't Buy Me Love" would have been on the charts. Capitol had not foreseen the popularity of the band and had sub-licensed the other three singles to smaller labels, Swan and Vee-Jay who immediately began flooding the market place.


Notable April Birthdays:

April 2, 1947: Emmylou Harris
April 3, 1955: Mick Mars
April 4, 1915: Muddy Waters
April 5, 1952: Gary Moore
April 8, 1962: Izzy Stradlin
April 10, 1959: Brian Setzer
April 12, 1957: Vince Gill
April 14, 1945: Ritchie Blackmore
April 15, 1944: Dave Edmunds
April 19, 1967: Dar Williams
April 21, 1947: Iggy Pop
April 22, 1950: Peter Frampton
April 23, 1936: Roy Orbison
April 24, 1923: Albert King
April 26, 1938: Duane Eddy
April 27, 1951: Ace Frehley
April 30, 1933: Willie Nelson

Originally Posted by: hunter60
... Although his theory was sound, somehow Metallica ended up looking like the bad guys in the fight ...

There is no mystery about this. The "somehow" you mention was due to the unfortunate worship of the Almighty Altruist moral code.

Other variations on this sickness that has infected civilization for thousands of years:

1. To give is better than receive.
(Translation: I don't feel like trading to mutual benefit, so I will hope someone takes pity on me and gives me what I need.)

2. Self-interest is evil.
(Translation: You better not admit that you have a personal interest in your life. Or that you could possibly earn yourself a happy life.)

3. Self-sacrifice is good.
(Translation: You should pretend that all you really care about is helping other people, especially at your expense.)

4. Making money is bad.
(Translation: You should feel bad about every dollar you earn that amounts to one dollar more than anyone else has. And you should pretend it is okay for them to expect you to give those extra dollars away. And more.)

Music is for the people.
(Translation: I don't feel like trading to mutual benefit, so I will just steal what I want.)

The fact that most musicians make a living by preaching this irrational moral code only makes them hypocrites. It only confuses the issue. But it doesn't change it or make it go away.

What civilization desperately needs is a proper moral code built on rational self-interest, built on the princple of the trader.

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/traderprinciple.html

You make very solid points sir. :)