I remember a while back I had a kid named Andy on my TV show. He received an e-mail saying Metallica was suing him. Andy was a user of the website Napster. Napster is basically a music service where you can download MP3s onto a special device and basically listen to them whenever. Andy uploaded the best bass solo ever, Cliff Burton's Anesthesia Pulling Teeth and the next day his service was cut off and he received a letter from the lawyer of Metallica. This completely enraged me and made me think much more less of Metallica than I ever did before.
Let's look at the history shall we? Band forms in 81. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich meet through a magazine called "The Recycler." They start jamming and bring Dave Mustaine and Ron McGovney into the band. They go to a club and see Cliff play. Decide to toss out McGovney, get Cliff in. Then Dave Mustaine supposedly was giving Metallica problems (he was better than them all put together.) and he is given the ax, Exodus's Kirk Hammett joins. They release Kill "Em All under Elektra, along with Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, then Cliff gets killed. Jason Newstead takes Cliff's place, Justice is released. 4 years go by. No one knows what is going on with Metallica. Then the announcement of the new album being produced by Bob Rock
OH SHIT!!!
Bob Rock, here is the first person who helped to kill Metallica's legacy of greatness and turn it into a piece of corporate sellout garbage. This guy produced GLAM ROCK albums. What was Metallica thinking? I bet you anything they were sitting in a circle jerk session all doing lines of coke saying "Whadaya think? Should we sell out?" and most likely like he did in that\ bar when Metallica told him the news he was the new bassist, Jason Newstead probably went "woooooooooooooooo" Fucking jerk off. Anyways so the black album, then Load and Reload and Metallica's hardcore in your face song is gone. You know Cliff is up there smoking a joint with Jesus laughing at the band make complete fools of themselves. Cutting their hair and changing their sound and becoming MTV babies. I wonder if Kirk Hammet goes down on Carson Daly just before Total Request or so. Carson requests, Kirk does. I don't even want that kind of mental picture in my head. So Metallica as so you can see turned into Metallicrap. Anyone who listened to Metallica back in the eighties and loved them as much as I did will say the same thing.
This was the first stab in the back by Metallicrap. You did not stay true to your sound, true to your music and true to your fans. You changed everything for the money. The fucking money. I bet you are wiping your ass with it and eating it right now Lars Ulrich. You fucking jackass. Hail to the fucking backstabbers of heavy metal!!!!
But wait it gets better. So Napster comes into play, and people download music from it. So Metallica gets pissy and sues all the fans not the corporation (until later. Napster just lost in court the other day). What the fuck? Some people enjoy listening to your music, but you need everyone to pay for it? You money hungry mongrels. You know something motherfuckers? You guys suck so bad, you need Napster just so people remember who the fuck you are. No one wants to buy your music anymore. We all want to remember the old Metallica but we do not want to give you money. Don't you have enough? I bet the stupid fucking "Rockfest" in Cicero took care of you guys for a while. Boy it must of been so cool playing with Bare-naked Ladies, Third Eye Blind, Vertical Horizon and other bands that can go fuck off because they are good for a bedtime story. I bet you feel cool now don't you? You should thank your lucky stars that Kid Rock and STP were there not to make you look like total assholes. Another fatal stab in the back to your fans. You know Jason Newstead said on VH1 behind the music once, "People say we sold out, and I say yeah...we sold out every seat in every arena we play in." Well guess what you fucking slapnut, Brittney Spears and N'Sync sell out all the arenas they play in too. With a bunch of lollipop sucking eight to nine year olds who don't know the difference between music and the sound of themselves urinating in a toilet. SO I guess it is all one in the same.
However, I will not take Napster's side on this one. Napster should be paying a fee to the bands that they allow the downloads to. Musicians really work hard on their music (yes, even selloutica) and when they hit the big time, they don't need some little shithead organization getting their hands on things that have not even been released yet and putting them out there. Fred Durst and Cypress Hill will tell you Napster is great. Well gee if they were paying for a Stoned Ranger tour, I think I would love them too. I believe that a good source for downloads is Riffage, Farmclub. These emphasize local bands!!! That is the only free music that should be going out there without the bands consent. Doing things without the bands knowing about for personal gain is really shitty and Napster sucks for doing that. I still have yet to hear what kind of lame brain excuse Napster president whoever whoever will make, but sometimes downloading stuff for free will encourage people to buy shit. Yet that is not always the case. The bands work their ass off to get where they are, and that should not be toyed with. I will say in Napster's defense, I do not think Metallicrock is hurting for money, but then again, only a coke addict would most likely sue their own fans.
Well that is all for this month. I really hope to see you all at GT2K.
Take it easy and a little sleazy,
THE STONED RANGER