YOU MISSED METALLICA.
200 shows in 300 days? 😵
Wait.. wait.. what is "Walmart Country" ??
Annnnnnnd:
What was one of the coolest parts about workin' in a Record Store?
OK..... Here is my two-sided take on Metallica....
I LOVE most of their music... I think Kill em All is absolutely genius... I firmly believe that "Load" is one of the most underrated albums of the 90's..... and as much as it has become horribly cliche, you CANNOT discount the self-titled "Black Album" as one of the most important albums of ALL-TIME....
HOWEVER
Their politics are ridiculous.... Metallica rose to popularity in the early 80's by being the people's band. They openely supported their fans bringing recording devices to their shows to create audio and video files. They built their name by being against corporate greed and about connecting with the fans. Somewhere within the billion dollar monster they lost their way. It stopped being about music and became too much of a business to them. Suing your fans for dowlnloading your music is NEVER acceptable(unless you are a pretentious ass like Morrissey. He could get away with that). They say money changes people, and I believe this is the greatest example of it.
As for the moral side of downloading. As someone who worked in a record store forever, and who would be affected by illegal downloading more than anyone, I can tell you that I support downloading. I don't support mass downloading tons of albums, however I DO support the idea of downloading an album and giving it a listen or two before you buy it. Ten years ago, one of my fve bands, Aerosmith, released "Just Push Play" possibly the worst album of all-time. Seeing as I always liked their music and was a massive fan of their previous album "Nine Lives" I bought it immediately.... I got hosed.... to this day it is honestly the biggest disappointment ever..... had I downloaded it and listened to it first, I NEVER would have bought it.... and the download would have been justified as they didn't deserve my money.
OKOK... I realize I'm way out of control here.... All I wanted to say is that I think it's shitty they turned their back on their image, and kinda slapped their fanbase in the face. Doesn't change the fact that I love most of their music... just hurts me as a longtime fan....
WALMART COUNTRY - The kind of country music that gets racked at Wal-Mart: Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Kellie Pickler etc. Basically pop music with a twang. Has VERY little in common with Hank, Willie, Cash, Patsy, or any of the other legends of the genre. Essentially the Nickleback of country. Like how Eminem is the Nickleback of Rap.
Best part about working in a record store?
FREE STUFF!! I probably got 1200-1500 free cds during my tenure and close to 500 free DVDs.... I also didn't pay for 95% of the concerts I went to. Sales reps want you to like what they're hocking so they try and persuade you to come see newer acts perform live by offering free tickets, bar tabs at the shows(which I took PLENTY advantage of) and occasionally they'll comp you a hotel room if they've gotten you too drunk(it's all a write-off to them). I have seen Sloan close to 30 times and maybe paid twice. Reps know that if they keep you happy you'll be more than likely to take a chance on an unknown artist they're pushing. People who manage record stores make less than managers of any other retail outlet(mostly because the job is in such high demand), so the key to keeping them happy is free shit. By allowing me to not spend on all of the things I would normally be spending my money on(concerts/cds/dvds) they have effectively increased my salary. Coolest job I've ever had!!
Might be the whole rock-star appeal. Who knows.
