File: October 2008
The Human Fund
As summer closed out in Chicago, Fall Out Boy came home to Soldier Field to participate in the local version of Nike’s nationwide Human Race event. Prior to a performance on the north end of the field, the group attended an overly brief press conference in a room underneath the stadium. The band good-heartedly humored a room full of journalists not quite sure what to actually ask when faced with members of Fall Out Boy.
The difference between prepping for a run and a show? Singer Patrick Stump: “Your manager does not ask you to carb up the night before.” Their thoughts on the forthcoming Folie à Deux? Drummer Andy Hurley: “This is our . . . And Justice For All.” The band also gave some background about their in-progress viral campaign, Citizens For Our Betterment (CFOB), itself inspired in part by ARGs (alternate reality games) like the ones behind The Dark Knight and Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero. Later, as finishing runners returned to the stadium, the group performed a set of mostly hits, with no new material. Showcasing a heavier side of the band, the outfit eschewed their recorded pop sound for a chugging, more scream-laden attack. And while some were undoubtedly more interested in the latest gossip surrounding tabloid bait/bassist Pete Wentz, it was nice to see Fall Out Boy get to be hometown heroes again for a night.
— Jaime de’Medici
Sounds Magnetic, All Right
As much as it pains us to parrot other critics, Metallica can’t do anything right. Granted, in three days they managed to sell half-a-million copies of Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.; see our review in November), but even hardcore fans are spinning dizzily over the latest affront. The “Guitar Hero 3” video game unlocked a code to download Death Magnetic the day the album met store shelves, and immediately people noticed a glaring sound-quality issue with the CD. To video-game owners, the CD is heavily distorted due to a maniacal mixing and mastering job that white-washed the music’s sound range. Fans have pounded message boards, demanding Metallica and Warner Bros. issue a remastered version. At IE, we see it as Metallica perpetuating their talent for backing the wrong horse: First they bowed to MTV, then they cut their hair, next they came out against the Internet, and now they’ve fumbled a grenade in the loudness wars. “Unforgiven IV,” anyone?
Internot
We told you last month how stiffened royalty rates might sink Web-based radio programs like Pandora, and now some other Internet-music distributors face static. The first is Myspace Music, which has reached agreements with Warner Bros., EMI, and Sony BMG to sell MP3s, but none of the world’s 12,000 independent labels. In Europe, the words “anti-trust” are being bandied about and threaten the site’s promise to deliver “all the music in the world.” Then there’s Last.FM, which opens then crashes every time we reboot our iMac. That’s not the main problem, but can we get a technician here? Anyone? So it seems Last.FM have Wired and the Washington Post in their pocket, because both publications have trumpeted the transparency with which the company handles royalties owed to independent artists and labels. Not so, the labels told English newspaper The Register. Merlin, a licensing firm representing indies on an international level, issued a statement to underscore the fact Last.FM only has deals with labels in two territories. “Negotiations have stalled,” they write, “in particular due to Last.FM’s unwillingness to properly address its illegal infringing activity.” “Illegal” is such an ugly word, but everyone knows Last.FM owner CBS has half a mil in its satchel after courts vacated the Nipplegate judgment.
Be Prepared
They have jamborees all the time: Why shouldn’t we call in the Boy Scouts at a time like this? Troop 160 (Des Plaines) Scoutmaster Steve Reddington scratched his noodle and arrived at an idea for a “Venturing” program to bring 13 to 21-year-olds closer to music. In a time of shrinking public-school programs, Reddington is looking to boost the BSA’s Rockwellian image by making it, well, rock. Even better? Venturing curricula are co-ed (not that when IE were in Lombard Troop 151 we wouldn’t have scared some girls into vows of chastity and service to God). Reddington has contacted recording studios, “Rock Band 2” manufacturer Harmonix, lighting and sound companies, and Comcast with a fixing for an epic battle of the bands. He’s currently seeking benefactors and volunteers; Troop 160 can be found online at Crew160.nwsc.org.
— Steve Forstneger
