Stormkeeper said on May 6, 2003 06:44:

no. who are they?

Jackie_Radiorox said on May 6, 2003 14:04:

I saw them for about 5 mins not this Friday that passed but the Friday before that.

They were playing at a huge USO Concert here in Miami which was televised overseas for our troops.

Reason why I saw them for 5 mins was because some (and there is no other way to put this) fucking idiot in the crowd threw a bottle, hit their drummer over the head and apparently the dood had to get stitched up. Click Click Boom! Indeed. :P Now I do not know if he actually had to get stitched up or if they just got pissed and left. All of the other bands were livid about it one of the DJs hosting the concert was giving backstage passes to anyone seeing someone toss a bottle or I liked his other method. “Slam their head against the fucking stage!”

coyboyusa said on May 7, 2003 13:02:

corporate and generic? lol and groups like pod and sod aren’t? please atleast their songs are a bit crafty..roxette wont crack america cause pop here is dead and that is a sad and true fact

coyboyusa said on May 8, 2003 16:24:

uncompromising and anti corporate LOL please...as soon as they sign to a major label they sacrifice some elemnt of their art and indeopendence to their label. the only reason syatem was able to relase boom was that it reflected the anti war attitude of their label owners...otherwise guess what it neevr would have seen the light of day.

don’t get me wrong I hate corporate generic rock like lets say firehouse or limp bizquick LOL

but i dont knock artists for writing killer songs...saliva has a few of them...he cowrote and dueted with chad kroeger for hero on the spiderman soundtrack and that song was awesome.. its all our own taste but we cant pretend that artists aren’t owned ...really now

powerpoplarry said on May 9, 2003 05:24:

Actually, what I said about System Of A Down IS true. They are about as anti-corporate, radical, and uncompromising as a band on a major label gets these days. I don’t think they’ve EVER been on an indie label, but in reality, American Recordings IS like an indie label, just with major label distribution. Rick Rubin, who is pro-artist all the way, he NEVER compromises his artists’ work, really!! The dude is as extreme as one gets with label CEOs. He signs bands NOT because of how much money they will make him, but because he LOVES their art and supports it. If it was about just the cash, he woulda dropped the Jayhawks a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago!! And, he wouldn’t have signed Johnny Cash either, making his label debut the all acoustic, UNCOMMERCIAL “American Recordings”. As for System Of A Down, do you know how many records they have released in total, and what these records SOUND like?? If you did, you would not feel the way you do. In reality, they are as UNCOMMERCIAL as a major-label band gets these days, but because they are original, energetic, and they keep it real in their politics (the band is Armenian-American), they have an EXTREMELY loyal fanbase. Radio hopped on because they broke, not the other way around. SOAD did not sell their souls at all, they achieved success on their own terms, with their art first. Plus, Serj has a new side project out now called “Serart”, a collaboration with a Middle Eastern artist, supposedly WTF, unclassifiable music that I am anxious to hear. Oh and System released “Boom” cuz it was an important statement, PERIOD!! They are as anti-war as you can get, and it helps that Rick Rubin is leftwing as well, very liberal. Best to be that way instead of a Bush-monger. Great song too. And yes, whatever label System is on, they would have no choice but to release the song because otherwise it woulda been outright censorship, as unAmerican as things would get.

Me too, DESPISE generic corporate music period, which includes most modern rock, most teen poop, cookiecutter country + generic R+B/hiphop. But killer powerpop is the best, and virtually NONE of the artists around today in the US do any of it!! Saliva sticks (my opinion), Nickelback stinks (again my opinion), and their collab “Hero” also stunk, and all reek of corporate fumes, you can’t get more corporate than a band like Nickelback or Creed. The only 3 great artists on that Spiderman soundtrack are Pete Yorn, Bleu, and the Hives. Yes, our own taste, I know that, and so do you, cool. Yes, most artists today ARE owned, but a handful are really not, Roxette + System included.

As for my comment that Americans don’t appreciate good pop and powerpop, I still stand by that. As for America breaking Roxette, this is partly true, as Rox were already huge in Sweden and somewhat in Canada by the time “The Look” came out. America broke Roxette worldwide, that is a definite. However, it was all timing, plus they were originally TURNED DOWN by EMI US!! It took a bloody EXCHANGE STUDENT to snowball Roxette in the US!! Another thing to consider is: if “The Look” came out today, chances are they woulda flopped BIG TIME!! They got big here by sheer luck and timing, with the great songs to back them up. TODAY, most Americans wouldn’t know a great powerpop record if it bit them on the ass. That’s what I was referring to. :-)

coyboyusa said on May 9, 2003 22:20:

i also agree roxette were a hit by luck ..look how hard a time they had fishing out to usa labels 2 years ago...per claims its money i think its severe lack of interest