Did anyone see this? It was pretty ridiculous. Snoop Dogg doing 'Sad But True'? That's pretty sad. You should've seen all the celebs there because this was the 'in' thing to go to. Most of them probably have never heard Master Of Puppets. Then, there was Lars' quote: "I consider Limp Bizkit one of our peers'. Come on. If they were really doing a tribute to Metallica, they would have people like Anthrax, Faith No More (i.e. Jim Martin, Mike Bordin), or Jerry Cantrell. What's next? MTV Icon: Tom Petty with performances by Ja Rule and Backstreet Boys? Sheesh.

Come on. If they were really doing a tribute to Metallica, they would have people like Anthrax, Faith No More (i.e. Jim Martin, Mike Bordin), or Jerry Cantrell.

Yeah, but all the groups and individuals you've mentioned have stayed dedicated to their craft, instead of to the album charts. I know that the "Metallica sold out" argument is "so ten years ago," but it's true, and even they'll tell you they sold out. That's fine, nothing wrong with cashing in on your success and talent, but it shouldn't be surprising that some of their true peers have better things to do than to hang out with Metallica's "new best friends" like Snoop Dogg and Limp Bizkit.

I didn't see the Icon show or anything, since I refuse to watch MTV. But it just makes sense. Metallica runs with a new crowd now, and the bands they've influenced, while they're indebted to Metallica for all their great early work, probably don't feel so bad about missing out on a chance to pay tribute to a band that no longer resembles the band that they were inspired by.

What's next? MTV Icon: Tom Petty with performances by Ja Rule and Backstreet Boys?

Damn, you must have gotten a hold of their Fall schedule already.

I missed the show as well for the same reason (I don't watch that horrible channel).

But what I found humorous was that Avril Lavigne was doing a cover. I wonder which one she did...

It was Fuel. That was probably one of the more tolerable ones. Most of the songs were cut short because of time. Korn's rendition of One and Limp Wristed Bisquick's version of Welcome Home (Sanitarium) were pretty awful. You could see James Hetfield sort of squirming in his seat, though, when Snoop Dogg butchered Sad But True...

I'm optimistic about Metallica's new album though - they have admitted that they think everything new they have done for the last 10 years is crap and are going back to their roots.

Bring it on!!!

I'm optimistic about Metallica's new album though - they have admitted that they think everything new they have done for the last 10 years is crap and are going back to their roots.

Yeah, a statement which in itself is designed to push more records. Every artist who releases a new album claims that this new one breaks new ground, is a complete departure from what they did... You never hear an artist say "well, what I tried to do with this album is replicate the sound from our last album, and try to make more money off of the same tripe." Every artist is "going back to their roots" right before an album comes out. Especially weathered acts like Metallica, who can no longer count on bringing in new fans, and really need to reach out to former Metallica fans to get the kind of sales they need.

Every artist is "going back to their roots" right before an album comes out.

I have to agree with your cynicism on this one.

Regardless of all of that, I'm inclined to avoid purchasing it altogether based on how arrogant they were about the whole Napster thing.

Assaholica is really just a microcosm of the whole music industry -- their sales were down not because people were nefariously copying their albums, but because their product was crap.

their sales were down not because people were nefariously copying their albums, but because their product was crap.

Well, close. The sales were down because people were getting copies of their albums before they bought them, and then finding out that they were crap, before spending their hard-earned frog pelts on them. People have been buying crap forever, and then selling the CD's back a few months later. Now, you can try before you buy, which puts the heat on groups like Metallica to make music worth paying for.

Well, people were listening to albums they didn't own well before Napster (friends' copies, the radio, etc.), but your point is accurate and well taken.

how arrogant they were about the whole Napster thing

I tend to think that that one was more of Lars' fault. That buy is the biggest ass on the entire planet. Every time he speaks he sounds like the biggest jerk in the world. The other guys seem decent enough, but man, how full of themselves can one drummer be?

that one was more of Lars' fault

True, but the other two are assholes, too. It was kinda funny them razzing Newsted when he first joined, but the fact that they continued to do it and that he obviously hated it until he left the band was ... I don't even have the right adjective here.

how full of themselves can one drummer be?

Clearly, you haven't hung around a lot of drummers.

Present company excepted, Ynot.

Actually, I've known about 10 drummers as good friends, and they've all been quite modest

I do agree that it is the common image, though. Being a band geek myself, I'll say that I've known more percussionists to be full of themselves than pure set players.

Clearly, you haven't hung around a lot of drummers.

Uh, you mean musicians right? I mean, how many humble musicians have you ever met?

I mean, how many humble musicians have you ever met?

Many. But rarely have I met a humble drummer.

Okay, before I start making a bunch of musician jokes on my own:

http://www.magpie.com/tbl/jokes/

Yep. I've had been wanting to see a Metallica gig since I was in my teens, but their attitude in the last few years have caused me to boycott them and their products...probably forever. I will make it a point however, to search out a p2p copy of their next album, simply to find out whether it could be any worse than Load or Reload.

Well, I guess it's just the ones I'm around then. I've found that humility tends to be inversely related to talent (not always, though) and only one drummer I've ever worked with was that arrogant (but he was quite possibly the most arrogant musician I've ever met) though I've worked with many talented drummers. I find that egos really get in the way when trying to work with other semi-talented musicians, especially guitarists. As a semi-talented musician myself I’m not saying that I’m immune either, but at least I’m aware of the problem!

Present company excepted, Ynot.

I am by no means a drummer! At best, I'm a wannabe drummer.

Anyway, I have to disagree with the "fulll of themselves" comment. Lars is clearly full of himself, but if anything, drummers have an inferiority complex. They sit in the background, mostly obscured by their instrument, and are always last to get picked in the Groupie Lottery. The number of jokes about drummers being stupid and somehow less musical than other band members could fill an entire thread. I'll just cite two that come to mind immediately:

"How do you shut a drummer up?"
"Put sheet music in front of him."

"How do you know a drummer is at your door?"
"Because the knocking keeps getting louder and faster."

Of course, there's the drummer's retort to that second one:

"How do you know the lead singer is at your door?"
"Because he can't find the key, and doesn't know when to come in."

Anyway, if you look at 90% of popular rock bands, I can think of at least one other member of the band that is considered more arrogant than the drummer. Just a few examples:

The Beatles: Ringo? If anything, he's self-deprecating. McCartney had enough ego to spread around to the rest of the band. Lennon had his share as well.
The Rolling Stones: No contest there. Charlie Watts is like "the other member" of the Stones. Notable only for his incestual marriage and his lack of a hi-hat on beat 3.
Van Halen: Either of the first two lead singers alone had more ego than the rest of the band combined, including Alex.
Pink Floyd: With Gilmour and Waters around, Nick had no room at all to be full of himself.
Led Zeppelin: Bonham was a master, but I don't think he was any more full of himself than Plant or Page.

Really, can anyone else name any drummers who are more "full of themselves" than the average musician?

Okay, before I start making a bunch of musician jokes on my own:

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Aced me again, Fabris.

My favorite musician joke:

Q: How many bass players does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: No one's ever noticed.

edit: I should say I think this is funny not to be mean spirited, because I realize how much it stinks always getting overlooked the way bass players do.

"How do you know a drummer is at your door?"
"Because the knocking keeps getting louder and faster."

Hehe, I was thinking of this joke before I even got to it in your post. Definitely my favorite, although it works so much better when the punchline is told through demonstrating

Anyway, that sure seems to be the way of it. When I agreed about Tony's idea of an arrogant drummer, I think I was still thinking of percussionists in concert band or orchestras. When I think of all the bands I listen to, the drummers never stand out as personalities. Interestingly enough, in many cases they are more talented than most of the other band members, and considering a hard rock band is nothing without a drummer, it's interesting to think how many guitarists are the egomaniacs

it stinks always getting overlooked the way bass players do

Any big Kids In the Hall Fans will have a great sketch playing in their heads now.

Bonham was a master

I still don't get this. I've heard lot's of people say it (including one of my favorite drummers, Dave Grohl), and maybe I'm coming at it with Citizen Kane eyes, but I've never found him to be all that good. Showy, yes, but not good.

(Citizen Kane eyes == having remarkable achievements become so commonplace that they're unnoticeable, even when viewing the origin)

Really, can anyone else name any drummers who are more "full of themselves" than the average musician?

Plenty, but they are all personal acquaintances that none of you would know. And truth be told, some of the drummers I know are quite humble. I also know quite a few that are pretty full of themselves. I've only personally met a few "famous" drummers, and they've all been nice people. Didn't really get a chance to talk to them much except for Alan White, and he seemed quite humble.

Did you hear the one about the drummer who locked his keys in the car?

It took two hours to get the bass player out.

Rent a copy of "The Song Remains the Same." He has a really long drum solo that is just amazing.

Also, he pioneered some of the drum sounds (AFAIK). Listen to "When the Levee Breaks." That song has the biggest drum sound I've ever heard, and I think that's where his influence comes from.

That, and he was the quintessential rocker

That's the one where he's beating the drums with his bare hands, right? All flash, no substance. It's the same as Page's pseudo-theremin. The only one of those guys that had much musical talent at all, in my opinion, was JPJ. Not to say that they didn't make some entertaining music from time to time.

A common mistake made by Bonham-doubters is to think that because his hand patterns weren't all that complex or intricate, he wasn't very innovative. In the end, drumming isn't about doing advanced technical things, it's about playing the right beat, and making it sound exactly right for the music.

Having said that, his single-foot bass pedal technique was unheard of. He did really fast, intricate stuff with a single bass pedal, which kept his left foot free to do things with the hi-hat. He also did much to advance the science of getting a really heavy sound out of the drums. He was no slouch with his hand patterns, either, but Zep's sound didn't call for terribly intricate hi-hat work or crazy speed up top.