From clockwise Sent Fri, Sep 11th 1998, 04:00
From clockwise Sent Fri, Sep 11th 1998, 04:00
For those who dont know the story, Negativland released an announcement that they had to cancel a tour because they had been implicated in the killing of a highly christian family by their rebellious son after arguing about the music he listened to. after the initial announcement, they refused all interviews and made no further statements. The ensuing album, "Helter Stupid", is made up of the incestous media soundbites that fed on each other, all adding thier own spin on the story. Yes, on the surface, it was a childish 'prank', but the result made a profound statement about the way the media works when they dont have access to information. The U2 story stems from an album released during the anticipation of "the joshua tree", with the title, 'U2', larger than the name of the band, Negativland, and the sole graphic element, an American U-2 spy plane. it consisted of two songs parodying 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'. I seriously doubt, as Island Records claimed, that Negativland intended to trick U2 fans into believing that their two-song ep was the long anticipated release by the Irish band. I don't think there was any 'gimmick' or 'prank' to that release at all (many of their albums, 'Escape From Noise' among them, are pretty straight forward releases), but what happened following its release, the immense lawsuit from Island, SST caving in immediately and suing Negativland along with Island, instead of taking a stand against the corporate rock their bumper stickers declare as 'sucking', i think were very interesting. the book documents every fax, article, letter, legal document, etc that was related to the incident, and it shows how major labels work, even when U2 the band decided they didnt want the image of being the bad guys in the issue. The cd that accompanies the book is a soundbite collage that compliments the books message, with some english rock guy (im not sure who) admitting that rock and roll got its start from ripping off black blues artists, and some great recordings of greg ghinn (president of SST records and former Black Flag guitarist) screaming at them over the phone about how he owns everything theyve done and if they ever do anything with it he'll sue them. now i'll admit that the cds theyve released of the radio shows may lack some coherence, but in context, completely improvisational live radio, even they are impressive. i guess if you view Negativland as nothing more than pranksters, then yes, i can see how it might get old, but if you let the political andsocial commentary that underlies their music and 'stunts' soak in, i think youll find that they still have alot to offer. peace clockwise At 01:01 PM 9/1/98 -0500, you wrote: >I can see what you are saying; I just have a different perspective. The use of the word "dillettante" is just a reflection of my general feeling about Negativland. Its crude and perhaps unfair but thats my perception. I have followed the group since "Escape from Noise" and have seen the subsequent pattern of gags, pranks and guffaws. First, they spread rumors that "Christianity is Stupid" was the cause of an axe murder. That turned into the "Helter Stupid" album (which is great by the way). Then it was the U2 debacle which evolved into 'Fair Use" book and CD. Now its a new thing every week. I agree that they aren't hypocritical. In my opinion, the whole charade is getting old and stale. > >With respect, >R.P. >