The Record Crate

I honestly had begun to question the testicular fortitude of today’s musicians. When was the last time two musicians that had a legit problem with each other settled it in such a way that the rest of the world could point, stare and judgmentally shake our heads at. I remember once when I went to a local radio show, that band Story of the Year were playing. Their faces looked like they’d just been used as punching bags for a De La Hoya training session. The previous day, they had the snot kicked out of them by Godsmack. I’ve always hated Godsmack and I still do. However, what I appreciate about them is that they’re human. Instead of throwing money and power around to solve their problems, they let their fists do the talking. Just like any regular blue-collar folk would do.

I read quotes from musicians all the time who want to say something back-handed to someone else (more often than not it’s towards the Jonas Brothers. To those musicians, I say pick on someone with your same sexual activity). So back a few months, when I saw the lead singer of the Black Lips Jared Swilley ask Nathan Williams of Wavves to quit playing music forever, I didn’t think it would amount to anything beyond a funny quote made by a dude who fronts a band that’s not much better than his target.

Wrong.

It’s been a long time since beef between musicians has been taken to the mattress-or at least a beef that mattered. I hearken back to a time known as the 1990s. Biggie. Tupac. Neither should have gone. IT WASN’T THEIR TIME.

But I digress.

I’m not condoning violence in any way whatsoever. All I’m saying is that two rockers fighting adds a certain element to rock music. Something that makes the lyrics people sing seem more alive than they would have had a fight not taken place. The cool thing about this fight is that it wasn’t at any fancy club, it wasn’t in Vegas and no guns were involved. Truth be told, the only solid fact is that some dude (allegedly Wavves’ road manager) smashed a bottle on Swilley’s face and a fight ensued. Some people (and by people I mean Williams and Co.) say that the two brawled. Others (Swilley and his crony pals), say that Williams wasn’t even involved. Here’s what I don’t care about: what actually happened. Vague details are enough for me in this case. All I have to say is one thing: THE ROCK STAR ATTITUDE IS BACK.