When filmmakers who like Metallica aren’t rich

I stumbled across this short film recently… I’m not gonna lie, it’s not exactly Citizen Kane, but what I found fascinating was the intro music. It was weird and offbeat, yet very familiar. It took me a while to realize it’s a ‘lawsuit-safe’ version of Metallica‘s ‘The Thing That Should Not Be.’

Then I noticed the character’s Metallica shirt, which means it’s not accidental. In fact, at one point in the film you can hear the original track being played on that CD player, which means they wrote/made the film with the song in mind, even used it, but then probably had to switch it for legal reasons.

Here, have a listen:

Fans of Conan may know the bit he does where his band plays a famous song differently, to ‘avoid legal action.’ That is, of course, meant to be a joke. But it actually does happen, even on major TV shows… When you don’t have the rights (or the money to buy the rights) of a certain song, you either find a band who will cover it for you using slightly different notes, or if the song is famous enough, you might actually find that ‘lawsuit-proof’ cover already, you just have to buy it. Soundtrack sites list these songs as “In the style of Metallica” or something similar.

But this does raise an interesting point… Why don’t labels allow their music to be used in non-profit work? I understand that a movie or a TV show makes a lot of money, thus it’s only fair to pay for the music. I also understand your song is your property, so I’m not saying everyone should just distribute their music for free… I’m just saying, if I was in a band, I’d have no problem with student films or YouTube clips using my music. As long as it’s not making a profit, who cares? If anything, fans of that short film might actually check out more of my music.

I understand trying to fight piracy, but I don’t understand discouraging people from using your music if they’re doing it just for the sake of the art. Back to the short film above, I’m willing to bet the filmmaker had Metallica’s song in mind the whole time, but had to change it for festivals and other events. It’s a bit sad when the song that inspires you can’t be used unless you can fork out the big bucks.

Silly me, trying to understand labels and their greed.

Young kids and instruments

If there is a Southern Rock jail, this kid is going to it. He butchers a classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song with one of the worst bottleneck guitar I’ve ever heard.

You’re probably wondering if the solo is just as bad… You betcha. He has the original song in the background, so that helps him hide some of the sloppiness, but it’s still a mess.

This is a 10 minute long torture. My ears!!!

My rating:

Young kids and instruments

People have been asking me why I am so mean to children and insult their playing. Why? Because they are bad at their instruments and they’re advertised on YouTube, by their parents, as BEST KID DRUMMER EVER or something like that. I’m keeping it real.

People have also been asking me if I can do better than those kids. The answer is yes, I can.

Anyway, today I’m gonna post a video of a kid who’s actually good on drums, despite his age. I really think this kid has tremendous potential.

To my future victims: That’s how you play the drums. If you’re not as good as him, ask your parents not to film you.

My rating:

Young kids and instruments

So this 10 year old kid decided to cover Chuck Berry on both guitar and vocals. The result? Another second degree murder.

He starts rather promising (for a kid) but then he starts ‘rocking out’ in a pretty awkward way. Then disaster strikes: he starts to sing.

God, kill me now. This is awful.

My rating:

Metal goes acoustic: Six is six too many

So welcome to the sixth edition of my ‘Metal goes acoustic.’ Keeping things serious, this time I’m posting a cover of an Amon Amarth track. Regular readers of Dose of Metal will know we absolutely love Amon Amarth here, so how does their music fare in an acoustic version?

The track in question is God of War Arise. The original is excellent, but I feel this is a perfect example to show that not all songs can work acoustically.  The person playing the cover does a fantastic job, and his playing is near flawless, however I can’t help feeling it just doesn’t work well on acoustic. Overall, Amon Amarth needs some distortion and power to their sound, and that’s what is lost in this cover. It’s a bit like having sex and never climaxing.