[EDITOR’S NOTE: Today we have another guest post by ElvisShotJFK. He has filth for you. As in, Cradle of . . . or maybe not.]
Back when Napster ruled college dorms, it allowed people to download and listen to all kinds of music that they might not have otherwise been able to hear. What started off as a simple idea snowballed into a fight with labels and artists picking sides; some were against the practice, while some embraced what it could do for their exposure.
Most people may remember Metallica’s role in the downfall of Napster, armed with 60,000 pages of user info.To many, the band seemed hypocritical, considering the tape trading that preceded the widespread usage of the internet that fueled the metal masses. However, Metallica did have a good reason to be concerned, but I think they handled it poorly and instead of looking at the immediate problem they faced (a leaked demo of “I Disappear”), they went for the symptom – the users of Napster. Napster’s founder didn’t help matters any when he showed up at the VMA’s wearing a Metallica shirt, then joked that he borrowed it from a friend.
Years have gone by and the Napster of old is long gone, as are some of its alternatives. While peer-to-peer is still around, torrents and hosting sites like Rapidshare, Megaupload and dozens of others serve the same purpose, but without many of the actual benefits. If someone had a bunch of stuff you were familiar with and liked, chances are he or she also had some other stuff that you’d like, not to mention the possibility of finding demos, rare tracks and bootlegs. Plus, not every download means a lost sale, but that’s a matter for another time.
Legal issues aside, there was another dark side to Napster and its kind — people who had no fucking clue who made the songs. “Weird Al” Yankovic was credited to almost every unknown funny song (or parody), while many a metal song were attributed to the big names, Metallica and Megadeth at the top of the heap.
Sadly, this trend continues to this day, and thus I present to you two songs attributed to one band, this band being Cradle Of Filth, who I’ve been a fan of for many years. I’m not here to defend the band, because they don’t need it and I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind about them. That’s not why I’m here, and I don’t mind if you don’t like the band. I do mind some of the attitudes people have toward the band, but there’s not really anything I can do about that.
So, let’s move on to the songs, after the jump. Continue reading »