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Post by AeroCooper on Sept 2, 2014 15:33:18 GMT -5
Aerosmith on Rock Today: 'We're at the End of an Era'Lyndsey Parker By Lyndsey Parker 57 minutes ago Yahoo Music On Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET, Yahoo Live will live stream Aerosmith's concert from the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI. Tune in HERE to watch! Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, and 44 years after the group's formation in Boston, frontman Steven Tyler, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer are still rocking as hard as ever, on their aptly titled Let Rock Rule tour. But the significance and irony of that tour's name isn't lost on Perry, who surveys the dearth of successful rock bands out there nowadays and bluntly tells Yahoo Music, "I have a feeling that we're kind of at the end of an era, in a lot of different ways." "We just saw a pretty amazing age of music go by, starting with all the social unrest and the war in the '60s. The music really was a lot more than it is today, more of a statement. It was more of an us-against-them thing, kind of the background marching orders for the revolution, for the change that happened in the '50s and '60s," Perry explains. "Bands would go out there and play just for the joy of being able to go out and play music, without this huge celebrity thing that comes along with it now. And then we had the MTV era, which I think were the golden years of rock 'n' roll. But now there's very few bands with that old show-must-go-on attitude, that built their reputations on playing live and managed to stay together and still carry that. I mean, that's still the core of our philosophy: You get out there and do whatever it takes to put on the show for the fans that want to come and see you play." While there seems to be no shortage of diehard Aerosmith fans willing to buy concert tickets to see the band tear through dozens of hits from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, Aerosmith's most recent release, 2012's Music From Another Dimension! — their first album of all original material since 2001's Just Push Play — failed to match the success of Aerosmith's "golden years," ultimately selling only 235,000 copies. Perry, who remains extremely proud of the album (which many critics rightfully declared a return to 1970s form for the veteran rockers), sees this as symptomatic of how the music business has sadly changed over the past four decades. "The record companies don't really invest in the artist the way they used to," Perry laments. "In the '70s, you usually had fans that were just sitting and waiting for the next record to come out — and if they didn't like it, they bought it anyway! But that's kind of the way our whole economy is now. It's built on growth instead of quality. It's built on 'out with the old, in with the new; buy the new car because last year's car isn't cool,' rather than build a really good car that will last you as long as it should. "I thought [Music From Another Dimension!] was one of the best records we'd done in years and years… because it was the record that the fans seemed to have been asking for. All these years, over the last 20 years, we'd get these requests, like, 'Why don't you make a record like the old ones?' I think that we got back to the real deal with the last record, but circumstances being what they were, it never got the push that it should have from the label. "We had this whole promotion set up with the G.I. Joe movie, and they pulled the movie. Actually, I was in the limousine on the way to play the first single on American Idol — literally, we were driving, my car was right in front of Steven's and we were on our way to the studio to play it — and I got a phone call from Paramount and they said, 'I got some bad news for you. We're pulling the G.I. Joe movie for six months.' So the whole promotion thing was pulled right out from under us, and at the same time the president of Sony went over to Universal like two weeks before the album came out. So if that isn't a setup for a bad opening, then I don't know what is." Music From Another Dimension! was Aerosmith's last album for Sony, but despite this setback, the group's love of rock 'n' roll is as fervent as ever, as evidenced by the fiery performances they deliver night after night on the Let Rock Rule tour. "That's what us together at the beginning, or kept us together," says Perry. "We all had this one vision, and that was to entertain the fans, because we all were fans first. Steven will tell you the first time he saw the Rolling Stones and how it made him feel, or how I felt when I saw some of the early English bands from the second generation — the Who, the Jeff Beck Group, Ten Years After. For some reason, we thought we could add something to this: 'I think I can get up there and do that,' you know? And there was just something that drove us to take it to the next level." Perry is planning to release a solo EP in 2015, and his autobiography, Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith, on Oct. 7. But thankfully, it probably won't be another 11 years before Aerosmith records new music. "I have to think we're going into the studio again, just to lay out some new songs," says Perry. "I don't know how it's going to go as far as sales, but as far as us as artists, I think we're gonna have to go in." And as for that golden era of music, when rock really ruled? Says Perry: "I just count myself lucky to have been around when it was starting, and actually be captured by it and be a part of it." celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/aerosmith-on-rock-today---we-re-at-the-end-of-an-era-192420160.html
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Deleted
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Apr 29, 2024 14:26:41 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 16:34:30 GMT -5
I have looked at sales charts for Billboard Hot 100. 235k album sales is really good. Taylor Swift might still sell a million copies, but there are not many more. I know when I bought CD's I would have 4 or 5 bought copies, 1 in both cars, 1 at home, 1 at work and one lost in one of a 1000 CD cases I couldn't find or was too lazy to look for. Not for every album, but certainly my favorites and most Aerosmith CD's.
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Post by jj on Sept 2, 2014 16:41:55 GMT -5
Well, again Perry is blaming poor promotion on the lack of sales, as well as the fickle audience (which does ring true). But in the end, the album was not what fans were asking for - a return to the hard rock of the 70s. They may have all been in the same room recording, but the balance of rockers to ballads was way off. And some of the rockers just didn't have the same oomph nor appeal. From an AOR perspective, this might have been an okay album, but from a hard rock perspective it was lacking. I am all for the band getting back in the studio, but not in 2016, do it now on the heals of this successful tour, while the chemistry is hot and the band members at the top of their game. Steven can rest his voice while the band tracks. C'mon Aerosmith, take advantage of the momentum you have created. This is what you are about!
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Post by seangod on Sept 2, 2014 19:24:49 GMT -5
Awesome! (Live stream!)
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Post by krawhitham222 on Sept 3, 2014 0:20:29 GMT -5
I was supposed to go to a Yes show in San Jose a couple weeks ago but couldn't because I got pneumonia. Luckily for me, this very same service (Yahoo! Screens) was streaming the show live. So I stayed at home and watched it live in HD on my tv. And it wasn't just some crappy stationary camera in the back of the venue showing the stage (like a recording of a grade-school play), it was as if I was watching a well-put together concert disc. So hopefully Aerosmith's quality will be just as good!
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alwatson
Got a Grip
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Post by alwatson on Sept 3, 2014 4:21:05 GMT -5
Does anyone know if it is available overseas or is it just a US thing (the stream, that is)?
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Post by tomass on Sept 3, 2014 9:22:26 GMT -5
Oh C'mon Joe, stop blaming the record companies for MFAD. It wasn't the real deal and it was a far cry from and sort of resemblence to an old school record. It was just flat out bad. You guys, missed the mark by a mile and it wasn't what the majority of fans were looking for. If it was a good album you would have felt the positive feedback from all the die hard fans whether it sold well or not. How much was having a song in GI JOE going to help? The movie practically went straight to DVD anyway. The best part of MFAD for me is that it was so bad that they already dropped all of it's songs from the setlist leaving room the boys to play some of the greatest Rock N' Roll songs ever written. This tour has been killer..
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Post by krawhitham222 on Sept 3, 2014 10:25:11 GMT -5
Does anyone know if it is available overseas or is it just a US thing (the stream, that is)? Not sure, but here's a little secret for everyone. If you use Chrome as your browser, grab the 'Hola Better Internet' extension here chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hola-better-internet/gkojfkhlekighikafcpjkiklfbnlmeio . It lets you load pages as if you were in a particular country. Just go to a website, then click the little Hola icon in your browser and click the flag of the country you want to pretend to be, and it'll reload the page for you. It usually works.
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Post by aerognr87 on Sept 3, 2014 11:07:35 GMT -5
I will be at the Clarkston show!! Maybe you will see me. I will be in the 14th row on Brad's side singing along to every song and going out of my mind.
I agree with a lot of what Joe had to say regarding this being the end of an era for rock. People just aren't buying rock records anymore and the whole rock genre is shunned by the music industry. Even the most popular current hard rock bands like Avenged Sevenfold can't chart hits or sell records like rock bands used to only 10-15 years ago. 2008's double platinum releases by AC/DC and Metallica were kind of the last hurrah. They used to have multiple categories dedicated to rock and metal in the late 80s and 90s at the VMAs, the AMAs, and more...not anymore. Even at the Grammys, I don't even know if they televise the rock categories anymore...and they always go to Dave Grohl anyways, so who cares? It's all pop, R&B, and rap nowadays. And maybe they'll throw a bone or two to "pop/rock" bands like Maroon 5. But let's face it...Maroon 5 and their ilk is not rock.
Even if MFAD was a better, more focused rock record that got better reviews and more promotion (that was well timed and coordinated) and support from Sony & Columbia, it still would've barely gone gold. Just look at Van Halen's record or any other decent rock record by a veteran act this decade. The only thing that might have escalated the record to the next level (sales wise) is if Aerosmith's people and Carrie Underwood's people were more coordinated on better crafting their duet and getting the support of country radio and country fans, and having a better rock-country crossover. But that whole thing was not well executed at all. Epic fail.
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Post by aerozhul on Sept 3, 2014 11:35:30 GMT -5
I think picking better singles would've helped boost numbers a bit. Street Jesus straight out of the gate and then Oh Yeah as #2 single could have worked. But still....even with great marketing (which Aerosmith has not had since Get A Grip) and a better single selection, I agree that the album wouldn't have done too much better.
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Post by Muff And Uncle Biff on Sept 3, 2014 12:23:21 GMT -5
Does anyone have the know-how to be able to record this streaming? It would be great to have a good-quality memento of what has been a (mostly) awesome tour.
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Post by krawhitham222 on Sept 3, 2014 12:31:19 GMT -5
Does anyone have the know-how to be able to record this streaming? It would be great to have a good-quality memento of what has been a (mostly) awesome tour. We're working on it
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Post by pillis on Sept 3, 2014 14:59:18 GMT -5
Joe is right whether you liked the album or not. 240k copies sold just in the States is not a disaster nowadays for a rock band, I bet it has surpassed the 500k worldwide without even a hit single or a tour supporting lots of songs from it, so with a good promotion it could have easily reached the 1 milion mark which is great for an old rock act. Then again, you all know what I think about MFAD...to me it's really the closest attempt in doing what they used to do without sounding too nostalgic nor cheesy. I think that some people are just plain wrong in expecting another toys or rocks especially when toys was different from wings, rocks different from toys and draw the line different from rocks... And honestly I get all this disappointment just from some american fans who aren't their biggest fanbase anymore since it seems Aerosmith are way more popular and requested in other parts of the world. Then if you base your opinion on reviews you should know better than me that Aerosmith never had amazing critics' reviews, even in the 70s and actually the reviews fro MFAD were from average to good, the reactions to Legendary Child and WCHBL/Lover Alot were great to my memory. When it came out RS gave to the album 3.5/5 which is not a bad score although I think RS has the crappiest reviews ever. To have their song featured in GI Joe could have made them make 50-80k $ or even more, and that means the possibility to invest that money in the promotion of the single...promotion it didn't have. Labels don't give you money to expose your music if your music is not appealing, and you create hype on a new record not just with quality.
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Post by petertherock on Sept 3, 2014 15:41:35 GMT -5
MFAD wan't the album the fans wanted. When we said we wanted an old school record we didn't mean 5 members of the band record it in the studio together only...although that was a start. We meant it has to have the sound and feel of a real blues based rock album! That's what it lacked. When Steven writes songs with Diane Warren and Carrie Underwood and has people like Johnny Depp play on the album that is not the mark of an old school Aerosmith album. This album sucked because they tried to be all things to all fans. Instead, they made an album that was nothing to anyone. Sure, there were a few good songs, but the bad songs were really bad and killed any chance this album had of being good. Take the blinders off Joe and realize the album wasn't as good as you think it was.
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Post by selloutrus on Sept 3, 2014 16:07:50 GMT -5
Joe is right whether you liked the album or not. 240k copies sold just in the States is not a disaster nowadays for a rock band, I bet it has surpassed the 500k worldwide without even a hit single or a tour supporting lots of songs from it, so with a good promotion it could have easily reached the 1 milion mark which is great for an old rock act. Then again, you all know what I think about MFAD...to me it's really the closest attempt in doing what they used to do without sounding too nostalgic nor cheesy. I think that some people are just plain wrong in expecting another toys or rocks especially when toys was different from wings, rocks different from toys and draw the line different from rocks... And honestly I get all this disappointment just from some american fans who aren't their biggest fanbase anymore since it seems Aerosmith are way more popular and requested in other parts of the world. Then if you base your opinion on reviews you should know better than me that Aerosmith never had amazing critics' reviews, even in the 70s and actually the reviews fro MFAD were from average to good, the reactions to Legendary Child and WCHBL/Lover Alot were great to my memory. When it came out RS gave to the album 3.5/5 which is not a bad score although I think RS has the crappiest reviews ever. To have their song featured in GI Joe could have made them make 50-80k $ or even more, and that means the possibility to invest that money in the promotion of the single...promotion it didn't have. Labels don't give you money to expose your music if your music is not appealing, and you create hype on a new record not just with quality. Oh.
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