From: jbbb+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joshua John Buergel)
Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial,alt.music.alternative
Subject: Re: Negativland - U2 story from a different perspective
Date: 22 Nov 92 00:26:34 GMT
	<1ek0auINN914@agate.berkeley.edu>
Organization: Sophomore, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

On 21-Nov-92 in Re: Negativland - U2 story ..
user Gregory Sherwin@ocf.berk writes:
>Now I noticed a lot of people who have harped on U2 and especially Island
>records for the major lawsuits slapped on Negativland.  And yes, I think
>to some extent there are freedom of speech issues involved.  However, I
>do get the unnerving feeling that there is a good deal more of blame that
>should be attributed to Negativland for the way they handled themselves. 
> 
>My first reaction was that I wanted to burn any Island record or CD I
>owned, but then I started to think some about the situation.  Negativland
>KNEW what they were doing when they got into that mess.  I don't think they
>were so naive not to think that coming out with an album with a huge
>'U2' on the cover and samplings from the group wouldn't bring lawsuits
>and the like from Island Records.  They knew where this thing was headed,
>and they went along with it and did it anyway.  I hate the corporate
>factorization of music as much as the next guy in this newsgroup, and
>I think that the music *industry* is total slime.  It is very unfortunate
>that this had to happen - and personally I think there were some very amusing
>shots in the ribs of U2 that Bono and the like well deserved.  But it's
>like if you leave your keys on the hood of your car in New York City.
>If your car gets stolen - that is a crime.  However, I have the right to
>say you are stupid for doing so.

Negativland did know that they might get into trouble for releasing this
stuff (they figured incorrectly, however, that it would be Casey Kasem
that would come down on them like a ton of bricks).  They had those
outtakes from AT40 for a long time, as they had been given to them
during the Escape From Noise tour by a fan.  What they failed to
anticipate was SIZE of the reaction from Island.  Two days after the
release of the record a 180 page legal document showed up.  The band and
SST wasn't expecting a reaction this big from Island, figuring that they
were too small to notice (and let's face it, 12,000 copies of _U2
Negativland_ aren't going to make a dent in U2's profits, and might not
even have sold out had it not been for the publicity).  A knee-jerk
reaction from Island completely crushed the band.  Ironically enough,
the legal action is going to end up costing Island $10,000 (they spent
$50K on prosecuting, and are getting $40K back).  If they had just
ignored the single, nobody would have cared and one of the finest jokes
ever played on the music industry would have been allowed to survive. 
N'land was a bit naive, but don't forget that the ultimate decision to
release the single was Greg Ginn's, and he chose to release it.  As the
owner of a label with gross sales of $5 million last year, he should
have known better.

>I am not so sure that this whole U2 thing with Negativland was not, in
>part, designed as some kind of publicity stunt.  All I can say is that
>it obviously worked to some extent - I doubt Kasey Casem ever heard of
>Negativland before all of this (seeing all the cuts from _Helter
>Stupid_ he used to play on the air).

I think it is completely possible that they were going to try to play
for some publicity here.  But what happened is that the magnificant
stupidity of the record industry caught them flat footed.  And they got
burned.  Yes, they were stupid.  But no, they shouldn't have their
careers ruined for no good reason.  It is pretty easy to say that they
were friggin' stupid, but they still deserve our support.

Joshua Buergel - allroy@cmu.edu - jbbb@andrew.cmu.edu
"Anybody who thinks we overstepped the playground perimeter of lyrical
decency (or that the public has any right to demand 'social
responsibility' from a goddamn punk rock band) is a pure natural dolt,
and should step forward and put his tongue up my ass." - Steve Albini