Whenever I hear about rock rivalries, it always seems more than a little paradoxical. After all, these are artists, and artists are supposed to be, in theory, the most enlightened among us. Often times, they are the most vocal, and credible, critics of the overly competitive and petty natures within the vast majority of human beings. They rail against the excesses of society, and usually, these are related, in some way or other, to some of the big vices - pride and ego, unchecked desire, conniving schemes, and outright greed.
Yet, it is no secret that they don't always measure up. No less of a genius than Stephen Hawking in his younger years worked side by side with a student that was working on a rival theory, posing as a fellow believer and helping him along, only to public derail him when in a very public way when the time came.
Musicians can be like that as well, of course. Music is often supposed to be an escape from all that type of stuff. Yet, it often times not only is not, but it becomes the most public forum for such idiocy, filling up the tabloid headlines with ridiculous nonsense.
You could expect that perhaps in other fields. Sports, for example, where trash talking is not only often an extension of the competitive spirit that is required, but an outright covert strategy (it works at times, and fails to at others).
But artists are not athletes. Not only are they not athletes, quite often, they are the anti-athletes. They shun that "spirit", if you will, of competition. Perhaps they are shoved to the sidelines specifically because of this. Because they dare to dream of a world without the excesses of such competition. Competition, for example, that in it's most extreme form, leads up to war. Competition that seeks to completely eradicate a competitor. What is war, or racism, or other such things, if not some form of competition, after all? Competing perhaps for natural resources, or opportunities, and it becomes, or seems to become, necessary to eliminate that competition.
What I am saying is that art is creation, and I personally believe that there is nothing more divine that a human being can do than to create something. Given that many people believe that human nature (at least in our global culture) seems to be equal parts creating and destroying, art can reflect the best that we have to offer, and provide a refuge from the more destructive elements of our nature, if you will.
So, why is it that many artists not only fall to the vices of jealousy and bitterness towards others (competitors, if you will), but go ahead and act upon it? More often than not, much like athletes, this is not just some kind of momentary slip, but specifically calculated (probably by their agents or other interested parties, but perhaps by the artists themselves) in order to advance their career, to increase sales of their music or books or whatever.
Look at Keith Richards insulting Mick Jagger in his recent autobiography, and the public spat that flared up between the two afterwards.
Look at a megalomaniac like Axl Rose, who is actually a talented musician, but who's ego and false machismo gets in the way and defines him more than his actual work. It seems he's more interested in personal spats and proving how much of a bad ass he is, then making music. If he would quit being a walking, talking, breathing cliche, stop regularly showing up two hours late for shows (and then "apologizing" to his fans), he might actually just be considered a great musician, without controversy. Instead, he is more well known at this point for these absurd antics, than for any music that he has put out in the last twenty or more years. Am I wrong?
In any case, I thought this might be an interesting (as well as shockingly extensive!) series to work on over time. There certainly is not shortage of material to work on, either. It started with some ideas off the top of my head, famous bands that had spats with other bans, or internal spats that threatened to break up the band. The fist kind of tension is band vs. band, while the second is inside of the band itself.
These were some of the ideas that I was juggling with, but as you can probably tell, they are just too numerous. So numerous and extensive, in fact, that I got tired of looking this stuff up well before I was anywhere near done. That means that the list is not even close to being comprehensive, and I know that there are tons of bands that I did even touch.
That said, I go to something that I have mentioned of other posts: your own involvement. If you know of some that I have missed (and since I kind of resigned earlier than expected from fatigue and a sense of being overwhelmed by just how extensive these were), then please feel free to share some of your own. I will try and do the research, and try and get around to these eventually (probably one at a time, although in the interests of time and brevity, perhaps some could be combined when it features the same artist against multiple bands (Axl Rose, Courtney Love, and Eminem were among those where this seems not only possible, but almost necessary).
This should be an interesting topic, and one that I have been thinking about for some time. But I tend to be more or less a perfectionist, which is why I hesitate to actually submit a blog entry if there are things that are possibly missing. I was reluctant to submit this post, although, it has to start somewhere, right?
Take a look at the list below, and you might get an idea of just how extensive the list is. Again, I reiterate, if there are rock feuds that I am leaving out, and that you might be interested in my exploring, please, please, please post, and I promise to respond, and do my best to research and then write.
Band vs. Band Rivalries:
- Nirvana v. Pearl Jam
- Axl Rose/Guns 'N Roses v. Nirvana
- Axl Rose/Guns 'N Roses v. Motley Crue
-Axl Rose/Guns 'N Roses v. Josh Homme
- Axl Rose/Guns 'N Roses v. Velvet Revolver
- Axl Rose/Guns 'N Roses v. Bon Jovi (noticing a trend yet?)
- Axl Rose/Guns 'N Roses v. Metallica
- Trent Rezner v. Marilyn Manson
- Kid Rock v. Tommy Lee (of Motley Crue)
- Neil Young v. Lyrnyd Skynrys
- Kiss v. Santana
- Paul McCartney v. Michael Jackson
- Courtney Love v. Frances Bean
- Courtney Love v. Dave Grohl
- Courtney Love v. Lily Allen (noticing another trend?)
- Courtney Love v. Eddie Vedder
- Courtney Love v. Billy Corgan (of Smashing Pumpkins)
- Courtney Love v. Ryan Adams
- Courtney Love v. Madonna
- Megadeth v. Metallica
- Metallica v. Alice in Chains
- Metallica v. Bon Jovi
- Metallica v. Voivod./Jason Newsted
- Metallica v. Pantera
- Metallica v. Slayer
- Metallica v. Anthrax
- Creed v. Pearl Jam
- Creed v. Limp Bizkit
- Limp Bizkit v. Eminem
- Limp Bizkit v. Nine Inch Nails
- Limp Bizkit v. Slipknot
- Limp Bizkit v. Machinehead
- Limp Bizkit v. Everlast
- Eminem v. Everlast
- Eminem v. Lil Wayne
- Eminem v. Mariah Carey
- Eminem v. Insane Clown Posse
- Eminem v. Christina Aguilera
- Eminem v. 50 Cent
- Eminem v. Dr. Dre
- Eminem v. Elton John
- Eminem v. Lady Gaga
- Eminem v. Jay Z
- Eminem v. Kanye West
- Eminem v. Moby
- Eminem v.Pink
- Neil Young v. Lynryd Skynyrd
Internal Feuds:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger v. Keith Richards
- Axl Rose v. Slash
- The Who: Townsend vs. Daltry
- Nirvana: Cobain v. Novoselic & Grohl
- Pearl Jam: Five Against One
- Eric Burdon v. Rest of the Animals
- The Kinks: Brotherly Feud
- Oasis: Brotherly Feud
- Simon v. Garfunkel
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