Throughout the great and colorful history of rock 'n' roll, there have been a slew of interesting myths.
Perhaps you have heard some of these gems: Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a live bat onstage (true, in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1982, for which he received 14 rabies inoculations in the muscle wall of his abdomen) or Keith Richards having all his blood replaced in a Swiss detox center in 1974 (false, he made it up as a joke when people asked him how he cleaned up his "human laboratory"). The great tales of lore, however, have continued into the present, so let's take a good look at some of them, shall we?:
Myth No. 1: At least one of Better Than Ezra, Collective Soul, Crash Test Dummies, Candlebox, Deep Blue Something, or Dishwalla will score another hit single.
Fact: Not a chance in hell - one can't make two Faustian pacts.
Myth No. 2 (heard last summer): "Hey, man, did you hear? The drummer from the Pumpkins OD'd on smack and the non-Billy Corgan guitarist got arrested for possession!"
Fact: That friend of yours "in the know" was mistaken, as it was a keyboardist touring with the Smashing Pumpkins who sadly died, and Jimmy Chamberlain (the drummer) did not -he merely got sacked by the rest of the band for being a liability. And while James Iha (the other guitarist) may look strung out at all times, he was not arrested and is still going strong, cracking jokes that sail over your head and making those weird facial expressions.
Myth No. 3: Nirvana and R.E.M. were going to tour together and alternate headlining (a la Guns N' Roses and Metallica in 1991) before Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994.
Fact: True story, one Michael Stipe acknowledged himself in an interview last year.
Myth No. 4: "Releasing "Zooropa" was bad enough, but now U2 are completely going off the deep end with their new album, abandoning their fan base!"
Fact: Well, "Zooropa" was a bit of a disappointment, but don't worry your pretty little head, as "Pop" supposedly will mix a good amount of sweet ballads -in the vein of "With or Without You" and "One"- with stellar danceable rock, like the excellent first single, "Discotheque."
Myth No. 5: Liam Gallagher of Oasis is a complete tosser.
Fact: True, as evidenced by his taking the whole "Beatles" thing a bit too far, flicking a cigarette ash on the head of Fab Four rival Mick Jagger at the Q Awards in London in November. But the lad can sing, though (at least when he's not getting arrested for being "chained to the mirror and the razor blade," as he was the night of the ash incident).
Myth No. 6: Americans have spent 33 percent more money buying 15 million copies of Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" than President Clinton and Bob Dole spent combined on their 1996 campaigns.
Fact: Horribly, horribly true, as pointed out in a recent "Spin" article.
Myth No. 7: Bush and "In Utero" producer Steve Albini = Nirvana.
Fact: Yeah, and Pamela Anderson doesn't need a talent implant.
Here's hoping that 1997 is as fruitful a myth-creating year as those in the past, and those who make the news come in the form of the good (Radiohead, U2, and James all have new records coming out), the fat (Screaming Trees), and the funny (Beck).
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