In Hinder-related news

I spent a post a couple weeks back lambasting crap-rock band Hinder, which is something I generally don't spend a lot of time doing, but, you know what? It felt pretty good. So then a week or so later, I got a call from a publicist about a band called Finger Eleven, and the carrot that was dangled in front of my writerly nose was that they were opening a national tour for ... wait for it ... Hinder. So I was already suspicious.

I got the disc a couple days later and threw it in. The first track on it is called "Paralyzer" and it's the only track up on their MySpace page, so you can go listen to it for yourself. Remind you of anyone? It is, for all intents and purposes, exactly the same as the second half of "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand. I was flabbergasted. Writer types like to bemoan the music industry and how record labels are only interested in duplicating past successes, resulting in them always being a step behind when it comes to what's going on. A lot of the time, this is fairly accurate and sometimes it's not fair at all. But here? It's spot on.

I don't like crapping on bands. It doesn't make me feel good about myself or music, but that's because most of the time, the bands are working very hard trying to make a living doing what they believe in, even if what they really are is derivative and not all that special. But this Finger Eleven disc just smacks of a band that's either out to get paid, or one that started idealistic and then has let themselves be abused by a manager who's telling them what they need to do to make it to the top.

Apparently, that involves aping Franz Ferdinand. Of course, they're probably going to make more money this year than me, so that'll probably ameliorate the sacrifice of their soul a bit.