Clear Channel is a corporate media behemoth that recently bought out an alternative rock radio station in my area and converted it into yet another hit music spot, just so you'll have less of a chance to miss out on any of today's popular songs and giving you the heaven-sent opportunity to listen each and every one of them twenty times a day. They also strive to excel in the internet music business and are actively pushing something called iHeart Radio. They even put together an event called the iHeart Radio Music Festival, so that more people would know about it, though I wouldn't have heard or cared about it, if it weren't for Billie Jo Armstrong's passionate expletive-laden tirade of anger and disbelief.
The issue was that Billie Joe and his band Green Day were originally given only 45 minutes to play at the festival, somewhere between Usher and Rihanna, much less stage time than their usual.
Well, the managers at the festival noted that Usher ran his set an extra 25 minutes, and didn't think it was a good idea to keep Rihanna waiting, and maybe they thought Green Day would be good sports and cut their set to... say... 30 minutes? One report says that Green Day was “asked” to make this accommodation. Another report stated that the band had no idea of this drastic duration change until the words “1 minute” appeared on a jumbo screen facing the band as they were performing one of their most popular tunes.
Billie Joe saw this, quickly interrupted the song, and went ballistic. At one point, he even proclaimed that they were no Justin Bieber and had been around since the late '80s, and they're being given only one more minute? (Yes, Justin Bieber didn't play at the festival and anyone who thought Billie Joe brought Justin up just to diss him probably didn't get his point.) The band then smashed their guitars on the stage, and Billie Joe belted out a few more choice words on the mike and left. The video clip is actually much better than how I've described it.
Some have painted Billie Joe as a petulant middle-aged child, but I believe he was understandably angry at having been shortchanged and, due to his having checked himself into rehab for substance abuse shortly thereafter, probably under the influence. He ended up issuing a public statement, apologizing for being offensive. Fair enough, but he needn't have apologized to me.
So, what we have now is another viral video of the moment, and it's a good one. Billie Joe's rage was certainly palpable. Very much so. I ended up watching it several times. What a performance!
Well, I had just stepped away from the computer, convinced that Billie Joe made a valid point succinctly and clearly. But then something else occurred to me.
Who the hell was running the main control board? You know, the point where all the sound and video from the stage get passed through and out to the rest of the world? I mean, think about it. If you've watched the video, you may recall that no less than 90 seconds elapsed from the point where Billie Jo stops the music to the point where he walks off the stage. 90 seconds! And throughout all that time, his mike was left full on! What's up with that?
Weren't the boys and girls of Clear Channel biting their nails and getting all agitated? Weren't they the least bit concerned about what Billie Joe would do or say in front of all those people? Were they not in control of their own festival?
Of course they were! They could have shut him down easily, but he's no Jim Morrison and this is not 1968, TMZ-style coverage is now in full effect and Billie Joe is the one who becomes the American idiot.
And Clear Channel is now reaping the benefits. They didn't have to pay one cent for all that additional publicity, and Green Day were their seemingly unwitting accomplices. And that's how I and millions of others now know about this thing called "iHeart Radio"!
Ugh. I feel so f@#$ing used.
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