Popular Culture Review 30.2
understand why Metallica ’ s fans , who purportedly belong to this metal sub-society of shared interests and values , betrayed the band after Napster . Only then can the research turn to exploring the likely cultural and philosophical consequences portending the dire future of metal music when its very own fans turn their backs on their artist-heroes in such a fundamentally devastating manner .
THE RISE OF GRUNGE AND THE DEATH OF THE COPYRIGHT AUTHOR
The first place to analyze this sad state of affairs is to inquire how society came to decry the capitalistic markets and corporate structures in the entertainment industry in the post-Reagan era , ironically coinciding with the depressed , unkempt , and embarrassingly imitative hands of the grunge-rock scene , which almost wiped out the heavy metal trajectory altogether . While traditional heavy metal was founded on the same notions of autonomy and individuality that characterize our copyright law principles , the emergence of grunge rock in the 1990s witnessed the rise of Pearl Jam , Nirvana , and other bands insistent on the apology for and demise of capitalism , yet ironically , like Metallica , commercially successful in their anti-establishment messaging . Unpolished ( and un-showered ), grunge musicians like Kurt Cobain , who gained Godlike prominence in the music industry , were unable to square their unwelcome economic global success with their political and life philosophies , resulting in tragic demise for the overall movement , which fizzled out steadily even before the decade ended . Taking the lives of at least nine prominent musicians , “ the grunge death toll is arguably unlike that experienced by any other music genre ” ( Le Miere ).
At this point , it is interesting to compare Metallica to two other highly successful pre-grunge bands that arose from the
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