Kid Rock: How the Detroit rocker scored a monster hit with "All Summer Long"

[Music Calgary]

A lot of people are dissing Kid Rock for putting together a track that people just love -- to the tune of almost 1.5 million albums sold this summer...

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22212278/kid_rocks_hot_summer_no_itunes_required

 

Good music just doesn't go out of style

 

Love him or hate him, he's right.

 

he's the only artist that's not available on iTunes with a monster hit right now

 

Personally I think it's a cool track, I've been doing it for a few months. People love it.

[ryan7585]

i typed stuff, but for courtesy's sake i'll just leave this alone

[Music Calgary]

i typed stuff, but for courtesy's sake i'll just leave this alone

 

May as well, there's already enough haters ripping on him. He outsold Madonna. Outsold Mariah Carey. Not on iTunes. Lessons in music marketing to be learned from this guy.

[randombastage]

He took well known riffs from long standing hit songs and sang mediocre vocals of inane content over them.

It proves the strength of the riffs for being catchy all these years later but the best it says of him is he recognized similar rhythms can be tied together and was able to masturbate to the beat.

 

Yeah Kid Rock, he did what any monkey could do!!!

[Jimbroni]

He took well known riffs from long standing hit songs and sang mediocre vocals of inane content over them. It proves the strength of the riffs for being catchy all these years later but the best it says of him is he recognized similar rhythms can be tied together and was able to masturbate to the beat. Yeah Kid Rock, he did what any monkey could do!!!

 

 

 

But any monkey didn't do it. Kid did.

 

Kid Rock is no musical genius, in fact I can't stand most of his material. But he knows how to put together an entertaining package and sell it.

[Philter]

Once I gave up all hope for making any kind of money from music, I was happier. Sort of.

[HCarlH]

He took well known riffs from long standing hit songs and sang mediocre vocals of inane content over them. It proves the strength of the riffs for being catchy all these years later but the best it says of him is he recognized similar rhythms can be tied together and was able to masturbate to the beat. Yeah Kid Rock, he did what any monkey could do!!!

 

+1

 

He just distributed a re-mix of other people's hits. Hooray for Capitalism.

[kurdy]

In his case, he knows who his audience is, and caters to it. A good number of his fans don't have internet connections or iPods, their only record store is Walmart, and they love their Skynyrd. It's a model that totally works for him; not sure it would work for a lot of other artists, though.

[Hard Truth]

The recent hit song isn't much, but Kid Rock has done some unique music. The albums Cocky and Devil Without a Cause really rock and offer a unique blend of hip Hop, hard rock and country with hilarious lyrics.

 

It is telling and amusing to see how much hate he generates, especially since most people hate him due to (mostly unconscious) class prejudice.

[Jeff da Weasel]

I just don't base any of my judgements of music based on how well it sells. Sorry.

 

That's not to say I won't like something just BECAUSE it's popular. But I also find that I don't like a lot of music that sells well, most of Kid Rock's stuff (all, actually) included.

 

I mean, the Honda Accord is one of the best-selling cars in the last few decades. That doesn't mean I compare it favorably to a Porsche Turbo Carrera. There's nothing wrong with the Honda, just as there's nothing wrong with Kid Rock. I'd just rather have the Porsche.

[dgarman]

I like that song.

[Jeff da Weasel]

 

But he knows how to put together an entertaining package and sell it.

 

 

And that, in a nutshell, is the business of music as a form of entertainment. Your recognition may be based on how you dress, what your hair looks like, how often you appear in tabloids and so on.

 

Again: THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Just don't confuse it with music.

[Jimbroni]

As I said, I'm not a fan of Kid Rock's music. He is a great entertainer, and he has had some decent musical exploits just not my thing. But what he does is music, its just not music I'm gonna go out and buy.

[gearmike]

 

I mean, the Honda Accord is one of the best-selling cars in the last few decades. That doesn't mean I compare it favorably to a Porsche Turbo Carrera. . . I'd just rather have the Porsche.

 

 

Hey, I drive a Honda Accord! :poke:

[cooterbrown]

He took well known riffs from long standing hit songs and sang mediocre vocals of inane content over them. It proves the strength of the riffs for being catchy all these years later but the best it says of him is he recognized similar rhythms can be tied together and was able to masturbate to the beat. Yeah Kid Rock, he did what any monkey could do!!!

 

Yeah, well then...let's see you do it.

 

Grab yourself a couple of samples of some well-known music, and put some words to it, and see if you sell 1.5 mil.

 

The words are hardly inane, anyway.

They evoke a lot of nostalgia from the 70s.

Then again...you're probably one of those that sees a name or a genre you don't like, and you simply dismiss it, out of hand.

I doubt if you've even heard the song.

[boosh]

I have this song on replay in my carstereo,....

 

Does that mean I'm a Hilbilly? I dress like one and my car looks like the owner is a redneck ,...lol I even have a mullet nowadays,...

 

I like the whole CD,.. although I just bought it to analyze it and look for productiontricks.

 

Booshy

[Music Calgary]

Again: THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Just don't confuse it with music.

 

Why because YOU say so?

 

Sounds like you are the one confused. It most certainly is music and it's awesome music.

 

Music isn't there to serve you, it's there for everyone -- and the value is in the ear of the beholder, not in what you dictate to them. That's the whole problem actually -- musicians who can't sell albums trying to dictate "what's music" to people who aren't interested in being told.

 

No concert tour this summer was met with as much fan enthusiasm here than Kid Rock. Thank god for people like him who go out there and please the masses, deliver *exactly* what they want and keep this industry buzzing. To be fair his shows are entertaining even if you don't like him. The guy knows how to deliver what audiences want. Period. Go ask anyone who was at one of his shows this summer if they had fun...

 

He's got arguably the most loyal fan-base in the industry. You can hate on that all you want but it doesn't change a thing. He's #1 with a bullet.

 

I like the whole CD,.. although I just bought it to analyze it and look for productiontricks.

 

I agree, it's a decent CD.

 

One thing about hillbillies, if you put out a CD they like they'll go buy it. And they'll show up at shows and have fun and buy T-shirts. I like hillbillies, good people IMO.

[Jeff da Weasel]

Why because YOU say so?

 

 

You misunderstood my point. I wasn't talking about Kid Rock... just using him as an example of an entertainer.

 

Here, I'll help you:

 

Madonna: Entertainer

Joni Mitchell: Musician

Michael Jackson: Entertainer

Neil Young: Musician

 

There's nothing wrong with being an entertainer, and they usually sell the most records. But you don't need to be a great musician to be a great entertainer.

 

Understand now?

[DavidJones529]

I neither like nor hate Kid Rock. Am I supposed to like him even if I don't?

 

Why would anyone take the time to hate on Kid Rock?

[Jimbroni]

Well you kinda lost me there.

 

While Joni is IMO on a higher plane than the others in your list. I just don't see how can you call Neil Young a musician and Michael Jackson and Madonna entertainers. While I prefer Neil Young in general, I never qualified him as top flight musician, just a good song writer / entertainer. I certainly don't feel he is musically superior to Jackson and Madonna.

[DavidJones529]

 

You misunderstood my point. I wasn't talking about Kid Rock... just using him as an example of an entertainer. Here, I'll help you: Madonna: Entertainer Joni Mitchell: Musician Michael Jackson: Entertainer Neil Young: Musician There's nothing wrong with being an entertainer, and they usually sell the most records. But you don't need to be a great musician to be a great entertainer. Understand now?

 

 

I think Michael Jackson is absolutely a musician! And an extraordinary one at that! (To a much higher degree than Kid Rock for sure).

 

(And one could certainly argue that Madonna is too, she is, after all in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, which is no small feat, and she's written a ton of songs and she sings and even plays the guitar!)

 

Do you need to be a great musician to be a musician?

[nerol1st]

He is very talented there is no argument there at all. His songs being amazing is VERY debatable. Using the measurement of sales isn't all that persuading to me as I don't have much faith in American music tastes.

[Jeff da Weasel]

Well, here are a few keys.

 

- If there is a lot of dancing onstage at a music concert, it's probably an entertainer.

 

- If there are costume changes, probably the same.

 

And, of course, there are always examples that buck the definition. Peter Gabriel did lots of costume changes but was still a pretty awe-inspiring musician. Justin Timberlake is absolutely an entertainer, and is a hell of a musician to boot.

 

Ultimately, it really comes down to the goals of the musician. If the goal is album sales and popularity, the easier path to that is by being a great entertainer. It's been a long time since the days of pure musicianship being enough to hit the top of the charts.

 

Could come around again... ya never know.

[Billster]

I don't think being an entertainer excludes the possibility that you are also a musician. Not all entertainers are musicians though, even if they are most well-known for making musical entertainment.

[Music Calgary]

Well you kinda lost me there. While Joni is IMO on a higher plane than the others in your list. I just don't see how can you call Neil Young a musician and Michael Jackson and Madonna entertainers. While I prefer Neil Young in general, I never qualified him as top flight musician, just a good song writer / entertainer. I certainly don't feel he is musically superior to Jackson and Madonna.

 

Michael Jackson is a musician of the highest order, so is Neil Young. One only need listen to their albums to grasp this obvious fact.

 

Michael Jackson is an entertainer of the highest order, and so is Neil Young. One only need listen to their fans to grasp this obvious fact.

 

Not one of us here can outdo either of them at either of those things, so for any of us to debate "what they are" is a joke.