My Tweet to Eddie Trunk

[Va Beach VH Fan]

After hearing on his Brian Johnson episode of That Metal Show that Eddie Trunk perpetuated the lie again about VH with Bette selling more than with DLR, here was my response via Twitter....

@Roth_Army
Roth Army

@EddieTrunk Ed, please correct your audience that VH with DLR sold DOUBLE than with SH. DLR/VH = 34 mil, SH/VH = 16 mil #notevenclose

42 seconds ago via TwInbox


I'll let you know if he responds....

[VAiN]

This should be good. I doubt he replies..

[VHscraps]

Keep in mind that those figures you fired back at Trunk are certified US sales only - Van Halen sold more overseas with DLR than with Hagar as well, would be my guess. So the gap will probably be bigger than the US sales gap itself reveals.

VH's two 10-million sellers were last certified by the RIAA a long time ago. It is only if and when the record label requests an audit that the RIAA do a new count, so to speak. Sales will have slowly continued to nudge up through downloads especially since all that activity will have occurred post-the last Diamond certification. Will the Hagar-era albums have continued to sell? Somehow I think not in the same quantities.

As it happens I wound up on Wikipedia last night looking at UK number one albums for the 70s, and I found myself at a page titled 'List of Best Selling Music Artists':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

I was baffled as to how, for instance, Kiss could be listed as a band with Claimed Sales of 100 million, when their certified worldwide sales figures (acc to the article) were only about 20 million. That's quite a discrepancy. Meanwhile Van Halen appear much further down the list even though their certified sales were around 60 million (with claimed total sales - based on some entertainment news article about Val Bertinelli's divorce from Ed as the source of that nugget of truth - of 80 million as a total).

Anyway - Wikipedia. What a bullshit list! About a dozen acts ranked higher than VH on the basis of CLAIMED sales have less certified sales than VH. But it's all the result of fans lobbying and editing in claims on the basis of the kind of unsourced statements you get in news articles. There was, amidst the endless arguments and discussions about the methodology of the list on the discussion page, another list reproduced from last.fm that had Van Halen's global figure at 136 million sold. Not a reliable source, apparently - although tabloid newspaper stories are ...

All these estimated claims are supposedly backed up from certain 'reliable' sources (ho ho) - viz., fucking news stories where some band PR - or in the case of Kiss, probably Simmons - blurts out that 'yeah, we sold a hundred million.' Bull Shit. I really doubt very much that newspapers in this day and age have fact checkers for stuff like this - even if they did, the only factual info is the ... certified sales!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Keep in mind that those figures you fired back at Trunk are certified US sales only - Van Halen sold more overseas with DLR than with Hagar as well, would be my guess. So the gap will probably be bigger than the US sales gap itself reveals.

Oh, I know, and I'm ready to fire back if he throws that up there....

[VHscraps]

It's 15 years since VH1 was certified a 10-million seller. That album probably still sells. I've bought it twice in the last year or so - the vinyl reissue and a CD remaster. It's 13 years since 1984 was certified a 10-million seller. Because of 'Jump', if nothing else, that album probably still sells to fans who are newly discovering the band as well.

[Matt White]

This outta be good.................

Any fool knows the truth..............time for Trunk to own up to the facts

[sonrisa salvaje]

The last thing Trunk wants is to engage in a tweet war with the Roth Army. Some battles are not winnable.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

He's been answering tweets this morning, but alas, not mine....

[Fairwrning]

He fears you

[POJO_Risin]

He fears you

Seriously...you've seen Va when he's cranky...

[POJO_Risin]

It's 15 years since VH1 was certified a 10-million seller. That album probably still sells. I've bought it twice in the last year or so - the vinyl reissue and a CD remaster. It's 13 years since 1984 was certified a 10-million seller. Because of 'Jump', if nothing else, that album probably still sells to fans who are newly discovering the band as well.

I'm sure that it's selling tons...

but in the last five years or so, the numbers are muddled by downloads...digital buys aren't figured in to standard buys...i don't believe...

[TJMKID]

The last thing Trunk wants is to engage in a tweet war with the Roth Army. Some battles are not winnable.

Trunk is a FUCKIN' FRAUD and a Sambo Pussy Nugget Revisionist History Regurgitator. He needs to be banned from the airwaves.

Trunk calls himself a "true Van Halen fan", but then his little pea brain shuts down when asked to name all 11 VH studio albums.

[SunisinuS]

Trunk is a FUCKIN' FRAUD and a Sambo Pussy Nugget Revisionist History Regurgitator. He needs to be banned from the airwaves.

Trunk calls himself a "true Van Halen fan", but then his little pea brain shuts down when asked to name all 11 VH studio albums.

I agree with the too much "he who should remain nameless" bias, but hell, I shut down when I try and list the albums.....usually getting lost in the first one (On Fire) and then just continuing to stop on the second (Outta Love Again)....... Den she can make me breakfast while 1984 is playing.

[Nitro Express]

There is no real journalism anymore. I had to take a newspaper writing class in college that was taught by an old school newspaper man who covered the beat for the Honolulu Herald in the days before reporters were really glamorized. He knew his shit and we followed the Associated Press Handbook to the T. You had to be thorough, check all your facts, and cover the story in the inverted pyramid formate using as little space as possible because it all had to fit into a newspaper. I think the electronic press has made people sloppy. He used to love to call television reporters air heads. It's become a lost art.

[Terry]

While I don't particularly agree with many of Trunk's opinions (and it IS a bit clear he's in the bag for Hagar), it is a bit surprising that he thinks Hagar outsold Roth far as Van Halen albums goes...usually the guy manages to get the bare facts correct.