Betting on Alice Cooper

Betting on Alice Cooper

The music industry is certainly a strange world, but probably no stranger than the collective musical tastes of people. No doubt everybody has wondered "How can anybody listen to that garbage?" on more than one occasion when hearing something on the radio or seeing it on television.

But music is a meaningful part in the lives of many people and some sportsbooks have decided to get into the act by offering some music-related wagers.

While most of these have to do with the rating of a particular album on its release, there are a few others, as well. We'll look at some of those in this little article.

The odds were taken from Sports Interaction.

All of the odds mentioned are in what is known as money line form, so if you're unfamiliar with the money line and how it works, read Understanding Money Lines and you'll be up to speed in no time.

Music-Related Wagers

What Rating Will Alice Cooper's Welcome 2 My Nightmare Receive Upon its Release at Metacritic.com?
OVER 74.5 -120
UNDER 74.5 -120

First off, I'll have to admit to being a huge fan of Alice Cooper, so my judgement is probably not the best when it comes to the Master of Shock Rock. And the first LP I ever bought in my life was the original Welcome to My Nightmare back in 1975.

There is a wide range in the ratings in the new releases, with Neil Diamond's The Bang Year: 1966-1968 at the top with a 97 all the down to Richard Ashcroft's United Nations of Sound, which garnered a dismal rating of 38.

Meta Critic does appear to be a bit tougher than the fan votes. Green Day's Awesome as F**k has a user review of 7.9, while Meta Critic gave it a 64. I'll admit it's not quite as good as Bullet in a Bible, but it's not all that bad and I'd lean towards the fan vote rather than the other.

I have a feeling this one is going to be close to the 74.5 number with Meta Critic, and closer to 8.0 on the fan vote. Cooper hasn't been this excited about a new release in years and he wouldn't do a follow-up to an album ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest 100 of all-time if he didn't feel it was a worthwhile sequel. It's not as though he needs the money.

I'll give a lean to the over.

What Rating Will Jane's Addiction's The Great Escape Artist Receive Upon its Release at Metacritic.com?

OVER 73.5 -120
UNDER 73.5

This number was definitely a bit lower than I expected, as Perry Farrell is generally considered a genius by the critics, although the band's last release, Strays, received a Meta Critic score of 75 back in 2003. Farrell and Dave Navarro have again teamed up for this one, along with original drummer Stephen Perkins. Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan helped write and record part of the album during his brief stint with the band.

If the band had been more active the last 10 or 15 years this one would appear to be an easy over. But bands tend to be forgotten rather quickly when releasing just their third album since 1990. This one will likely be close to the number, I'd be tempted to lean to the under, as many of the current music critics probably weren't around when Farrell was garnering all of his positive reviews.

Who Will Have More Twitter Followers at the End of 2011?

Lady Gaga -227
Justin Bieber +162

My initial reaction is, "Who Cares?" Alice Cooper, or Perry Farrell for that matter, has more talent than the two of them combined. But Cooper is a fan of Gaga's theatrics and stage show, and I'll defer to the master and take the favorite.

Good luck and have fun.