Gram123
Posts: 5665
Joined: 19/1/2006
From: Reino Unido
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: tommyjarvis
quote:
ORIGINAL: Gram123
Fine. The Offspring changed direction, producing more mainstream singles, seemingly motivated entirely by the monetary gain of mass appeal, without doubt at the expense of musical integrity, and abandoning the punk ethic in the process. You don't have to call it "selling out", but they definitely lost credibility and ceased being punk - both in musical and (sub-)cultural terms. They moved from a punk label to a major mainstream label for the financial gain, changing their sound as they did (whether by choice, or at the insistence of the label). Though they gained many fans as a result of the change, they lost a lot of fans of their prior releases - i.e. punk fans. In short, they sold out.
You're absolutely right when you say that bands' priorities (and sounds) evolve from when they first start out, but I think that's a different point. A band can quite naturally change how it sounds due to how the members feel about the music they're creating, what's going on in their lives, advances in tech, maybe they can no longer rock as hard or play as fast, whatever, at different times over their lifespan. Fans of the band's early releases may continue to like them throughout their career, or as is often the case, the bands may lose the appeal they initially had and the audience will wane or grow and/or shift. All this is fine, natural, the way of the world, sad but true. But changing for such reasons doesn't mean a loss of integrity. There's a difference between evolving over time (even if it happens to make you richer) and changing your sound specifically to chase the almighty dollar.
You see, I think all that's irrelevant. The quality of the music is what matters, not the motivation behind its recording. I would much rather listen to a band who wrote great songs that were written for mercenary reasons than another band who maintained "integrity" (whatever that means) and wrote crap songs.
It is true that the quality of the music is what ultimately matters, but the punk ethic is about sticking it to the man, not bending over for him. That's why, in this instance, it feels more like it matters that the band sold out / changed for money (obviously, in the scheme of things, it doesn't actually matter a shitty biscuit). And I appreciate that this is just my opinion, but The Offspring's music became substantially worse with those singles. Better produced and given much wider exposure, though, I'll grant you that.
quote:
ORIGINAL: tommyjarvis
I'm also never clear why bands that change from less accessible stuff to more commercial material are slated for it (eg Metallica, Kings of Leon, Biffy Clyro), while bands that go in the opposite direction are praised for it. The inference is that mainstream = worse, which is nonsense.
For me personally, mainstream usually does = worse, because mainstream equates to safe, boring, samey, diluted, neutered, tailored specifically to not confuse or offend the masses. It's like taking a gritty late night TV show and tempering it in order to plant it in a prime-time pre-watershed slot in the schedule. The inherent value of the thing is reduced by making it more accessible for a wider (the widest possible) audience. The raw sounds of a band before a (major) record company has started to smooth off their rough edges is often much more interesting than what they end up being.
As for your examples (and of course, IMHO), Metallica, yes, became a lot worse when they became mainstream, though I ceased listening to metal shortly after that 1991 album, so it really dun't matter to me anymore. Kings Of Leon, yes, sadly became a lot worse when they became mainstream, and my desire to pick up their last album after the mess that was Only By The Night remains somewhere around nil.
On the positive side, though, I've always thought Biffy Clyro were horrible. 
All of this is a big whatever, though, you're entirely entitled to like whatever you like, even Pretty Fly For a White Guy.
< Message edited by Gram123 -- 24/6/2012 2:30:49 AM >
_____________________________
Gram123's Top Songs Project
|
Printable Version
RE: Rhubarb's List of Every Number 1 EVER (With Reviews) - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread