Almost everyone I used to love has started to suck.
Let’s face it, plenty of us still listen to the music we listened to when we were younger. In fact, some people listen to nothing else – they don’t even buy the new albums from their former idols, opting for their faves from the past instead.
Then again, why buy the new album from the Rolling Stones when you know it’s going to suck?
Now I’m not trying to kick around the Stones. My opinion on the Stones means so little that Mick Jagger could crush me with one platinum plaque and never even notice. Still, let’s be honest. Even if you go as far as 1983’s “Undercover” (which I do, and I’ve been told that’s generous), every record afterward has been a disappointment. They released good albums for about 19 years. They’ve been releasing crappy ones for about 25.
Remember, we’re not talking about seeing someone live. I’m sure the Stones still put on a killer live show, even at their reasonably advanced age (for rock stars). Musically, however, they’ve lost it. The production on their records is too slick, and the energy is flailing. Attempts at sounding like “themselves” sound like weak imitations, and they’re not quite hip enough to try new things that would interest anyone. There’s a reason they’ve released a live album after every damn tour – live, they still matter.
It happens to most artists. One of the fellas in the synthtastic French duo Air once told me he believed artists had “two or three albums in them at most.” I think he’s lowballing, but he’s not far off. Even when artists get smart and try to return to their roots, they often fail. Was “The Captain & The Kid” Elton John’s return to form? No. The songs didn’t come close to the quality of his early work and he can’t hit the notes. Stevie Wonder’s latest? Don’t ask. Phil Collins? I dearly loved Phil Collins (stop snickering) but I can’t say I’ve gone anywhere near a Phil Collins album in a hell of a long time. Black Sabbath? At the beginning of their recent Heaven and Hell tour, they were playing new songs. They were fairly awful. By they time they wrapped, those songs were noticeably absent from the set list.
Every time you put on new music from an artist you loved, you hope they haven’t lost it. When they have, you hope the next record will do. Then, after a few more albums…you tend to give up.
A few artists manage to escape the curse, and they’re pretty much reliable stalwarts. Two very different Toms, for example – Tom Waits and Tom Petty. They continue to get better, somehow, with every album – it’s as if they still have the songwriting skill, an understanding of what production suits those songs, and an ability to stay interesting and relevant. Then there are bands that really, really ought to stink but keep putting out good records. Slayer. Who’d have thought Slayer would still be relevant and, frankly, pretty amazing?
The entire point of this blog is to say that recently, a few artists I’ve always loved have managed to find their way out of the labyrinths of suckage. They’re not genius but just good enough for me to get a little over-excited about them. So if you hear me excitedly extolling one of these albums, remember – I know they’re not THAT good. They’re just much better than the artist had led us to expect.
Bahaus – Go Away White: First album in a quarter century? There’s no logical reason for it to be good, but it is.
Black Francis – Seven Fingers: Francis released a squillion albums as Frank Black, and they’re all pretty good, but his return to this Pixies stage name marks a more Pixiesish sound. Swell stuff.
R.E.M. – Accelerate: R.E.M. used to be my favourite band but they just sounded so limp on the last few records (though the live versions of the same songs, on their recent live album, proved the songs were better than I thought). This album lacks the songwriting of their best work, but there’s at least an energy here they’ve had missing for years.
Billy Bragg - Love & Justice: The most interesting of them all. The deluxe edition features what Billy’s been doing lately – decent songs dragged down by a lack of energy and maudlin arrangements. The second disc is Billy doing it old school, just him and his guitar, and even his voice sounds more excited about it. Disc Two gets you into the songs…and hence, Disc One sounds better. Go figure.
