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Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:19 pm
by enframed
OrthodoxEaster wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2024 11:06 am
A discussion I saw between Andy Schwartz (New York Rocker editor) and Joe Carducci (SST label manager; author) last weekend got me thinking: Say what you will about the atrocious '90s bullshit we've been dropping into this thread, but at very least, that stuff was all played by
bands. Awful ones, granted. (Maybe the least offensive material would be pre-fame Goo Goo Dolls' Replacements-lite shtick? Or perhaps Bush's weak-sauce UK take on sellout, post-relevance American grunge?)
When contemplating "hit" music today, the talk I attended turned to the point made by this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/ ... the-charts
There are almost no bands or duos on the charts anymore.
Basically, it's easier, cheaper, and more profitable (from a CEO standpoint) to mold and market the solo acts responsible for most music sales today compared to some unwieldy, compromise-laden, diverse group of people that might have found fame decades ago. Regardless of genre. Bands are messier for business and more democratic by design. And tech and social media have a lot to do w/the shift away from them towards a sort of shiny, totalitarian pop.
Even though things had been sliding this way for decades, the pandemic also forced people into more solitary music-making habits, and the band dynamic never really recovered. To boot, that suits the fact that most record labels are now part of entertainment and tech conglomerates that aren't staffed w/as many "music people" anymore. The net result is an entertainment product that has less of a push-pull quality, b/c it's more oriented to one person's (and/or the marketing department's) vision.
That said, I really wish this thread had not reminded me of the existence of two Live songs I hadn't thought about for at least 25 years.
There may be something to this. Social media maybe better for solo acts, but bands need to use it effectively. Spiritual Cramp is a good example of band using social media to its advantage. While they'll never be huge, much in the same way The Replacements could never have been huge, they are selling out most if not all of their shows. Can't say if SM has helped them, of course, it's influence is difficult to quantify. Taylor Swift would have been huge without social media, I think.
Also, the article above alludes (at least) to Taylor Swift being a solo act. She isn't. She has a band, pretty sure she always has. There's a HUGE difference between an MC/producer (Drake) and Taylor Swift. They don't seem to differentiate in the above article.
Finally, there's no shortage of bands playing live shows, in LA anyway.
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:24 pm
by Wood Goblin
OrthodoxEaster wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2024 11:06 am
A discussion I saw between Andy Schwartz (New York Rocker editor) and Joe Carducci (SST label manager; author) last weekend got me thinking: Say what you will about the atrocious '90s bullshit we've been dropping into this thread, but at very least, that stuff was all played by
bands. Awful ones, granted. (Maybe the least offensive material would be pre-fame Goo Goo Dolls' Replacements-lite shtick? Or perhaps Bush's weak-sauce UK take on sellout, post-relevance American grunge?
Funny, I had a similar thought yesterday—or, rather, I’d wondered how many of the songs in this poll were genuine band or band-member compositions, and how many involved some kind of songsmith or hired hand.
I’d fully expected to see a Desmond Child or Linda Perry pop up in the songwriting credits, but nope: these were all written by band members. The closest thing to an exception was the Sublime song, which credited a Jamaican toaster they’d borrowed from.
So to your point, these really were bands and not label-created ensembles that did the bidding of hit-making producers.
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:27 pm
by Krev
Aerosmith was Desmond Child's fucking cash cow.
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:36 pm
by Wood Goblin
Krev wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:27 pm
Aerosmith was Desmond Child's fucking cash cow.
He co-wrote all of Bon Jovi’s big hits too.
No Doubt also brought in ringers, though it was after they’d already had their own hits (all of which could easily be poll options here).
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 1:14 pm
by zircona1
Wood Goblin wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:36 pm
Krev wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:27 pm
Aerosmith was Desmond Child's fucking cash cow.
He co-wrote all of Bon Jovi’s big hits too.
No Doubt also brought in ringers, though it was after they’d already had their own hits (all of which could easily be poll options here).
Matthew Wilder, the guy who recorded 'Break My Stride' in the 80s, produced No Doubt's blockbuster album Tragic Kingdom.
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:18 pm
by Krev
I'm not surprised as "Break My Stride" was proto-No-Doubt. That band felt like they were created by an MTV focus group despite their "indie punk" period.
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:28 pm
by enframed
I remember before No Doubt was big, them opening for bands like Bad Religion (who I can no longer listen to). I always thought they sucked.
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:38 pm
by kicker_of_elves
Jim DeRogatis was fired from Rolling Stone for writing a review of a Hootie album he entitled American Blandstand. City Pages ran the review in print that summer. I thought the review was lost in the digital ashcan after CP folded and their archives were lost, but some googling came up with this site:
https://www.furious.com/perfect/hootie.html
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 3:13 pm
by Teacher's Pet
No Doubt had a song on a 3rd wave ska comp I dubbed off a buddy when I was 14. This was maybe 6 or 7 years before they wound up on MTV.
(OK, I had to check, comp came out in 1988, ND's MTV album came out in 1995. I miss comps that had a separate logo/hometown/postal address listed for each band.)
Re: Worst Mid-90's Mega-Hit
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 4:37 pm
by hbiden@onlyfans.com
Guys how have we made it this far without mentioning the worst of the worst, collective soul. They do everything that we accuse these other guys of doing and they do it worse!
December (pearl jam ripoff worse than stp)
The world I’ve known (anti suicide lyrics worse than 3rd eye blind)
Shine (spiritual enlightenment worse than live)
kicker_of_elves wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:38 pm
Jim DeRogatis was fired from Rolling Stone for writing a review of a Hootie album he entitled American Blandstand. City Pages ran the review in print that summer. I thought the review was lost in the digital ashcan after CP folded and their archives were lost, but some googling came up with this site:
https://www.furious.com/perfect/hootie.html
sophomoric sex jokes worthy of Beavis and Butt-head for their last three album titles (Kootchypop, Cracked Rear View, Fairweather Johnson).
Ok now here I am respecting hootie and derogatis even more. Mind blown!
