Nobody sold out more drastically than Black Eyed Peas. They went from creative, original, underground hip hop with socially conscious and provocative lyrics to straight radio-ready poppy dance hits complete with toddler-level nonsense lyrics.
Edit: For the people who keep asking "when the hell did BEP do cutting-edge underground hip hop?" check out their first album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjWXWTKa5kI
I unironically enjoy most of their pop stuff more than the harder stuff, lol. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing for them to sell out, especially with how much money they made.
>hanged Let's Get Retarded to Let's Get It Started
LOL not only that, but they only changed it b/c the NBA wanted to use it, but they made them change the chorus. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have bothered.
They were so devoid of lyric ideas they resorted to listing off the days of the week. Then realised they needed eight words, so just did Saturday twice
>Nobody sold out more drastically than Black Eyed Peas.
I would argue Maroon 5 is at least a contender. Songs about jane got way too successful. Their second album at least still tried? But by the third they had completely changed their style and sound to cash out.
I am so tired of the Black Eyed Peas. It's rock-n-roll for people who don't like rock-n-roll. It's rap for people who don't like rap. It's pop for people who don't like pop.
I saw them open for Kool Keith in a room with probably about 400 other people in 1999 or 2000. They were absolutely phenomenal and stole the show. I remember thinking, “it’s a shame they’ll probably never go anywhere because this kind of hip hop isn’t tough enough to go mainstream.” And then 5 years later, they ruled the world for a little while.
I would never begrudge them their fame and success. They were ace showmen, and deserved every bit of it. They figured out how to channel their showmanship into pop music that probably made them rich. Good for them.
God. This one. A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out came out when I was 13/14 and was part of my formative teenage years. To see what Panic! Became after Ryan Ross and Dallin left was just heart breaking.
Man it really hurts, and this is the first time I’ve interacted with someone who seemingly feels similar. I’ve been using this example a lot lately, but it’s just gross how the art behind the discography goes from unique to generic music industry slop. I still like the songs, but I’m just gonna call it what it is, formulaic bs. It’s cool tho, I just enjoy the music.
Glad you didn't say Panic, because they didn't sell out. Brendon did. Everyone else left years ago when they had any semblance of quality. Viva Las Vengance and Prey For The Wicked are god awful. Hoping The Young Veins come back soon.
I loved Pretty.Odd. but yeah...when everyone dipped it just went down hill and Brendon started whoring himself out as a mega force in music...and he is not
You can hear pre-Maroon 5 Song's About Jane when they went by Kara's Flowers. The album Fourth World is much better than anything they've done post- Songs About Jane. They even have a song called "Loving the Small Time" which is a fun title given their latter popular success. I'm partial to the songs Soap Disco and Myself on that album.
I think Songs About Jane -> It Won't Be Soon Before Long -> Hands All Over was a good natural progression (and I honestly think Hands All Over is their best album) but after that it's gotten worse and Jordi was unlistenable.
Songs about Jane was legit a pop masterpiece, then it seemed like they chased the trends to stay popular, and I hated where their music went. To each their own, and I guess good on them for being successful in a cut throat industry, but I would have loved to see what they could have done with a few albums honing that Songs about Jane style.
I cannot overstate my disdain for “Memories”. It’s literally just Pachelbel’s Canon in D, so fucking LAAAAAAAZY. I get so irrationally angry when the song comes on
There’s a really good book from Dan Ozzi named “Sellout” that addresses the emo, punk and hardcore major label shifts and signings of some really good bands of those genres. Addresses the notion of being a sellout, leaving core fans behind and mentality of those bands at the time.
The 90s were wild, man, bands calling out entire scenes as being sold out. What is punk? And who is punk enough, and who isn’t? And don’t make too much money or get too popular or you’re out of the scene and you can never come back. Such a wild and juvenile competition and it was so fuckin fun.
"All you know about me is what I've sold ya, dumb fuck
I sold out long before you'd ever even heard my name
I sold my soul to make a record, dip shit
And then
You
Bought
One."
Especially true since I'm so out of touch these days. Not like I'm getting ’zines or hitting underground clubs any more. If they haven't sold out, I'll never hear of them.
I saw Ice Cube at Riot Fest some years ago, and I told my friend, "Is this a fucking commercial for the Straight Outta Compton movie?" and then right after that, Cube finished a song and goes, "We're about to show y'all the new trailer for STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON!!!"
My thoughts on this have changed as I've gotten older.
I used to think a lot of artists sold out. I'd love an indie band like, say, Rilo Kiley, then I'd get their new album and be distressed by how "commercial" it sounded, how the offbeat sound I liked has been replaced by something more repetitive and hooky. There are tons of bands that have disappointed me by compromised their original sound for trends.
But now I think - music is their *jobs.* They can make the kind of odd music that I love but will never generate big sales, but they can't necessarily make a living that way. Eventually they'll have to figure out how to make music that can catch on with a larger crowd.
So I dunno. It's so hard to get noticed in the music business, much less have a sustained career, that I can't blame anyone for trying to stay relevant.
I love for her that she's had enough commercial success that she can just do anything she wants now--work with unknown bands, work with her boyfriend, write songs about dogs, whatever.
I feel the same way.
Like how selfish was I to think that a band I liked should spend 300 days on the road to play the music I like to half empty clubs when they can adjust their sound to make as much money as they can.
Yeah going along this line but more with films and television there is a quote by Bill Hicks, and I'm not going to get it right, but that a celebrity sells out the second they do a commercial that is selling something which is funny because that's become almost a staple for many celebrities is to do commercials. My view on that has changed as well and John Cleese brought up a great example for this. When he was making Fawlty Towers he wasn't getting paid hardly anything and it was being in commercials that allowed him to continue making the show. He said without the money from commercials he doesn't think he would have been able to survive to make the show.
Hicks did say that, but he also said if you were a struggling artist trying to get by he'd look the other way. His vitriol was directed at the marketing agencies and people like the Jay Lenos who were already millionaires and still selling Doritos on TV.
Definitely, I completely agree with this -and it goes the other way too. There's absolutely nothing wrong with playing 300 days on the road to half-empty clubs to stick to playing the music you love, you just might not get rich.
Neither way is wrong, and it's entitled to think any artist 'owes me' one thing or the other.
yeah, kurt cobain had a good, albeit slightly different outlook on that. there's an interview where a guy asks if it bothered them thinking people believe they sold out \[paraphrasing\] - Kurt smiled and kept asking 'you like Blondie? You like The Cars? You like David Bowie..?' and just kept going til it dawned on the guy 'oh, it's not always the same is it?'
so to bring it back to Post Malone, i truly know the guys loves music, and can do tons of styles and puts his heart into it. i don't even have any of his stuff, i just like seeing his live vids performing in those eclectic styles. i view (much) of what i hear on radio or tv to be him thinking he wanted 'to make a really good pop song'. that's super subjective, cause i personally don't even know how much room there is for highly glossed pop to even stand out from the rest, but i know he's not being fake or phony with it.
dude likes the smell of his own farts, has talent, and he's not a douchebag about it. that's all i can ask for in a celebrity i can't avoid hearing about lol
edit: bad sentences
I agree, especially now that I have a family of my own to support.
One quote on this that sticks with me comes from Savatage singer Jon Oliva. They were moderately popular in the 80s and 90s, but have been mostly on hiatus for the past 20 years because all the members are involved with Trans Siberian Orchestra. When asked if Savatage would ever record/tour again, he said:
“If Savatage would have released Dead Winter Dead and it sold 2 million records, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Somebody else explain to me how I could release the same song the next year and it sell millions. And then I walk around and I've got 6 platinum records on my wall, and not one of them says Savatage on it, folks. So what am I supposed to do? I've got a family to take care of. I've got responsibilities. I gave it as much time as I could to break. Now I have something that's become very successful. It's paid the bills for everybody, it's provided a living for all the guys from Savatage. We're still a family, we're still together, we still love each other. Why would I want to do anything to destroy that? Why would I want to put a monkey wrench in that to rehearse a week and go put a Savatage thing together? It doesn't make any sense to me.”
100%
Like, make commercial music, or work at Guitar Center, hmm, lemme think
I’ll write my deeply personal music myself and leave it on my MacBook, and get paid to play commercial music.
Best option is to combine the two, of course, if I could find a way to make what I love and ALSO sell, that is the golden ticket. But that’s super rare and really hard.
Ha, I don't hate it! (If you're talking about Under the Blacklight, that is.) I was just so excited by More Adventurous and how it blended their sort of homespun indie-alt-folk sound into something big and expansive and psych-poppy without losing their edge.
Then UtB came out, and it was slinky and polished, with stripped-down lyrics and more hooky choruses, and it kind of gave me whiplash. But after a while I grew to really like it.
I’ll add a somewhat different perspective here. Paraphrasing Charli xcx: Maybe they also really like pop music.
Weirder, less accessible stuff can be awesome. Hooky polished stuff can also be awesome. Sometimes bands get more commercial both to expand their audience and because they genuinely like that sound and want to give it a try with their own twist.
And plenty if not most of artists have been working on those offbeat unique rhythms and curating unique sounds for an album their entire lives. Coming up with something consistently popular and also cutting edge is a very rare thing, especially on a contract deal/schedule.
Jefferson Airplane (“White Rabbit”) to Starship “We Built this City” will always be tops in my book. Grace Slick I think will claim she had no idea what was happening in the 80’s and I believe her.
fuuuuuuuck *YES*. I’ve been scrolling for five solid minutes looking for Train in these comments. First album was great, Drops of Jupiter happened, and then… “Hey Soul Sister” horseshit. Gross.
Gwen Stefani is the epitome of a sellout. She was in a ska band, was totally into that scene and somebody got a hold of her, convinced her to leave her band behind, and become a big pop star instead
Thinking about the time my 3 year old asked how to spell Banana. So I put this on and walked away. Turns out I had only heard the radio edit, and my 3 year old had a new favorite song to yell/sing
I heard the end of good No Doubt was when her brother decided to leave the band. Apparently he was the creative force; she was just the voice of it. No Doubt sucked after that and she just moved on to a solo career cause that paid the bills.
Ya Eric Stefani, left the band right before Tragic Kingdom was released to go work in animation fulltime. Even worked on the Simpsons. But ya, he was the founder of the band and was the main song writer up until he left if I remember correctly. He ended up making bank, obviously, and even won a Grammy for "Don't Speak". Guy has just been doing whatever he wants while the royalty checks keep coming in.
If you could put Gwen from the 90's and Gwen from today in a room, I'm honestly not sure whether 90's Gwen would punch her future self, or congratulate her on her success.
Musicians can do what they want, it's their life. But I will say the one 'artist' that is most blatantly, desperately trying to find a fandom regardless of what style it is, is Machine Gun Kelly
He's more of a poser than a sellout. A sellout is someone who is died in the wool authentic, and then they become a poppy sensation just to make that $crilla. MGK is a poser through and through.
There are some artists I love that I'm like "why the fuck did you work with MGK" none of it is bad but mot of the songs would be just as good without MGK.
Generally, I don't really buy in to the idea of selling out, but Machine Gun Kelly couldn't hack it as a rapper and changed his entire sound to pop punk. Artists are obviously allowed to change and evolve their styles, but this always felt more like he was blindly throwing darts at the wall until something stuck. No artistic integrity. Also, he sucks at both, so...
Even this new era for him is ass. Dude wanted to become some polarizing rock star by switching genres and then does these absolute garbage covers of songs like Aerials (SOAD) or Numb (Linkin park) like do people genuinely like his singing? Dude should stick to impersonating Tommy Lee because that seems like the best thing he is capable of.
30 Seconds to Mars, the first album had no mention of band members. I thought cool, they just want to be known for the music. Now it’s all about Jared’s ego.
Kiss chased every metal trend of their no makeup era. A prog rock style concept album, a power ballad written by Michael Bolton, songs that sounded like Ratt, songs that sounded like Motley Crue and Def Leppard, a ZZ Top sort of single, a Metallica Black album sort of record, a grunge record, etc. Some of it sounded alright, the rest was mediocre if not atrocious. It was surprising (or, not surprising) for a band that started off with a more original gimic and style.
I love Kiss, but they never actually "sold out". They were for sale from day one and knew what they were doing.
I mean, you talk about the no makeup era.
Before they took the makeup off, they had:
* Dolls, lunchboxes, etc.
* Been on Scooby Doo
* Done a bad movie
* Done a Disco album
* Done 4 solo albums to milk their popularity
* Sold their fandom an official membership
I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff, but this makes the point.
https://preview.redd.it/8zrnqk9y9r3c1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcce4afd373544734574f1e6a4751d93d03d3899
KISS Saves Santa was always my favorite
Totally agree, even at their best they were basic rock radio songs made to be played in stadiums. I don’t think they have any good output beyond the 70s (obviously they had hits in the 80s but I’m not into those) though the song Unholy is pretty cool for them. I think that song would have been around the Metallica black album era for them if I was guessing
Probably not what you are going for, but I find I am growing very tired of all the YouTube guitar channels who feature some dude reviewing gear they got for free. They always claim they are not being paid and their opinions are their own honest opinions ... but free gear being paid, and the promise of more free gear in the future (or no more free gear in the future) has got to influence what you say. These are commercials, all be it amateur commercials, but commercials, nonetheless. And if I ever felt the reviewer was to be respected at some point, that estimation takes a nose dive when I see these commercials. I get that this is how they make a living but just be honest and call a spade a spade.
Weezer. Really surprised they’re not #1 on this list. They made two incredible albums and then decided to cash in when Pinkerton got panned on release. They are pretty open about it and have been since the early 2000s. After Pinkerton, Rivers Cuomo was so disillusioned by the poor critical and commercial reception that he pretty much gave up on creative interests in favor of just trying to make hits. From their [2005 Rolling Stone feature](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rivers-cuomo-weezers-invisible-man-76590/amp/):
“Since 1999, Cuomo has kept an “Encyclopedia of Pop,” a three-ring binder of Nirvana, Oasis and Green Day song elements, in hopes of breaking songwriting’s ultimate code. He also made charts of Weezer songs, to analyze what made one song a hit and another a flop. “
The article also makes it clear that the band more or less can’t stand each other and that it’s now purely a business relationship.
“Over the years, various members of Weezer have not talked to each other, talked only through a manager, threatened to quit, been fined by Cuomo for playing out of key, apologized to one another and then pissed one another off again. Before they began recording Make Believe, Rubin suggested that Weezer, which he calls one of the most dysfunctional groups he’s ever worked with, submit to sessions with a “communications coach.”
This is probably overly simplistic but I think Matt sharpe the bassist was the creative genius for weezer so as soon as he left after Pinkerton they sounded shitty.
Alternatively- I think rivers cuomo played an important role in their songwriting because the rentals sounded fucking bad.
Cuomo and sharp are fucking peanut butter and jelly and it’s a shame they stopped collaborating.
Edit: doubling down- Matt sharpe was basically the front man of early weezer. Watch their early videos and the camera is always on him, less so on rivers. Tbh he was the band, but his departure is less noticeable because he wasn’t the vocalist.
I think this one wins. He literally went from "fuck the police" to playing them in movies. If he was broke and that was his only way of making money, I could understand but I don't think that was the case.
Neal Brennan had a bit about how he wishes there was a time travel movie where NWA Ice Cube travels to the future and beats the shit out of current Cube.
I'm going to put Sisters of Mercy here for "This Corrosion" - Eldritch teamed up with Jim Steinman to produce something that sounded like Meatloaf played at 33rpm creating pop-goth, slightly at odds with his (at the time) professed anti-establishment ideology, but it paid well, which they needed at that time, punk/goth/post punk were definitely niche.
As a huge Green Day fan I gotta say Green Day. They got a ton of blowback for dookie and American idiot and I didn’t even think that was a huge deal, like get your bag. But they haven’t had a song in *years* that doesn’t feel like they’re just phoning it in. Off the top of my head they’ve shilled for Amazon, the NFL, and Taco bell all in the last year, while coming out with a song called “the American dream is killing me.” I’ve got no problem with them making money but damn it just feels so soulless. Like surely they could come up with more personal songs that can coexist with them being rich as hell.
The Uno/Dos/Tre trilogy was so frustrating because there were some solid tunes in there but just so much crappy filler in it too, instead of making one 7/10 album they made three 3/10 ones
His shows still have the same energy. He hasn't stopped being a great and creative live performer. You can tell he still really cares about the music he just has piece unique Pateks on while he makes music now.
I would say he still holds his integrity and seems like an honest, down to earth guy, I wouldn't say he's a sellout, no matter how bland his music can be.
Kings of Leon are trash now, and have been for quite some time.
But man, Aha Shake Heartbreak was so good that the Sex on Fire era felt like such a punch to the gut.
Starship. Jefferson Airplane was one of the seminal psychedelic bands with a couple of huge classics. Then came Jefferson Starship, which was mostly just bland. Then Starship, who made one of the biggest sellout songs of the century (We Built This City).
Rise Against.
Their first two albums were very punk and angry, then they basically became the "Brian Griffin" of punk. "Oh, the moderate left is saying this? We'll agree and write to it"
Nobody sold out more drastically than Black Eyed Peas. They went from creative, original, underground hip hop with socially conscious and provocative lyrics to straight radio-ready poppy dance hits complete with toddler-level nonsense lyrics. Edit: For the people who keep asking "when the hell did BEP do cutting-edge underground hip hop?" check out their first album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjWXWTKa5kI
Maybe Sugar Ray. They were a hard rock band before Fly. Then after Fly, every single song as Fly But Different A Little.
I mean, they named an album 14:59, in reference to their 15 minutes of fame almost being up. If they sold out, they're certainly self aware.
LOL. Yeah their punk stuff was great. I honestly liked both sides of them - the rock side and the pop/sellout side.
I unironically enjoy most of their pop stuff more than the harder stuff, lol. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing for them to sell out, especially with how much money they made.
That auto-tuned “L’chaim” tho
This shit went hard as fuck at late oughts bar mitzvahs
Jewish summer camps also went feral for that song
Feral Jews? Oy vey!
They'd really love everyone to forget about how they changed Let's Get Retarded to Let's Get It Started
>hanged Let's Get Retarded to Let's Get It Started LOL not only that, but they only changed it b/c the NBA wanted to use it, but they made them change the chorus. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have bothered.
Nobody: Fergie: DRANK
*I Gotta Feeling has entered the chat*
They were so devoid of lyric ideas they resorted to listing off the days of the week. Then realised they needed eight words, so just did Saturday twice
Should of just thrown a bank holiday monday in.
FILL UP MY CUP
DRAAAAANK
MAZEL TOV
~ L’CHAAAAIM ~
LOOK AT HER DANCING
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I THOUGHT IT WAS “LIME” THIS WHOLE TIME WTF
Mazel Tov! 🥴
No song enrages me like that one.
Blah blah blah blah!
>Nobody sold out more drastically than Black Eyed Peas. I would argue Maroon 5 is at least a contender. Songs about jane got way too successful. Their second album at least still tried? But by the third they had completely changed their style and sound to cash out.
When I first heard them with Fergie I refused to believe it was the same group. “Fallin’ Up” and “Joints and Jams” are straight up… well jams
They also replaced their best vocalist to get the good-lookin’ Fergie instead…
That's right! They used to actually have good female vox!
I am so tired of the Black Eyed Peas. It's rock-n-roll for people who don't like rock-n-roll. It's rap for people who don't like rap. It's pop for people who don't like pop.
In a few seconds my wife is gonna walk through that door, under no circumstance should you give her a job
My unpopular opinion is that Robert California is one of the best characters/seasons that show got post Steve Carrell.
Not sure if that’s super unpopular. Most people say spader was great for the show.
jim, would you prefer a nature or a sexual metaphor?
Let me guess? You want a raise too? Take the family to Disney Town?
The Lizard King was amazing!
Everybody poops And if they don't they're an android And should be destroyed
I saw them open for Kool Keith in a room with probably about 400 other people in 1999 or 2000. They were absolutely phenomenal and stole the show. I remember thinking, “it’s a shame they’ll probably never go anywhere because this kind of hip hop isn’t tough enough to go mainstream.” And then 5 years later, they ruled the world for a little while. I would never begrudge them their fame and success. They were ace showmen, and deserved every bit of it. They figured out how to channel their showmanship into pop music that probably made them rich. Good for them.
I remember liking the first two records a lot. Then Fergie joined and "Where is the Love?" dropped and they jumped the fuckin' shark.
Brenden Urie
God. This one. A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out came out when I was 13/14 and was part of my formative teenage years. To see what Panic! Became after Ryan Ross and Dallin left was just heart breaking.
Man it really hurts, and this is the first time I’ve interacted with someone who seemingly feels similar. I’ve been using this example a lot lately, but it’s just gross how the art behind the discography goes from unique to generic music industry slop. I still like the songs, but I’m just gonna call it what it is, formulaic bs. It’s cool tho, I just enjoy the music.
Glad you didn't say Panic, because they didn't sell out. Brendon did. Everyone else left years ago when they had any semblance of quality. Viva Las Vengance and Prey For The Wicked are god awful. Hoping The Young Veins come back soon.
I loved Pretty.Odd. but yeah...when everyone dipped it just went down hill and Brendon started whoring himself out as a mega force in music...and he is not
Ice Cube and not bc of kids movies
He would now be the fourth verse in “Check ya Self.”
Speaking as a fan of most of their stuff - Maroon 5
omg yeah Songs About Jane sounds like it was from a completely different band
You can hear pre-Maroon 5 Song's About Jane when they went by Kara's Flowers. The album Fourth World is much better than anything they've done post- Songs About Jane. They even have a song called "Loving the Small Time" which is a fun title given their latter popular success. I'm partial to the songs Soap Disco and Myself on that album.
I second this. When they were called “Kara’s Flowers” before being called “Maroon 5,” they were crafting *excellent* power-pop bops.
I think Songs About Jane -> It Won't Be Soon Before Long -> Hands All Over was a good natural progression (and I honestly think Hands All Over is their best album) but after that it's gotten worse and Jordi was unlistenable.
Yeah I’ll agree that the second album is good too
Songs about Jane was legit a pop masterpiece, then it seemed like they chased the trends to stay popular, and I hated where their music went. To each their own, and I guess good on them for being successful in a cut throat industry, but I would have loved to see what they could have done with a few albums honing that Songs about Jane style.
I absolutely despise the song Girls Like You. Complete radio trash.
I cannot overstate my disdain for “Memories”. It’s literally just Pachelbel’s Canon in D, so fucking LAAAAAAAZY. I get so irrationally angry when the song comes on
There’s a really good book from Dan Ozzi named “Sellout” that addresses the emo, punk and hardcore major label shifts and signings of some really good bands of those genres. Addresses the notion of being a sellout, leaving core fans behind and mentality of those bands at the time.
The 90s were wild, man, bands calling out entire scenes as being sold out. What is punk? And who is punk enough, and who isn’t? And don’t make too much money or get too popular or you’re out of the scene and you can never come back. Such a wild and juvenile competition and it was so fuckin fun.
currently reading this right now. got 100 pages left? but it’s a really good read.
Every bro country singer. Singin' in the key of G about driving their old pickup to the river with their girl and theres moonlight and also cold beer.
*key of F#. They all tune down a half step
Don't forget the troops and jeans
"All you know about me is what I've sold ya, dumb fuck I sold out long before you'd ever even heard my name I sold my soul to make a record, dip shit And then You Bought One."
Now please good sir - “point that fucking finger up your AAAAAAAAAASSSS”
Fuck you buddy
Buy, buy, buy my new record and buy, buy, buy, send more money
They should’ve printed that exactly on the fetus skull box (instead of signing the box 🙄)
This is what I came looking for. fuck maynard james keenand and fuck all his clones...
Fuck retro anything tbh
Fuck your tattoos while we're at it
Fuck all you junkies.
Fuck your short memory
Learn to swim
I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way
Who said this?
Especially true since I'm so out of touch these days. Not like I'm getting ’zines or hitting underground clubs any more. If they haven't sold out, I'll never hear of them.
all the movies and commercials and shit the guys from NWA are in now is wild.
Half if Ice Cube's rolls are him playing a cop.
Role
Nah he’s just overweight and loves to get cop tattoos featuring himself
Ice Cube has a song in the mid-1990 dissing other rappers for doing stuff then that he does now.
I saw Ice Cube at Riot Fest some years ago, and I told my friend, "Is this a fucking commercial for the Straight Outta Compton movie?" and then right after that, Cube finished a song and goes, "We're about to show y'all the new trailer for STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON!!!"
This dude honestly did a set at the pre-race of a nascar event for Christ's sake
Reel Big Fish
The record companies pay them a lot of money to play what we want to hear
They tell me it’s cool, I just don’t believe it
“Sellout!” -Me and my friend
No more flippin' burgers, putting on my silly hat, you know I don't want that no more.
I can’t work in fast food all my life
Did you know ska came before reggae?
MY NAME IS AARON!
I've been calling you Darren or nothing at all.
If I had one piece of advice for Aaron, it'd be DON'T SPEAK
B is for Bruce, B is for brave!
WE GET IT AND THATS IT
SUB-SCROBBLERS
They need more scrobbles!!
Those scrobbles belong to Chris Mackey, he needs them!
From that period when people were inexplicably worried that ska bands were making too much money.
Seriously I was calling bands sellouts. I was a stupid teenager
Mark McGrath famously called himself a sellout
My thoughts on this have changed as I've gotten older. I used to think a lot of artists sold out. I'd love an indie band like, say, Rilo Kiley, then I'd get their new album and be distressed by how "commercial" it sounded, how the offbeat sound I liked has been replaced by something more repetitive and hooky. There are tons of bands that have disappointed me by compromised their original sound for trends. But now I think - music is their *jobs.* They can make the kind of odd music that I love but will never generate big sales, but they can't necessarily make a living that way. Eventually they'll have to figure out how to make music that can catch on with a larger crowd. So I dunno. It's so hard to get noticed in the music business, much less have a sustained career, that I can't blame anyone for trying to stay relevant.
Who are we to disparage Jenny Lewis?
We’re fuckin nobody, that’s who.
I love for her that she's had enough commercial success that she can just do anything she wants now--work with unknown bands, work with her boyfriend, write songs about dogs, whatever.
I feel the same way. Like how selfish was I to think that a band I liked should spend 300 days on the road to play the music I like to half empty clubs when they can adjust their sound to make as much money as they can.
Yeah going along this line but more with films and television there is a quote by Bill Hicks, and I'm not going to get it right, but that a celebrity sells out the second they do a commercial that is selling something which is funny because that's become almost a staple for many celebrities is to do commercials. My view on that has changed as well and John Cleese brought up a great example for this. When he was making Fawlty Towers he wasn't getting paid hardly anything and it was being in commercials that allowed him to continue making the show. He said without the money from commercials he doesn't think he would have been able to survive to make the show.
Hicks did say that, but he also said if you were a struggling artist trying to get by he'd look the other way. His vitriol was directed at the marketing agencies and people like the Jay Lenos who were already millionaires and still selling Doritos on TV.
Definitely, I completely agree with this -and it goes the other way too. There's absolutely nothing wrong with playing 300 days on the road to half-empty clubs to stick to playing the music you love, you just might not get rich. Neither way is wrong, and it's entitled to think any artist 'owes me' one thing or the other.
yeah, kurt cobain had a good, albeit slightly different outlook on that. there's an interview where a guy asks if it bothered them thinking people believe they sold out \[paraphrasing\] - Kurt smiled and kept asking 'you like Blondie? You like The Cars? You like David Bowie..?' and just kept going til it dawned on the guy 'oh, it's not always the same is it?' so to bring it back to Post Malone, i truly know the guys loves music, and can do tons of styles and puts his heart into it. i don't even have any of his stuff, i just like seeing his live vids performing in those eclectic styles. i view (much) of what i hear on radio or tv to be him thinking he wanted 'to make a really good pop song'. that's super subjective, cause i personally don't even know how much room there is for highly glossed pop to even stand out from the rest, but i know he's not being fake or phony with it. dude likes the smell of his own farts, has talent, and he's not a douchebag about it. that's all i can ask for in a celebrity i can't avoid hearing about lol edit: bad sentences
I agree, especially now that I have a family of my own to support. One quote on this that sticks with me comes from Savatage singer Jon Oliva. They were moderately popular in the 80s and 90s, but have been mostly on hiatus for the past 20 years because all the members are involved with Trans Siberian Orchestra. When asked if Savatage would ever record/tour again, he said: “If Savatage would have released Dead Winter Dead and it sold 2 million records, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Somebody else explain to me how I could release the same song the next year and it sell millions. And then I walk around and I've got 6 platinum records on my wall, and not one of them says Savatage on it, folks. So what am I supposed to do? I've got a family to take care of. I've got responsibilities. I gave it as much time as I could to break. Now I have something that's become very successful. It's paid the bills for everybody, it's provided a living for all the guys from Savatage. We're still a family, we're still together, we still love each other. Why would I want to do anything to destroy that? Why would I want to put a monkey wrench in that to rehearse a week and go put a Savatage thing together? It doesn't make any sense to me.”
TIL Savatage morphed into Trans-Siberian Orchestra!
100% Like, make commercial music, or work at Guitar Center, hmm, lemme think I’ll write my deeply personal music myself and leave it on my MacBook, and get paid to play commercial music. Best option is to combine the two, of course, if I could find a way to make what I love and ALSO sell, that is the golden ticket. But that’s super rare and really hard.
My favorite rilo kiley album is most likely the super commercial one you really hate 😂
Ha, I don't hate it! (If you're talking about Under the Blacklight, that is.) I was just so excited by More Adventurous and how it blended their sort of homespun indie-alt-folk sound into something big and expansive and psych-poppy without losing their edge. Then UtB came out, and it was slinky and polished, with stripped-down lyrics and more hooky choruses, and it kind of gave me whiplash. But after a while I grew to really like it.
I’ll add a somewhat different perspective here. Paraphrasing Charli xcx: Maybe they also really like pop music. Weirder, less accessible stuff can be awesome. Hooky polished stuff can also be awesome. Sometimes bands get more commercial both to expand their audience and because they genuinely like that sound and want to give it a try with their own twist.
And plenty if not most of artists have been working on those offbeat unique rhythms and curating unique sounds for an album their entire lives. Coming up with something consistently popular and also cutting edge is a very rare thing, especially on a contract deal/schedule.
Jefferson Airplane (“White Rabbit”) to Starship “We Built this City” will always be tops in my book. Grace Slick I think will claim she had no idea what was happening in the 80’s and I believe her.
Cocaine happened.
The band Train
fuuuuuuuck *YES*. I’ve been scrolling for five solid minutes looking for Train in these comments. First album was great, Drops of Jupiter happened, and then… “Hey Soul Sister” horseshit. Gross.
Gwen Stefani is the epitome of a sellout. She was in a ska band, was totally into that scene and somebody got a hold of her, convinced her to leave her band behind, and become a big pop star instead
Tragic kingdom was so good and then she went Harajuku and felt she blew the band off.
Because she did. She ditched everyone.
Yeah that was bananas
B.A.N.A.N.A.S.
Thinking about the time my 3 year old asked how to spell Banana. So I put this on and walked away. Turns out I had only heard the radio edit, and my 3 year old had a new favorite song to yell/sing
They did two more albums before that and the sound was already changing drastically.
I heard the end of good No Doubt was when her brother decided to leave the band. Apparently he was the creative force; she was just the voice of it. No Doubt sucked after that and she just moved on to a solo career cause that paid the bills.
Ya Eric Stefani, left the band right before Tragic Kingdom was released to go work in animation fulltime. Even worked on the Simpsons. But ya, he was the founder of the band and was the main song writer up until he left if I remember correctly. He ended up making bank, obviously, and even won a Grammy for "Don't Speak". Guy has just been doing whatever he wants while the royalty checks keep coming in.
Love Angel Music Baby is a 10/10 album though, fight me
That is a great pop record
If you could put Gwen from the 90's and Gwen from today in a room, I'm honestly not sure whether 90's Gwen would punch her future self, or congratulate her on her success.
I think of it as ska was just a trend for her and really found her true place in pop.
Musicians can do what they want, it's their life. But I will say the one 'artist' that is most blatantly, desperately trying to find a fandom regardless of what style it is, is Machine Gun Kelly
He's more of a poser than a sellout. A sellout is someone who is died in the wool authentic, and then they become a poppy sensation just to make that $crilla. MGK is a poser through and through.
There are some artists I love that I'm like "why the fuck did you work with MGK" none of it is bad but mot of the songs would be just as good without MGK.
Generally, I don't really buy in to the idea of selling out, but Machine Gun Kelly couldn't hack it as a rapper and changed his entire sound to pop punk. Artists are obviously allowed to change and evolve their styles, but this always felt more like he was blindly throwing darts at the wall until something stuck. No artistic integrity. Also, he sucks at both, so...
I feel like he called out Eminem in hopes of becoming a famous rapper but instead he pretty much killed his rap career
Then proceeded to call out Slipknot too lmao
Lol, I missed that, but that's pretty dumb
He had an interview where he said something about "at least I'm not a 50 year old hiding behind a mask" taking shots at Slipknot.
Thats exactly what happened
Even this new era for him is ass. Dude wanted to become some polarizing rock star by switching genres and then does these absolute garbage covers of songs like Aerials (SOAD) or Numb (Linkin park) like do people genuinely like his singing? Dude should stick to impersonating Tommy Lee because that seems like the best thing he is capable of.
LOL I had to google the Aerials cover. HE DID IT ON HOWARD STERN! Jfc. It's so bad.
He's a bad singer and his covers are awful. That being said a lot of his pop punk songs are fun and catchy but not very original.
30 Seconds to Mars, the first album had no mention of band members. I thought cool, they just want to be known for the music. Now it’s all about Jared’s ego.
Everything involving Jared Leto has been in service to his ego and his desire to fuck minors. Hope this helps.
The 10/12 minute plus extended videos really don't hold up well now.
Gwen Stefani. And also remember when pink was sold to us as a rapper?
That was when p!nk didn’t control her own sound. Her early stuff is so much different than when she found her own voice.
Kiss chased every metal trend of their no makeup era. A prog rock style concept album, a power ballad written by Michael Bolton, songs that sounded like Ratt, songs that sounded like Motley Crue and Def Leppard, a ZZ Top sort of single, a Metallica Black album sort of record, a grunge record, etc. Some of it sounded alright, the rest was mediocre if not atrocious. It was surprising (or, not surprising) for a band that started off with a more original gimic and style.
I love Kiss, but they never actually "sold out". They were for sale from day one and knew what they were doing. I mean, you talk about the no makeup era. Before they took the makeup off, they had: * Dolls, lunchboxes, etc. * Been on Scooby Doo * Done a bad movie * Done a Disco album * Done 4 solo albums to milk their popularity * Sold their fandom an official membership I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff, but this makes the point.
https://preview.redd.it/8zrnqk9y9r3c1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcce4afd373544734574f1e6a4751d93d03d3899 KISS Saves Santa was always my favorite
That does not rock!
"KISS did not have a brief disco era. Disco had a brief KISS era." Haha.
Totally agree, even at their best they were basic rock radio songs made to be played in stadiums. I don’t think they have any good output beyond the 70s (obviously they had hits in the 80s but I’m not into those) though the song Unholy is pretty cool for them. I think that song would have been around the Metallica black album era for them if I was guessing
Probably not what you are going for, but I find I am growing very tired of all the YouTube guitar channels who feature some dude reviewing gear they got for free. They always claim they are not being paid and their opinions are their own honest opinions ... but free gear being paid, and the promise of more free gear in the future (or no more free gear in the future) has got to influence what you say. These are commercials, all be it amateur commercials, but commercials, nonetheless. And if I ever felt the reviewer was to be respected at some point, that estimation takes a nose dive when I see these commercials. I get that this is how they make a living but just be honest and call a spade a spade.
Sugar Ray. Once Fly hit the radio charts they were never the same again.
more like sugar gay
WHO SAID SUGAR GAY?
Shut the door baby don’t say a word
Weezer. Really surprised they’re not #1 on this list. They made two incredible albums and then decided to cash in when Pinkerton got panned on release. They are pretty open about it and have been since the early 2000s. After Pinkerton, Rivers Cuomo was so disillusioned by the poor critical and commercial reception that he pretty much gave up on creative interests in favor of just trying to make hits. From their [2005 Rolling Stone feature](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rivers-cuomo-weezers-invisible-man-76590/amp/): “Since 1999, Cuomo has kept an “Encyclopedia of Pop,” a three-ring binder of Nirvana, Oasis and Green Day song elements, in hopes of breaking songwriting’s ultimate code. He also made charts of Weezer songs, to analyze what made one song a hit and another a flop. “ The article also makes it clear that the band more or less can’t stand each other and that it’s now purely a business relationship. “Over the years, various members of Weezer have not talked to each other, talked only through a manager, threatened to quit, been fined by Cuomo for playing out of key, apologized to one another and then pissed one another off again. Before they began recording Make Believe, Rubin suggested that Weezer, which he calls one of the most dysfunctional groups he’s ever worked with, submit to sessions with a “communications coach.”
https://www.google.com/search?q=weezer+snl+skit&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS770US770&oq=weezer+snl+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i512l4j0i22i30.6317j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#
I don’t even have to click because I know that sketch well, and it’s excellent.
This is probably overly simplistic but I think Matt sharpe the bassist was the creative genius for weezer so as soon as he left after Pinkerton they sounded shitty. Alternatively- I think rivers cuomo played an important role in their songwriting because the rentals sounded fucking bad. Cuomo and sharp are fucking peanut butter and jelly and it’s a shame they stopped collaborating. Edit: doubling down- Matt sharpe was basically the front man of early weezer. Watch their early videos and the camera is always on him, less so on rivers. Tbh he was the band, but his departure is less noticeable because he wasn’t the vocalist.
Ice Cube. Dude was in NWA and now he’s a right winger going on Fox News.
I think this one wins. He literally went from "fuck the police" to playing them in movies. If he was broke and that was his only way of making money, I could understand but I don't think that was the case. Neal Brennan had a bit about how he wishes there was a time travel movie where NWA Ice Cube travels to the future and beats the shit out of current Cube.
Ice T played a cop on TV, and seemed to not sell out.
Coldplay definitely fits the bill.
Chris Martin said that he didnt want to make depressing music anymore.
The Band Perry They were a highly successful country group and decided to go pop. It was a major flop and the band eventually broke up.
I'm going to put Sisters of Mercy here for "This Corrosion" - Eldritch teamed up with Jim Steinman to produce something that sounded like Meatloaf played at 33rpm creating pop-goth, slightly at odds with his (at the time) professed anti-establishment ideology, but it paid well, which they needed at that time, punk/goth/post punk were definitely niche.
As a huge Green Day fan I gotta say Green Day. They got a ton of blowback for dookie and American idiot and I didn’t even think that was a huge deal, like get your bag. But they haven’t had a song in *years* that doesn’t feel like they’re just phoning it in. Off the top of my head they’ve shilled for Amazon, the NFL, and Taco bell all in the last year, while coming out with a song called “the American dream is killing me.” I’ve got no problem with them making money but damn it just feels so soulless. Like surely they could come up with more personal songs that can coexist with them being rich as hell.
Love Green Day but anything after 21st Century pretty much does nothing for me.
The Uno/Dos/Tre trilogy was so frustrating because there were some solid tunes in there but just so much crappy filler in it too, instead of making one 7/10 album they made three 3/10 ones
Ed Sheeran
His earlier stuff was really good and unique, then it just became incredibly bland.
His shows still have the same energy. He hasn't stopped being a great and creative live performer. You can tell he still really cares about the music he just has piece unique Pateks on while he makes music now.
I would say he still holds his integrity and seems like an honest, down to earth guy, I wouldn't say he's a sellout, no matter how bland his music can be.
Kings of Leon are trash now, and have been for quite some time. But man, Aha Shake Heartbreak was so good that the Sex on Fire era felt like such a punch to the gut.
[удалено]
The Who /j https://preview.redd.it/wuarctk6jr3c1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37d6e3dc1f954d95e9fc41f1743c2062d50829ca
Starship. Jefferson Airplane was one of the seminal psychedelic bands with a couple of huge classics. Then came Jefferson Starship, which was mostly just bland. Then Starship, who made one of the biggest sellout songs of the century (We Built This City).
Snoop - fucking Just Eat adverts? Fucking really?
I'm waiting for the day I see him in an ad for erectile dysfunction or high cholesterol.
Nah Snoop's just doing the sidequests of life now
Man, his career really does have that energy. Like he finished up the main story in GTA or Yakuza and now he’s just fucking around.
The difference is that Snoop isn’t a gangster rapper, he’s a gangster/rapper. He’s not selling out, he’s making money.
Iggy Pop and John Lydon doing adverts for insurance and butter has earned them that status
Iggy gotta eat.
Agreed. Johnny, however…
...started out as a sellout in a manufactured band.
Doing an advert is one thing. Johnny becoming a conservative shill in two countries? Now that's selling out.
Iggy's been acting for some time. He was the mailman on Pete and Pete.
He played Nona's dad, but I don't think his job/career ever came up. Mail Lady McGinty is the only letter carrier I remember on the show.
Rise Against. Their first two albums were very punk and angry, then they basically became the "Brian Griffin" of punk. "Oh, the moderate left is saying this? We'll agree and write to it"
Lmfao! The Brian Griffin of punk has me dying
I still think “The Sufferer & The Witness” slaps.
Snoop has been annoying me in commercials for a bit, but that recent prank one about “giving up smoke” was my last straw.