Hey guys,

As Prince fans, I know some of you have not really liked some of his more "recent" releases. That being said, did it change your view of the artist when they released a crummy album?

For me, and for a lot of orgers this will be obescure, I'm a Matchbox Twenty fan. They were the first concert I ever went to. I've loved all of their albums. I was even really excited when they were putting a Greatest Hits/New Album combo double disc thing. (Sort of like MJ's HISTORY.) However, once I got the disc, I found myself hating ALL the new stuff. I thought, ok, maybe I missed it. I gave it another listen. Yuck.

Then I read on a website, that the band is really happy the new direction they are going in.

So does this mean tough shit for me, as a fan of their former music?

I guess what I'm really asking is in the title of the thread. This isn't about Prince or even Matchbox Twenty. It is about YOU. Does it change YOUR view of an artist YOU are into, when they release an album you can't get into/hate?

It all depends.

Things like how long I've been into an artist, how much material they have, how long they've been around, their track record, the previous and follow-up releases by them, what I'm going through at the time, what my expectations are, other things I'm into concurrently...all this factors in.

And many times I realize that if I'm just not 'getting it', that maybe the artist has advanced beyond me and it might take me a while to catch up. Other times, it's clear that I've moved past an artist and the work that I admire by them remains in the past.

I've had so many ups and downs and ins and outs with Prince that I don't even question it anymore.

Good question, but the answer for me would be Not at all. But the big thing that comes into play is the artist and their output, how quick are they with putting out another record. Someone like Ryan Adams to me can have a record that i might not like that much, but then hes got another new one six months later. And its really that way with most of the artists i like, its really a longevity thing and how they continue to work, if they put out a record and im not feeling it and then its like 5 years before another one its really tough for me to even keep that artist in my mind when i do finally get something new from them.
[Edited 10/4/07 19:24pm]

JasonStar said:

Where in the hell have you been?!

GangstaFam said:

That's a great way to put it.

I've moved past Richard Marx, I've grown disinterested in Liz Phair's new material, and I don't know if I can keep up with Björk.

Moonbeam said:

Amen, sister!

GangstaFam said:

I'm a lot like this too. It also depends on how much crappy material they put out. I've been a Janet Jackson fan for years but her last 3 albums sucked. I'm at the point where I don't care about her next CD. I'll buy it for the sake of being a completist but the excitement isn't there like it was 10 years ago when Velvet Rope dropped.

Another factor is how much the artist changes. If he/she changes into something that I don't like, then it's going to affect my view of the music, unless it really kicks my ass and 9 times out of 10 it doesn't. I was put off by how Usher trying to act all hard when Confessions came out in 2004. He was not like that before with the previous CD's and that really disturbed me how he could talk about cheating on a girl, Chili from TLC, and act like it was cool. Not to mention the songs on the CD were boring as fuck IMHO. That's my on the matter.

purplecam said:

Same. Except I really like "All For You".

It changes my view of the whole era/lifespan of that album, but not the artist.

You're not gonna like everything that your favorite artist does.But it's important to keep in mind that,artists have to grow and evolve.They have to do music that they feel....music that they can live with.It may not always be what the fans want to hear,but artists have to be true to themselves.

Donna Summer once said that "Artists may not always be in sync with the public,but they should always be in sync with themselves".


So,I don't really get upset if one of my favorite artists releases an album that I don't like.It's a journey they have to take,I can't tell them what type of album to make.

no

SoulAlive said:

This is a great reply, but I'll try to add to it in my own awkward way.

It's an impossible question to answer definitively, as there are likely to be as many differences as there are people.

"Hate" or "Crap" can project amateur, poor or even beneath someone's previous best efforts.

If you're never angered, you're probably also never challenging yourself with something new.

And "hate" might even be attached to something good, or great or even a masterpiece, but if were not in the place where it can be heard for what it is, it's not likely to do more than raise our ire.

And, to generalize greatly here, and not aiming my words at anyone here or elsewhere, because I don't know anyone that well, someone can't fall from grace unless they're first placed in a higher position.

However, if someone should ever release nothing but utter greatness, time after time, I'll know that either they aren't human or I've gone off the deep end; and it would likely be the latter.

And if you're someone that still thinks that some people can do no wrong; well, perhaps the best advice is to hold onto that innocence for as long as you possible can, cause it'll never return.

And, to make it even less black and white, we're all evolving in different ways -- the listener and the artist, so it's not always that easy to separate the wheat from the chaff.

**Screw It.**
[Edited 10/5/07 2:09am]

When "Around The World In A Day" was released, it changed my view of Prince. I wrote it off as Prince going through a phase and then "Parade" changed my view of him even more and so did "Sign O The Times" and "Lovesexy". The entire late 80s was me, and so many others, hoping that Prince would come back to his senses and return to his old self. I still liked his music but every single album in the late 1980s was a disappointment because I kept hoping Prince would snap out of his artsy/fartsy retro phase. By the time the 1990s got here, I knew the "Old Prince" was gone forever and never coming back. Music by all artists as a whole changing for the shit hop worst, made me really come to love a lot of the Prince music that he made after his style change. However, to this very day, when Prince makes a bullshit shit hop sounding song like "Incense and Candles" it makes me think less of him because he has run his mouth about how shitty these new artists are. When Prince sells out to shit hop, even though it may be a song or two, it makes him look like a hypocrit.

The same goes with Rick James. Rick did an interview shortly before his death about how no one makes real music or funk anymore but then his new album comes out and it's a hot sellout mess with not even one funk track on it. I don't like that shit. Don't talk about someone else and then turn around and join them and make the same type of shit that they make.

As for the rest of my favorite artists making bullshit albums in the late 1990s or 2000s such as Cameo, The Gap Band, and The Barkays making shit hop sounding stuff. I hate the bullshit and don't buy it, but it doesn't change my view of these artists because they haven't talked about these new artists and the new music. Selling out is not something that I like but I know some people do it in order to pay the bills. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer that they talk about these new artists like a dog and it's orgasm to my ears when I hear old artists shit all over these new ones. However, if you are going to talk about these no-talent, rhythmless motherfuckers, you had damn well better put out a hardcore jammin' album yourself if you decide to release a new one. And I'm not talking about an album full of damn ballads either.

Actually, I would prefer for my favorites to stay retired and not make new albums because I know before they are released, that they are going to be sellout albums. Except for Prince though, he still continues to deliver the funk so I never want him to retire. However, I want him to stop making even one track that would appeal to this bullshit shit hop generation. Don't worry about if they like your music or not. Give them the finger if they don't like it.
.
.
[Edited 10/5/07 5:46am]

Does It Change Your View of an Artist When They Release A Crappy Album?

ANSWER: No not really. Even the best recording artists can release a wack-ass album once in a while whenever the creativity is low.

To me its not if an artist release a "crappy" album its more bout the path an artist takes and if I'm in sync with the path. I'll stick around for a couple of cds with someone one I really like, but if we no longer mesh I go my way and let the artist go theirs.


Prince is a fine example I should have stopped after Batman, but I gave Graffiti Bridge, then Diamonds & Pearls a try and while I don't consider either album crap I just didn't find them all that interesting. I moved on to other music and other artist. No harm no foul.

I think it depends. For example Led Zeppelin (my fave band) started putting out lots of crap towards the end....

if they were still around and followed that same path, I'd probably NOT be a fan of them, but a fan of their "Old Albums"

If the artist has a solid history but releases one total stinky pile of doody album, it probably won't change my opinion of that artist unless they do something that goes beyond what they have typically done in the past (e.g., KISS goes from hard rock to do a disco album , artist with some musical and lyrical integrity sells out and goes pop or crappy hip-hop). Even the best artists occasionally drop the ball creatively, so you can't necessarily hold that against them. But if the artist goes in a consistent direction in subsequent releases which goes against what I may have been used to or expected, then I'll probably end up drifting away from that artist's work. Case in point; I was a huge R.E.M. fan in high school and college, and "Automatic For The People" is one of my favorite albums from them. I even liked "Monster" though a lot of die-hard R.E.M.fans think they released a load of crap with that album. However, I found "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" hard to get into at the time it was released (though in retrospect it was a brilliant album). But I thought that they had gone downhill after "Up" and "Reveal" and I basically stopped listening to any new material they released.

I really was into Lionel Richie's solo work in the early to mid-80's, but I though "Dancing On The Ceiling" was a total piece of crap. As for Janet Jackson, I liked her albums up through "All For You", but "Damita Jo" and "20 Y.O." were really substandard (and the Super Bowl stunt had nothing to do with my opinion). As for Mariah, as much as I love her and thought "Glitter" was highly underrated, I was close to bailing out on her after she released "Rainbow" and "Charmbracelet", but she drew me back wholeheartedly with "Mimi". R, Kelly, on the other hand, most likely has lost me with his attempt at bad soap opera with "Trapped In The Closet."

WHEN LL COOL J...

Released that wack song with J.LO. I knew it was over.

SoulAlive said:

The Meters are very close to being the perfect band. Too bad they released 'Trick Bag', which, although pretty good, is nowhere near as good as their other releases.