Welcome! Log In Create A New Profile

Advanced

Leaving so soon?

Message List New Topic Print View
Delvin
Leaving so soon?
August 31, 2011 12:36PM
When I commented about Wilson Phillips on the thread about recycled band names, it made me realize how rarely that group crosses my mind. I hear its songs occasionally in supermarkets and such, but I forget it as soon as I'm out the door.

What's the point? Well, when it debuted, Wilson Phillips had all the markings (to me) of a group that was going to stick around. The girls were so photogenic, and their tunes so popular, I figured they'd be in it for the long haul. Instead, after their second album tanked, they went their separate ways. I would've hated that group a lot less, had I known it'd be gone so quickly.

Any groups that you thought would have a long career, only to see them disappear overnight?

Reply Quote
BCE
Re: Leaving so soon?
August 31, 2011 02:21PM
The Bible
Pop Will Eat Itself
The Power of Dreams

Chastity Bono's old band Ceremony:
[www.youtube.com]
Reply Quote
Michael Toland
Re: Leaving so soon?
August 31, 2011 02:24PM
PWEI lasted 10 years, and just got back together to release a new record. That's pretty decent longevity, I'd say.

I heard the Power of Dreams just last year. Damn good band. I wonder if their lack of longevity had anything to do with their awful name?
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Leaving so soon?
August 31, 2011 04:28PM
I never expected Terrence Trent D'Arby or Arrested Development to implode so quickly out of the starting gate.

People who had promising debuts that generated fairly loud buzz, only to vanish without a trace shortly thereafter:

Imani Coppola
Shea Seger
Res

People who had huge hype only to vanish before their debuts were ever even released:

Nicky Love
Melissa Lefton (who was billed as a cross between Liz Phair and Britney Spears, back before Phair tried to claim that title herself - her debut album sounded like it was going to be really interesting in all the pre-release hype, but then it never did see the light of day)
Reply Quote
dj45rpm
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 01, 2011 02:42PM
T'pau comes to mind (they kinda had a career in the U.K. after "Heart & Soul" but they were pretty much gone after album#3).
Ditto (We've Got A) Fuzzbox (and We're Gonna Use It) (who went from Dayglo-punk to Bananarama-pop, with less-than-stellar results) and Charlie Sexton.
Reply Quote
Michael Toland
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 01, 2011 03:08PM
Somewhere along the line Sexton realized he was better off as a producer and session musician, and he's carved out a nice career for himself that way. (Witness his membership in Dylan's band.) He still puts out records, but now he does it only when he feels like he has something to say, instead of having to urp up product to fulfill a contract.
Reply Quote
HollowbodyKay
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 01, 2011 03:24PM
Quote

Any groups that you thought would have a long career, only to see them disappear overnight?

Old Skull
Reply Quote
rebelwithoutaclue
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 01, 2011 09:06PM
group that i really liked in the early 90s was UNITY 2.
Have no idea what happened to them.
Neneh cherry also at around the same time.
Breno is right on the money witth the group Res- i just discovered them last month.
Have you guys known any musicians who had some degree of sucess that dont play at all anymore cause it just doesnt pay financailly?
Reply Quote
Jermoe
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 10:15AM
I always thought Was (Not Was) didn't live up to their potential.
Reply Quote
HollowbodyKay
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 11:13AM
Quote

Have you guys known any musicians who had some degree of sucess that dont play at all anymore cause it just doesnt pay financailly

Beefheart leaps to mind ... all fast n' bulbous-like.

What's the consensus on his paintings? They do not a whole helluva lot for me.
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 11:48AM
Quote

Have you guys known any musicians who had some degree of sucess that dont play at all anymore cause it just doesnt pay financially

Beefheart leaps to mind ... all fast n' bulbous-like.

I suspect that was part of Mr. Vliet's self-mythologizing: turns out he'd started to show symptoms of MS (or whatever his disease was) in the late '70s, so health issues probably had as much to do with his decision to quit music as anything.

As for his paintings...has ANY musician ever made good visual art? Except for some Mark Mothersbaugh stuff (dig his "beautiful mutants"), I'm stumped.
Reply Quote
mats84
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 02:30PM
I like Chris Mars' stuff :

[www.chrismarspublishing.com]

Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 02:38PM
Quote

I like Chris Mars' stuff :

[www.chrismarspublishing.com]

Wow, that is some pretty cool stuff all right.
Reply Quote
zoo
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 03:06PM
MrFab wrote:

...has ANY musician ever made good visual
> art? Except for some Mark Mothersbaugh stuff (dig his
> "beautiful
> mutants"), I'm stumped.

David Byrne
Steve Kilbey
Mick Karn

I'm by no means an art critic, so I can't tell you if their work is "good" or not. I just know they created some visual art.
Reply Quote
Jermoe
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 03:12PM
I'd like to get my hands on some of Robyn Hitchcock's visual art:

[www.robynhitchcock.com]

Dan Wilson (Trip Shakespeare, Semisonic, his own damn self) was a pretty serious painter at one time. You can get a taste of his stuff on his blog:

[www.danwilsonmusic.com]

Nick Seymour of Crowded House...





I actually think John Lennon's drawings are pretty good. They're a damn sight better than those of fellow deceased marketing juggernauts Jerry Garcia and Carlos Sa – oops, Santana's still alive. My bad.
Reply Quote
Michael Toland
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 03, 2011 03:00PM
***Have you guys known any musicians who had some degree of sucess that dont play at all anymore cause it just doesnt pay financailly?

I know the great Doug Powell quit music for awhile because he just couldn't make it work financially. He went into graphic design. But he recently made a comeback after a spiritual calling.
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 03, 2011 06:59PM
John Foxx followed that same career path. He made a much better living as a graphic designer than as a musician so figured what the hell am I bothering with music for? Then after about a decade or so he made a musical comeback and has been recording at a pace that Ryan Adams or Robert Pollard could respect ever since.

Don't know if he's still doing design work for anyone other than himself, or if he made such a name for himself in that field that he was able to build enough of a nest egg to go back to music full time.

Anyhow, if you ever saw a book or album cover or an ad with art that looked like this, Foxx was more than likely responsible for it. He loved combining statues & foliage:

Reply Quote
mats84
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 11:11AM

Fiona Apple

Reply Quote
breno
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 02, 2011 03:11PM
John Mellencamp is a damn fine painter, in my opinion.





Reply Quote
breno
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 03, 2011 07:40AM
Quote

David Byrne
Steve Kilbey
Mick Karn

I'm by no means an art critic, so I can't tell you if their work is "good" or not. I just know they created some visual art.

I was an art major and all three of them would've put me in a jealous rage if I'd been stuck in a class with them - they're all pretty good, though it's always subjective when it comes to art.

David Sylvian's polaroid art is pretty impressive, also.
Reply Quote
dj45rpm
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 04, 2011 12:17PM
Grant Hart did some great work on the Husker Du album covers, though he probably isn't better known because he did them under a fake name.

Getting back to the original topic, Haircut 100 and Kajagoogoo showed how even then-popular (at least in the UK) bands don't always survive the loss of their lead singer (you could say the same about veteran bands like J. Geils Band)
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 04, 2011 05:14PM
Yeah, very few bands have survived the loss of their lead singer. AC/DC and Van Halen are the most obvious mainstream examples; The Spinners and The Commodores each had one sizeable hit single after their original lead singers left, but neither band survived much longer after that. Ultravox is the only other significant example I can think of. (I think this topic has been on a thread, not too long ago.)

Reply Quote
satchmykels
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 04, 2011 05:31PM
Rock City Angels
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 05, 2011 03:28PM
Heard "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals on the radio today and thought of this thread. They hit it big and then nothing.

They seemed like they had it all - a lead singer with a ton of charisma, catchy tunes and ties to an earlier band that was beloved enough to give them credibility with people who normally might have written them off for daring to have hits (i.e., us)..

So they're my nominees for the band that most perfectly embodies this thread - they should have been in the picture for years but burned out almost immediately.



Post Edited (09-05-11 17:37)
Reply Quote
HollowbodyKay
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 06, 2011 05:19PM
Quote

Rock City Angels

Couldn't recall a single tune by said band.

I had that album on cassette back when ... but can't recall what I ever did with it. Probably dumped it for store credit at a used record store.

Back when anyone would even touch a used cassette.

I think there is one place in town that'll even dare to stock used cassette tapes. They're degenerates.
Reply Quote
Michael Toland
Re: Leaving so soon?
September 07, 2011 09:45AM
They had a hit? I'm not knocking them, as I think that album was pretty promising.

They're actually still around, or at least the singer and bass player are carrying on with the name. They release their stuff on CD-rs now.
Reply Quote
Newer Topic Older Topic
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login