4 ms·

Since I don't go to live shows, I tend to just have the disappointment of finding out that I only like some of my favorite bands' albums, because the arc of the

Since I don't go to live shows, I tend to just have the disappointment of finding out that I only like some of my favorite bands' albums, because the arc of their own musical careers doesn't match my own tastes. Why can't performers just stay the same forever, producing a never-ending sequence of similar but distinct works?

triceratops 6y ago
> Why can't performers just stay the same forever, producing a never-ending sequence of similar but distinct works? Because they're artists. Even the record company-manufactured acts consider themselves artists. On a human level, they're already performing the same pieces of music thousands of times - in rehearsals, concerts, recordings. It must get incredibly tedious after a while. You want them to write the same type of music all their lives as well? You monster! :-P
egypturnash 6y ago
Some do! Some don't. There is one English psychedelic outfit I like called "Ozric Tentacles". Every album is pretty much identical. And it turns out that I really like that album, so I have bought it ten times over the years, plus a couple of live albums. This happens in part because whenever the people behind Ozric Tentacles want to make something different from their trademark sound, they'll usually put it out under another name. If you go to their site right now the front page advertises recent albums from two different side projects with even sillier names than "Ozric Tentacles". (The Ozrics are far from the only band to do this, they're just the first example that comes to mind.) There are other bands I like where every album is something different. King Crimson, for instance, is a different lineup for pretty much every album. Same bandleader, some people return to perform in multiple incarnations of the band, some are only there for one album and some tour dates. I love some of their albums and some are flat for me. I'd still grab another one if I heard that Fripp had declared that the current assemblage of musicians he was working with was an incarnation of King Crimson, because the albums that work for me work really well. If it's a dud I just consider it a down payment on the next hit.
- saalweachter 6y ago
  I mean, there's the odd band I like everything of (eg, Jethro Tull), but other times either the "new stuff" isn't "right", or -- when I come to a band late in their career -- I work backwards only to discover I don't care for their early stuff.
- Anthony-G 6y ago
  Despite having seen them live a few times, I only own one Ozric Tentacles as I figured there’s no need to buy any of the others. :) I always figured that the members got their musical satisfaction from their side projects. Thought I haven’t listened to them in years, I actually preferred Eat Static which was formed by two of the Ozrics. Similarly, another band I listened to at the time, System 7 was formed by members of Gong. This was around the time I was discovering what’s now called “electronic dance music”. As a music listener, EDM was much more exciting and interesting than much of the guitar-based music in the mid-nineties.
  - egypturnash 6y ago
    I envy your live experience, I've only heard them on albums!
philwelch 6y ago
There are some genres where that happens, but if you don’t like those genres, you’re out of luck.
nmfisher 6y ago
I always found it amazing that Deftones managed to change their sound with each of their 9 albums over ~25 years, never fell off quality-wise* and never alienated their fanbase (even if some of those releases weren't 100% to everyone's taste). It's very rare for a group to avoid the "churn out crap" stage of a musical career.
raydev 6y ago
> Why can't performers just stay the same forever, producing a never-ending sequence of similar but distinct works? Foo Fighters recently released another album.
- mjgs 6y ago
  I always thought Foo fighters were pretty great. I listened to them a lot in the 90s. I looked up their best hits a few years ago, and I was shocked by how many incredible songs they have. They headlined Glasto a few years ago. It’s an amazing gig, I watched it on YouTube, really incredible interacting with the crowd, some really special moments.

triceratops 6y ago

> Why can't performers just stay the same forever, producing a never-ending sequence of similar but distinct works? Because they're artists. Even the record company-manufactured acts consider themselves artists. On a human level, they're already performing the same pieces of music thousands of times - in rehearsals, concerts, recordings. It must get incredibly tedious after a while. You want them to write the same type of music all their lives as well? You monster! :-P

egypturnash 6y ago

Some do! Some don't. There is one English psychedelic outfit I like called "Ozric Tentacles". Every album is pretty much identical. And it turns out that I really like that album, so I have bought it ten times over the years, plus a couple of live albums. This happens in part because whenever the people behind Ozric Tentacles want to make something different from their trademark sound, they'll usually put it out under another name. If you go to their site right now the front page advertises recent albums from two different side projects with even sillier names than "Ozric Tentacles". (The Ozrics are far from the only band to do this, they're just the first example that comes to mind.) There are other bands I like where every album is something different. King Crimson, for instance, is a different lineup for pretty much every album. Same bandleader, some people return to perform in multiple incarnations of the band, some are only there for one album and some tour dates. I love some of their albums and some are flat for me. I'd still grab another one if I heard that Fripp had declared that the current assemblage of musicians he was working with was an incarnation of King Crimson, because the albums that work for me work really well. If it's a dud I just consider it a down payment on the next hit.

saalweachter 6y ago
I mean, there's the odd band I like everything of (eg, Jethro Tull), but other times either the "new stuff" isn't "right", or -- when I come to a band late in their career -- I work backwards only to discover I don't care for their early stuff.
Anthony-G 6y ago
Despite having seen them live a few times, I only own one Ozric Tentacles as I figured there’s no need to buy any of the others. :) I always figured that the members got their musical satisfaction from their side projects. Thought I haven’t listened to them in years, I actually preferred Eat Static which was formed by two of the Ozrics. Similarly, another band I listened to at the time, System 7 was formed by members of Gong. This was around the time I was discovering what’s now called “electronic dance music”. As a music listener, EDM was much more exciting and interesting than much of the guitar-based music in the mid-nineties.
- egypturnash 6y ago
  I envy your live experience, I've only heard them on albums!

philwelch 6y ago

There are some genres where that happens, but if you don’t like those genres, you’re out of luck.

nmfisher 6y ago

I always found it amazing that Deftones managed to change their sound with each of their 9 albums over ~25 years, never fell off quality-wise* and never alienated their fanbase (even if some of those releases weren't 100% to everyone's taste). It's very rare for a group to avoid the "churn out crap" stage of a musical career.

raydev 6y ago

> Why can't performers just stay the same forever, producing a never-ending sequence of similar but distinct works? Foo Fighters recently released another album.

mjgs 6y ago
I always thought Foo fighters were pretty great. I listened to them a lot in the 90s. I looked up their best hits a few years ago, and I was shocked by how many incredible songs they have. They headlined Glasto a few years ago. It’s an amazing gig, I watched it on YouTube, really incredible interacting with the crowd, some really special moments.