Luther is grumpy today. I feel like having a rant. And I’m going to start with Fergie. I hate that bitch. Come on, she named her single Fergalicious for fucks sake. What a tool.
And it’s not just because her music’s shit that makes Luther hate her. Back in 2001, Luther’s music taste wasn’t quite what it is today… It was somewhat more hip-hop heavy. I loved to get my thrash on to Busta, KRS-1, Jay Z, MOP and many more. Yep, I was a wigga.
One of the albums I lived and breathed that year was the Black Eyed Peas’ Bridging The Gap. What a great album. Luther still loves to get down and dirty to Weekend at parties.
And then in 2003, Elephunk was released. “What the hell is this crap?” I remember thinking. Who is this bitch strutting around trying to steal the lime light from my beloved MCs? I was not happy. Where Is The Love? still makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth whenever I hear it. Yuck. Remember “shut up, just shut up, shut up”? No, you shut up Fergie you plastic piece of poo.
So, Fergie has taken the blame for ruining the Black Eyed Peas for Luther. Not sure if it’s justified or not, but I still hate her with a burning passion. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was actually an alien. I mean, look at her creepy face. Those eyebrows are fucking weird.
It got me thinking though, and I have come to the conclusion that Luther tends to wean off bands when they become commercially popular. I can’t figure it out though – do I dislike them just because everyone else likes them and I dislike being a sheep, or do they ‘dumb down’ their music to ensure commercial success? Perhaps it is a mixture of both.
My flatmate recently labeled me a music snob as I was bitching about Kings of Leon being massive sell outs. However, I defended myself by saying that I didn’t merely dislike them now because they have enjoyed huge commercial success. It is because their music has consistently gotten worse. It’s a tragedy. I used to LOVE Kings of Leon. Their debut Youth and Young Manhood had a unique yet incredibly catchy and almost rockabilly sound. Aha Shake Heartbreak is still one of my favourite albums of the decade. But then they fucking toured with U2 and started producing schmaltzy, anthemic, generic rock. Spew.
I mean, sure they’re probably making a lot more than they were back in the day, but are they really proud of what they’re producing? Is money an equal trade off for selling your soul? Are they happy that their listeners are now pimply 13 year old girls? That’s just creepy.
Ah well when you’re that young and that good-looking and (from the amount of contrived photo shoots this foursome have starred in) that vain, this course of progression is inevitable. But it’s a god damned crying shame, let me tell you.
If you’re going to form a band and make music, don’t get your values confused. Start with a target market and stick to that target market. Otherwise, you’ll end up alienating your old fans. Sure, bands and artists need to develop and progress with their sound, but that doesn’t necessarily mean writing one-dimensional, predictable, completely unoriginal songs. SORT YOUR SHIT OUT!
And when you have, give me a call. And I just may forgive you, you sexy bastards.
(And because the overall tone of this article is negatory, I will give you a treat to listen to. Savour it. Click here)
I had this exact same conversation with my friends last weekend even using these two bands as my examples. I was then called an musical elitist to which I replied, “Its not my fault their new music sucks ass”.
Great minds aye…Then again maybe I had already read your article and then ripped off your ideas, im not too sure, as my memory of the past few weeks is very hazy.