After reading Bridget’s review of The Libertines “Greatest Hits”, it got me pondering…. Is it better to fulfil the old adage and burn out or have the listening public robbed of extensive back catalogues by the early demise of their favourite acts?
Music history is filled with mysterious and untimely deaths, bust ups and breakdowns that have stolen musical gems from the public domain. Big questions were left unanswered; was the next Nirvana album going to be full of emotional ballads? Would the Stone Roses have recorded their next album in under seven years?
Occasionally one great band can give rise to others but all too often the progeny are sad listless rehashes of the originators. So lets cast those weary, Friday, TLOBF, eyes, over the dissolution of some of our favourites.
Lets start with one that everyone can relate to, Nirvana. Nevermind defined the early nineties angst ridden USA and was the torch bearer for the Grunge movement. There was also the excellent MTV Unplugged set and a whole catalogue of outstanding live performances. Kurt’s suicide in the wake of In Utero shattered many fans hopes and dreams, but I have the sneaking suspicion that Nirvana were on the wane. I found In Utero patchy and with Kurts alleged increasing drug abuse then I can’t imagine that any later material would have decorated their legacy.
David Grohl has done OK for himself of late but the Foo Fighters are a fine example of bands out staying their welcome. Their debut was good and The Colour and The Shape was better but correct me if I am wrong, haven’t the FF’s released the same album over and again for the last 5 years? I will, however, commend them for their invariably great singles and some pretty good videos to boot.
Should Hole and Courtney Love also be considered as a spin off from the Nirvana legacy? Certainly she wouldn’t have enjoyed half the popularity without her more famous partner, but Hole had their moments. Live Through This, (perhaps Kurt’s greatest song writing achievement ???) is filled with enough bile and rage to make your ears vomit at the sound. More latterly Hole seem to have expired and Miss Love gave the world America’s Sweetheart. A commendable effort for such a self destructive individual.
Stone Roses, never one of my favourite acts, but by God did they have some danceable tunes. It took seven years to make the Second Coming and then they just fell apart. I saw their performance at Reading festival in 1996 and it was woeful. Good job they finished when they did. That was the beginning of the individual fragments: The Seahorses…….The Shirehorses(!) and of course an occasionally brilliant but usually average solo career from Ian Brown.
Sticking with those Northern Scallies, wouldn’t it have been much better for all involved if Noel and Liam had knocked seven bells out of each other and ended the misery that is Oasis’ career. Come to think of it, if they had done that after Definetely Maybe then the world would have been a better place. And what of the Verve? They knocked their burgeoning popularity on the head by splitting in the wake of the anthemic Urban Hymns. I still think A Northern Soul is perhaps one of the greatest albums of the 90′s, but Dickie Ashcroft has continued on his cosmic quest with a few stodgy solo albums, so it will be interesting to see if the spark can be reignited.
This year has been a bad one for me, three of my top bands have all quietly slipped off the radar. The Cooper Temple Clause probably left it an album too late before they split (although “Homosapiens” on Make This Your Own is brilliant). Scottish quiet/loud merchants Aereogramme have left a massive hole in my music loving heart which will be difficult to fill, their back catalogue is well worth visiting and I will rue the fact that I never got to see them live. Likewise Your Codename is: Milo, had perennial struggles just to get their music to an audience and it finally took its toll when they called it a day earlier this year. It could be argued that their later work lacked the immediacy of their debut, but All roads To Fault was always going to be difficult to topple.
So back to the inspiration for the article, The Libertines. I for one hope they don’t reform. Pete Doherty is infamous for all the wrong reasons. I would bet that any given reader of OK Magazine or the Daily Star couldn’t actually name his current or previous band. What the Libertines achieved in the short career was the perfect distillation of early 00’s Great Britain and should, rightly, be celebrated. But it had a shelf life and by burning out in such a short time they have preserved an enigma. Babyshambles and Dirty Pretty Things both do enough to satisfy the IndieKids of today but they probably don’t match the sharp song smithery of their origins.
As for todays crop? You wonder whether Arctic Monkeys will reinvent themselves or whether so much at such a young age will see them burn out. Have the Editors shot their bolt? Will Gorillaz stay relevant? Will Amy Winehouse be able to find the recording studio to make another album? Can Maximo Park make a record that doesn’t sound like A Certain Trigger? And will someone do the honourable thing and stop Razorlight.
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I’m always split on these things… I saw Dinosaur Jr last year and they were amazing live and their new album is great too. At least they’ve made some new material.
The reformation of the Sex Pistols and the Pixies annoy me – it just looks like a means of making more money and not contributing anything more…
Good article, I’m not really sure about what my position is. Aereogramme, like Shawn, were/are one of my favourite bands but I think they reached a natural end to their lifespan. Like, they used up all the potentially interesting avenues they could and decided that that was it, (don’t know if thats true or not).
Someone HAS to stop Razorlight!
It is always gratifying, like Simon says, when bands seem to reach a natural end. The Delgados are a case in point, though it is sad they split they ended on such a positive note musically with an album that seemed to pretty much sum up what they were all about. Another album just wouldn’t have been necessary in a funny sort of way. Suede DEFINITELY outstayed their welcome and in some ways it would have been better if they had gone out on Dog Man Star. The Wonderstuff should have bowed out on Never Loved Elvis. There just seems to come a point when bands… well, go off.
Am i alone in preferring Second Coming to the debut? Should I get my coat.
^No im with you too on the Second Coming Simon. I thought I was the only one who thought it!
WaahHOO!
Actually, I know people who still regularly go to see the Wonderstuff and they love it – why deprive them of that? I know music is all about opinions, but don’t you think it’s a tad high and mighty to suggest people should split up because you don’t like them anymore…?
If a band can get by on what they’re earning, and are happy to get a small audience when they used to get a huge one, then good luck to them. I would agree – everything since Never Loved Elvis, for me, has been crap, but I love to go and see Wonderstuff every now and again, because when songs like Cartoon Boyfriend, Wish Away and Mission Drive start up, its still special. Actually, its better in many ways – they’re less arrogant, its cheaper to get in, and you’re nearer the front!
Also, just because they might not be doing something great right now, who’s to say a classic isn’t just around the corner? Just ask Gary Numan fans – he’s been rubbish for 20 years, but his live shows have still been amazing, and then all of a sudden he returns the favour to Trent Reznor and rips him off back – hey presto, the best material he’s produced since 1982. It’s never too late!
And hey, if The Delgadoes had released another album, and it’d been shit (in your humble opinion), you could just sell it on eBay. Why condemn them to jobs in Top Shop just because you might not like their new creative direction?
I’m also a fan of the Second Coming… but then I’m a very big fan of Led Zep, so it’s right up my street.
As for bands making money, I don’t know, I guess as I have to work in a shit job for cash, someone screwing over “fans” for their cash whilst not doing anything other than replaying past glories just annoys me! Jealously more than anything else though probably!
But why is it ‘screwing over the fans’? Just don’t go? Why would you want others, who enjoy the shows or albums, not to have the opportunity? Surely it’s horses for courses. I really don’t understand.
I’d just like to hear new stuff from a band, not just the old stuff continually played. But, as you say, I just shouldn’t go!
Sheesh, I’ve got nothing against anyone going on and playing live shows, make an album if you want, as there is always a possibility they might go on to make something amazing. I just think as far as the music went, Delgados reached a satisfying conclusion, whereas Wonderstuff with Modern Idiot etc didn’t. I shouldn’t think anyone really has a problem particularly with bands coming back and performing live shows, the Carter gigs for eg sound like they were a marvellous celebration of their songs (really liked your review btw).
Ta :)