Bands You Stopped Following

I've never been a completest, and I've always been into records, not bands, so it is far more the rule than the exception that I eventually reach a point with an artist where they no longer interest me, especially if they release more than 4-5 records. It could be that they go in a direction I don't care for, or that their material starts to become stale sounding, or dated.

R.E.M. after Lifes Rich Pageant, Petty after Hard Promises, The Byrds after Sweetheart, Bowie after Scary Monsters, Elvis Costello after Imperial Bedroom, and Oasis after the first two are just some examples. I'm a fan of records, not bands, so 'loyalty' is never an issue.

The Stones are one of the rare bands that I love, and even there I rarely listen to anything after Tattoo You, and never to anything after Steel Wheels.

 

I agree about Melissa. I still buy her albums, but I think her fine writing skills have grown a bit stale. And i haven't liked the kind of instrumentation and production on the last couple of albums.

 

I'm like that with many artists. I never truly quit following any band that I've followed over all the years (too much time and money invested to quit.) I always buy every new album by a band I've followed in the past and try to catch them on tour if they come within 100 miles radius of where I live. If I don't like a new album after a couple listens, it gets shelved and may never get played again. Some bands might have a couple bad albums in a row and then surprise you with one that knocks you out and reminds you of why you like them.

Some people have mentioned John Mellencamp as an example to this thread. I really like his music, past and present. Sure, most of his music since the early '00s is very different from what it was in the '80s and '90s, but his lyrics and messages are the same. He has always been a folk rocker, but in the'80s and '90s, the music behind the words was fast, catchy and oriented towards the popular masses and top-40 stations (now being played on classic rock stations.) His music since the early '00s has no commercial appeal because that is the way he wants it. He stated that he wanted to make music for himself and get back to the roots of Americana and Folk Music. With many of these songs over the past 12 or 13 years, there are some powerful and meaningful messages he is conveying. Sure, most aren't catchy, fast songs like his earlier stuff but they are very good songs. He still surprises, every once in awhile, on new albums with maybe 1 semi-fast rocker. Do I wish he would go back to writing catchier songs? Probably, but I'm not complaining as I still like his current output like I do his older stuff. Just have to be in a different set of mind and setting to listen to the new stuff.

 

Tracy Chapman. Her first 4 or 5 albums were good and then she completely lost her touch. I got so frustrated with her output that I sold it all to a buy/sell used shop.

 

Bananarama. Oh wait, I never did like them.

 

Pearl Jam. Can't stand their last three records. It's a neverending mid-life crisis!

 

Erasure

 

R.E.M. after Automatic.

The Smithereens after 11.

Matthew Sweet after In Reverse.

The Three O'Clock after Arrive Without Traveling.

The Dandy Warhols after Welcome to the Monkey House.

 

My Metallica Black album experience was exactly the same as the OP, right down to selling everything but Garage Days.

More recently a band I once loved, and I mean LOVED that I actually wish didn't exist anymore is The Flaming Lips. They should've quit 10 years ago imho.

I've also stopped following My Morning Jacket. Three dull albums in a row makes me feel like they ain't coming back.

 

The talent left with Siobhan Fahey 27 years ago.

 

I should stop following soulfly. they went from a unique sound with their first 5 or so albums to pretty much sounding like a generic death metal band. out of the bands last 4 albums only 1 of them has been enjoyable

 

Lenny Kravitz, afer Circus. His first three albums are oustanding and still spin a lot, Circus is still quite enjoyable, but after that he completely lost his touch. What a waste of talent, since he is highly talented.

 

Absolutely, yes. I started to skip songs to get to Colin's stuff, and realised I only really liked his couple of tracks on each album...then I heard 'Your Dictionary', where Andy runs down his ex-wife for four minutes, and my long standing love for XTC ended forever.

 

Tom Petty after Damn The Torpedos
Pretenders after Get Close
Prince after 3121

 

By this stage of my life, I've easily heard a few thousand albums.

I was lucky enough to start listening to music around the '78-'82 period where there was a wave of artists who were consistent enough that I didn't realise in my pre-teen innocence that good bands could eventually put out bad albums. It didn't help that my Dad has tossed me his old Beatles collection either.

Then, slowly, an Autoamerican, a Speaking In Tongues, a Let's Dance, a New Traditionalists or a Punch the Clock would happen, and I'd realise that artists are fallible. Sometimes it might take longer: a Cut there Crap here, a The Sensual World there, a Batman, a Monster...

My listening greatly increased during the 90's, and I came to the conclusion that artists were much more inconsistent than I originally thought.

By now, I'm utterly-convinced of this:

- A very small number of artists are consistent enough to have a number of great albums in them, and this is a talent that is either dying off or being drowned by the current signal to noise ratio of the sheer amount of average musicians making average music.

- A larger amount of artists only have one great album in them, and are unable to follow it up. This is now my default expectation now if I love a new album: this is all you're getting.

- A larger amount of artists have a small handful of great songs in them.

- The large majority of artists only have one great song in them.

 

his 3 newest albums are worth picking up

 

Live after Secret Samadhi.

 

Actually there are a lot of the hard rock bands that I loved at a younger age but just can't get my head around anymore.

 

pet shop boys after bilingual
stones after tattoo you
radiohead after kid a

 

I agree. Though i would pick up Tom Petty's Wildflowers. Essential.

 

Well put.

I've always felt like this, but I've always been critical. As a teenager, I sensed T.Rex were already finished when I first heard Tanx and then Bowie when I heard Rebel Rebel and Diamond Dogs. I just moved on. There were so many new things to discover at that age. But I figured my view on all this was often too negative a sentiment to voice publicly. Only friends would understand. And these days I want to concentrate on what I do like, not what I don't like. People get something from music I find boring, then that's their gain but not my loss.

 

Just about every heavy metal band except for early Black Sabbath.

 

I get this, but no love for Amnesiac?

 

In Rainbows was not too shabby either. Not greatness but still decent!