Hump Day Rock Thread: Biggest Sellout of the 80's?

[maxsolomon]

I nominate Genesis as the biggest sellouts of the 1980s.

in the 70's, Genesis was a tripped out Art Rock band. Peter Gabriel sang, they had 20 minute songs, they released a double album with Eno as producer. Phil Collins was a knockout drummer in 2 bands at once; Genesis & Brand X.

Then, Gabriel quit. There were 2, 3 more albums, fairly decent, even after Steve Hackett left.

Then, DUKE. For my friends, the title of this album became synonymous with betraying one's artistic gifts for $. Then, ABACAB, Phil Collin's solo work, MIke & the Mechanics.

There was no other artist/band to fall so far.

[RedStateShame]

1. The Rolling Stones

From the most important, vital, pulse band of rock & roll to an bunch of old empty shills. Not even Tom Waits was able to save them!!

[maxsolomon]

2. i considered them, but

black & blue sucked back in 1975

and 'waiting on a friend' is a good song.

[MrSlayer]

3. Aerosmith but only because Metallica didn't sell out until 91.

They were really good sleaze rock band in the 70's and then they became the poster boys of corporate rock in the 80's. Disgusting.

[yorgatron]

4. Brand X?

just when i thought i was the only person left who remembers those obscure prog bands.

[maxsolomon]

14. i once came upon a treasure trove in a thrift store

around 1990. 5 mint condition brand x albums. still have them. i still have all my albums.

and 2 turntables.

[blondeatlast]

13. Then they repeated the sellout even worse in the '00s, when

Steve Tyler did that AWFUL appearance in "Be Cool."

Of course, the movie sucked bilge water anyway, but damn, he was BAD.

[CanuckAmok]

5. Ha! Patrick Bateman's favourites....

"Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don't you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your asshole. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite."



Actually, for my money, It'd have to be Starship, on a strictly former-greatness to present-suckitude basis.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

7. absolutely amazing scene.

Bale delivered it so well. Great quote.

Having this character love Phil Collins was a great statement on his complete lack of a center, of a soul.

[CanuckAmok]

9. ...

All his reviews in the book are meticulously crafted and hilarious. Particularly his monologues on Mike + the Mechanics and Whitney Houston.

It's been about 20 years soince I read it, but if I remember correctly, the book's publisher even used the "+" in "Mike + the Mechanics", instead of the traditional "and".

[SlavesandBulldozers]

10. nice.

haven't read it. though from what some DU'ers say I probably should. Those opuses about music in the movie, though, I remember very clearly as some of the greatest parts.

[CanuckAmok]

11. I'm not recommending the book...

I think Ellis is a hack who has found a niche in violent porn disguised as social commentary, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I didn't like the book, and after I finished it, I wish I'd never started.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

12. lol. gotcha.

scratch that one off the list then. . . good thing too cause I'm working on like 4 at a time right now as it is.

[gollygee]

6. Would Chicago be a sell-out of the 70s or the 80s?

Also, the Moody Blues stuff from the 80s was pretty sell-outish

[SlavesandBulldozers]

8. didn't the Eagles, particularly Henley, sell out around the 80's.

I'm not sure, I know I hate the fucking Eagles though. . . man.

[fishwax]

16. glen frey more than henley in the 80s

with all those miami vice type songs ... henley at least had a couple of decent songs in the 80s, I liked end of the innocence (thanks largely to the bruce hornsby piano). In the 90s, with the whole reunion thing--no hope for any of them, and, in my mind they will always be remembered for the lebowski scene you allude to :)

[SlavesandBulldozers]

18. you caught the lebowski reference.

good call.

i agree with you entirely, especially when you mentioned the Hornsby. That guy can jam.

[kmla]

15. I agree wholeheartedly.

I went to see them in concert about 87 or so.... It was in a domed stadium (not the optimum venue, I realize). I was, shall we say, underwhelmed. A complete waste of money.

I felt gypped. I even had bought the shirt before the concert started. Lost any respect I had for Phil Collins and the rest of the band after that.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. Much as I love him, I have to say David Bowie...

I mean, he went from Scary Monsters (which was brilliant) in 1980 to the pop-inflected horror that was Never Let Me Down and the bloated joke of the Glass Spider tour seven years later...IMO, that's a farther fall than Genesis; Bowie at the top of his game was way above Genesis at their best (they never did anything that could stand with his 'Berlin' trilogy of Low, Heroes and Lodger with Eno, for instance).

[maxsolomon]

22. it hurt too much to nominate him

i HATED 'lets dance' after the first spin. and then to recycle 3 (?) songs from 'lust for life' on 'tonight'?

dude, just don't make any records if you've got nothing to say.

[jonnyblitz]

27. i saw bowie at some Moby event a few years back (2002 maybe}

and he was like a cheesy vegas lounge act. I worshipped him as a wee freak in the making in the 70's....

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Journey

A very good band pre-Steve Perry, with connections to Santana (Greg Rolie, Neil Schon). Their first album with Perry, "Infinity," was more a commercial success than an artistic one, but it was still a good album.

Then the Evil Record Company Suits capped on Perry's high voice and somewhat effeminate stage mannerisms and turned Journey into a "supergroup" that cranked out drip after drip of such power-ballad drivel as "Don't Stop Believin'."

:puke:

Same thing happened to REO Speedwagon, but they weren't that good to begin with.

[Beware the Beast Man]

20. Lou Reed- literally.

Using "walk on the Wild Side" to sell Honda scooters.

[Radical Activist]

24. Walk on the Wild Side was released in the 70's.

And Transformer was a great album.

[Beware the Beast Man]

26. I know that.

But he did the scooter ad in the 80's.


I'm referring to the other definition of "selling out" here.

[grace0418]

21. I loved Duke and Abacab. After *that* they hit the suck button though.

Sure, Duke and Abacab were a departure from art rock (which I also loved) but I don't necessarily think all departures are bad. Odd you should bring up Duke because I've inexplicably had "Cul-de-Sac" in my head all week.

[Radical Activist]

23. There were so many.

A lot of good bands decided to start sucking big time in the 80's. Some of them started playing good music again in the 90's so I'm not sure if it was selling out or just losing their artistic muse, or giving into the crappy artistic spirit of the times.

[ornotna]

25. Gotta go with J. Geils Band

A band that kicked ass in the 70's to a band that sucked ass in the 80's.