Everyone has a band that they have known since the beginning. When they only played one venue because it was the only one that would take them. You and the musicians find each other and you are both unsure, you or the bands ability and them of thier "sound". A few years go by and if they really are any good they start to discover what they want to sound like. Then they get a record deal and you are happy and sad for them. Happy because they finally made it, but sad because you know that they are going to change. Time goes on thier first album is released, you love it. Then thier second in which thier sound is more established and there music more developed. But then on thier thrid album, that is usually when "The Suck" happens, the band changes their "sound" (sometimes to more popular genres, just to explore different avenues of music) and the fans that were with them in the beginning feel forsaken.
Every band is different, but usually this happens aroound thier second to three ablum. And why do we as beginning fans feel so forsaken? Is it because we are like the little kid on the swing yelling "again, again", wanting the same album over and over again, just reworded or reworked. And the band is the adult that is like but "sweety, I have to go get the laundry-" and we yell "AGAIN!". The true of the matter is that even if they did comply to our wants of sticking to the same music and failed to produce some good music we would stone them for it anyway. So usually when it comes to first fans, bands are damned if they do or damned if they don't.
A good example is Linkin Park. I got Hybird Thoery in 2001 and loved it, when Meteroa came out I was totally feeling them and then, 8 years after HT, Minutes to Midnight came out. I hated that CD, I remember as I critcal criqticed the ablum with my boyfriend in his car and was seriously disappointed in there blantant betrayal. I didn't listen to LP new stuff for about two years and then one day I was bored on YouTube and watched some of thier music videos for the new ablum and then it hit me, I didn't like the music because it's wasn't good (well developed and written) I didn't like it because it wasn't HTish. So that is when I didn't dislike LP anymore and ended up buying Minutes to Midnight that next day. Don't get me wrong, Minutes to Midnight compared to thier other ablums was like night to day. But it the same LP just a different genre and feel.
As fans of music shouldn't we want our musician to grow and not trap them in one "sound"? I just find it interesting.
Here are a few more examples:
Blink-182 ("The Suck" wasn't as bad)
The Used, kinda
The only band the really didn't do this that I have found so far is Story Of the Year and the only reason I think why is because thier first ablum, Page Avenue, was slightly genre deverse, so they got the genre exploration out of the way.
Do you agree or disagree? If you agree, name a band that you think went through "The Suck" if not tell me why.
July 8, 2010 9:41pm ET
