Since We Are Talking About Music...

Since Freak and I got off on the topic of one specific genre of rock music (hair metal), it seems appropriate to point out that pop/rock is really divided into 5 categories. I don't include R&B, Jazz, Country or anything else because I am not as familiar with them as I am with Pop and Rock.

1. The Critically Acclaimed

This category is filled with all the artists who have received critical success throughout their careers but never really hit the big time except for maybe one or two hits here or there. Somehow, they manage to continue a caree without a ton of Billboard success.

Artists like Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jellyfish, kd lang, Radiohead and even the shredder guitar players of the 80's fit this category. Most musicians LOVE this group.

2. The Pop Stars

These are the artists that have almost no critical acclaim but achieve success even if it is mostly short-lived. These are people and bands who either have one marketable skill (sing well, look good, etc) or are copycats.

Bands like Silver Chair or The Monkeys fit here because they copied other artists to get their success - Pearl Jam and The Beatles respectively. Artists like Britney Spears and Olivia Newton John fit the very pretty but not very talented group. And Celine Dion is a perfect match for the great singer, no other real talent category.

An interesting side note about the "Pop Stars..." Many important battles within the music industry were fought and lost by this group. While Metallica can wage war on Napster or more critically acclaimed artists like Frank Zappa can take on the PMRC, an artist from this category very rarely wins anything outside of a grammy. Ouch!

Take George Michael for example. He attempted to sue his way out of a bad record contract and, in the process, create a sort of free agency for musicians. In the late 50's and early 60's, actors and actresses fought the big movie studios to win their independance. Before that, they were signed to long-term deals with studios and beholden to them to make films. Now, an actor can do a film on Mirimax today and Warner Brothers tomorrow.

Musicians, on the other hand, are often stuck in really bad contracts they had to sign just to get a shot in the business. Michael tried to sue but got NO support from the music community because he had no street cred. As a result of his loss in court, artists like Prince have had to deal with bad contracts and the loss of their own copyrights. If Prince would've taken the industry to court like Michael did, chances are the industry would be very different today.

3. The Legends

This is the category that has all the real long-term marketable stars who have influenced the world of music both in the industry and outside of it. They not only achieved marketable success but they are giants in the world of entertainment.

These are the artists we think of when we think rock or pop star. The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Sting, Elton John, Van Halen, Prince and Led Zepplin are examples here.

4. The Industry Stars

These are artists who achieved great success in the commercial world, never recieved much critical success but heavily influenced the music industry. These artists are popular but made fun of more often than anyone.

Madonna, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and others fit in here. They are loved as much as they are hated. They are panned by the critics fairly often but constantly watched and copied by the music industry because they set trends that others follow.

5. The Also Rans

This is basically everyone else. This doesn't make anyone here a bad band, just someone whose influence is limited for any number of reasons. The majority of all music is actually found in this category - probably 90%. But, there is SO much that we can't name or even think about all of it.


I'm not sure why I went on about this. I just thought it seemed relavent in the discussion of hair bands. Hmmmm. Maybe not. Oh, well. Enjoy.

------------------
Me fail English? That's unpossible.

 

LOL!!! I guess that is a good thing. Not sure.

------------------
Me fail English? That's unpossible.

 

I assume you mean Shake Russell. Shake was/is a good songwriter but he is a Texas songwriter and that doesn't usually constitute a pop or rock star. Most of those guys are folk singers and never really held any mass appeal. They may get local and regional respect and some sales, but that's about it.

------------------
Me fail English? That's unpossible.

 

Good point, Smeg, however, anyone who wants to achieve popular success in pop or rock music knows that they have to do it in America. Artists from other countries see America as the major leagues.

The one exception to that rule might be traditional regional music. For example, salsa will never be hugely popular in America but there are salsa musicians who routinely sell 2 or 3 million records in Latin America. Artists like Y'sour N'dour in Africa sell millions of records as traditional African musicians that mix pop in their format. However, they wouldn't sell in America because the music is regional or national.

Every musician who emulates the great rock or pop musicians of the past wants success in America above all else. We are the entertainment capital of the world. That is just the nature of the business.

------------------
Me fail English? That's unpossible.

 

The big problem with folk artists is that they wouldn't know how to sellout many times. When you grow up listening to other folk artists, you are almost unable to crossover into pop and rock.

I've played with some great folk artists in my life including a few legendary Texas guys and it is VERY hard to play. In fact, I turned down a couple of gigs because I just didn't feel prepared to play the music as a bassist and I don't usually shy away from gigs.

Pop and rock music, generally, have all the sensitivity of a sledgehammer. Folk is the exact opposite.

Even if they were able to "plug in" and make a record, so much of their music is predicated on the story (telling a tale with poetry and music), it would be hard for a mass audience to accept it. James McMurtry made a couple of electric albums with John Cougar Mellencamp's band - really, I thought the perfect choice of band because Mellencamp is a rocker who likes folky music.

The album was good but McMurtry's songs just didn't fit that verse/chorus format of today's pop music and his voice was gruff and Dylan-like. Popular music today has become too perfectionistic to handle that kind of thing and it is a shame, but it is reality.

------------------
Me fail English? That's unpossible.

 

True, but even Silver Chair wanted popularity in the states. I'm sure they can have a great career in Austrailia but their influences are in America and, like most rock and roll and pop stars, the way they prove their success is in America.

Like I said, it is like the big leagues here. The competition is MUCH more fierce than it is anywhere else in the world because of the sheer numbers of people trying to "make it." Plus, rock music was born in America like jazz. Americans who love Cuban music long to see and play in Cuba because it is where Cuban music was born.

I don't see it as good or bad, just reality.

------------------
Me fail English? That's unpossible.