HereIsGone
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Post by HereIsGone on Jan 29, 2011 9:38:48 GMT -5
The thing is that they have some interesting songs on this new record sonically but they're never going to become singles. And I guarantee you that they'll never hire professional songwriters for the purpose of generating a hit.
Rzeznik has said many times in recent interviews that he isn't chasing hits at this point in the Dolls' career and polluting the songwriting process by thinking outcome-oriented like that. And while they don't hit up big arenas and such, they've been going fairly steady with the theater-type shows and what not so it's not like they're exactly hurting there. The fact that they were able to put 70-ish or more shows before the album even came out without a single date cancellation is proof enough.
At least Rzeznik's been mentioning that he's already writing songs lately and that he doesn't want another really long cycle between albums again (thank effin god.) so at least maybe the change up in approach will help things a bit. If not, at least there won't be as long of a gap.
In regards to MB20, honestly, I don't expect much from them. Not if the new songs off Exile on Mainstream is any indication. I mean, they're not horrible, but they're largely not all that memorable.
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atlantaboy
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Post by atlantaboy on Jan 29, 2011 10:27:00 GMT -5
^I think Rob Thomas is pretty good about switching up musical styles slightly for each new album - unlike Rzeznik, I think he realizes that you can't just keeping putting the same stuff out over and over again, so I actually have a lot of confidence in the next MB20 CD
I also think that unlike Rzeznik, he works with producers that realize that new CDs have to have a somewhat different sound than the previous ones
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HereIsGone
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Post by HereIsGone on Jan 29, 2011 11:08:43 GMT -5
Eh, there has been a decline in quality from MB20 CDs as of late (if you can even phrase it like that since it's been so friggin long since their last proper release), but obviously they do hold the chance to surprise me, but I'm still not expecting a monster hit from them if they're co-writing lyrics amongst the band instead of Thomas all by his lonesome.
I think the thing about Rzeznik is that I think by adopting the mantra of, 'I want to write songs that I like and if you like them too, that's great. If not, whatever.' is where you get that sort of myopic nature in a sense. Which is why you'd never see him go solo because there is no point - they'd all sound like GGD songs anyway.
I mean, hell, if you've ever heard Ryan Cabrera's Illusions and David Cook's Declaration, especially the former, you can tell he had a hand in penning them because it's so blatantly GGD-esque that it's not even funny.
So, I think that's why you see that difference between them. And it's probably also why as it was mentioned earlier in this thread that charm in some songs only lies in the fact that he can sing it to you so believably.
And as much as I liked Something For the Rest of Us, part of me wants to kick him in the ass too and stop recycling certain themes. XD
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atlantaboy
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Post by atlantaboy on Jan 29, 2011 13:30:28 GMT -5
And as much as I liked Something For the Rest of Us, part of me wants to kick him in the ass too and stop recycling certain themes. XD Honestly, I think the guy's spent over a decade and a half writing incredible songs, and his well's finally running dry - I just think people need to celebrate the incredible stuff he's written in the past, and the unbelievable influence he's had over the sound of Hot AC - but as far as new music, I think we gotta start looking other places
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Rumors
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Post by Rumors on Jan 29, 2011 13:37:34 GMT -5
Just one follow-up on MB20, I wasn't crazy about the songs from Exile either except for How Far We've Come. That was a different sound for them and if you check out some live performances of it on youtube it really rocks as a live song. But the key here was that it was different and it actually did pretty well although my guess is that it doesn't generate a lot of recurrent airplay. I could be wrong as I don't have access to any of those numbers. But the bottomline is that the new songs need to be better than what was on Exile or they will certainly drop from an arena band to a theater touring band on this next album. But then again, I think there's some major differences between the GGDs and MB20 that I don't need to get into here in a GGD thread.
I do respect John for not going to hitmakers. That was my whole point about the Train reference. My guess is that the past 2 Train albums and Pat's flop solo album necessitated that...label probably said one more chance or you're out of here. But a lot of established bands are leaving the major labels for indies. The majors will probably just cater to the megastars in the future...those that can still sell multiplatinum and let the smaller labels hand everyone else.
And then you have the changing HotAC format. The format may get behind the first MB20 single as Rob is still "the" HotAC artist of the past 10 years but then again you never know. The format is changing fast. It's basically a little watered down version of Pop at the moment. If you are an artist pushing 40, outside the country format, I wouldn't expect to get much loving from radio anymore. Rob will be 39 on Feb 14th I believe. How old is John? About 42? I know that Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day is just one day younger than Rob and his band still appeals to the youth so maybe the type of music you make and your image play into that (Em and Jay-Z). Billie still wears the eyeliner and everything and still looks pretty young. Rob is aging well but does definitely have a more mature look as he should and Johnny is still sporting the rocker vibe and the wild hairdo. But then you have Pat from Train who looks pretty old and dated and he still had a hit so appearances alone still isn't wholely what it is all about just yet. Thank goodness.
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Rumors
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Post by Rumors on Jan 29, 2011 13:42:12 GMT -5
BTW, I don't own a GGDs record so all my comments on the band are strickly based on their long career of singles. Then again I don't buy many records so I can say that about almost any artist on these boards. I bought two records over Christmas and was for the most part disappointed in both except for the 2-3 standout songs on each (Miranda Lambert and Sara B.)
I will be picking up the new Adele album. She knocked it out of the park on her new single. What a voice. She'll have a career based on her voice alone. I think the same thing applies to Rob. It's his distinctive voice that he really has made his mark with more so than his writing, IMO.
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HereIsGone
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Post by HereIsGone on Jan 29, 2011 14:05:01 GMT -5
John just turned 45 December 5th. And you're right about HFWC, Rob's age, and that Pat does look old for...*wiki'd birthday* almost 42 (Feb 28th).
Honestly, it's gotten to the point where GGD's good songs aren't the kind of good song that doesn't necessarily mesh well with radio. Both singles so far has gotten me to think, well, this is a good song...but it doesn't sound too radio friendly. With MB20, I think there will be a lot of pressure on them for their first proper album release since More Than You Think You Are since it's been...9 years? (Gasp. I feel old.)
Either way, I hope they get more rockier again. I'm getting tired of their forgettable pop endeavors like most of the Exile songs. Hopefully they're all pop-ed out since Rob's solo CD was like that.
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Rumors
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Post by Rumors on Jan 29, 2011 14:53:19 GMT -5
Okay, I hate to say this but I didn't know John was 45. He looks pretty good for 45 but yeah I think age is certainly starting to be factor for the acts that were big on this format 10 years ago. I'm aging too so that's fine by me but we are obviously diehard fans of our favorite groups and still wish them as much success as they can get as they are never going to be critical darlings and become U2 or Coldplay. I've gotten over been disappointed by that with MB20 but if you don't get the critical praise and the prime award show appearances it is just nearly impossible to do. I think the GGDs and MB20 have really done quite well for themselves with as little critical love as they have gotten over the years. They are still bands and making music (well at least MB20 is trying to get there).
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HereIsGone
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Post by HereIsGone on Jan 29, 2011 15:03:59 GMT -5
Yeah, definitely. Whenever I read a bunch of comments during any sporting event they do (and it personally amusing me how many of those gigs they get -- including tomorrow's pre-show Pro Bowl spot) people never fail to bring up the gem, 'What, is it '98 again?'
Apparently, you're not allowed to have extended success. I wish they'd pull a Train-like come back to shut 'em up. It's stupid really. And although I don't follow Matchbox as closely, I hope you don't have to put up with that crap either.
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HereIsGone
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Post by HereIsGone on Jan 30, 2011 20:47:26 GMT -5
Pro Bowl performance! Basically shortened renditions of Notbroken and Stay With You. Definitely a lot better than the Orange Bowl set up. I wish I would have paid attention to the iTunes rock charts prior to the performance to see where Notbroken was on the chart, if at all. When I checked a half-hour ago, it was at No. 94. And double checking right now, it's No. 91. Not that it means much. Just interesting is all.
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