Rob Zombie - "American Witch"

[tortuga]

Just another dissapointing single from Rob. :( Its pretty bad.

[pen]

Like hell it is.

[American Idiot]

Eh, although I've never been a huge Rob Zombie fan, I think this is much better than Foxy Foxy, which seems to have faded quite quickly. It actually reminds me a lot of Living Dead Girl.

[pen]

Officially going for adds next week. This is classic Rob Zombie. I do not know what Tortuga is talking about.

[tortuga]

penance said:

This is classic recycled Rob Zombie.

wm.allaccess.com/allaccess/robzamer.wma

The "e-yeah, e-yeah" parts of this song are so irritating.

[jdmasta289]

I'm actually liking Rob Zombie more and more. Disappointed in this, but I still miss "Foxy Foxy", though, which I believe was actually his best song to date.

Not sure about his changed image, though. The blonde hair and jeans & jean jacket, as he sports in the "Foxy Foxy" video, just don't suit him. It makes him seem like some motorcycle has been. Where's that creepshow, gothic genius that we saw before?

[tortuga]

He's still singing about witches though, so in terms of lyrics not much has changed.

My favorite single from him is still "Feel So Numb". I've also really enjoyed "Dragula", "Living Dead Girl", and "Never Gonna Stop".

[pen]

tortuga said:

penance said:

This is classic recycled Rob Zombie.

You know, and not saying that you're like this at all, but I find music fans so funny sometimes because there are times when artists make attempts at growth and expansion and people whine and complain because it's not what they're used to and they hate the new sound and they want the artist to go back to the way they were. And then there are times when a band doesn't change, and does what they usually do, and still people bitch because they say it's the same old crap and the artist needs to grow and expand. And so on and so on.

It's not like I don't understand. People don't want an artist to change too much because then it starts going outside the lines of what people expect from the artist and people feel disappointed or betrayed because it's no longer the kind of music that they want. But they also don't want the same stuff again and again because it tends to get stale and overused. To use two fine examples of this, Papa Roach has changed their sound on every album they've made, and they've recieved a large share of criticism every time from people who only want the rap-rock they had on Infest. At the same time, Godsmack has done the same thing for four albums and despite continued success, they've recieved a lot of criticism for not venturing out of their familiar realm (CKY reference) and trying something different.

It's just that it seems like an impossible conundrum sometimes. How does an artist build upon their sound enough so that people craving something different are happy without pissing off the people that want things to remain the same? That's why I sympathize with the artists that just don't care and head in either direction, as Papa Roach and Godsmack do. I mean, cause they're making music for themselves first, and if everything they do is going to be scrutinized anyway, then what's the point?

This isn't directed at you, by the way, nor do I expect a response from you or anyone for that matter. It just gets me thinking about the subject and how hard it must be for some bands to please their fans. Our Lady Peace comes to mind. As far as their fans are concerned, every decision they've made since Clumsy has been wrong. Considering their current commerical state, perhaps there's some truth to that.

[Nicholas2.0]

penance said:

Papa Roach has changed their sound on every album they've made, and they've recieved a large share of criticism every time from people who only want the rap-rock they had on Infest.

The criticism I hear more than from people who want the Infest stuff, because frankly, I don't happen to roll with anyone who's a big Papa Roach fan, is that they're trend riders, just adapting their style to whatever's popular at the moment: Rap-metal blows up big in '98, '99, so in 2000 here they come doing rap-metal. The rap aspect to the style quickly becomes stale within two years, so they all but drop the rapping. (From what I understand, the bridge on "She Loves Me Not" was the only rapping on the whole album, no?) Then two years later, new-metal is clearly still on the outs in terms of relevance, so they streamline their sound, put on eyeliner, and use darker artwork more akin to the heavier bands coming into fashion, including angel wings and a human heart for the album cover. I think they take more sh** for all that, personally.

...Not that it affected my interest in them one bit, as aware of all the above as I was: I owned a burned copy of Infest (it wasn't good enough to buy), but took a chance on Getting Away with Murder the first week it came out. (It didn't hurt that it had a humble sale price of $7.99.) I think it's a great record; clearly their best. I'm interested in burning lovehatetragedy now, or buying it used. I'm actually anticipating their next record.

Our Lady Peace comes to mind. As far as their fans are concerned, every decision they've made since Clumsy has been wrong. Considering their current commerical state, perhaps there's some truth to that.

I don't own any OLP records, but a good friend of mine has been a huge fan since the song "Clumsy" came out, and he thinks their latest CD is their best overall album yet. So I dunno...

You made some good points. Personally, AFI and Avenged Sevenfold fans who feel betrayed (AFI kids who claim Black Sails as their best record, the most) really irk me.

[jdmasta289]

I agree wholeheartedly with penance here, and Pearl Jam is another band that comes to mind. They have perhaps the most amazing, brilliant, and diverse catalogue since Ten. After the reign of the grunge era, they have expanded their sound and navigated territory nobody expected them to in 1992. People still want them to revert to their "glory days".

I think what Nicholas is also saying is that conforming to the times is slightly different than change. In the case of OLP, they really only "conformed" with "Somewhere Out There", a pretty standard post-grunge radio ballad, in a year where Creed, Nickelback, and Default were the rock bands ruling the pop airwaves. The success of that song may have killed them for good - they "sold out".

In the case of Papa Roach, I thought the eyeliner on Jacoby reminded me a little too much of Billie Joe. I worry about how their next album will fare.

I think it may be a little incorrect to claim Godsmack haven't at least developed their sound somewhat. Would Disturbed or Korn have done an all-acoustic album, or written a couple "ballads" in their time? Godsmack, on the contrary, have really NEVER conformed to the times, which is why (I think) they are continuing to do very well, into their 14th single.

[Nicholas2.0]

jdmasta289 said:

In the case of Papa Roach, I thought the eyeliner on Jacoby reminded me a little too much of Billie Joe.  I worry about how their next album will fare.

American Idiot came out three weeks after GAWM did. The other guys kinda look the same as ever, but Jacoby clearly had taken notes from the imagery and fashion of some of the underground metal bands at the time.