What group / artists remain "serious"...

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Stirlinghibee

Stirlinghibee

Private Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Crap thread title I know, but the recent death of Ari Up of the Slits made me think of her stepfather , John Lydon , and how my perception of him has changed over the years.

What I am getting at , I suppose, is how some artists still are mentioned with a reverent hush , whilst others , like Iggy Pop (Swift covered puppittry) and Johnny Rotten (Utterly butterly and Insect expert) are just not seen through the same eyes as they would be in the 1970's.

Bowie's the same , after appearing along with Fraggle rock muppits , as is McCartney.

Some bands I think still evoke a certain amount of "seriousness"?

1. The Clash
2. Nirvana
3. Led Zepplin
4. Oasis
5. Jimi Hendrix

I think it's a case of protecting your legacy, and not chasing the cash...

Oh, RIP Arianne...



:worthy
 
Does John Lydons butter advert make Never mind the Bolloks a worse album? Does Iggys puppet make Funhouse any less thrilling?

Id suggest not. I agree Its disapointing to see an idol fall from grace but I feel it's better to seperate the artist from their music. This is the only reason I can still listen to The Smiths/early Morrissey despite the quiffed one becoming more of a knob with every passing year.

For what its worth I think REM, Radiohead, Springsteen and The Manic Street Preachers still carry themselves with a bit of class.
 
Russ Abbott, without a doubt, is erm. Well, hmmm.

Agree on the Jimi front, never did or had a chance to sell out or become a cock.
Zep seem a bit irrelevant which I think makes them less serious.
Kinda think that about Nirvana too.
The Clash, treated serious but questionable if they ever were credibly serious in the first place, but perhaps my view of them has been coloured slightly by a few rants on here.
Oasis, mightily pish and never serious in the first place, imo.

I reckon bands that haven't been affected by the media are generally able to avoid this issue, sometimes that's at the risk of popularity but usually due to not being media hoors (I suppose mostly they go hand in hand).
 
I think there are plenty of serious bands out there. Most of those emo and heavier rock bands take themselves far too seriously for example. Or at least thats the image portrayed to us via media.

Music is a fun thing for me, if it wasn't fun i wouldn't do it.

Stirlinghibee said:
Bowie's the same , after appearing along with Fraggle rock muppits.
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You're having a laugh aren't you?

Buddy Rich, Johnny Cash, Gladys Knight, Debbie Harry, Paul Simon, Shirley Bassey, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Rodgers, Weezer, Supergrass, John Denver and Alice Cooper are among the artists that have worked with the muppets.

You don't get a gig with Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem band unless you've made it :fyi:
 
Ian Brown always seams write/sing about serious stuff. Even political.
 
Stirlinghibee said:
Crap thread title I know, but the recent death of Ari Up of the Slits made me think of her stepfather , John Lydon , and how my perception of him has changed over the years.

What I am getting at , I suppose, is how some artists still are mentioned with a reverent hush , whilst others , like Iggy Pop (Swift covered puppittry) and Johnny Rotten (Utterly butterly and Insect expert) are just not seen through the same eyes as they would be in the 1970's.

Bowie's the same , after appearing along with Fraggle rock muppits , as is McCartney.

Some bands I think still evoke a certain amount of "seriousness"?

1. The Clash
2. Nirvana
3. Led Zepplin
4. Oasis
5. Jimi Hendrix

I think it's a case of protecting your legacy, and not chasing the cash...

Oh, RIP Arianne...



:worthy
Click to expand...
Personally, I think that pretensions to 'seriousness' is almost always the enemy of good pop music.
 
Loved The Slits and didn't know Ari was dead,RIP.



Stirlinghibee said:
1. The Clash
Click to expand...


Never ever took them seriously. Manufactured band, singing about guns whilst firing air-rifles, hippy politics whilst dressed as punks and hating the USA whilst cracking their heads trying to make it big in that same country. Two of them now even work with that twat Albarn.

Some nice tunes but the biggest con since Klattu.


Dunno about "seriousness". Lydon's ad's financed the last PIL tour. In today's climate where artists music has very little financial returns seem an OK thing to do.
 
Stirlinghibee said:
Some bands I think still evoke a certain amount of "seriousness"?

1. The Clash
2. Nirvana
3. Led Zepplin
4. Oasis
5. Jimi Hendrix

I think it's a case of protecting your legacy, and not chasing the cash...
Click to expand...

I'm an Oasis fanatic. Not having that at all. Serious? They couldn't give a flying one. Can't imagine Kurt Cobain sampling Gary Glitter.

Does this look like a man wanting to protect his legacy?

[video=youtube;OD9RpE8TV-A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD9RpE8TV-A[/video]
 
Once you release your first recording for money you're in a commercial scenario. So what? Does that make you less 'serious' whatever that is? Aye Iggy's advertising insurance, big deal, Iggy's been in the business of making money ever since Elektra first signed The Stooges.

Alice Cooper, great example of a 'non-serious' artist. Completely commercial in every sense of the word. Making so much money he's still spending money that was generated in the 1970s. Has appeared in a host of telly adverts both sides of the Atlantic. The troops still lap him up because seriousness has nothing to do with it - he entertains, it's as simple as that.

Who determines what's cool. Iggy gets flak for car insurance adverts but nothing was said when his song was used to promote a movie about Leith junkies.
 
Hampden_Hibby said:
....ever since Elektra first signed The Stooges.
Click to expand...

Tonight BBC4.....cannae wait.

BBC - BBC Four Programmes - The Man Who Recorded America: Jac Holzmans Elektra Records


Got this wonderful beast of a boxset last Christmas.

68-foreverchanging.jpg





BIG G
 
Mark E Smith is the first name that comes to mind with regards to OP question. i'd add Bobby Gillespie and Davey Henderson.

If he was still alive Joe Strummer would be another. Lee Perry, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Max Romeo and many of the reggae greats too.
 
There's a very fine line to walk between attaining then keeping a 'serious' reputation and running about with your head up your erchie. However, Dylan has managed it -- em, most of the time. Others? Van Morrison? Neil Young? BB King? And in a totally bizarre way, Keith Richards? Loved his comments when Sir Mick Jagger got a knighthood.

When you get knighted there's just no way back.
 
Green Sleeves said:
Mark E Smith is the first name that comes to mind with regards to OP question.
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MES is on record as saying that more than a few Fall albums, usually comps or live efforts but at least one studio release, were done so that he could pay his mortgage and pay his band wages so that they could pay theirs.

Music and commerce have went hand in hand for centuries. Musicians have been ripped off enough that I don't begrudge most things they do to make money. BBC Radio 3 types swoon over the likes of Erik Satie but a lot his music was written as advertisements to be played at exhibitions.

I like the glory of musicians suddenly being super-rich, the sack cloth and ashes stuff isn't glamourous in the least.
 
"Seriousness" maybe isnt the word I was looking for.. It's more the perception of say, Iggy, when "The passenger" was played at the disco/clubs I used to go to in the early 80's , and what you thought of his persona and artistry and the guy who now sells car insurance opposite an annoying puppit who "sucks!".. regardless of how timeless "lust for life" and "The Passenger" is, I cant listen to them with the same feelings any more.

I am also aware that these artists are in the entertainment business, and mostly don a "persona" that fit's the image they are creating that might not be the real person, however to see it ruined as Iggy has done is dissapointing.danni
 
Stirlinghibee said:
"Seriousness" maybe isnt the word I was looking for.. It's more the perception of say, Iggy, when "The passenger" was played at the disco/clubs I used to go to in the early 80's , and what you thought of his persona and artistry and the guy who now sells car insurance opposite an annoying puppit who "sucks!".. regardless of how timeless "lust for life" and "The Passenger" is, I cant listen to them with the same feelings any more.

I am also aware that these artists are in the entertainment business, and mostly don a "persona" that fit's the image they are creating that might not be the real person, however to see it ruined as Iggy has done is dissapointing.danni
Click to expand...

"Iggy" was always a persona.

I think the idea of someone as nuts as Jimmy doing insurance ads is funny and his music is still great.
 
Stirlinghibee said:
"Seriousness" maybe isnt the word I was looking for.. It's more the perception of say, Iggy, when "The passenger" was played at the disco/clubs I used to go to in the early 80's , and what you thought of his persona and artistry and the guy who now sells car insurance opposite an annoying puppit who "sucks!".. regardless of how timeless "lust for life" and "The Passenger" is, I cant listen to them with the same feelings any more.

I am also aware that these artists are in the entertainment business, and mostly don a "persona" that fit's the image they are creating that might not be the real person, however to see it ruined as Iggy has done is dissapointing.danni
Click to expand...

Perhaps credability would be a more fitting term?
 
We've all got our definitions of 'serious' when it comes to musicians.

The one i'd use here is artists who are totally focussed on spending a lifetime building up an ever-evolving body of creative work. They dont rest on their laurels, they dont play to the gallery, and they dont stop until they drop.

if anyone thinks intensely driven creative artists dont have to earn a living theyre sadly mistaken. Its the body of work over a lifetime that counts.
 
Green Sleeves said:
Mark E Smith is the first name that comes to mind with regards to OP question. i'd add Bobby Gillespie and Davey Henderson.

If he was still alive Joe Strummer would be another. Lee Perry, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Max Romeo and many of the reggae greats too.
Click to expand...

Talking of Davey Henderson; It has always been an enduring mystery to me, how You've Got the Power failed to become one of the singles of the 80s. It was both perfect 80s pop and also not shit, which is a remarkable combination (at least for the mid - late 80s, early 80s pop was a true golden era IMHO)
 
egb_hibs said:
Talking of Davey Henderson; It has always been an enduring mystery to me, how You've Got the Power failed to become one of the singles of the 80s. It was both perfect 80s pop and also not shit, which is a remarkable combination (at least for the mid - late 80s, early 80s pop was a true golden era IMHO)
Click to expand...

An amazing song indeed. Both the Win albums still sound fresh and are beautiful slices of intelligent rock/pop/whatever (that was the thing about Win they couldnt be pigeon-holed). DH doesnt play the game with the music industry though, rarely gives interviews, just gets on with the music. It might be why you dont hear about him so much and why Win didnt get the exposure with YGTP.

His new band The Sexual Objects have their first album out round about now and the songs I've heard are every bit as good/different as the stuff he did with the Fire Engines, Win and the Nectarines.

Incidentally, Win drummer Russell Burn's new band Spektor Bullets have their first album out next week and I've heard good things about it too.

:thumbgrin
 
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