OFF: now 90s v. 80s

[Ted Jackson jr.]

On 8 Mar 00, at 10:34, Nick English wrote:



> Another thing that makes the 90s better -- I think most of the 70s
> bands floundered in the 80s, trying to kneel before the altar of MTV.
> But in the 90s, they kind of re-discovered their roots. I think bands
> like BOC, Yes, Uriah Heep and many others have gone a long way toward
> recapturing the fire they left behind in the 80s. I think the Internet
> had a lot to do with it, thanks to lists like this, chat groups and
> fan pages that give bands a direct indication of who's gonna buy their
> records and what they want to hear.

Yep, no doubt about it.   Too, I think the older bands have figured out
where their niche markets are and work them hard.  And, along with
that, they have become wiser in the art of touring--tours and gigs are
managed better, and the bands have fine-tuned their bottom lines as
it were...And, of course, as wheezers like me age, I think we tend to
wax nostalgic.  The boomers are now more aware of their mortality,
and they're getting out to gigs more...As for lists like this helping
business, it's definitely true in my case.  There have been lots of
BOC gigs that were never mentioned in my local paper that were
relatively close by, and that I found out about through the 'net...

>
> Of course, that could be a good thing AND a bad thing. Bad in that
> artists could conceivably limit or change their  vision to meet the
> expectation of fans, rather than truly expressing themselves.
>
Maybe, but I think that bands that have been around for 20 years and
more probably are going to stick to their guns, or have already
sussed out where their fans' head are at...

> Take BOC for instance. Most fans I know of thought HF was a damn fine
> effort. Nothing stellar, but definitely good stuff. And even though I
> enjoyed it, if their new album is not significantly different, I'm
> gonna be a little bit pissed and quite a bit disappointed. Because the
> thing that hooked me on BOC was not a particular sound so much as a
> particular vision. They're not a band I ever looked to to rehash the
> same material from album to album.  God created AC/DC for that.
>
Howls!  But remember that a big part of that vision was due to Al and
Pearlman and Meltzer.  BOC's definitely in a different vein now.  I do
hope that they continue to experiment--that was something they were
always known for back then...

theo