Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadaloo
But MTaE specifically disappoints me because it comes across as a very transparent attempt to catch mainstream attention by angling for a Coldplay sound and current music trends by creating a short, poppy, digestible, un-challenging work without any palpable amount of effort put into it: bite-size paint-by-numbers SP with no lyrical depth. I know BC can do better, always contended he could, and to see him throw out a work that reeked of desperation was as disappointing as it was sad.
I don't like the term "sell-out" and never have. I don't give a shit what sound a band turns to if that's where their muse takes them. MTaE didn't feel earnest, and coming from a band that already put out a shirt back in in 1993 or so admitting they "sold out", I never thought Bill actually really did in the truest sense of the term until he put that album out. I'll go to bat for half of ZG, about half of Oceania, and one or two tracks off TG. But fuck MTaE forever.
For all the grief it's caused, I always respected Bill for a lot for his stubborn "my way or the highway" attitude, but that album was him throwing his hands up in the air in a desperate bid for some kind of attention. I'm convinced he's secretly ashamed of it, and it's the real reason he shitcanned Day For Night - it was going to be more of the same and he saw it was getting him nowhere. And maybe he knew he could do better.
And I'm specifically here because :
A) This is basically the last standing big place with SP history and it feels proper to be a part of it
B) There is a sense of community on a message board not matched by the likes of Reddit
C) Negativity and trolling aside I enjoy discussing SP with people I know have been longtime fans and reading a wide array of diverse opinions.
D) Hot leeks yo
E) I'm also not going to be part of any fucking community that censors criticism and encourages sycophancy. I don't give a shit what the Sad Machines members do with their lives but I'd rather not hang around where love for a band outweighs the capacity for analysis, discussion and informed interpretation. There is no such thing as a band with a flawless discography (cue the Boris joke here).
F) There are really good people here and I like interacting with them. Obvs.
G) For some reason I do still want to believe the band is capable of putting out good stuff again. There are occasions like Silvery Sometimes where I feel I'm justified in that.
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I see a contradiction in this post, and all the other posts like it; on the one hand you supposedly mean well and wish for the best, but at the same time it's if you go out of your way to take the biggest, smelliest dump possible on the music and the artists, with remarks like "fuck MTaE forever", "work that reeked of desperation was as disappointing as it was sad". That's not critique, that's invective.
There are two ways to looks at everything, in a charitable way, or in the worst light possible. Even taking your own view, you could say "good on Billy for trying to make a quick, poppy album in an attempt to reach new fans, too bad it didn't work, maybe Day for Night would have had a hit single.", but instead you opt for the worst view possible, as if you secretly delight in his failure, strangely enough.
I can see why you and others might delight in his failure, he's an asshole, no question about it, but let's recognize this situation for what it is.