# Bands that Jumped the Shark **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143 "2004-03-29T19:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/21 "2004-03-30T00:03:10Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > **Depeche Mode** Completely lost it after Violator, when Gahan gave in completely to the smack and went heroin chic (and heroin ugly) Gotta disagree on this one - SOFAD is up there with my absolute favorites by them. They started to lose it after Alan left and have been on a downward slide ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/22 "2004-03-30T00:16:46Z")
For those of you who Aerosmith has fully jumped the shark, I invite you to listen to a bit of their [new album](http://www.sonymusicstore.com/store/catalog/MerchandiseDetails.jsp?merchId=62978). (Not to say that _I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing_ wasn’t definite shark-bait, but I think they’ve come around with this one. Then again, I think Pump _and_ Rocks are great.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/23 "2004-03-30T00:35:42Z")
Just FYI, the Jump the Shark guy has a section on bands in his [Jump the Shark](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452284104/qid=1080606848/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0789744-4557605?v=glance&s=books) book. It’s pretty lame, though. ---
**Author:** ![RealTronic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RealTronic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTronic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/24 "2004-03-30T01:06:10Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Gotta disagree on this one - SOFAD is up there with my absolute favorites by them. They started to lose it after Alan left and have been on a downward slide ever since. Yes, I sort of agree with this. I still don’t think they’ve completely jumped the shark, but losing Alan Wilder marked a downward turn of quality, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/25 "2004-03-30T01:09:59Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Can you jump the shark in reverse? How about before David Clayton-Thomas joined BS&T (“Child is Father to the Man” album). It had Kooper, but wasn’t yet the magic combination, IMHO. I much prefer Kooper’s bluesy and soulful version than Clayton-Thomas’s bombast. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/26 "2004-03-30T02:48:49Z")
Beatles: **Magical Mystery Tour** ; a quasi-rebound with the _White Album_, then sinking further with \*Abbey Road \* and _Let It Be._ Yes, yes, I know there are living, breathing creatures on this planet who think Abbey Road is the pinnacle of their recording career but come on! Maxwell’s Silver Hammer? I Want You (She’s So Heavy)? Sun King? Something? And this measures up some way with Rubber Soul, Revolver and Please Please Me? Are you people on angel dust? Must I continue typing tiny, incredulous sentences? REM: **Document** Rolling Stones: **Undercover** The Who: **Who Are You** ; even if Moon hadn’t died this album did not bode well for the band. They were finished at this point. The Replacements: **Don’t Tell a Soul** ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/27 "2004-03-30T02:55:09Z")
\*\*Van Halen \*\* when David Lee Roth quit/was fired (depending on who’s telling the story). ---
**Author:** ![TitoBenito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2acd7d/32.png) [@TitoBenito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TitoBenito)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/28 "2004-03-30T03:13:20Z")
**The Clash** fired Mick Jones and a few years later released “Cut the Crap”. Fortunately they took their own advise. ---
**Author:** ![Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kneepants_Erasmus_the_Humanist)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/29 "2004-03-30T03:42:15Z")
geez…really…the Clash is my favorite band **EVARR** , but I still cannot bring myself to listen to _that_ album Imagine if McCartney kicked Lennon out of the Beatles and hired a shitload of crappy/unknown guitar players to replace him. No. Would not work. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/30 "2004-03-30T03:55:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Imagine if McCartney kicked Lennon out of the Beatles and hired a shitload of crappy/unknown guitar players to replace him. We don’t have to imagine: we have Wings. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/31 "2004-03-30T03:57:19Z")
**U2** - I too would have said after **Achtung Baby** , or perhaps even starting with it, given some of the lyrics (the whole fish/bicycle nonsense springs to mind). But **All that you can’t leave behind** is a fairly good comeback from such crapfests as Zooropa and the other album in the middle there that I don’t own, neither of which deserve bolding. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/32 "2004-03-30T04:53:25Z")
Aerosmith’s jump coincided with Alicia Silverstone appearing in their videos. (Not that it was related to the jump, but that’s when it happened.) Metallica’s Black Album caught them in midair, with the Ramp of Quality just behind them and the Ramp of Suck just in front of them. I disagree that REM and U2 have ever really jumped. IMO, neither has made an album that isn’t worth listening to. (Yeah, even _Zooropa_ had its moments, and I actually liked a lot of _Pop_.) I’ll say that the Dave Matthews Band jumped when they added backup singers. I’ll also make a controversial (and perhaps sacreligious) supposition and suggest that the Grateful Dead jumped when Brent died. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/33 "2004-03-30T05:05:14Z")
**Bob Mould** – when he decided to put down the guitar and start fiddling around with samplers and sequencers and drum machines (a move that prompted me to give him the derisive nickname “Depeche Mould”). Not that samplers and sequencers and drum machines are inherently bad, but he has yet to do anything remotely interesting with them. **Perry Farrell** – when he stopped getting high on smack and started getting high on life. Some people are just more interesting on drugs, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/34 "2004-03-30T05:20:25Z")
I’ll agree whole heartedly that **R.E.M.** sucks these days, but I’ll have to disagree as strongly as to when. While I have grown to love their first releases, _Automatic For the People_ is the pinnacle of their recording career. It features the best songs, the best production, the best damn **stuff** the guys ever did. I remember being terribly annoyed with **R.E.M.** in the mid 80s 'cause I couldn’t understand anything Stipe was saying. Is it ironic that now I’m annoyed with the things I _can_ understand him saying? Anyway, they started sucking after Berry left and they got that 80 bajillion dollar contract. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/35 "2004-03-30T05:57:03Z")
**STYX** -Domo Arrigato, Mister Roboto ( man, we need a yucky smilie) **The Rolling Stones** - Tattoo You (btw, is that David Bowie on the cover?) **Michael Jackson** :rolleyes: - Bad ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/36 "2004-03-30T08:20:29Z")
I think The Cure lost it with **Wish** when they went all fecking happy. Friday I’m in Love? Eek! A lot of people would probably argue that the shark was jumped much earlier than that, but I find I get something out of all the previous albums, but Wish has long since been sold to the second hand shop. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/37 "2004-03-30T08:27:41Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > I think The Cure lost it with **Wish** when they went all fecking happy. Friday I’m in Love? Eek! A lot of people would probably argue that the shark was jumped much earlier than that, but I find I get something out of all the previous albums, but Wish has long since been sold to the second hand shop. It’s not as dark as _Disintegration_, but much of _Wish_ isn’t very happy either. I didn’t think much of _Wish_ when it first came out, but I like it a lot more now. I’d urge you to give it another try. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/38 "2004-03-30T08:45:10Z")
**Pink Floyd** - after _The Final Cut_, when Roger Waters left. Floyd’s too bubblegum without Waters, and Waters is too whiny without the band, IMO. **Queen** - after _The Works_, although I’m tempted to pick that as their jumping point. It had some good songs, but they were trying something completely new, and it just didn’t seem to take off. Granted, _Hot Space_ wasn’t exactly an inspired piece of work, either, so maybe they felt they had to do something to get out of the rut. **The Who** - _Who Are You_ **Yes** - Yes seems to have jumped, jumped back, jumped again, spawned, and now all the various offspring are leaping left and right. Toward the early 80’s they were coming out with stuff like _Going for the One_ and _Tormato_ which were about as inspiring as warm spit. When _90125_ came out, it was completely different from what they’d done before, and had several songs on it that were quite good. Then they released _Big Generator_ and re-established themselves as tired hacks in a completely new musical genre. So many members have quit and joined that there were legal battles at one point in the 90’s over who had the right to call themselves Yes. This led to simultaneous tours by the winner calling itself Yes and the loser calling itself Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Jermaine and Costello or so such, neither of which were all that good. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/39 "2004-03-30T11:03:06Z")
**Genesis** , but I’m not sure when. Some say when Peter left and Phil took over as front man. Some say it’s when Steve left. I don’t know…I really liked _We Can’t Dance_ (second-to-last album), but when Tony and Mike put out another album after Phil left, there was no doubt that they had jumped. On a related note, I’d say that **Phil Collins** jumped around _Both Sides._ That album, for some reason, almost made me suicidal. Gah. that, plus he was running out of ways to make an album cover with just his face on it. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143/40 "2004-03-30T12:02:44Z")
Jamiroquai- After Stuart Zender left/was fired. Good lord, _Emergency on Planet Earth_ was incredible _Return of the Space Cowboy_ was good, and _Travelling Without Moving_ was great in places, but I feared for the worse the second I heard JK starting up a lamborghini on one of the tracks. For Love of Pete, you spend two albums writing songs about what is going on in the workld, and them throw it all away because you can afford really fast cars and are shagging Denise Van Outen. Zender got pissed off with your crap and when he leaves you come up with the suckfest that was _Syncronicity_ (King for a day has to be the most egotistical song ever written), and then just turned into a disco remix outfit for the last crapfest you came up with, who’s name I refuse to mention. When you lost Zender, you lost all traces of Funk left in your band, and I’m glad you got twatted by that photographer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-jumped-the-shark/237143.md?page=3)