# Potential Pop Music Career Suicide **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269 "2002-03-21T02:00:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/1 "2002-03-21T02:00:25Z")
Inspired by the “formula” thread. What pop/rock musicians made surprising career decisions, and how did it work out for them? Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is the only example I could think of for someone who radically switched styles and didn’t seem to lose his audience. Songs From the Wood was I think, his first foray into British folk-rock after a long time playing hard rock and blues. Please post your examples. ---
**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 21, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/2 "2002-03-21T02:12:14Z")
In 1975, Lou Reed recorded _Metal Machine Music_, supposedly to to finish off his contractual obligations. It was just plain awful electronic music and his career tanked. The Village People tried to get away from Disco, but failed miserably. OTOH, Bob Dylan has successfully redefined himself every few years. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/3 "2002-03-21T02:27:14Z")
As I recall when _The Police_ first came out they were considered New Wave/Punk Rock. Their music became more mainstream. [Or you might say that mainstream music became more like _The Police_] Certainly **Sting’s** successful solo career is a far different formula than early Police. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/4 "2002-03-21T03:10:45Z")
**George Michael** tried to move away from teen pop to R&B, with some success. **Peter Gabriel** left Genesis to create very different music. **Alanis Morrisette** is probably one of the biggest transormations - she started out as a Debby Gibson-esque teeny bopper as “Alanis”, and then about four years after that phase appeared out of nowhere with ‘Jagged Little Pill’. **Billy Joel** has had some critical success with his attempt to move into classical music. **Paul McCartney** , on the other hand, tried it and failed miserably. **Ringo Starr** made a successful country album called “Beaucoups of Blues”. **Waylon Jennings** started out as a Rock N’ Roller, playing with Buddy Holly among others. Then he went to Nashville and became a country ‘Outlaw’. **Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines** - Perhaps the ultimate suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/5 "2002-03-21T03:19:41Z")
What about MC Hammer’s gangsta rap phase? All I know about it is what I saw on “Behind the Music”. Apparently it failed to re-ignite his career. Oh, and I didn’t “get it” when David Byrne of Talking Heads fame recorded an album of Brazilian music, but then I’m nowhere near as hip as he is. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/6 "2002-03-21T13:45:10Z")
**Gary Moore** has had a varied carrer. Not sure if he’s that popular though, but his fans seem to stay. He started out in a rock band, moved onto a Jazz Fusion band, then onto a hard rock band, then started duing blues records, then onto some strange phase that I don’t know where to put it, like a mix of ALL the past stuff thrown together, and now back to the blues. **Golden Earring** has changed a lot too. They started out sounding like the Beatles, then changed over to progessive rock, sounds something like Yes, then onto the pop rock sounds of the early eighties, then onto just normal rock and the last album was pretty hard. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bibliophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophile)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/7 "2002-03-21T14:16:30Z")
What about Everlast? House of Pain was pretty big, and now he’s had two solo albums. There was a lot of rap on the first album, Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, but there were some guitar-based songs as well. The second album, Eat at Whitey’s was more in the alt-rock vein. I don’t think he’s had the success as a solo artist he had with House of Pain, at least not yet, but I love his solo albums. ---
**Author:** ![Leifsmama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@Leifsmama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leifsmama)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/8 "2002-03-21T15:18:22Z")
I had heard a long time ago that Ministry did cheesy bubblegum pop before they decided to become the gothic death band I know them as. Anyone else hear this? ---
**Author:** ![ndorward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@ndorward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ndorward)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/9 "2002-03-21T15:29:16Z")
Pat Metheny. _Song X, Zero Tolerance for Silence, The Sign of 4_. Some of the most abrasive rackets ever committed to disc, by someone usually associated with the softer, pop-oriented area of jazz. _The Sign of 4_ was (mostly) recorded live & apparently had legions of guitarheads fleeing for the exits at the Knitting Factory. I think that, except for _Song X_, the albums are crap, but you’ve got to hand it to Pat about having the guts to piss off his fans bigtime. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/10 "2002-03-21T15:42:42Z")
In the same vein as MC Hammer, how about Vanilla Ice? He tried to come back with a rap/metal album fairly recently. Although it could be argued it was more like attempted career resurrection than career suicide. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/11 "2002-03-21T16:17:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*In 1975, Lou Reed recorded _Metal Machine Music_, supposedly to to finish off his contractual obligations. It was just plain awful electronic music and his career tanked. \*\* Somebody must’ve liked it. He just did a live show of it in Germany, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/12 "2002-03-21T16:22:58Z")
**Neil Young** is always getting accused of this. Think _Trans_ or _Everbody’s Rockin’_. But he always bounces back. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/13 "2002-03-21T16:45:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*In the same vein as MC Hammer, how about Vanilla Ice? He tried to come back with a rap/metal album fairly recently. Although it could be argued it was more like attempted career resurrection than career suicide. \*\* Actaully I’ve heard some of this and it’s almost all metal. He even plays at the local metal club that I goto. I’ve been thinking on going just to see what it’s like. I wouldn’t pay more than 10 bucks though. I’ve also heard his new “Ice Ice Baby” and it’s very heavy. Good God why do I know all this? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/14 "2002-03-21T17:15:35Z")
**Paul Simon** : from _Cecelia_ to _Late in the Evening_ to _Graceland_ ---
**Author:** ![Aleq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@Aleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aleq)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/15 "2002-03-21T17:42:24Z")
**Mark Sandman** --started out in Treat Her Right doing kinda country/swamp rock stuff with a bass, minimal drumset and harmonica, transitioned into Morphine doing dirty blues/jazz with a bass, minimal drumset and saxophone… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/16 "2002-03-21T17:59:30Z")
The great David Byrne. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/17 "2002-03-21T18:29:31Z")
Then there’s Linda Ronstadt… ---
**Author:** ![Jeremy\_s\_Evil\_Twin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Jeremy\_s\_Evil\_Twin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeremy_s_Evil_Twin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/18 "2002-03-21T20:30:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Leifsmama \* > \*\*I had heard a long time ago that Ministry did cheesy bubblegum pop before they decided to become the gothic death band I know them as. Anyone else hear this? \*\* Not exactly. Their first album, _With Sympathy_, was more of an 80’s disco/rave sound. Definitely a contrast to the industrial music they’re now known for, but to call it “cheesy bubblegum pop” is a bit of a stretch. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/19 "2002-03-22T03:16:48Z")
Let’s not forget Pat Boone’s Heavy Metal album of a few years back. I mean, really, what was he thinking? His longtime fans aren’t going to buy it because it’s that Satanic Heavy Metal, and Metal fans aren’t going to buy it because it’s Pat Boone, for crying out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/20 "2002-03-22T03:29:56Z")
There were a handful of ska bands like Reel Big Fish and Save Ferris that got a small amount of radio play that had a good sound. A lot more horn and melody than even “mainstream” ska bands like Mighty Mighty Bosstones. But for some reason (the public’s quick boredom of guitar licks on up beats, perhaps) they went almost completely punk-ish with their next albums. The brass all but disappeared and the music became riff-heavy. SF even changed their look from [goofy ska band](http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/6567/group23.jpg) (witness the bowling shirts and cutesy bear hat) to [angsteriffic alt rock band](http://www.saveferris.com/Pictures/images/blueroom.jpg). (black shirts and heavy dye jobs). By killing the only thing that separated them from the pack, they got lost in a sea of generic rock bands. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269.md?page=2)