This thread makes me laugh.
I don’t mean in a snarky, superior way, but in a more I guess, tolerant way.
Disclaimer: My favorite band is Rush.
These guys are insanely (compared to contemporaries such as Aeorsmith and Kiss) popular without nearly the exposure on radio.
Their “breakthrough” album was 2112, which was a pissed off reaction of the band members to Mercury Records’ dragging in “consultants” to shape their “image and sound” in order to, apparently, protect Mercury’s investment. Basically, these guys flipped off their label (musically) and “made it.”
Ok. Then, they got a rather large following grooving on their rather quirky interpretation of “hard rock.”
Then come the 80’s. Synthesisers. Rush starts using them as a large part of their sound, and starts to pare down the length of their songs, because they are (paraphrasing) “tired of writing 20 minute songs.”
A lot of former Rush fans scream, “Sellout!”
Uh huh :rolleyes:.
Same three musicians (with an occaisional guest appearance), different producer(s), though. In interviews, and on records, and most importantly, in concert, an apparent dedication to giving their audiences (not necessarilly fans, an important distiction) the best, most honest performance they are capable of. I’ve seen them many times. I own all their recordings. I fumble through their bass and six string guitar parts with abandon, for the purpose of entertaining my daughter, myself, and the spiders in my basement.
The idea of “sellout” is a joke to me. Some musicians do what they do merely to make a buck. So what? Some musicians are fortunate enough to get wealthy doing what they love without compromising their principles. I know which ones get added to my collection, because they talk (or sing) to me.
Music or artistic snobbery is such a silly and petty vice. Those that indulge in it can do way better with little effort.