# Singer or group you liked, until... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790 "2004-01-10T05:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/21 "2004-01-10T23:26:47Z")
we’ve been rather disappointed with Great Big Sea of late. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/22 "2004-01-10T23:35:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fishbicycle \* > \*\*I liked Paul McCartney until he lost “the gift” and continued to make records anyway (I place this in around 1990). > \*\* In 1990 I bought _Tripping The Live Fantastic_ I only listened to about a couple songs then stopped because, as he was singing, it sure sounded to me like his voice was cracking a lot. I thought that maybe he just wore it out and would retire soon. 13 years later and he’s still putting out albums, although I haven’t heard anything past _Flowers In The Dirt_. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/23 "2004-01-10T23:59:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AnatomicallyCorrect \* > **Guns & Roses until they self-destructed** on Axl Roses assholery > \*\* Wow, before showing this thread to my wife, I told her about it and asked her the same thing. The words from your post that I bolded, is the **exact** same thing that she said. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/24 "2004-01-11T00:38:54Z")
Joel: Don’t feel bad, you haven’t missed anything. And I’m an obsessive Beatles collector and lifelong fan since they were on Ed Sullivan. You could take the best songs off all the albums he’s done from “Off The Ground” to the present, and make a decent EP. On the other hand, many of the B-sides and bonus tracks on the _real_ EPs he’s issued since “Flowers In The Dirt” would make a SPECTACULAR album. Hell, some of the demos and unreleased songs he’s recorded throughout his career would make a great album. But whatever he’s working on now…feh. The sad thing is, I’ll buy it, and all the CD singles and the Japanese bonus edition anyway… ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/25 "2004-01-11T00:41:40Z")
**U2** - until Joshua Tree **R.E.M.** - until Green **The Police / Sting** - until Ghost In The Machine **The Ramones** - until Animal Boy and another vote for Van Halen after Dave left… ditto Paul Weller and (ugh) Style Council ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/26 "2004-01-11T01:01:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vl\_mungo \* > \*\ ***U2** - until Joshua Tree > \*\* I liked them up until **Achtung Baby** and, except for a couple of songs, didn’t really care for them until **All That You Can’t Leave Behind**. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/27 "2004-01-11T02:27:27Z")
I really liked Black Flag untill Henry Rollins came along. It might not have been his fault, but they started getting a bit whiney starting with the Damaged album which was still pretty good, but then, apart from a few great songs, they went downhill fast. Corrosion of Conformity had two GREAT albums, Eye For an Eye and Animosity, and then they started doing bad metal. The Misfits were always a favorite, and I even liked the first reunion album, American Psycho. Mike Whatshisname was a pretty good singer and he did a good job live, but the second post-Danzig album sucked ass. So then Jerry loses his band, gets Marky Ramone and Dez from Black Flag to back him up…fine, sounds like it might be OK, I thought. So I pay 25 bucks to see them, which, in a way was worth it, because they did a bunch of Black Flag Songs with Dez singing, however, the cool factor of that was canceled out by Jerry singing all the Misfits songs. I felt like I should have been paid 25 bucks to listen to that. Jerry Only is a horrible HORRIBLE singer. So now, the three of them put out an album of 50’s covers which sounds good in theory. I downloaded it, and boy does it fucking reek. I still have to buy it on vinyl though, cause I’m such a friggin’ completist. Between that and all the little mall punks wearing their little Misfits accessories from Hot Topic, I’m ashamed to admit I ever dug them in the first place. Jon ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/28 "2004-01-11T02:43:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ggurl \* > \*\*i _lovvvvvved_ REM until they kind of… fizzled out, or went blah…oh, i don’t know, around the time of ‘monster’. i didn’t suddenly hate them or anything, still think they’re all right, but somehow that blazing, delicate, country-fried energy was gone somewhere in the early 90’s… > > i used to buy every REM cassette (remember those??) multiple times because i would play them in my car stereo until the tape literally died from overuse. > > my apologies, any REM members who may be Dopers. no offense intended. > > hi, devilsknew! \*\* Absolutely agree. I’ve just re-ordered three of the earlier albums on CD (_Reckoning_, _Murmur_ and _Fables of the Reconstruction_) which are vastly better than the last few. At one point I had every single album, compilation and the odd EP; never again. It just went, well, bland. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/29 "2004-01-11T03:49:19Z")
I loved Suzanne Vega’s first two albums (“Suzanne Vega” and “Solitude Standing”) but pretty much gave up on her after that. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Samaritan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bad\_Samaritan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Samaritan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/30 "2004-01-11T18:29:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cyrokk \* > \*\*I liked Stone Temple Pilots until somewhere after their second album, when they dropped the heavy rock sound in return for poor, bland songwriting. > > I liked Pearl Jam until after their first album, where nothing afterwards sounds different, just worse, than their first album. > > I too liked Van Halen until Dave left. \*\* I totally agree with the first two statements, but STP’s new single “All In The Suit That You Wear” is the best offering I’ve heard from them since their 2nd album. Am I the only one who likes Van Hagar as much as Van Halen-Roth? ---
**Author:** ![Squonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squonk)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/31 "2004-01-12T01:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dragon Phoenix \* > \*\*The Genesis of the seventies were amongst the best bands ever - but started to decline from “And then there were three” onward. Their eighties and nineties albums are crap (IMHO of course) with only an occasional glimpse of mastery (the single Land of Confusion). \*\* Respectfully disagree. I like “Invisible Touch” and “We Can’t Dance” except for the ballads, which are worse than horrible. I also bought the next album (the one without Phil Collins) but have no recollection of listening to it. As for the topic… Dire Straights: whatever followed “Brothers in Arms.” Although I like Mark Knopfler’s solo stuff. Pink Floyd: post “The Wall” stuff. I Hate “The Final Cut” (except _Not Now John_) and while “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” is ok, “The Division Bell” does nothing for me. ELO: whatever followed “Out of the Blue.” Yes: Since “Big Genrerator” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/32 "2004-01-12T02:31:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AnatomicallyCorrect \* > \*\*Am I the only one who likes Van Hagar as much as Van Halen-Roth? \*\* I liked a few songs from the Hagar period, but the Roth period was just much, much better. Years ago I made a mixed tape of my favorite Van Halen songs with David Lee Roth singing, it’s a 90 minute tape. I also made a tape with my favorite songs when Sammy Hagar sang. It’s a 60 minute tape. Side one has the Van Halen songs, and side two has songs from both Dave’s and Sammy’s solo careers. So my liking 90 minutes of Van Halen Roth VS liking 30 minutes of Van Hagar is probably the closest thing you’ll find to someone liking the two equally. ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/33 "2004-01-12T07:49:34Z")
Green Day: After Insomniac. Nimrod had mostly good songs, and wasn’t complete crap, but Warning was just terrible. But 39/smooth, Kerplunk, Dookie, AND Insomniac are some of my favorite CD’s. Blink 182: After Duderanch. Enema of the state wasn’t too bad, but after that it was all just cleaned up pop-punk crap. ---
**Author:** ![gaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaba)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/34 "2004-01-12T11:04:09Z")
I actually am in the middle of the type of changes you guys are describing. I’ve been an avid Tori Amos fan for many years now (“Boys For Pele” was the first album I bought). I thought the way she sounded on that and the two following is probably some of the most brilliant, bold and imaginative music I’ve heard. Now I am slowly beginning to lose hope that she’ll ever rise to these heights again. Her recent albums have been good. Very solid, well produced, great songs — BUT her manner of performance has quieted down, became more smooth and cosy. That’s the direction she chooses, well, fine. But hearing her utterly destroy two of her songs when re-recording them for the latest Greatest Hits album, and hearing how her musical direction is becoming tame and somewhat boring… I lose hope. I think she’s off to somewhere I don’t really have the energy to follow. She started hiding the piano under layers of srum-strum-strumming guitars. In the _bad_way. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/35 "2004-01-13T02:48:09Z")
I liked Jackson Browne until he slugged Daryl Hannah. His first 3 or 4 albums, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/36 "2004-01-13T16:39:00Z")
I liked the Dixie Chicks until they put down the president, then continued to be obnoxious about it. It’s a shame, too. I really liked their music, but I just can’t bring myself to keep the station when they come on. Same with the TV. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/37 "2004-01-13T17:40:36Z")
**Bush** - _Sixteen Stone_ was really good, so I expected the same from _Razorblade Suitcase_, but it was quite a letdown. Never bought anything released by them ever since. **Pearl Jam** - While _Ten_ is their best in my opinion, the next few were also pretty good. By the time _Yield_ came out I decided it was time for them to hang it up. They continued on and released _Binaural_, which was just more proof the band was well past its prime. **Metallica** - Everything pre-black album is their best. The black album itself is good, but it’s more mainstream. _Load_ and _Re-Load_ were big letdowns, and _St. Anger_ is a complete abomination. **Van Halen** - Count me in as another one who lost interest once Dave left and Sammy stepped in. **Black Sabbath** - I faithfully held onto them in the post-Ozzy era. Ronnie James Dio’s performance was good; too bad he left. Ian Gillan’s performance on _Born Again_ kept the band alive, but by the time _Seventh Star_ was released everybody else bailed, leaving Tony Iommi and three unknowns to represent the band. By this point Black Sabbath was never the same. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790/38 "2004-01-13T19:18:44Z")
> [@E. Thorp](#): > > I loved Suzanne Vega’s first two albums (“Suzanne Vega” and “Solitude Standing”) but pretty much gave up on her after that. Then you really, really, really should give _Songs in Red and Gray_ a listen. Some of her best songwriting ever. A lot of reviews have characterized it as a “return” to the sound of the 1st two albums, but it’s more of synthesizing what made those albums good (the songwriting and emotional clarity) with the lessons of the intervening “experimental” albums. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singer-or-group-you-liked-until/223790.md?page=1)