Topic: When your musical heroes died

[2 Light Ales Please]

Have your favourite musical stars ever done something so sickeningly disgusting that taints their back catalogue, thereby rendering your appreciation of their work redundant?

For me, it was when I saw Huey Morgan hosting a pet parade on Sky 3 with Liza Tarbuck and dogs in costumes[1].  I cannot hear Fun Lovin' Criminals now without being reminded of that awful display. I imagine this is how the Ludovico Technique works.

Also, around the same time, I also saw Ice T appear on Celebrity Mr and Mrs hosted by Philip "face of naff" Schofield.  I no longer appreciate his influence, because to me, that's where his career led him.

So what have your heroes done to you?

1.	Why Huey, why?!

[Jemble Fred]

Huey Morgan's a really good radio presenter. Fuck his music, though.

[Marty McFly]

Handily, most of mine were decent enough to actually die before I was born, thus sparing me plenty of heartache.

[The Boston Crab]

I think when Daft Punk made a table for Habitat, I wept a little bit:



It's actually quite cool, though. I wept because I don't have ten grand.

[Spiteface]

It's not really happened to me as regards my musical heroes.

Some of the wrestlers I've followed over the years though...

[Gulftastic]

When Prince didn't release the fantastic Black album because of his religious beliefs, it was the beginning of the end for me. He had a couple of fantastic tracks afterwards, but he'd never again come close to touching the majesty of his 80's hey-day.

[Johnny Townmouse]

I wouldn't say that he died, but when I heard Kevin Shields was working on an album with Primal Scream, instead of working on a new MBV album, I died inside a little bit.

[Paaaaul]

Although I had pretty much outgrown them by the time Innuendo came out, I'm Going Slightly Mad by Queen was enough to turn me round a full 180 degrees and run in the opposite direction to them.

[xxxx xxx x xxx]

I wouldn't say that he died, but when I heard Kevin Shields was working on an album with Primal Scream, instead of working on a new MBV album, I died inside a little bit.

Ditto - and apparently he appeared onstage with The Charlatans a couple of weeks ago, and played with Paul Weller recently.  What a waste.

[danyulx]

1974: when Captain Beefheart (my musical hero) released 'Unconditionally Guaranteed' then 'Bluejeans & Moonbeams' in swift succession. Both bloody disgraceful.. I was infuriated till '76. Though I wasn't alive, at the time.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Watching Ray Davies lead a crowd through an awful, cheesy, sing-along traipse through classic Kinks material, interspersed with mediocre selections from his (actually not bad) Working Man's Cafe album, didn't signify his creative death as such, but seeing as I'd invited a Kinks-ambivalent friend along to the gig, it was a monumentally upsetting experience.

[icehaven]

I'm glad that no one has mentioned John Lydon's butter ads yet, as they're often brought up in conversations like this but it's all wrong, he's just a glorified pop singer. Iggy Pop on the other hand...(although I'm not a big fan myself.)

[2 Light Ales Please]

I've just remembered going to the see Red Hot Chili Peppers when I was 15.  The suppport band, Chicks on Speed[1] were so bad, they got bottled off stage.  When Flea mentioned them after the gig, the crowd - understandably - boo'd.  Flea's reaction was swift: "Y'know what? Fuck you".

I've never been able to really enjoy them since then.

1.	James Brown was easily the best thing that day.

[Doomy Dwyer]

I'm glad that no one has mentioned John Lydon's butter ads yet, as they're often brought up in conversations like this but it's all wrong, he's just a glorified pop singer. Iggy Pop on the other hand...(although I'm not a big fan myself.)

I dunno, I'm more inclined to cut Iggy a bit of slack. He never got the recognition he deserved, at the time, with the Stooges. He truly suffered for his art, what with the drugs, the mental hospitals, the extraordinary ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory every time he got close to some form of vindication. Iggy still has oodles of charm and intelligence and an endearing inability to keep his clothes on. There's something childlike about Mr Osterberg, although he can be a cold, conniving mofo when the situation demands. Lydon, who has produced some incredible music and is an artist of great historical importance, seems to have lost any of the grace, charm and wit that he once oozed. He does seem to be systematically, gleefully pissing on his own legacy from a great height, and has been doing so for some time now. Perhaps there's a bigger picture that I'm not quite seeing yet, I suspect not, however. I think he's just a washed up chancer these days. And that tired old "I make my own rules" shite he's been peddling for decades, is that not the cry of every greedy selfish bastard?

I can put a Stooges record on and the insurance adverts will never cross my mind. As soon as I play the Pistols or PiL, all I can taste is butter and betrayal. I'm hoping that'll wear off with time. John's been dead to me since the early nineties really. I expect he's gutted about that. 

[NoSleep]

1974: when Captain Beefheart (my musical hero) released 'Unconditionally Guaranteed' then 'Bluejeans & Moonbeams' in swift succession. Both bloody disgraceful.. I was infuriated till '76. Though I wasn't alive, at the time.

I was very much alive, and a firm fan, and bought the Mallard albums as consolation; Zoot Horn Rollo was always as much of a hero.

I never found them disgraceful albums, merely disappointing, as the Captain is still present with his voice & poetry, albeit set to the sound of dull session men.

[holyzombiejesus]

Whilst she was never a hero to me, all that shit with Mo Tucker and the Tea Party was quite dispiriting.

[Johnny Townmouse]

Whilst she was never a hero to me, all that shit with Mo Tucker and the Tea Party was quite dispiriting.

Oh christ, I forgot about this. That really pissed me off, and is yet again another reason why John Cale is far and away the most excellent VU member. How the fuck did he stand being in a same band as these people? I guess he didn't...

[Famous Mortimer]

I've just remembered going to the see Red Hot Chili Peppers when I was 15.  The suppport band, Chicks on Speed[1] were so bad, they got bottled off stage.  When Flea mentioned them after the gig, the crowd - understandably - boo'd.  Flea's reaction was swift: "Y'know what? Fuck you".

I've never been able to really enjoy them since then.

1.	James Brown was easily the best thing that day.

Surely his lack of willingness to go along with the crowd is a point in their favour?

[PaulTMA]

I've just remembered going to the see Red Hot Chili Peppers when I was 15.  The suppport band, Chicks on Speed[1] were so bad, they got bottled off stage.  When Flea mentioned them after the gig, the crowd - understandably - boo'd.  Flea's reaction was swift: "Y'know what? Fuck you".

I've never been able to really enjoy them since then.

1.	James Brown was easily the best thing that day.

As little as I appreciate either band, that paints Flea in a rarely-seen good light for me.

Always loved Lydon's butter adverts as they wound up the right people, i.e. more than 90% of the people who saw them.

[2 Light Ales Please]

It's hard to

As little as I appreciate either band, that paints Flea in a rarely-seen good light for me.

I think when you've shelled out shitloads - I forget how much - to see a band, travelled to that London to see them and been confronted with an awful opening act and two hours worth of dull 'greatest hits' material, the last thing you want is for the band to tell you to go and fuck yourself.  The message was loud and clear: "We've made our money and we do as we please".

[Treguard of Dunshelm]

Bands should do as they please, regardless of whether they've made their money or not.

[Ignatius_S]

I think when you've shelled out shitloads - I forget how much - to see a band, travelled to that London to see them and been confronted with an awful opening act and two hours worth of dull 'greatest hits' material, the last thing you want is for the band to tell you to go and fuck yourself.  The message was loud and clear: "We've made our money and we do as we please".

Or it might be that they liked Chicks On Speed and don’t believe that the audience have the right to throw bottles at an act when showing displeasure.

[Serge]

Ditto - and apparently he appeared onstage with The Charlatans a couple of weeks ago, and played with Paul Weller recently.  What a waste.

Though there are people about - i.e. me - who wish that Paul Weller wouldn't hang around with people like Shields, who I've always found to be one of the most overrated people on the planet. I've got a friend who is obsessively hanging on to the idea that a.) there will one day be a new MBV album and b.) Shields will get around to writing the liner notes for the already remastered MBV reissues that keep getting put back. I've made peace with the fact that Weller will never make another record that I'm likely to give two fucks about, and I'm glad I've got the ones I like to listen to. Shields just seems like a pisstaker to me - I hate the cunt with a passion.

[Mythical Wet Patch]

It's hard to
I think when you've shelled out shitloads - I forget how much - to see a band, travelled to that London to see them and been confronted with an awful opening act and two hours worth of dull 'greatest hits' material, the last thing you want is for the band to tell you to go and fuck yourself.  The message was loud and clear: "We've made our money and we do as we please".

Wasn't the message sincere disappointment that their fans would dismiss a band they clearly liked and respected a lot and even be so intolerant as to bottle them off stage? If anything they're over-valuing their fans as people with a credible appreciation for the artistry behind music, which they're clearly not because they actually like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. You can't blame them for being deluded enough to think people who like them would naturally enjoy what is essentially a performance art group who play music.

I'm joking with that dig at the Red Hot Chilli Peppers by the way. I don't mind them, in-fact I don't particularly care about Chicks on Speed either and they may well have been shit. It's a stupid choice of support act for a stadium band really.

[Funcrusher]

Although he's not anything like a  major musical hero to me, and has been blotting his copybook musically for over twenty years, I really hope that the rumour that Jim Kerr of Simple Minds is going out with hideous Mail journalist Liz Jones isn't true.

[holyzombiejesus]

Oh christ, I forgot about this. That really pissed me off, and is yet again another reason why John Cale is far and away the most excellent VU member. How the fuck did he stand being in a same band as these people? I guess he didn't...

Sterling Morrsion was ok though, wasn't he? His christian name was Holmes, he inspired a Galaxie 500 song and had a Ph.d in medieval studies.

He was certainly much better than this silly twat...

[momatt]

I'm glad that no one has mentioned John Lydon's butter ads yet, as they're often brought up in conversations like this but it's all wrong, he's just a glorified pop singer. Iggy Pop on the other hand...(although I'm not a big fan myself.)

The[1] insurance adverts were bad, but has anyone seen his appearance on the US X-Factor?  Almost unbearable.

I'd love Flea even if he was only a film actor.   Back to the Future II, Big Lebowski and Fear & Loathing!
Check his imdb picture out too!
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3906312448/nm0281359

1.	slightly fraudulent

[scarecrow]

Lou Reed died to me when I attended one of his Poe-etry shows. It was a lot like this, but without the projection behind him:

Lou Reed reads Poe

It was billed as 'spoken word' and I, foolishly, went expecting 'Take No Prisoners' style polemic, only to get the above* for a bit over an hour. He looked so bored throughout it, I've no idea why he did it. I studied English Lit. at University and whenever a fellow student was asked to read some text out aloud, they did just as good a job. Seriously, what the fuck? It was the most baffling, least charismatic 'performance' I have ever attended.

*to be fair, I remember The Raven as being one of the better readings, and some of his additions to the poem are pretty interesting.

[vrailaine]

Eminem, after releasing Encore.
Eminem, after releasing Relapse.
Arcade Fire after a crappy gig which required a lot of time and effort to get to.
Weezer, repeatedly.
Andre 3000 after finally hearing the Love Below.
Bob Dylan, after watching Don't Look Back.

[2 Light Ales Please]

Bands should do as they please, regardless of whether they've made their money or not.

You really think that's fair on the people who got them where they are?  Just look at the Gallagher brothers at the height of their fame.