Artists with Credibility

[magval]

I was thinking after the Napalm Death thread died on its arse that Napalm strike me as a really credible band.

The easiest way to describe what I mean, I think, is with comparison.

Metallica have low credibility. People don't take them seriously for various reasons, including their apparent attitude towards lead guitarists and bassists almost as contractors, the Napster thing (they were fucking right though), the weird Lou Reed album they did, Lars' attitude towards musicianship, St Anger, tons of reasons.

Even if we just stick with metal, here are other (easy) reasons for people to make fun of bands.

Slipknot - gimmick image, swore they'd never perform if it wasn't the nine of them then replaced the dead bass player and fired the drummer when he got a debilitating illness, both founding members and core writers.

Fear Factory - keep splitting up then getting back together without telling someone, like high school cliches who don't want to hang out with Tamra any more because her mom's getting divorced and she keeps crying in the dining hall.

Mayhem - Singer killed himself, bassist killed the guitarist, revolving door lineups.

Cradle of Filth - Are Cradle of Filth.

Slayer - fired their drummer because he unfairly demanded equal rights, despite being fucking Dave Lombardo.

Black Sabbath - Similarly unpleasant money-based issues with Bill Ward that look to stem from Ozzy's TV personality wife. More bad albums than good.

Kiss - can't stay retired. Half the band paid to dress as original members who are no longer there.

Sorry, I thought that list would be shorter. My point is that Napalm don't seem to have anything obvious with which to easily dismiss them. The lineup's been stable since the early 90s despite no original members (which is sort of a misnomer when there's at least one guy who's been there from the SECOND LP). They're sound lads who don't cause scandal and their lyrics are about more important issues than how to bury a corpse or malevolent weather. They seem passionate about equality and decency. They're a great live band, they've tried a couple of different things over the years without total fan alienation. They have credibility.

Who else has real credibility? The first one popped into my head was Beastie Boys. Did things their way, disowned their problematic album in a way that wasn't alienating to people who liked it, no bad LPs thereafter. Pioneers and dead on lads.

Obviously all yer nonces are instantly dismissed, so that's half the seventies out the window.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Tom Waits.

Never had a crap or embarrassing period in his career; an acclaimed singer-songwriter in the '70s who became more avant-garde and experimental in the '80s and '90s; won't allow his music to be used in adverts; good character actor who appears in interesting, quirky independent films; has never sold out in any way whatsoever*; also one of the few musicians who is genuinely funny in interviews; more or less told Ian Hislop to get fucked on a TV show once in the '80s.

All in all, a great bunch of lads.

* Okay, he once recorded a voiceover for a dog food commercial, but he was at a point in his career when he needed the money, and it's not as if he's ever denied doing it.

[bgmnts]

Are Rush credible?

[jobotic]

Stop going on about Rush.*



So no one who was on Scum is in Napalm Death?







*not really, go for it

[JaDanketies]

Perhaps the hardcore punk / extreme metal crossover genres are exactly where credibility lies. I mean you ain't gonna get into it to make money, you're probably never going to sign to a record label that asks you to make your sound a little poppier, and you probably have some politics somewhere.

- Pig Destroyer
- Oathbreaker
- Dead Kennedys
- Leftover Crack

Some good punky metally rap about too, ho99o9 and Ghostemane perhaps.

[Rizla]

Graham Fellowes (John Shuttleworth/Jilted John) is a staunch water conserver who only flushes when it's a number two. Respect.

[chveik]

you don't hear much about cuntish behaviour in the free jazz/free improv scene. and by definition they can't really become sellouts.

[Fr.Bigley]

PJ Brian Harvey.

[JaDanketies]

Sex Pistols

Jk

[magval]

Yeah Rush is another one, although they got a lot of flack on here when Neil died for the Ayn Rand business. Also, a lot of shite albums in the 80s and 90s (and some great ones too).

[magval]

So no one who was on Scum is in Napalm Death?

Correct. Shane Embury has played bass since From Enslavement To Obliteration but isn't on Scum.

Sure even Side A and Side B of Scum have different lineups. Only Micky Harris played on both sides.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

The only two people with any credibility even tangentially related to the history of popular music are Liz Fraser and Mark Hollis. An objective fact.

[Better Midlands]

Andy Weatherall never had a misplaced step (credibility wise).

[magval]

He and the above-mentioned Beasties are commemorated side by side on a wall in Belfast. He was painted over a portrait of Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

This wall is the arbiter of artist credibility.

[Puce Moment]

Does Nick Cave still have credibility now he's playing all those soulless shitty stadiums?

[shagatha crustie]

It was teetering when he charged his fans 16 quid for a one off video concert that you could only stream once. Now that he's releasing the same thing as an album - which you have to purchase again - I think it's tipped over the edge.

[JaDanketies]

Does Nick Cave still have credibility now he's playing all those soulless shitty stadiums?

Didn't he do a duet with Kylie?

[The Mollusk]

Dead Kennedys

Their significantly weaker last two albums notwithstanding, DK don't qualify for this thread at all due to their various embittered money squabbles which continue to this day. The courts ruled against Jello and Alternative Tentacles after the band split up, since he was found to be paying less in royalties to his former band mates (and himself, it should be noted) for DK sales than to any other band on his label, without bothering to inform them. He has also claimed they wanted to sell the rights to Levi's to use one of their songs in an advert, but they denied it.

The three other members of the band have been performing under the same name without Jello for many years now. Regardless of the history that preceded this, and the fact that Jello embodies outspoken punk values almost to a fault, I still think he's the only one left with any credibility and the other three just come off as sloppy, petty and a greedy legacy act who seem to think the ends justify the means which is complete and utter bollocks for a band as fiery and passionate as they once were.

[Oz Oz Alice]

The duet with Kylie was good though and he was actually a Kylie fan so that's fine.

I think his current playing of enormodomes, arguably his stance on playing Israel and the fact he's started banging on about antifascists being as bad as Nazis like your lovely auntie who shares Britain First posts like "share if you agree this dog shouldn't be bummed and then fired into a wall" could be denting his credibility but a lot of this is coming from him being an extremely online man in his 60s who has been largely apolitical in his work. I'm probably giving him more of the benefit of the doubt because A) I'm a raving fanboy and B) I met him twice and the second time he remembered my name.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Didn't he do a duet with Kylie?

And what's wrong with that? It's a good song.

Just had a thought, and here it is: Neil Young is the king of credibility, isn't he? Being stubbornly credible is basically the whole point of him. He's released some lacklustre records over the years, but I suppose that's part and parcel of being a prolific artist who does whatever the hell they want. Rusty nuggets of gold amidst the ordure. And all of it deposited on his own terms.

Granted, in the early '80s he said that Reagan had 'some good ideas', but he was never a gung-ho Reagan supporter. He's a tie-dyed in the wool hippie liberal with a cantankerous streak (Young, not Reagan). And he's married to Daryl Hannah. So, yeah, good for him.

[Egyptian Feast]

He did come out with this astonishingly fuckwitted statement back in the 80s though:

Neil Young. I kinda wish he'd been inspired by that brain fart to write a half-arsed 'Piece of Crap' type song whinging about gay people touching his potatoes. Silly cunt.

[The Mollusk]

Remember when he tried to release that silly looking MP3 player but got flushed down the loo by smelly capitalism? I'm not having a dig or owt, I just thought that whole thing was quite interesting.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

He did come out with this astonishingly fuckwitted statement back in the 80s though:

Ah. Right. Fucking hell.

[holyzombiejesus]

Arthur Russell had it in spades, even though I don't like a fair bit of the stuff he did.

LCD Soundsystem had it but then fucked it up big time.

I think artists are generally less credible nowadays as they're having to come up with increasingly desperate ways to earn money.

[Brundle-Fly]

Robert Wyatt.

"If anything, being a paraplegic helped me with the music because being in hospital left me free to dream, and to really think through the music."

[drummersaredeaf]

Similarly to some of the examples in the OP, and following a recent thread, it never sat well with me how Arcade Fire seemed to have a violin player that was almost in the band, a violin player that was definitely not in the band, but the singer's kid brother was fully on the payroll for the purposes of mincing about with a tambourine - seemingly adding fuck all to the sound.

I get it with a 'band' like Nine Inch Nails how no one can really be 'in the band' but might have a long standing relationship, but given the way strings are utilised in AF, it seemed a bit of a cunt move that they weren't in the band proper.

Back to zero credibility and metal (ish) - GNR surely have no credibility at all. Even with Slash and Duff back, the lad in the cycling shorts now sings like Mickey fucking Mouse. Imagine paying £80 to see that in some soulless shed.

[lankyguy95]

The answer is Ian MacKaye.

[JaDanketies]

Sinead O'Connor.

[Gulftastic]

George Micheal. He wanted us to look at him because of it. Although it was only of the 'street' variety.

[rue the polywhirl]

Who else has real credibility? The first one popped into my head was Beastie Boys. Did things their way, disowned their problematic album in a way that wasn't alienating to people who liked it, no bad LPs thereafter. Pioneers and dead on lads.

What was their problematic album? Would have thought it was To The 5 Boroughs on account of how bad it was?

Ideas for the thread - The Hollies? Lose a founder and principal songwriter and vocalist in 68 and then continue to have hits thereafter. Lose their other founder and other principal vocalist in the mid 70s and still manage to make a stab of it to this present day.