History AudienceAlienatingEra / Music

* Whether Music/WeirdAlYankovic has ever had one of these is up to the individual fan (many fans like to joke that his losing the glasses, growing out his hair, and shaving his mustache is the closest he's come), but there are a sizable number who are seriously willing to dismiss everything from between ''Poodle Hat'' to ''Mandatory Fun'', when the parody songs became increasingly built around flash-in-the-pan singles ("Another Tattoo", for example, is a parody of the now-forgotten [[Music/{{Bob}} B.o.B]][=/=]Music/BrunoMars song "Nothing on You"). Not that this wasn't a problem before, but by ''MFT'', Al himself admitted he couldn't keep up with modern music on an album-recording schedule and abandoned albums entirely.

** By ''Music/LoveGun'', the band realized their [[CashCowFranchise merchandising potential]] and promptly became overexposed, with a comic book series, a pinball machine and a [[SoBadItsGood hilariously bad]] [[Film/KISSMeetsThePhantomOfThePark TV movie]], culminating in ''Music/{{Dynasty}}'', their own failed attempt at cashing in on the disco craze of the late 1970s.

** At this point, Mike Love has taken role of the leader, and many fans agree that the band quickly went downhill under his leadership. Throughout this period, the Boys released a series of increasingly hated and poorly selling albums (including a thinly-veiled attempt at catering to the disco crowd during the disco backlash), while their 1960s chart-toppers (in addition to "Heroes and Villains" and songs from ''Pet Sounds'') dominated their live set to attract the nostalgic crowd. The death of Dennis Wilson in 1983 also served to be a serious blow to the band. Their reputation rapidly declined further, and by the end of the 70s, the Beach Boys were looked down upon by the mainstream as a [[AccidentalPun washed-up]] oldies band.

* Pat Boone, icon of whitebread, mocked this trope once by appearing at an event with Music/OzzyOsbourne's family in leather and with pierced nipples and temporary tattoos. He even released an album of metal covers, called ''In a Metal Mood: No More Mister Nice Guy'', performed in his signature whitebread style. His take of "Crazy Train" was used as the theme for ''Series/TheOsbournes'' (He and Ozzy were next door neighbors for many years until Ozzy and company moved shortly before the series' run). He's since claimed that his fanbase views that album as not just an Audience-Alienating Era, but a ''Devil'' Age, and it actually resulted in him getting kicked out of his church for a while.%%What should I do with the "Devil Age" thing, since this was back when the trope was still called "Dork Age"?

** 2010's ''Recovery'' through 2017's ''Revival'', a CreatorRecovery period in which [[TrueArtIsAngsty Eminem was a lot happier]] and no longer touched on his usual rage-filled topics. His music shifted to a [[RadioFriendliness commercial]], PopRap-cum-RapRock style, and his image switched to a [[RatedGForGangsta nice]], apologetic, [[BoastfulRap self-regarding]], and [[MessiahCreep vaguely Jesusy]] RecoveredAddict character that caused a loud minority of his fans to [[WeWantOurJerkBack beg him to get back on drugs]] -- something Eminem himself has remarked on being disgusting. At the same time, his lyrics maintained enough VulgarHumor to irritate anyone who thinks homophobic slurs and rape jokes are [[JustJokingJustification off-limits]] (a common opinion in TheNewTens). This period also saw Eminem shifting to a much more technical, speed-focused and HurricaneOfPuns-laden style which began to [[DancingBear overpower his songwriting and beat-riding]], particularly by the time of ''Revival''.

But the Audience-Alienating Era really set in with ''Welcome Home'', for which they enlisted producer Dave Cobb. Lead single "My Old Man", despite positive critical and fan reception, stalled out at #14 on the Country Airplay charts due to it being a slow somber ballad. Although ''Welcome Home'' topped the Country Albums chart, sales topped off at 300,000. Critics thought that its lyrical and sonic themes were a backhanded apology for ''Jekyll + Hyde'' and/or a forced attempt at "authenticity". The album accounted for only one other single in "Roots", which inexplicably had half of the lyrics removed from the radio edit and thus failed at radio. Brown started an EDM-influenced side project in 2017 called Sir Rosevelt; their lone album was ravaged and its failure led to further accusations that the ZBB was selling out. Completing the downfall was Brown's self-released 2019 solo album ''The Controversy'', which continued in much of the same EDM influence as Sir Rosevelt and even bore an explicit content warning. Ironically, this got entangled in controversy when Zac sued Music/ShawnMendes over co-writing credits on the lead single "Nowhere Left to Go", causing it to be temporarily pulled from retailers.\\

* Poor, poor Music/MachineHead. In the mid '90s, they were one of the pioneers of the "post-thrash" sound that defined underground American metal during the decade along with Music/{{Pantera}}, Fear Factory, Music/{{Sepultura}}, Music/{{Biohazard}}, ''Life of Agony,'' and many others. While other bands were emphasizing influences such as {{Industrial}}, {{Funk|Metal}}, {{Hardcore}}, and {{Grunge}}, Machine Head's sound was planted ''firmly'' in {{Thrash|Metal}}, yet still sounding both modern ''and'' timeless. Until 1999's ''The Burning Red'', which showcased a ''drastic'' shift into NuMetal on both an aural and [[ImportantHaircut visual]] level, and the quality of songwiting suffered greatly from the creative dissonance involved. [[FromBadToWorse To make matters even worse]], they/[[IAmTheBand Rob Flynn]] put out a followup up called ''Supercharger'' that was ''even worse'' on these accounts. Thankfully, they/he [[WinBackTheCrowd dug themselves out of the hole]] by reintroducing their classic Thrash sound on subsequent albums ''Through the Ashes of Empires'' and ''The Blackening'', though a bit too late as their particular Audience-Alienating Era left a scorching black mark on their/Flynn's reputation that they/he have yet to fully recover from, especially as the band still looms in the shadows of both it and [[ToughActToFollow their classic]] album ''[[FirstInstallmentWins Burn My Eyes]]''. Unfortunately, after delivering two more solid efforts with ''Unto the Locust'' and ''Bloodstone and Diamonds'', the band lept right back into NuMetal with ''Catharsis'', undoing whatever good will they had gained with their previous four albums.

** 2016's ''Music/TheLifeOfPablo'' was generally well received but criticized for its unusual release strategy (initially being released ''in an unfinished state'' on streaming platforms and gradually updated throughout the following months) and somewhat tasteless lyrics. The immediate aftermath became inconsistent -- his production work on Pusha T's ''Daytona'' and collaborative project with Music/KidCudi, ''Music/KidsSeeGhosts'', both earned widespread acclaim, but his actual follow-up album ''Ye'' in 2018 received a mostly lukewarm reaction for [[NewSoundAlbum its drastically more introspective and intentionally stripped-back sound]], which [[BrokenBase is either its greatest strength or biggest weakness depending on who you ask]]. Notably, it broke his streak of broad critical favorability, earning less-than-solid reviews and leading many to wonder if the former critical darling had finally "lost it." 2019 saw a full-throated embrace of born-again religion with the [[ChristianRock Christian rap]] album ''Jesus is King'' (after [[ScheduleSlip missing two deadlines]]) and the pop-up church/Gospel hip-hop group [[https://blavity.com/6-reasons-why-kanye-wests-new-cult-i-mean-church-is-cause-for-pause Sunday Service]], which struck many fans as a repeat of Music/BobDylan's infamous Christian period. We won't talk about the disastrous CreatorBreakdown that happened in the 2020s, because we have to wait five years before adding it here.
%%Yes, we know about Kanye's latest terrible political takes and other drama, but rules are still rules, including the 5-year-waiting period for "No Recent Examples". This is a developing saga, but take the complaints about the live drama on a different site.

* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}: The group's output in TheEighties is generally seen as this. After starting the decade strong with 1980's ''Music/EmotionalRescue'' and 1981's ''Music/TattooYou'', their next two albums, 1983's ''Music/{{Undercover}}'' and 1986's ''Music/DirtyWork'', got mixed reviews. ''Dirty Work'', while producing a top-5 novelty with a cover of Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle", was recorded during a bitter strain in the Music/MickJagger[=/=]Music/KeithRichards partnership, with Keith disapproving so highly of Mick's interest on solo efforts coupled with his refusal to tour with the Stones that the strain nearly led to the group's breakup. Three years later, in 1989, Mick and Keith finally buried the hatchet, quickly reuniting the band to record a new album, ''Music/SteelWheels'', which debuted at #3 and produced both a successful tour and the band's final major U.S. hit in "Mixed Emotions".

* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}: The group's output in TheEighties is generally seen as this. After starting the decade strong with 1981's ''Music/TattooYou'', their next two albums, 1983's ''Music/{{Undercover}}'' and 1986's ''Music/DirtyWork'', got mixed reviews. ''Dirty Work'', while producing a top-5 novelty with a cover of Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle", was recorded during a bitter strain in the Music/MickJagger[=/=]Music/KeithRichards partnership, with Keith disapproving so highly of Mick's interest on solo efforts coupled with his refusal to tour with the Stones that the strain nearly led to the group's breakup. Three years later, in 1989, Mick and Keith finally buried the hatchet, quickly reuniting the band to record a new album, ''Music/SteelWheels'', which debuted at #3 and produced both a successful tour and the band's final major U.S. hit in "Mixed Emotions".

* Though opinions on Music/{{REM}}'s Creator/WarnerBrosRecords output repeatedly shifted with time, the period after Bill Berry's departure is still regarded as a step down compared to earlier material. As the band were a democratic unit who had everyone contribute to the songwriting, losing a member was, in their own words, like cutting off a dog's leg. While the first "trio" album, ''Music/{{Up|REMAlbum}}'', got VindicatedByHistory, ''Music/{{Reveal}}'' remains somewhat divisive and ''Music/AroundTheSun'' is widely seen as R.E.M.'s nadir by fans, critics, and the band themselves. Fans tend to list ''Music/{{Accelerate}}'' and ''Music/CollapseIntoNow'', the band's last two albums, as what broke them out of the audience-alienating era.

** ...2016's ''California'', which was and remains [[BrokenBase deeply divisive]]. While many fans praised it as a return to form and felt that Skiba was a great replacement for [=DeLonge=], others missed [=DeLonge=]'s presence and thought that the band was just [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks coasting on their old formula]]. Hoppus didn't help matters when he [[DearNegativeReader mocked]] fans who disliked John Feldmann's production on the record Regardless, it was a commercial success, becoming their second number one album (after 2001's ''Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'') and being nominated for a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Rock Album (their first such nomination).

** ...2016's ''California'', which was and remains deeply divisive. While many fans praised it as a return to form and felt that Skiba was a great replacement for [=DeLonge=], others missed [=DeLonge=]'s presence and thought that the band was just [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks coasting on their old formula]]. Hoppus didn't help matters when he [[DearNegativeReader mocked]] fans who disliked John Feldmann's production on the record Regardless, it was a commercial success, becoming their second number one album (after 2001's ''Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'') and being nominated for a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Rock Album (their first such nomination).

* 2010's ''Neighborhoods'', the first album that Music/Blink182 recorded after ending their hiatus, endured a TroubledProduction, with all of the band's members choosing to record their parts separately due to both their schedules and lingering friction between them, communicating primarily through emails and their managers and only rarely recording together. It shows, with many fans deriding the album as stale, bland, too similar-sounding to Tom [=DeLonge=]'s side project Music/AngelsAndAirwaves, and feeling as though [[CreatorsApathy nobody involved was all that interested in making it]], an accusation that Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus themselves [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/blink-182s-hoppus-barker-blast-ungrateful-disingenuous-tom-delonge-20150126 later lodged at DeLonge]]. The album's failure led to blink-182 getting dropped from Interscope and [=DeLonge=] leaving the band, to be replaced by Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. Their subsequent album with Skiba, 2016's ''California'', produced a BrokenBase; while many fans praised it as a return to form and felt that Skiba was a great replacement for [=DeLonge=], others missed [=DeLonge=]'s presence and thought that the band was just [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks coasting on their old formula]]. Regardless, it was a commercial success, becoming their second number one album (after 2001's ''Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'') and being nominated for a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Rock Album (their first such nomination).
* The Music/BlueOysterCult's ''Mirrors'' album - a deliberate move into a softer more pop-rock and above all commercial style - is thought of as this by most fans. That it succeeded the hard-rocking ''Music/{{Spectres}}'', thought of as one of their greatest albums, only added to the dissappointment. The band were perceived as returning to form afterwards with ''Cultosaurus Erectus'' and ''Fire of Unkonwn Origin'', but ''Mirrors'' remains their Audience-Alienating Era. And the least said about the later ''Imaginos'', the better.

* Music/MotleyCrue. Having to contend with the newfound popularity of {{Grunge}}, which pushed glam and hair metal off the charts, as well as internal affairs with [[FaceOfTheBand Vince Neil]] leaving the band, they signed a deal with Creator/ElektraRecords and seemed to be coming out on top. Unfortunately, their first release, their 1994 SelfTitledAlbum, was underpromoted (their tour was scaled back from stadiums to smaller venues) and largely unknown due to MTV placing them on a blacklist because of interview mishaps, not to mention the loss of Vince Neil which led to fans [[FanonDiscontinuity disregarding]] the album (no one even knew who [[ReplacementScrappy John Corabi]] was). Which is a damn shame, because it really [[SugarWiki/NeedsMoreLove deserves more praise]]. After this, they were able to bring back Vince Neil, but this led to 1997's ''Generation Swine'', which was the result of a [[ExecutiveMeddling tumultuous struggle]] between the band and their producers, and ended up with a very different sound from their previous work, including the grunge-inspired '94 album. This album was far more experimental and spacey, which the fans couldn't really get behind, since they were expecting the original lineup to return to their sleazy, fast-paced metal roots. To make matters worse, shortly after the release of 2000's ''New Tattoo'', their new drummer Randy Castillo [[DiedDuringProduction died of cancer]]. From [[http://www.allmusic.com/album/saints-of-los-angeles-mw0000789098 what's been said]] of 2008's ''Saints of Los Angeles'', it seems they've left this period behind them.

* Music/{{Supertramp}} and former [[FaceOfTheBand co-leader]] Roger Hodgson tried desperately to update their sound in the mid-to-late '80s with then-modern synthesizers, drum machines, and '80s production techniques, with not always successful results. In Hodgson's case, not long after he released his synth-heavy, L.A. session musician-laden 1987 solo album ''Hai Hai'', he sadly [[CareerEndingInjury fell out of a hammock and broke both his wrists, with doctors telling him that he would not be able to play music again]]. With therapy and determination, Hodgson got better, and returned to performing and recording by 1997, more fully embracing his classic styles and sounds.

* Music/CultureClub fell flat into an Audience-Alienating Era with their 1986 album, ''Music/FromLuxuryToHeartache''. Trying to "update" their sound by penning [[IncrediblyLamePun club-ready]] [[SynthPop dance-pop]] numbers and Boy George ditching his [[DudeLooksLikeALady charmingly androgynous persona]] to become just another 80's PrettyBoy, the album charted only one major single. The [[ClicheStorm generic-sounding synthesisers]] used on every song certainly didn't help matters. Unsurprisingly, the failure of the record along with [[TroubledProduction behind-the-scenes issues]][[note]]such as George's [[DrugsAreBad drug abuse problems]] along with ''a keyboardist on the album'' [[DiedDuringProduction dying of a heroin overdose]], putting the upbeat cheerfulness of tracks like ''Gusto Blusto'' and ''God, Thank You Woman'' in [[HarsherInHindsight a rather depressing light]][[/note]] led to the band disbanding soon after its release, with George pursuing a solo career.

** For many fans of rock music, the entire 21st century has been one long Audience-Alienating Era that saw rock music slowly recede from the public eye. During the 2000s, the American genre mainstream was dominated by PostGrunge, which, like HairMetal before it, became TheScrappy of rock subgenres for its StrictlyFormula sound and [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll increasingly hedonistic lyrics]], with its stranglehold on rock radio being seen as having smothered creativity within the genre. On the edges of the mainstream, EmoMusic was bitterly polarizing, bands in the PostPunk revival scene were critical darlings whose success often amounted to "that band your {{hipster}} friend won't shut up about", and while metal was still thriving and had its own passionate fans and scenes, it grew increasingly separate from the rest of the rock world. In the UK, meanwhile, the post-punk revival swept through the stagnant post-{{Britpop}} rock world and made {{indie|Pop}} the dominant strain of rock by mid-decade -- whereupon it earned a reputation near-identical to that of PostGrunge in the US, with derisive terms like "landfill indie" used to describe the [[FollowTheLeader many copycat bands]] trying to imitate the success of Music/ArcticMonkeys. By the 2010s, the stagnation of rock music on both sides of UsefulNotes/ThePond reached a tipping point, causing the collapse of many of the genre's biggest bands, with pop, HipHop, ElectronicMusic, and even (in the US) CountryMusic rushing in to fill the resulting vacuum. By that point, rock and their respective scenes became more fragmented than ever before, to the point that any overlap within them is often met with culture clash. The mood among music critics and journalists, and even some rock musicians, has been one of [[https://newrepublic.com/article/139572/happened-rock-music deep pessimism]] about the future of rock, with many of its biggest acts now being either older ([[GenreThrowback or otherwise]]) bands playing the ClassicRock nostalgia circuit or newer ones (especially in [[IndiePop indie rock]]) that often [[GenreBusting embrace so many influences from other genres]] that some have questioned their status as rock music.

** HairMetal has its own Audience-Alienating Era between 1995 and 1999. Many of the bands from that genre (Music/{{Warrant}} and Music/{{Dokken}} were probably the most blatant) attempted to fit in to the Grunge scene by writing DarkerAndEdgier lyrics and Grunge-inspired music (though some bands like Music/MotleyCrue (see below) and Music/{{WASP}} attempted an industrial sound). It didn't get them any more fans since the Grunge audience saw it as a blatant example of trying too hard to stay relevant and it turned off the fans who still liked the bands since it was too drastic of a change. By [[{{Turn of the Millennium}} the 2000s]], most of them went back to their older sound.

--> ''"Actually, when we arrived in London, it was a truly depressing thing for us for a couple of years, two or three years. By that stage, the London music scene had died, and there was nothing going on, or the stuff that was going on was so lame and weak and insipid and insulated that it was hardly there at all."''

** Her 2008 and 2012 albums ''Music/HardCandy'' and ''MDNA'' were regarded as better than ''American Life'', but a step down from ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'', with many fans and critics seeing her as trying and failing to keep up with contemporary pop music trends (ContemporaryRAndB on ''Hard Candy'', ElectronicDanceMusic on ''MDNA''). While 2015's ''Rebel Heart'' didn't light the charts on fire (it was her first album since ''Ray of Light'' to not debut atop the charts), its return to the dance-pop of ''Confessions'' started to WinBackTheCrowd, earning it more praise from most critics and fans compared to her previous efforts. Her 2019 follow-up ''Music/MadameX'' was even more warmly received, on account of the artist incorporating more Latino-pop influences in addition to being considered just plain [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible bizarre]] in a good way, suggesting that the Audience-Alienating Era has ended.

*** ''Encore''[='=]s fans, meanwhile, set the cutoff specifically at his 2005 GreatestHitsAlbum ''Curtain Call: The Hits'', viewing ''Encore'' as a worthy return to the humour of ''The Slim Shady LP'' but not being willing to accept "FACK", a gross-out song about [[BestialityIsDepraved depraved sex acts]] that was included as the first song on ''Curtain Call'' after the intro. 2006's ''Eminem Presents: The Re-Up'', a compilation album featuring various artists from Eminem's label Shady Records, is sometimes also included.
*** Some extend this period further to include his 2009 album ''Relapse'', which also has GrossOutHumor and accents and was seen as outdated in 2009. There is a large subset of fans for whom it has been VindicatedByHistory and marks the end of his slump for its reversal of several of these trends: bringing Slim Shady back from the dead, cutting down on the {{Wangst}}, displaying drastically improved lyrical technique and vocal delivery, and going into full-on {{Horrorcore}} territory in its lyrics. However, others still reject it for being [[TooBleakStoppedCaring too bleak]] and meaningless, especially in comparison to the funny and confessional ''Encore'' and ''Recovery'' albums that bookend it. (Eminem himself has said that, while he doesn't think ''Encore'' is his best work, he considers it much better than ''Relapse''.)

** The most commonly cited low point for Eminem is a lengthy period in the mid-late '00s that continued with 2005's ''Curtain Call'', 2006's ''The Re-Up'', and the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen unfinished]] ''King Mathers'', and culminated in a methadone overdose in 2007. Starting in 2004, he underwent a CreatorBreakdown where his pill addiction, writer's block, and grief over the 2006 murder of his best friend Proof led him to churn out a lot of {{Bottom of the Barrel Joke}}s with lower-than-usual technical abilities, [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent vaguely offensive accents]], and a [[{{Wangst}} hyper-depressive]], TorchTheFranchiseAndRun tone. During this time, he killed off [[ADarkerMe Slim Shady]] and adopted a more generic hip-hop mogul persona that he'd previously stood out for avoiding.

* Music/{{Eminem}}'s career peaked around 2002-03 with his fourth album ''Music/TheEminemShow'' and his film debut in ''Film/EightMile'' (a [[BasedOnATrueStory loose biopic]] of his upbringing), but after that, his track record gets spotty. Here are a few commonly cited eras.
** Some see ''The Eminem Show'' as a downplayed example of this, with many regarding it as being OK but a mile away from the glory of ''The Slim Shady LP'' and ''The Marshall Mathers LP''.
** Eminem's GangstaRap phase in 2003 (when he was hanging out with [[Music/FiftyCent G-Unit]]) is sometimes regarded as this due to the inauthenticity of his gangster persona, which did not suit his mildly-naughty white schoolboy background, childish personality and [[PrettyBoy unintimidating]] physical appearance (especially when next to 50, a legitimate gangster who [[MadeOfIron survived being shot]]). The songs he wrote in this period are mostly {{Diss Track}}s and [[BoastfulRap violent boasts]], and tend to lack the [[SelfDeprecation self-deprecating]] and confessional personality of his earlier material (and that would return on ''Encore''). Due to the large amount of production he did in this era, he even started [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks recycling melodies from older songs]].
** ''Encore'', ''Curtain Call'', ''The Re-Up'', and the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen speculative]] ''King Mathers'' era, up until his overdose - a CreatorBreakdown where his pill addiction, writer's block and grief over the murder of his best friend Proof was leading him to output a lot of {{Bottom Of The Barrel Joke}}s with lower than usual technical abilities, [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent vaguely offensive accents]] and a [[{{Wangst}} hyper-depressive]], TorchTheFranchiseAndRun tone. During this time he killed off Slim Shady, and as a result adopted a more generic hip-hop mogul persona that he'd previously stood out for avoiding.
*** Some people set the cutoff specifically at ''Curtain Call'', viewing ''Encore'' as a worthy return to the humour of ''The Slim Shady LP'', but not being willing to accept "FACK".
*** Some ([[CreatorBacklash including Eminem]]) extend this period further to include ''Relapse'', which also has grossout comedy and accents and was seen as outdated in 2009, but it has been VindicatedByHistory for its reversal of several of these trends; bringing Slim Shady back from the dead, cutting down on the {{Wangst}}, and displaying drastically improved lyrical technique and vocal delivery. However, many still reject it for being [[TooBleakStoppedCaring too bleak]] and meaningless, especially in comparison to the funny and confessional ''Encore'' and ''Recovery'' albums that bookend it. (Eminem himself has said that, while he doesn't think ''Encore'' is his best work, he considers it much better than ''Relapse''.)
** ''Recovery'' through ''Revival'', a CreatorRecovery period in which [[TrueArtIsAngsty Eminem was a lot happier]] and no longer touched on his usual rage-filled topics. His music shifted to a [[RadioFriendliness commercial]], PopRap-cum-RapRock style and his image switched to a [[RatedGForGangsta nice]], apologetic, [[BoastfulRap self-regarding]] and [[MessiahCreep vaguely Jesusy]] RecoveredAddict character that caused a loud minority of his fans to [[WeWantOurJerkBack beg him to get back on drugs]] -- something Eminem himself has remarked on being disgusting. At the same time, his lyrics maintained enough VulgarHumor to irritate anyone who thinks homophobic slurs and rape jokes are [[JustJokingJustification off limits]] (a common opinion in TheNewTens). This period also saw Eminem shifting to a much more technical, speed-focused and HurricaneOfPuns-laden style which began to [[DancingBear overpower his songwriting and beat-riding]], particularly by the time of ''Revival''.
*** ''Recovery'' and ''Revival'' in particular are criticised for Eminem showing diminished abilities as a vocalist. Eminem's albums prior to ''Recovery'' had made a lot out of his ability to act out his lyrics and transform his vocal tone, but ''Recovery'' is delivered in a cranked-up MetalScream style that has been called monotonous and wearing -- Eminem transitioned to a more playful GrinOfAudacity-to-SuddenlyShouting voice on his following projects, apparently agreeing with the criticism. ''Revival'' has more acting and tonal variation, but has garnered criticism for its unpleasant GutturalGrowler delivery, which Eminem also corrected in later projects by using more MelodicRap and his higher register.
*** ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' was part of this creative period and is generally regarded positively. However, many find it good ''despite'' his artistic direction at the time, rather than ''because'' of it.
*** Some find ''Recovery'' and ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' good, and set the beginning of the period at around ''SHADYXV'', the first indication of the writer's block Eminem experienced from 2015-2017, which contains numerous songs in which Eminem fears he's lost all connection with the real world and no longer has any pain left to rap about.

** They fell into another one with their next album after that, 2001's ''Crown Royal'', recorded without Darryl "D.M.C." [=McDaniel=] thanks to both a throat condition and his sense that [[CreatorsApathy the whole album was just a cynical cash grab]], especially with its pivot to NuMetal, of all genres. Critics and fans generally agreed, and it bombed even harder than ''Back from Hell''. Unfortunately, thanks to Jam Master Jay's murder the following year, it would be the last album they ever recorded.

** 2016's ''Music/TheLifeOfPablo'' was generally well received but criticized for its unusual release strategy (initially being released ''in an unfinished state'' on streaming platforms and gradually updated throughout the following months) and somewhat tasteless lyrics. The immediate aftermath became inconsistent -- his production work on Pusha T's ''Daytona'' and collaborative project with Music/KidCudi, ''Music/KidsSeeGhosts'', both earned widespread acclaim, but his actual follow-up album ''Ye'' in 2018 received a mostly lukewarm reaction for [[NewSoundAlbum its drastically more introspective and intentionally stripped-back sound]], which [[BrokenBase is either its greatest strength or biggest weakness depending on who you ask]]. Notably, it broke his streak of broad critical favorability, earning less-than-solid reviews and leading many to wonder if the former critical darling had finally "lost it." 2019 saw a full-throated embrace of born-again religion with the [[ChristianRock Christian rap]] album ''Jesus is King'' (after [[ScheduleSlip missing two deadlines]]) and the pop-up church/Gospel hip-hop group [[https://blavity.com/6-reasons-why-kanye-wests-new-cult-i-mean-church-is-cause-for-pause Sunday Service]], which struck many fans as a repeat of Music/BobDylan's infamous Christian period. We [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement won't talk]] about the CreatorBreakdown that happened in the 2020s, because we have to wait five years before adding it here.

** 2016's ''Music/TheLifeOfPablo'' was generally well received but criticized for its unusual release strategy (initially being released ''in an unfinished state'' on streaming platforms and gradually updated throughout the following months) and somewhat tasteless lyrics. The immediate aftermath became inconsistent -- his production work on Pusha T's ''Daytona'' and collaborative project with Music/KidCudi, ''Music/KidsSeeGhosts'', both earned widespread acclaim, but his actual follow-up album ''Ye'' in 2018 received a mostly lukewarm reaction for [[NewSoundAlbum its drastically more introspective and intentionally stripped-back sound]], which [[BrokenBase is either its greatest strength or biggest weakness depending on who you ask]]. Notably, it broke his streak of broad critical favorability, earning less-than-solid reviews and leading many to wonder if the former critical darling had finally "lost it." 2019 saw a full-throated embrace of born-again religion with the [[ChristianRock Christian rap]] album ''Jesus is King'' (after [[ScheduleSlip missing two deadlines]]) and the pop-up church/Gospel hip-hop group [[https://blavity.com/6-reasons-why-kanye-wests-new-cult-i-mean-church-is-cause-for-pause Sunday Service]], which struck many fans as a repeat of Music/BobDylan's infamous Christian period.

** The second is 1985-1990, where Taupin was more involved, but Elton's music became overly produced and synth-heavy, much of the classic '70s Elton John Band who backed him in his 1983-84 period were fired and replaced by session musicians, and Elton's [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll drug and alcohol habits]], bulimia, and [[AnythingThatMoves reckless love life]] were taking a toll on him.

** A few hardcore NewWave elitists think everything after their ''debut'' album was an Audience-Alienating Era.

** The first half of TheNineties is arguably the most generally agreed-upon Audience-Alienating Era, at least in terms of metal's mainstream success, especially in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. The genre was neck-deep in the hangover from the collapse of HairMetal, and many of the biggest bands from TheEighties were either breaking up or falling into their own Audience-Alienating Eras, several of which are described below. While there were still plenty of great metal bands if one knew where to look, not many actually broke through and had crossover hits, and most of those that did were AlternativeMetal bands that were linked to the booming {{Grunge}} scene. ThrashMetal bucked the trend and reached the peak of its popularity during this time, but at the cost of many fans feeling that the bands had sold out in order to do so, even paving the way for the below-mentioned NuMetal. Otherwise, for much of the early-mid '90s the genre practically vanished from the attention of mainstream rock fans. It's a different story outside the US, however, with the early '90s remembered as a GoldenAge for European (especially Scandinavian) DeathMetal and BlackMetal.

** After that, you will find fans arguing for any subgenre, sound, or period of time as an Audience-Alienating Era, from the rise of {{Metalcore}} and {{Deathcore}} to the widespread use of synthesizers. Get a group of metal fans in a room, and a third will tell you that the genre is in an Audience-Alienating Era right now, another third will tell you that it's in a GoldenAge, and the last third will tell everybody to just shut up and enjoy whatever they listen to.

** Those who are less sympathetic to {{Crunk}} and its offshoots will often argue that a second Audience-Alienating Era occurred in the late '00s. The use of AutoTune to distort vocals into a robotic-sounding effect, one that quickly earned the ire of listeners for seemingly wiping away the personality of rappers and burying it under vocal effects, reached its peak during this time, as did "ringtone rap", songs aimed primarily at the then-booming ringtone market that had catchy, danceable choruses (perfect for turning into a fifteen-second ringtone) but were often seen as having little of value beyond that. The early '10s saw a definitive end to this period, as the rise of smartphones killed ringtone sales and the much-derided genre of snap music that thrived off of them, while backlash against Auto-Tune distortion saw a return to more naturalistic rapping styles. That being said, with the passage of time causing most of the [[OneHitWonder flashes-in-the-pan]] to fade into history, some people have started to look back nostalgically on the age of crunk and even go so far as to call it a GoldenAge for party rap and hip-hop dance music, especially in comparison to...

** While TheSeventies were undoubtedly a GoldenAge for many American music genres (HardRock, {{Funk}}, dance music, CountryMusic), the sorry state of mainstream pop during that time almost seems like karmic balance in comparison. '70s pop was dominated by VarietyShow acts, novelty songs, and schmaltzy ballads, many of which were defined by [[SweetnessAversion saccharine cheesiness and edgelessness]]. Looking at the first half of the decade, it's no wonder that {{Disco}} exploded as it did in the latter half, given the competition -- and when disco [[DiscoSucks infamously went out of fashion]] in TheEighties, many music fans were inclined to write off the entire decade as a pop music wasteland. The fact that pop enjoyed a renaissance in TheEighties (albeit one that, as noted below, was [[VindicatedByHistory only truly appreciated in hindsight]]) only made the comparisons that much less flattering. Not even '70s nostalgia has resurrected the reputation of the decade's pop music, aside from [[PopularityPolynomial a reevaluation of the disco scene]]. WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows, in the ''One Hit Wonderland'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtY38uMTil0 episode]] covering the 1974 hit "The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace, referred to 1974 specifically as "the worst year in pop music history", a time when virtually ''nothing'' on the pop charts was any good and people had to go looking in other genres to find music worth listening to.