Todd In The Shadows Thread

I'd argue that the fact that "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied Harrison's version of "Got My Mind Set On You" a few months after it came out proves that Cloud Nine was a legitimate comeback. Compare that with his scrapped Paul McCartney parody, which was based on a Wings song from the '70s.

Edited by bowserbros on Jun 18th 2023 at 11:28:25 AM

I'd prefer a Trainwreckords on Let It Be, but Rule #0 is that Todd has to actually dislike the album. It's a same that rule exists.

Eh, he said that Adore by The Smashing Pumpkins was on the list, and he liked that album if memory serves; he made a similar exception for the fan-favorite R.E.M. album New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

The Carpenters one, from what I remember, was also more positive about the album compared to other Trainwreckords episodes, which usually end with being nicer to the artist while still being negative on the reviewed album.

Edited by harryhenry on Jun 21st 2023 at 3:10:33 AM

Stop repeating that suggestion. Let It Be did not break up The Beatles. That's an ancient myth that's been debunked multiple times by now.

Let It Be was a little divisive with critics at first, but it's now well-regarded as part of the Beatles album canon (though count me in among the crowd who sees Abbey Road as their actual last album) and produced some of their most iconic songs. It especially doesn't count given the recent Get Back documentary, which paints the sessions in far more positive light than what they've been seen as, and we have a more nuanced picture of what was going on at the time.

Edited by harryhenry on Jun 21st 2023 at 4:16:06 AM

Not to mention that it's the Beatles. You're not exactly treading new ground with a retrospective on them. Though on the topic of extensively-covered acts (even if this one is not near as popular), the Velvet Underground's Squeeze I can see an episode on.

Edited by GrafVonTirol on Jun 21st 2023 at 6:41:23 AM

Let It Be is still regarded as the groups worst album (aside from the obvious Yellow Submarine which only has a few songs not on any other album and several insturmentals.), even if it didn't break up the band it was technically their last album until about thirty or so years later when people decided that Abbey Road was their last album. Phil Spector didn't get his hands on the production and I Me Mine wasn't recorded until after Abbey Road.

It really isn't regarded as their "worst" album though. Once again, stop trying to force something that isn't relevant. It's shoving a square peg into a round hole. The album did not break up The Beatles.

Now on You Tube.

I was wondering, if an artist left a succesful band and then released an unsuccessful solo album, would that qualify as a Trainwreckord? Because if so, here's one Todd should look into:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Control_(Peter_Criss_album)

I think he'd gravitate to one of the four or five other options for a Kiss Trainwreckords than that Criss solo album. Kiss made a bunch of super disastrous career choices that, within less than a decade, brought them from one of the biggest bands in the world to an also-ran by the hair metal era that was directly influenced by them. He has a couple options if he ever wanted to do them, like the 1978 solo albums or Music from the Elder.

Edited by thelivingtoad on Jun 22nd 2023 at 12:56:05 PM

Didn't Kiss have a few hits in the 80s? I know Lick It Up still gets played on the radio today.

Kiss were actually able to ride the hair metal wave in the 1980's until Nirvana showed up and killed the whole genre off. The idea that they lost popularity when they got rid of their makeup is mostly a myth.

Besides, the actual moment that killed KISS is their appearance on WCW.

Kiss had some bumps in the road but never a complete career collapse, that Peter Criss album killed any chance of a solo career for him (in contrast, Ace Frehley had and still has a respectable solo career).

confession,there have been times when I get Kiss and Insane Clown Posse mixed up due to the heavy use of clown make up

I saw KISS referred to more than once as "boomer Juggalos" and it never fails to make me smile.

It's wilder because ICP is now kind of respected and Juggalos having an improved reputation (Violent J disowning his past homophobia may have helped) while KISS stands out as an initially critically maligned 70's act... that may have had their reputation deprove in the coming years (in contrast to other punching bags of the era like disco, ABBA and Steely Dan which saw their stocks rise), in no part prolly due to the members being troglodytes, inane lyrical subject matter, and their brand of proto-hair metal glam hard rock not lending well to reappraisal.

One album I had in mind for a potential Trainwreckords episode was Unconditionally Guaranteed. Not dissimilar to Squeeze, it's a case of an artist stripping away everything that made their previous sound recognizable and innovative, leaving the end result as a Cliché Storm of 70s blues boogie cock rock mush. Unlike Squeeze where most everyone that made VU what it was left and it was just Doug Yule trying to make something of the situation while being dicked around by Steve Sesnick (as if he wasn't already dicked around enough by Lou Reed), UG actually retained most of the main creative personnel from the likes of Trout Mask Replica and it still underwhelmed because Beefheart was desperately trying to chase commercial success by watering down the sound to something more accessible but just didn't have the knack. The public didn't like it critically or commercially, the rest of the band hated it so much that they quit, and even Beefheart disowned it and urged fans to take it in for a refund. From what I've read he did carry on for almost another decade before quitting music to paint, but as far as the classic lineup went UG (and the frankly nightmarish Hostility on the Set that Beefheart inflicted on the band, which would be morbidly interesting to see Todd touch on) did it in.

Fuck Gene Simmons, all my homies hate Gene Simmons.

Edited by AyyItsMidnight on Jun 23rd 2023 at 4:17:31 AM

I think Kiss made some good songs/albums. Destroyer is still a classic and features some of their best stuff. They also sometimes went outside their usual sex and partying themes (Beth, God of Thunder). Music from the Elder was an ambitious, albeit somewhat misguided prog rock album. Their 80s stuff is still good if you like hair metal. Even in the 90s they had a few good songs.

That being said, it is true they made some stupid songs too, and were unabashed sellouts.

Edited by JunkAction on Jun 23rd 2023 at 5:03:38 AM

Destroyer is a mixed bag of an album and it's only decent because their first three albums are mixed like somebody shitting into a trash can.

Bob Ezrin really went above and beyond to make Kiss sound fine enough, but ugh...there's only a few songs I like by them and even then there's a million songs I'd rather listen to. Paul Stanley's voice is obnoxious and Gene Simmons as a human being is repulsive.

Note that KISS are extremely influential to many metal bands. Just about everyone in a metal band in the 80's or 90's were into KISS when they were younger.

Okay? That's the past.

Nowadays, Kiss are considered a joke at best by the newer generations of musicians, and at worst they're considered a bunch of bigoted shitbags because of Stanley and Simmons being right-wing assholes.

Gene ended off his solo album with a straight-faced version of When You Wish Upon a Star where he just uses his regular singing voice. It's...uh...I mean sure, when you wish upon a star while being absurdly rich and licensing you and your band's image out to an absurd amount of different avenues for merchandise, your dreams will come true. To paraphrase Jukebox Zeroes' impression of the guy:

Gene: "You there, boy. What is that star that I wish upon?"

Rando: "Uh that's the sun, sir."

Gene: "Hm...how am I gonna get grease paint on that?"