Alternative History Options

[World Dreamer]

Songs/bands that require you to think are passed over for pop shit. The days of it being about the music are fading. No one wants the songs to mean anything or they don't want to put the effort into trying to figure out what they mean. They want it spelled out and they want it to sound good.

Nowadays if the song sounds catchy it gets on the radio. You could have the dumbest lyrics in the world but if it has a catchy beat you will hear it in a club and it will have *checks the current count on YouTube for "Friday" by Rebecca Black* 98+ million views on YouTube.

Think about it. That shitty, worthless song has 98+ million views. The highest count I saw for Lightining Crashes was 4.2 million. Lightining Crashes has been around MUCH longer than Friday.

That's why I am glad to see the approach TGF has taken and that is why they get my support. Sure, I like the songs. I like the band members. But it isn't entirely about that. It's about the music what it means. It's about the passion and motivation behind it.

What drives a band like TGF is entirely different than the driving force behind the shit you hear on the radio.

[mattyeagles]

I think two simple words - "Dolphin's Cry" - shut this album down in the US. It was the first single off the album and the common comment I heard was that it sounded gay to sing about Dolphin's Crying. I know that's not the literal meaning behind it, but that is how it was recieved.

I think if that single lyric would have been different people here would have recieved the song way better (because other than that it is awesome) and the album would have sold like crazy.

Huh? The Dolphins Cry was a very big hit in the US...definately not the reason for lack of commercial success of the album

[tiger]

I have to disagree somewhat on the sentiment about current radio. Although there aren't as many alternative stations, there are plenty of alternative acts getting radio play. Death Cab for Cutie comes to mind. Arcade Fire just won a Grammy. Now, in the late 90's the format was dominated by nu-metal acts like Limp Bizkit and Korn but TDC still got very good radio play. Live might have done better to follow up TDC with maybe WFG or Sparkle instead of RTTW. That song gained no traction and TSUFL didn't either. You can't just blame radio though. None of the songs on TDTH are radio friendly in the way TC was.

[World Dreamer]

I have to disagree somewhat on the sentiment about current radio. Although there aren't as many alternative stations, there are plenty of alternative acts getting radio play. Death Cab for Cutie comes to mind. Arcade Fire just won a Grammy. Now, in the late 90's the format was dominated by nu-metal acts like Limp Bizkit and Korn but TDC still got very good radio play. Live might have done better to follow up TDC with maybe WFG or Sparkle instead of RTTW. That song gained no traction and TSUFL didn't either. You can't just blame radio though. None of the songs on TDTH are radio friendly in the way TC was.

I see where you are coming from. There are still some out there that are fighting the good fight. Just seems like the vast majority is, in my opinion, trash.

[tiger]

I see where you are coming from. There are still some out there that are fighting the good fight. Just seems like the vast majority is, in my opinion, trash.

I"m lucky in that I still have a decent alternative station in my area. I think there was just as much "trash", albeit a different kind, getting airplay in the 90's. I loved how loose the format was but that also left a lot of room for things that maybe shouldn't have gotten as much airplay. No doubt it's come 180 and the format is limited now. You can still find some good stuff in between the heavily engineered crap though. Alternative ain't dead yet and like you said, there are still some fighting the good fight. If Live was still making that kind of music, they'd get some airplay.

[SecretInsomnia]

I think we must not forget that the musical direction on V was still their choice. I remember clearly that Ed stated late 2000 that he wanted to make a real rock-record again, in contradiction to TDTH (that's how he saw it back then). "For the rock kids". He really seemed inspired by bands like Limp Bizkit in that period for some reason. The record company might have been played a crucial role to what came out and what not, but they still created the music themselves.

Talking about that, I can't stop thinking about Chad T writing that the early V songs were "the best Ed ever wrote", but never saw the daylight. I'm not sure he means lyrically or musically (as he already wrote both around that time).

TDTH could have been received more like a TC2 with the left out rockers like Don't Wait for example, but still I think it was a huge succes for them and was the reason they could literally travel the whole world, places they wouldnt ever been without the huge success TDTH was.

ps. People that say that songs like Dolphin Cry are gay are just gay...

This post has been edited by SecretInsomnia: Apr 13 2011, 5:38 am