Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

The grunge revolution is one of the swiftest and most severe cultural changes I've ever witnessed in my four-and-a-half decades.  You're so right, the hair bands were here one day, and poof.....gone the next. 

What's odd to me about what I mentioned is that in a lot of cases, even when the bands stick around with less notoriety, they just don't seem to have a handle on their earlier vibe even when they clearly try.  Referencing the hair bands again for an example, I picked up a Poison album around 2002 out of curiosity.  They clearly were still aiming for the same thing they did in the 80's, but it just wasn't happening.  It's like, they knew the formula, but the formula required the actual 80's to be present in order for it to work.  It's a weird thing, because those bands can still perform their old material and it's just as good, so I know it's not a matter of my tastes moving on.  They just can't write new stuff that quite sounds the same. 

I also think your point about the catch-22 of audience expectations is right on.  It may last for a few albums instead of just the first one, but after a while it does seem like audiences either slip into the "Oh, this is the same thing they've been doing....meh" category, or the "Oh, they changed their sound and I liked how they used to sound" category.  Acts that maintained a good quality and good a fanbase over a longer time-span of multiple albums are probably rare, and they have my respect. 

I meant to comment on this yesterday because it's a good point and I agree.

So it always strikes me specifically and differently, when I do hear a modern band with a new song, that sounds purely 80s.  Muse is a good example of this.  Much of their music has a retro vibe, that's pretty much their thing, but a few songs are so specifically 80s, they sound as if they're plucked directly out of 1988 or so, except it's brand new music.  It always surprises me when a "new" band can pull that off, especially given that so many of the "old" ones never could, as you cite with the example of Poison.

I mentioned it on Page 1 but man The Cars The Cars is so good.  If I hear one song from it, I usually have to go listen to the whole thing.  Last night this one popped up on my randomized Prime Music stream.  It's the final song on the album, the closer, and it immediately follows and the transition is intermixed with "Moving in Stereo" made famous by Phoebe Cates and her real and spectacular assets.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9d-1d0ltCM&list=RDE9d-1d0ltCM&start_radio=1

I listened to this album on a flight home on Wednesday.  Exceptional in every way.
The Cars really flipped the script in many ways.  Very influential. 

What about this-- what's the best side of an album, of all time?  A complete side, no skips, no clunkers, where all songs are balanced and transition beautifully?

I'd nominate Side 2 of The Cars The Cars.  Side 1 is great, but Side 2 is just perfect.

The first half of that side is so intertwined that for radio airplay, you almost always heard both songs played together back-to-back in the same way Journey's "Feelin' That Way/Anytime" were.

And then the final two songs are intermixed in the transition and work just seamlessly together.

The Cars Side 2:
"You're All I've Got Tonight"
"Bye Bye Love"
"Moving in Stereo"
"All Mixed Up"

Lonesome George wasn't impressed with the Cars in concert - heard him go on a rant at his show in Sioux City......

said no one dances or moves at a Cars show

I could see that.  When I saw The Cars in... 86 I guess?... people were moving, but the energy from both the crowd and the band was sort of midlevel.  They played the songs pretty much identically to the studio versions, there wasn't really much soloing or ad-libbing, but I loved the music so much that I still had a good time.

It's not unlike George Strait, which is probably the most boring concert I've ever been to.  I love his music but if you've heard the studio album there's absolutely no need to see him live.  

Best side? I have a lot of them, but let's do 2112.

2112.