In a message dated 3/9/00 2:45:35 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Another interesting topic is bands that have done the exact opposite of > sell-out...Branch off in musical directions against the grain of popular > culture despite the threat of million dollar losses. Radiohead comes to > mind. No Doubt too. Even Rage. Nothing but respect for those bands, > although I don't like No Doubt or Rage. > the whole notion of "selling out," if it exists at all, is when a band becomes irrelevant to what they may have previously stood upon as their motivation, ideals, etc. . .generally, a loss of integrity in exchange for the sales, whatever. don't care. now, as far as no doubt is concerned, i would question their integrity. when tragic kingdom first came out, they spoke at some length in various interviews as to how they had been attributed to the OC ska scene, but were glad to have rid themselves of the label as they didn't really like the label, and never really liked being labeled a ska band. then, as ska became that year's equivalent of this year's limp-bizkit-shit-fad, they suddenly spoke at length about how they had always been integral to the OC ska scene, and they started playing themselves up as hometown ska heroes. i mean, none of it really matters, because they're uninteresting musicians making uninteresting music for the uninterested masses. but i'd hardly say that they've ever branched out into less-commercially viable music. and as far as someone else saying that rage isn't innovative, i think at this point it might be easy to sort of throw them in with bands like korn, limp bizkit, et al, who have tried to replicate and/or use their sound as a starting off point. but no one else was doing what they were doing back in 1993, or now, really, if you think about it. i'm not a huge rage fan, and some of their actions may run contradictory to their outspoken views (though not hypocritical, necessarily, as some have alleged), but i would say that they're a fairly innovative band, and a passionate one, nonetheless. it's not their fault that 93.8% of the people that like them have no idea what de la rocha and company are ragin' against and only like it 'cos it's heavy and it gives them an excuse to beat up people in the pit. but i wouldn't discredit them even in light of the fact that they're largely responsible for a good amount of absolute shite on the radio (mysognist homophobes who got it all wrong. . .sigh) oh, but i certainly wouldn't say that they've branched off into "musical directions against the grain," though. it was a bit of an anomaly that all of the forces came together (support, a waiting audience, etc) to make their first album so successful, and their sound has progressed some over the next two, but, to quote everyone's favorite rockers-in-excess, "the song remains the same." or enough so, anyway. star
