mycarhasabs wrote:I def received some mixed opinions on a post I made about this on Ao12.
I too am a bit surprised at how negative the reactions are from the fans this go round. I think the obvious reason their music is sounding vastly different from past entries before an album release is they're taking a strong shot at garnering more radio play. This next part is where I pissed some people off.. but secretly 'sorry not sorry'.
People who still listen to the radio as their primary source of music discovery.. suck. I can't stand those people because they're the source of the problem in the music industry. They're the reason why we have musical artists (who I don't doubt are talented in their own ways) cranking out this corporate 'made on computer' bull s***. Your Post Malone's, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Fall Out Boy, Bhad Bahby (cash me outside girl). All of these artists are glorified on the radio as being the 'creme de la creme' of the music industry. This is my opinion so I understand if I have some disagreements, but the vast majority of their music is complete trash. It's uninspiring, it's not creative nor artistic, and it's slowly weathering down the core of music culture in this country. Again, my opinion.. but the vast majority of the radio is complete trash. The radio is merely an outlet that tells it's listeners what to listen to and who to root for. That's it.
With that being said, I think if you want radio play now.. you have to water your music down a bit. It has to be cut down to a certain length, it has to be appealing to a particular crowd. Here's a few analogies I'd like to tack on to this theory:
1) I work at an advertising agency. I'm a graphic designer. If a client tells me they need a 10 second animation using this particular music and this and that 'creative direction', the end result is going to be very simplified. Versus... "hey here's an idea, it can be any length for a video, use any colors, surprise us! Creative is totally open". 10 fold, I'm going to do some of my best work in this scenario as my creativity is unrestricted.
2) I'm a craft beer enthusiast. My office throws monthly happy hours in the cafe area. When it's my departments' turn to host, I'm in charge of getting the beer. Personally,.. I love a good bourbon barrel aged stout or really earthy DIPA. However, as vastly superior as those styles may be in complexity to more 'simpler beers' like a Kolsch, or a Lager. I have to understand that my taste buds do not much my fellow coworkers. I have to 'please a crowd'. So I'm going to 'water down' my selection and variety a bit in order to have a high turnout for the 'mainstream' beer drinkers. However, if I'm hosting a party for nothing but Craft Beer snobs, you but your a** I'm going all out and getting nothing but the good stuff.
This is just like getting on the radio, you have to 'please a crowd' and I'm sorry to say, that crowd in my opinion are musically illiterate. Tim has been really pushing the fans to ask their local radio stations this time around and I think that's very strong evidence to back up my 'radio playability' theory. Some of the hardcore fans appreciate the new singles. Others like myself notice something's a little "off". Despite all of that, I'm very confident we have yet to hear the best this album has to offer.
Interesting idea. And it makes new album even more... "Strange", I guess? Because when Myles sings:
All of these lessons I've learned them so well
There is no gain worth the commerce of self
And
Heed my advice, may you hear every word
Don't sacrifice meaning for riches that burn
And when these lyrics are packed in the most typical modern rock song possible, designed to be played on the radio, they start sounding like this «fear of selling out» is not genuine source of anxiety, but some focus group tested gimmick created by marketing team at their music label. Also I remember Myles having a severe depression after being disappointed in musical business between TM4's last album and ODR and now they are doing this album. I think this is pretty inconsistent.