[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
When Does a Band Stop Being a Band?
Repost from Relayers:
==========
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_browndan/20040322.html
When does a band stop being a band?
CBC News Viewpoint | March 22, 2004
March 30 will see the release of the latest album by The Who, the
legendary British quartet that gave the world such hits as Magic Bus,
Pinball Wizard, and Baba O'Reilly. Now, before I go any further, let
me first address the question that's probably going through your
head: you're likely thinking "The Who? Aren't all those guys dead by
now?"
It's a fair question, but the truth is that The Who - or, more
accurately two of the original four members - are still alive,
kicking, and releasing greatest-hits packages.
It only seems like the entire band has kicked the bucket. That's
because the group's stone-faced bassist, John Entwistle, died from a
cocaine-induced heart attack a couple summers ago. And The Who's
first drummer, one-man powerhouse Keith Moon, entered the great
rock 'n' roll hall of fame in the sky when he overdosed back in 1978.
The other guys, vocalist Roger Daltrey and guitar player Pete
Townshend, are still recording the odd new song and touring (and in
Townshend's case, dodging child-pornography charges). They haven't
had a hit in years, but by dint of sheer determination the two
survivors have kept the group's name alive. Which brings up an
important question.
Is The Who still The Who? Daltrey and Townshend represent only 50
percent of the original lineup - so do they still have the right to call
themselves The Who? This isn't a trivial issue because, let's face
it, for some Who fans the group ceased to exist when Moon passed
away.
And imagine if Daltrey or Townshend were to die tomorrow - could one
founding member go on tour with a bunch of replacement musicians and
still pass the group off as the real thing? When does a band stop
being the band it once was?
The reason this question is important is that it's not going to go
away. In fact, it's only going to become more relevant over the next
decade or so because of an indisputable demographic fact: we have an
entire population made up of aging rockers. The Rolling Stones,
Aerosmith, the Eagles, AC/DC, Pink Floyd . none of them are getting
any younger. And to paraphrase Vince Vaughn in Old School: old
rockers die. That's what they do.
We're getting to the point where nature is doing what fast living and
faithless women couldn't do - put an end to a generation of music
makers. If you want a more telling illustration, just remember that
when the 57-year-old Entwistle was found dead in Las Vegas, no foul
play was initially suspected. That means the first thought the
authorities had was that he died of natural causes. This is what
rock 'n' roll is coming to.
So what should be done? I suppose Daltrey and Townshend could just
pack it in. That doesn't seem likely, however, since musicians are
worse than boxers when it comes to being tempted by comebacks. And
I actually hope they don't quit. If they can put out original music and
stage dynamic shows, I think the public should still welcome the
contribution old musicians make.
Regular readers of this column will know that I detest artists who
release greatest-hits albums for no good reason. Growing old,
however, doesn't necessarily have to mean an end to creativity. Look
at Neil Young, Bob Dylan or Tom Waits: by continuing to put out vital
tunes in their twilight years, they make a powerful case for senior-
citizen rockers.
Then there's a more metaphysical answer. According to this school of
thought, any given band should have a right to exist so long as the
music it produces is in keeping with the group's original spirit.
With all the lineup changes the Stones have been through, no one can
deny that the band has been transformed since it first charted in the
1960s. As long as Mick Jagger is able to pout and strut, though, it's
much easier to argue that the same intangible qualities that have
always defined the Stones are still present.
In other words, it doesn't matter who dies if the music sounds the
same. Of course, this kind of thinking can lead to bands that are
sort of like multiple transplant patients: they don't have any of the
original parts.
Call me unapologetically Canadian, but my preferred solution is a
compromise. In the coming years, I think rockers should do what the
rest of the Grateful Dead did after Jerry Garcia passed away: they
kept touring, but they acknowledged the fact the band would never be
the same without Garcia by changing its name (to the Other Ones).
To me, this seems like a good way to carry on. It also inoculates a
band against critics who will inevitably charge that they're trying
to trick fans into believing the fiction that a group can proceed as
if nothing has happened when an important member dies. And it seems
like a reasonable way to pay tribute to a deceased colleague.
Will other bands follow the example of the Other Ones? I doubt it.
These days, a band's name, to use the common marketing term, is
its "brand." Classic-rock groups just have too much invested in their
names to surrender them voluntarily.
In that case, we'll have to resort to the old fall-back position of
letting the market decide - musicians should keep recording and
touring as long as consumers are willing to support them. Ya gotta
love capitalism.
==========
- SCHRADE in Akron
The Council For Secular Humanism
http://www.secularhumanism.org/