A quote from Kurt Cobain I found interesting...

[Kill Dat Noize]

i know a lot of my coli brethen don't really fukk wit cac rock music so for the uninitiated lemme just give you a brief context.

nirvana basically kicked down the fukkin door with their 91 album "nevermind" and changed the face of rock music. it was grungy and moody but it also had amazing songwriting. dark, heavy and melodic all at the same time. one of the most (maybe even THEE most) legendary rock record of the 90's

their followup in 93 "in utero" was a different beast though. they tried to aim for something a lil different. you know they just didn't wanna make the same album again. so they wanted something more visceral, something riskier. needless to say the album was a huge smash hit but it failed to sell the same amount of copies as nevermind did. (to this day in utero has sold 15 million copies while nevermind has sold 30 million)

but what struck me as interesting was this comment from kurt prior to it's release which i saw on wiki.

Despite the label's promotion, the band was convinced that In Utero would not be as successful as Nevermind. Cobain told Jim DeRogatis, "We're certain that we won't sell a quarter as much, and we're totally comfortable with that because we like this record so much.


^^ i dunno i just really respect the shyt outta him for saying that. you rarely ever hear someone in hip hop come out and say somethin like that. i think back to when 50 was about to drop the massacre and in an interview with sway he basically said if the massacre didn't outsell GRODT for whatever reason than he would look at it as a FAILURE.

even on the coli it feels like 1 out of every 5 posts is about record sales.

always the fukkin record sales.

record sales.

record sales.

oh the album didn't go gold? flop. oh it didn't chart on itunes? flop. shyt is garbage. homeboy fell off.

god knows what would happen if kendrick's next album sold half as much as GKMC did. i imagine at least half the board would be ready to give him the flat top.

i dunno, just an observation. just thought like venting and sharing. feel free to voice your own 2 cents.

 

[Why-Fi]

its not really a hip hop thing, youre comparing an artist with someone who basically did it for money. ask q-tip or preemo you will definitely get a different sentiment from that of a 50 cent...

 

[Kill Dat Noize]

its not really a hip hop thing, youre comparing an artist with someone who basically did it for money. ask q-tip or preemo you will definitely get a different sentiment from that of a 50 cent...

well they all do it for the money.

but perhaps some are musicians first, businessmen second... while others are businessmen first, musicians second.

not sure how i would classify someone like 50. because through it all i truly do sense that he loves to make music.

 

[Kill Dat Noize]

plus in this modern age where label execs and suits are the ones callin the shots, i'm pretty sure they'd have a heart attack if a major artist went on record and said he wasn't aiming to make a commercially successful record.

like for real imagine kendrick came out and said "i went into my next album lookin to sell half as many records as my last one did".

someone at interscope would probably choke on their soup.

 

[NotaPAWG]

kurt was like that..

kurt cobain was punk. Nirvana's considered grunge or whatever, but Nirvana in terms of ethics and where they came from.. they were punk.. they were born out of the Seattle punk scene.

kurt hated Smells Like Teen spirit and the attention and the type of fans it brought the band. he didn't give a shyt about the money.

"If you're a sexist, racist, homophobe, or basically an a$$hole, don't buy this CD. I don't care if you like me, I hate you."

 

[Kill Dat Noize]

kurt was like that..

kurt cobain was punk. Nirvana's considered grunge or whatever, but Nirvana in terms of ethics were punk.. they were born out of the Seattle punk scene.
kurt hated Smells Like Teen spirit and the attention it brought the band. he didn't give a shyt about the money.

"If you're a sexist, racist, homophobe, or basically an a$$hole, don't buy this CD. I don't care if you like me, I hate you."

true.

and it also sheds light on the state of the music industry then and now. back then the artists could call the shots like that. they had more control over their work.

now every album strives for sales at all costs.

 

[edzyy]

Kurt hated the fame

He went through so much in his early child hood, the music was an escape from that.

If anything, all that fame lead to his demise.

 

[NotaPAWG]

true.

and it also sheds light on the state of the music industry then and now. back then the artists could call the shots like that. they had more control over their work.

now every album strives for sales at all costs.

which, ironically seems to be reducing the sales. seems like so many artists now a days strive to make universal music that 'everyone' can love in hopes of selling more albums and it's not working. they're selling the same amount, probably even less than if they just made the music they felt like making and served their demographic.

the thing about the 80s- and 90s mostly is.. artists weren't trying to appeal to every type of demographic. they mostly appealed to a certain demographic and that demographic supported them. NOW, you got an artist who after an album that does well, puts out a follow up trying to appeal to the highest common denominator (the casual music listener) to sell even more albums than the first, but if those people don't care or fukk with it? then what? the demographic they appealed to most is left out cause they excluded them and they ain't buying that album.

 

[NvrCMyNut]

Nirvana was trash. I remember seeing a video where one of the dudes from Oasis ethered the whole grunge movement ''these bands are all in 'pain'...well my ears are in pain from hearing your whining, wash your hair you dirty fukkers''

 

[Kill Dat Noize]

which, ironically seems to be reducing the sales. seems like so many artists now a days strive to make universal music that 'everyone' can love in hopes of selling more albums and it's not working. they're selling the same amount, probably even less than if they just made the music they felt like making and served their demographic.

the thing about the 80s- and 90s mostly is.. artists weren't trying to appeal to every type of demographic. they mostly appealed to a certain demographic and that demographic supported them. NOW, you got an artist who after an album that does well, puts out a follow up trying to appeal to the highest common denominator (the casual music listener) to sell even more albums than the first, but if those people don't care or fukk with it? then what? the demographic they appealed to most is left out cause they excluded them and they ain't buying that album.

there in lies the problem.

the fans (and i include myself in that) stopped funding the very industry we relied upon to deliver us great music.

i used to try and avoid blame but i really can't. truth is we're all guilty. anyone that's ever downloaded a song for free without supporting the artist is at fault in this.

 

[No_bammer_weed]

You didnt have to reach to a rock n roll example from that time period, you could have picked just about any hip hop artist from that era as well. The early 90s was very much a counter culture/anti corporate/dont sell out environment. Hammer was torn to shreds for doing commercials and going pop...even if a lot of it was probably just pandering, many artists during that period were adamant about eschewing universal success in favor of delivering their fans authentic music they demanded.

 

[NotaPAWG]

there in lies the problem.

the fans (and i include myself in that) stopped funding the very industry we relied upon to deliver us great music.

i used to try and avoid blame but i really can't. truth is we're all guilty. anyone that's ever downloaded a song for free without supporting the artist is at fault in this.

nah im not even talking about that. im talking about this attempt artists do now a days to appeal to everyone. they'll be in an interview talking about their follow up album and say someshyt like "we got something for EVERYONE"

well, say EVERYONE .. which we know means the highest common denominator or every single type of music fan. all across the board don't like the album then what? they excluded and disappointed the sole demographic that supported them and the music they were making to appeal all across the board. that's an artists doing. not the fans.

yes, the fans are to blame for a lot of shyt.. but artists are, as well when they deliver a follow up album that is trash and 'EVERYONE' isn't fukking with it.

that's not to say an artist has to keep recreating the same type of music.. Kanye (minus Yeezus) is a good example of an artist evolving w/o completely excluding his sole demographic. but by consciously making music to sell all across the board, artists are only hurting themselves and the quality of their music and excluding their dedicated fanbase to appeal to the fly by night "hype beast" or casual music listener fans in an attempt to sell more.

Kurt Cobain knew a lot of people who bought Nevermind did so because of Smells Light Teen Spirit.. and instead of going and making an album that sounding like that to appeal to the bro's and types of people he disliked who liked Nirvana..Nirvana put out what they wanted.

 

[SlowPaceThrillah]

Nirvana was trash. I remember seeing a video where one of the dudes from Oasis ethered the whole grunge movement ''these bands are all in 'pain'...well my ears are in pain from hearing your whining, wash your hair you dirty fukkers''

Liam Gallagher is a professional dikkhead. I like some Oasis music but dude will talk shyt to whoever's listening, even his own brother doesn't fukk with him anymore. Plus Nirvana had some great music (they did bite from the Pixies/Breeders a little tho).

 

[Indiglow Meta (R$G)]

kurt was like that..

kurt cobain was punk. Nirvana's considered grunge or whatever, but Nirvana in terms of ethics and where they came from.. they were punk.. they were born out of the Seattle punk scene.

kurt hated Smells Like Teen spirit and the attention and the type of fans it brought the band. he didn't give a shyt about the money.

"If you're a sexist, racist, homophobe, or basically an a$$hole, don't buy this CD. I don't care if you like me, I hate you."

LOL that garbage ass buzzword "homophobe" didn't exist when he was alive, breh.

 

[Kill Dat Noize]

but by consciously making music to sell all across the board, artists are only hurting themselves and the quality of their music and excluding their dedicated fanbase to appeal to the fly by night "hype beast" or casual music listener fans in an attempt to sell more.

what rapper with a "niche" audience is sellin records these days? not many, if at all.

why would they cater to their shyt to an audience that ain't buyin their records? furthermore why would the labels invest in something that isn't selling?