Nov 02, 2007 - 04:05:12 CDT
I am what is commonly referred to as a "team player."What this means is that Iprefer team sports to tennis (unless it's doubles; I guess that is team-like), I prefer to go to the movies in small groups rather than by myself, and I'm a little hurt when lead singers of my favorite bands put out solo records.
And that's been happening a lot, lately. Serj Tankian released a solo album, "Elect the Dead," separate from his band, System of a Down. Eddie Vedder provided the soundtrack for "Into the Wild," with not a single other member of Pearl Jam in sight. And I am still a little peeved that Rod Stewart left the Faces in 1969.
When I first came into liking the rock 'n' roll, Iwas under the impression that rock bands were three, four or five different people, who would get together in a room, throw equal amounts of ideas onto the table, jam and create a collective of awesomeness. And it sounded like a whole lot of fun, traveling the road in your own little club, exclusive to between three and five members (seven, if you're in Lynrd Skynrd), sharing inside jokes, playing pranks on each other, but rocking out on stage each night, as a group, a collective. They are legion.
Then, I found out that Nine Inch Nails was really just one guy playing all the parts on the album, and that he just hired a crew of musicians to play the music that he, and he alone, had written, out on tour. And it broke my sensitive heart.
It's more fun to be a Beatles fan than a John Lennon fan (though the margin is incredibly thin), because that's four different personalities, blooming together as one multicolored flower. You can pick your favorite member (the order, from best to not best, is John, George, Paul and, so sorry, Ringo), and debate your findings with strangers. You can't do that with a solo artist. Who's your favorite member of Gwen Stefani?
Frank Black states, in "LoudQUIETLoud,"a documentary about his more-famous band the Pixies, "Everything Ido as a solo artist is overshadowed by the Pixies." And it's always seemed to me, as a fan, that Black has spent most of his career envious and bitter toward the success of his own band, for which he wrote most of the songs, because he can't replicate the success the Pixies have found when it's just him, with his name on the marquee. Iask you, how can someone possibly be jealous of himself? Yet that seems to be exactly what Black seems intent to do.
Most musicians break away from their successful bands just because they want the freedom to create something without anyone else's input. That's probably healthy, but surely it must get lonely. I can't get past the mental picture of Tankian out on the road, alone in his hotel room after every show, no one to draw devil's horns on his forehead with permanant marker when he passes out. He likely cries himself to sleep.
We all need friends in this world, and when Isee a solo artist's record, I can't help but see a lonely individual, crying out for help, and it depresses me.
Get back to Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder; it's what is best for both of us.
(Reach columnist Kelly Hagen at 250-8259 or kelly.hagen.) @bismarcktribune.com
Bettina wrote on Nov 4, 2007 9:11 AM:
Wendy wrote on Nov 2, 2007 4:49 PM:
Nate wrote on Nov 2, 2007 12:18 PM:
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