Top 10 Bands That Should Stop Writing New Music
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They keep tryin’ but we’re not buyin’…not anymore. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Bands That Should Stop Writing New Music.
For this list, we’re focusing strictly on once beloved music groups that simply lost their mojo either in recent years or long ago. Given our criteria, it only makes sense to exclude a band like Nickelback, as their output has split the room since day one.
#10: Black Sabbath
While it's an undisputable fact that early Black Sabbath will rock forever, the same can't be said about the men behind the instruments. Whether its the overexposure of Ozzy Osbourne through a decade of reality TV or the heaps of drugs and booze that have filtered through his system since 1970 or the band's general iffyness since the Dio years, its hard to get overly excited about new Sabbath material. Critics may have gotten hot and bothered for 2013's “13,” but that’s because they waited 18 long years for it. Nostalgia alone is just not enough.
#9: Pearl Jam
Yes, Ten was one of the best albums of the 1990s and Pearl Jam was one of the finest bands of the 1990s but it's just not the 1990s any more. They have been around for a good 25 years, and the mileage is starting to show. They are still massively popular, and with a vocalist like Eddie Vedder rightfully their new stuff isn’t THAT bad, but it’s just not what it was. Every band grows but sometimes they just grow too far from where they started. Perhaps it makes more sense for Mr. Vedder to focus more on SOLO albums in the style of Ukelele Songs and the Into the Wild soundtrack.
#8: The Rolling Stones
It’s cliché to make old man rock star jokes about Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, but it's cliché for a reason. Keith Richards is still among the finest rhythm guitarists on the planet, Mick Jagger is still one of the most magnetic frontmen to ever strut on the stage and Charlie Watts is still the most rock solid drummers to ever pick up a set of sticks but the once brash, rough and ready energy just seems phoned in at best. They are all still good songs, yes, and they still put on a live show that few can touch but ask yourself this: What’s your favorite Rolling Stones album since 1985?
#7: U2
U2 made a huge impact in the 1980s with a new, unique sound filled with marching drum beats, chimmy delayed guitars, and Bono's passionate and unmistakable vocals perfectly exemplified by 1987's The Joshua Tree. The band then spent the 90's finding success through constant creative re-invention… but then “Beautiful Day” happened. While it was a great song it also marked a regression in the band that saw them resting on the laurels of their traditional sound and seemingly afraid to mix it up like they once did. It's a testament to a band's glory days being past when a free copy of their latest album causes massive negative hysteria.
#6: Weezer
Like overdriven Marshalls, Rivers Cuomo's nerdy glasses, and self titled albums, not understanding their fan base has long been part of Weezer's MO. Revered as a modern classic today Pinkerton was a dud in its day, creating a state of confusion the band has never quite escaped. They can still put out a killer song or decent album but it being compared negatively to whatever they put out before is an unavoidable given when it comes to Weezer, it's just that chasing pop trends, and constantly misjudging what their fans want doesn't help.
#5: Def Leppard
Forever trapped in the public's imagination in spandex, sleeveless t-shirts, and arenas in the 1980s, Def Lep is hardly known for their innovation. True survivors who overcame drummer Rick Allen's potentially career ending accident and the later death of underrated guitar slinger Steve Clark the band never quite recovered from the death-blow to glam metal that was the Nirvana led grunge movement. While the band surely still have their fair share of fans, news of a new album as recently as 2015 wasn't exactly met with … hysteria.
#4: Metallica
The Black Album upset their thrash fans, Load and Reload upset their Black Album fans, Garage Inc pleased their fan's dads, but post 2000 releases like St. Anger and Death Magnetic just seem to piss off the remainder of Metallica's fan base once and for all. While their documentary “Some Kind of Monster” showed their vulnerable side it also... showed their vulnerable side. Long gone is the image of a bunch of denim wearing, beer swilling thrash metal bad boys and in its place is a slick, marketable shell of a band that no longer knows exactly who or what they are.
#3: Bon Jovi
What was once a great hair metal band with massive albums like Slippery When Wet and New Jersey slowly morphed into a fairly awful pop-country band. It's not 1988 and maybe they don't want to shake it up just like “Bad Medicine” anymore but would it hurt to offer fans something resembling the sound they were once known for? The band's new music may not be dead on arrival but it's certainly wasted and wounded. It's almost like somewhere along the line Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi's solo career merged- a worry not put to rest with guitarist Richie Sambora's dismissal in 2013.
#2: Aerosmith
They’re absolute legends of rock music but Aerosmith just cannot seem to let go of the rock star “persona.” If they could stop trying so hard to be relevant and focus on the actual music, they just might actually be able to revitalize their careers considering the vocals of their lead singer. Strip it down. Pick up the acoustics if they have to like Steven Tyler did with his 2015 single. There's still a lot of rock left in these guys but “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” leaves a long, lingering stench, meaning they'll have to work harder in their autumn years than most.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Green Day
Blink 182
Linkin Park
#1: KISS
You wanted the best? You got whatever Simmons and Stanley think will market well. Selling out and KISS have always gone hand in hand and their self-aggrandizing has made them millionaires but they can’t exactly pass the “Last Relevant Album” test. Today KISS continues to sell tickets but it's more and more based on nostalgia, costumes, and make up than appreciation for radio rattling hard rock. The face paint and back catalog may distract audiences from the absence of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss but it can only do so much to distract from the sub-par music being offered.
So, do you agree with our selections? Which band do you think should call it day, and just, you know, stop writing new music?For more mind-blowing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
For this list, we’re focusing strictly on once beloved music groups that simply lost their mojo either in recent years or long ago. Given our criteria, it only makes sense to exclude a band like Nickelback, as their output has split the room since day one.
#10: Black Sabbath
While it's an undisputable fact that early Black Sabbath will rock forever, the same can't be said about the men behind the instruments. Whether its the overexposure of Ozzy Osbourne through a decade of reality TV or the heaps of drugs and booze that have filtered through his system since 1970 or the band's general iffyness since the Dio years, its hard to get overly excited about new Sabbath material. Critics may have gotten hot and bothered for 2013's “13,” but that’s because they waited 18 long years for it. Nostalgia alone is just not enough.
#9: Pearl Jam
Yes, Ten was one of the best albums of the 1990s and Pearl Jam was one of the finest bands of the 1990s but it's just not the 1990s any more. They have been around for a good 25 years, and the mileage is starting to show. They are still massively popular, and with a vocalist like Eddie Vedder rightfully their new stuff isn’t THAT bad, but it’s just not what it was. Every band grows but sometimes they just grow too far from where they started. Perhaps it makes more sense for Mr. Vedder to focus more on SOLO albums in the style of Ukelele Songs and the Into the Wild soundtrack.
#8: The Rolling Stones
It’s cliché to make old man rock star jokes about Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, but it's cliché for a reason. Keith Richards is still among the finest rhythm guitarists on the planet, Mick Jagger is still one of the most magnetic frontmen to ever strut on the stage and Charlie Watts is still the most rock solid drummers to ever pick up a set of sticks but the once brash, rough and ready energy just seems phoned in at best. They are all still good songs, yes, and they still put on a live show that few can touch but ask yourself this: What’s your favorite Rolling Stones album since 1985?
#7: U2
U2 made a huge impact in the 1980s with a new, unique sound filled with marching drum beats, chimmy delayed guitars, and Bono's passionate and unmistakable vocals perfectly exemplified by 1987's The Joshua Tree. The band then spent the 90's finding success through constant creative re-invention… but then “Beautiful Day” happened. While it was a great song it also marked a regression in the band that saw them resting on the laurels of their traditional sound and seemingly afraid to mix it up like they once did. It's a testament to a band's glory days being past when a free copy of their latest album causes massive negative hysteria.
#6: Weezer
Like overdriven Marshalls, Rivers Cuomo's nerdy glasses, and self titled albums, not understanding their fan base has long been part of Weezer's MO. Revered as a modern classic today Pinkerton was a dud in its day, creating a state of confusion the band has never quite escaped. They can still put out a killer song or decent album but it being compared negatively to whatever they put out before is an unavoidable given when it comes to Weezer, it's just that chasing pop trends, and constantly misjudging what their fans want doesn't help.
#5: Def Leppard
Forever trapped in the public's imagination in spandex, sleeveless t-shirts, and arenas in the 1980s, Def Lep is hardly known for their innovation. True survivors who overcame drummer Rick Allen's potentially career ending accident and the later death of underrated guitar slinger Steve Clark the band never quite recovered from the death-blow to glam metal that was the Nirvana led grunge movement. While the band surely still have their fair share of fans, news of a new album as recently as 2015 wasn't exactly met with … hysteria.
#4: Metallica
The Black Album upset their thrash fans, Load and Reload upset their Black Album fans, Garage Inc pleased their fan's dads, but post 2000 releases like St. Anger and Death Magnetic just seem to piss off the remainder of Metallica's fan base once and for all. While their documentary “Some Kind of Monster” showed their vulnerable side it also... showed their vulnerable side. Long gone is the image of a bunch of denim wearing, beer swilling thrash metal bad boys and in its place is a slick, marketable shell of a band that no longer knows exactly who or what they are.
#3: Bon Jovi
What was once a great hair metal band with massive albums like Slippery When Wet and New Jersey slowly morphed into a fairly awful pop-country band. It's not 1988 and maybe they don't want to shake it up just like “Bad Medicine” anymore but would it hurt to offer fans something resembling the sound they were once known for? The band's new music may not be dead on arrival but it's certainly wasted and wounded. It's almost like somewhere along the line Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi's solo career merged- a worry not put to rest with guitarist Richie Sambora's dismissal in 2013.
#2: Aerosmith
They’re absolute legends of rock music but Aerosmith just cannot seem to let go of the rock star “persona.” If they could stop trying so hard to be relevant and focus on the actual music, they just might actually be able to revitalize their careers considering the vocals of their lead singer. Strip it down. Pick up the acoustics if they have to like Steven Tyler did with his 2015 single. There's still a lot of rock left in these guys but “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” leaves a long, lingering stench, meaning they'll have to work harder in their autumn years than most.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Green Day
Blink 182
Linkin Park
#1: KISS
You wanted the best? You got whatever Simmons and Stanley think will market well. Selling out and KISS have always gone hand in hand and their self-aggrandizing has made them millionaires but they can’t exactly pass the “Last Relevant Album” test. Today KISS continues to sell tickets but it's more and more based on nostalgia, costumes, and make up than appreciation for radio rattling hard rock. The face paint and back catalog may distract audiences from the absence of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss but it can only do so much to distract from the sub-par music being offered.
So, do you agree with our selections? Which band do you think should call it day, and just, you know, stop writing new music?For more mind-blowing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
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