I saw a Pearl Jam concert posted in the local paper last week. It wasn’t the most alluring advertisement, brief and to the point, but I didn’t have anything else to do; after all, it was a rainy Tuesday evening. I’d arrived a little late and the set was already underway. Eddie was in the corner mumbling his way through a track from his latest album; there were about a dozen people sitting around the place talking. I took a seat at the bar and bought a drink. The gig wasn’t that bad; they eventually hit on some of their earlier work, and even received a round of applause for the song ‘Alive.’ Eddie came over to the bar after the show and ordered a pineapple daiquiri. “Nice set,” I said, looking over at the middle-aged performer.
“I used to play stadiums man,” he replied, slumping his head into his hand.
“Don’t feel bad,” I said. “Lots of artists create their best music at the start of their careers. Debut albums are often the pinnacle. The Strokes started with ‘Is This It,’ Kings of Leon with ‘Youth & Young Manhood;’ even the Doors kicked things off with their self-titled release.
“You don’t know what it’s like,” moaned Eddie, looking over at me earnestly. “If you make similar songs, critics claim you’re stale; if you mix things up, they complain you’ve changed.”
He had a very good point. There was no escaping ridicule. Critics are cynical arseholes. However, it’s hard to complain about your work’s reception when you haven’t written a decent song in 15 years.
“I used to play stadiums man,” he replied, slumping his head into his hand.
“Don’t feel bad,” I said. “Lots of artists create their best music at the start of their careers. Debut albums are often the pinnacle. The Strokes started with ‘Is This It,’ Kings of Leon with ‘Youth & Young Manhood;’ even the Doors kicked things off with their self-titled release.
“You don’t know what it’s like,” moaned Eddie, looking over at me earnestly. “If you make similar songs, critics claim you’re stale; if you mix things up, they complain you’ve changed.”
He had a very good point. There was no escaping ridicule. Critics are cynical arseholes. However, it’s hard to complain about your work’s reception when you haven’t written a decent song in 15 years.