Music

So this weekend on my usual car ride to Virginia, I decided to listen to a CD i hadn't in a while: Green Day's "American Idiot". It was so overplayed that I never really had given it much attention since everyone else hopped on it many years ago. Then I got an idea for a good article: Artists that change their style and how their fans react. Green Day is a perfect example of this. They started out as a punk rock band in Berkeley, California. After much success from 1994 album "Dookie" which is clearly punk rock at its best, Green Day seemed on their way. Many other albums were relased afterward trying to live up to the precedent set by "Dookie." Then in 2004, Green Day completely broke away from their roots and released a punk rock opera in "American Idiot". They An album with two 9 minute songs, developing characters such as "Jesus of Suburbia", "st. Jimmy" and "Whatsername", and really having nothing that relates to "Dookie", one could say Green Day was completely a different band. But they were still good. Name another band that can make a nine minute rock opera and get radio play from it. Simply put, Green Day is one of a kind.

Many other bands have changed styles and found success, such as Papa Roach. They started out as a rap metal band in the late 90s and now continue to make rocking music but have also implemented some ballads, such as "Scars" and "Forever". This was a successful transformation, as much as I love the song "Last Resort," I wouldn't want to hear them make 30 more songs sounding exactly like it. Incubus, one of my personally favorite bands, has also foregone a transformation that makes them a truly amazing band. They grew from a psychedelic funk metal band that could jazz, rock, and pop all at the same time and blend it perfectly. Now, the band still can change styles like clothes and sound awesome, but they are basically an established alternative rock band. One can see the band's growth from the songs "A Certain Shade of Green" (1999) to "Anna Molly" and "Dig"(2007)

However, some bands, such as Linkin Park, have not seen as much success while switching styles. The bands first two albums, "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora" really could relate to the teenage angst of their fan base. Behind Chester Bennington's screams and Mike Shinoda's hard core raps, LP made it to the top. But then they released Minutes to Midnight. The first hit, "What I've Done" is sort of a wimpy ballad in the eyes of previous LP fans, and other songs like "Bleed It Out" and "Given Up" are just too whiny and not like the good songs of old. Many fans wish they would just go back to the days of "One Step Closer" and "Faint".

Why do bands change? Why do fans criticize when their favorite band does not release the music they've used to know and love? The answer is: People grow and change. A musician spends about 2-3 years between albums, and in that time they may have a life changing experience, or a premonition that will affect their outlook on music. One cannot expect that bands will produce the same music over and over year after year until they break up. Eventually it will get bland and grow old with fans and they will lose them anyways. The answer is musicians are creative, which is why they are professionals and the best at what they do, and it stunts his/her creativity to be making the same music over and over again. SO think twice before you criticize an artist that changes and maybe you can learn to change too.