Bands and artists that have gone SIGNIFICANTLY downhill

[rayword45]

I'm surprised this hasn't been a thread as far as I can see but that's probably because this is such a broad, subjective question. To help alleviate this, I recommend only doing artists that have gone downhill to such a degree that it makes one go "what the fuck happened?". A band that releases 3 10/10 albums then a 7/10 isn't that big of a deal. On the other hand, here are my ideas.

Robert "RZA" Diggs - This is the main reason I thought of this topic. A good chunk of the Wu could fit here, but RZA stands above all in my opinion. He went from delivering one of the finest verses of all time on 4th Chamber in 1995, to repeating "fuckin ridicalus" unnecessarily on So Appalled in 2010, to delivering one of the most laughable contributions ever to Earl Sweatshirt's Molasses.

The Beach Boys - Okay this one is plainly obvious. I listened to Summer In Paradise for the first time yesterday.

Eminem - Even speaking as a nonfan, he's gone from significantly acclaimed to a laughing stock since The Eminem Show. I personally hated MMLP2 so my view is a tad warped.

Devo - One of the most significant examples if only for the irony. I do think Something For Everybody was solid.

Daft Punk - Possibly a controversial choice since I reckon 45 percent of people don't care and another percentage disagree, but regardless I believe they peaked with Homework. Then Discovery was good if a bit cheesy, then everything afterwards is just trash. I love Get Lucky but thought RAM sucked.

Also, try to avoid shitty reunions because those are expected to suck.

[craola]

Franz Ferdinand. Their first album was a great debut (one of my favorite debuts of all time). Nothing particularly noteworthy after that.

Guillemots. Same boat.
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[meruizh]

[Precedent]

Sun Kil Moon
The Used
Coldplay
Death Cab For Cutie

[MrFrogger]

[Precedent]

[CA Dreamin]

No band has gone down as hard as Cuomo's group. They've made two of the best albums ever made (Blue and Pinkerton) and two of the worst (Raditude and Hurley). The Cure, Jimmy Eat World, Goo Goo Dolls , and Coldplay are four other bands I can think of that went downhill big time.

[Nassim]

It's hard to find one that is constantly downhill, for instance talking about Interpol I'd say El Pinto is better than anything since Antics, or for Eminem if MMLP2 is far from this first 3 LPs, it's still better than Relapse or Recovery.

Anyway, I'd pick :

Dizzee Rascal : the first to come to mind, from a mind blowing and genre defining debut to the terrible The Fifth, what a waste. I'd argue his "old school" album Maths + English is better than Showbiz, but overall it's all downhill.

Muse : probably the most regular decline from the still stellar Showbiz to the dreadful The Resistance, the album getting worst and worst as Matthew Bellamy's ego was bursting. The 3rd Law is actually decent enough ; by putting the most reliable qualities of the band, which is the rhythm section, more in advance they might actually have made a step in a better direction.

Architecture in Helsinki : they hit their peak on their 2nd album, the twee masterpiece In Case We Die, then made a not as great but pretty damn fun following to 2 pretty bad albums. It kinda makes sense for a band that used to be bursting with so many ideas that the least band members, the worst the albums get.

The Pipettes : it's only 2 albums, basically a completely different line-up, but it's hard to find such a drop of quality between 2 albums

DJ Shadow : I'd say the worst might be The Outsider, but at least back then he was still trying... it was a complete failure but a noble one, the following albums are just lazy

Also : Bloc Party, Ben Harper, Puppetmastaz...

[HoldenM]

I disagree with most of this. I haven't listened to enough Franz Ferdinand, and I agree about Daft Punk–RAM is really overrated, in my opinion.

Sun Kil Moon - Their last few albums are all excellent, especially Benji.

The Strokes - I don't think their work is as instantaneous as Is This It, but Comedown Machine definitely showcases some of their very best writing.

Death Cab for Cutie - These guys are my favorite. Really. I'm a biased source, because I love everything these guys do. Yet, I maintain that Codes and Keys is their most stylistically complex, yet possibly most cohesive. Narrow Stairs is hard-hitting and angry, but nonetheless intelligent and dynamic. Plans is a masterful exercise in production, with some of the band's most defining songwriting–INCLUDING the divisive "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," which is excellent.

Coldplay - Maybe their songwriting has taken a hit since Viva La Vida–which is easily their most accomplished and ambitious collection of songs–but you can't say they aren't adventurous or open-minded. Certainly, Chris Martin will never be anyone's favorite lyricist, but he's not the only guy in the band. Mylo Xyloto falls apart by the end, but has some great pop songs. Ghost Stories is a slow burn, but is as pristine and heartfelt as anything that came before it.

Interpol - El Pintor disproves this.
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[PsychologistHD]

I'll try and throw choices out there.

Pink Floyd - I find the The Wall to be incredibly snooty, but it still has great music. Everything after that is pretentious, which is snootyness minus talent.

Sigur Rós - Really only Ágætis Byrjun is worth your time. They hit a peak and then suffered Coldplay syndrome and turned out shite pop like "Hoppipolla"

Muse - I don't know which album had "Uprising" on it, but I'm pretty sure that's the end of "it".
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alelsupreme wrote:

i am the obscure music man and when i hear anything thats sold more than 2000 copies i scream wordlessly and painfully until someone changes it.