advertisement


‘Cult’ artists that are good & the opposite

I like Bowie's so-called Berlin trilogy and the two albums that preceded it, but between 80 and his death, it was a very patchy affair.

Some truly great stuff though; Scary Monsters, 1. Outside, Heathen, Hours, The Next Day, and then leaving with one of the very best albums of his whole career in Blackstar.

PS FWIW there are many days where I’d actually say Blackstar is his best album.
 
I have difficulty with the idea of Bowie being a 'cult' artist; he sold billions of records and was a world-wide household name. Not really 'cult' after, say, 'Hunky Dory'.

Proper cult artists are people like Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra and so forth. Indeed, HMHB's 'Irk the Purists' helpfully alternates cult and non-cult (choruses omitted):

Give me Love, give me Can, give me Meatloaf
Give me Rush, give me Marquee Moon
Michael Ball, or The Fall
I could listen to them all
In the twilight or the afternoon

Hall & Oates, random Goth, Miles Davis
Patti Smith, Simply Red, Sly Stone
Be they false or for real, I don't care and nor does Neil
So long as we can hear their song

Husker Du-Du-Du
Captain Beefheart, ELO
Chris de Burgh
Sun Ra
Del Amitri
John Coltrane
 
Some truly great stuff though; Scary Monsters, 1. Outside, Heathen, Hours, The Next Day, and then leaving with one of the very best albums of his whole career in Blackstar.

PS FWIW there are many days where I’d actually say Blackstar is his best album.

I do have both Blackstar and New Day, so will give them another listen. I'm a bit like casual Led Zep fans who only like LZ 2 and 4 when it comes to Bowie I think.
 
Blackstar really is a remarkable album. A truly amazing band, one of his best ever, and it is just riddled with countless clues and insights which only made sense after he died a few days after its release. It is a man coming to terms with impending death, so its pretty dark, but it has moments of humour too.
 
I have difficulty with the idea of Bowie being a 'cult' artist; he sold billions of records and was a world-wide household name. Not really 'cult' after, say, 'Hunky Dory'.

Proper cult artists are people like Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra and so forth. Indeed, HMHB's 'Irk the Purists' helpfully alternates cult and non-cult (choruses omitted):

Give me Love, give me Can, give me Meatloaf
Give me Rush, give me Marquee Moon
Michael Ball, or The Fall
I could listen to them all
In the twilight or the afternoon

Hall & Oates, random Goth, Miles Davis
Patti Smith, Simply Red, Sly Stone
Be they false or for real, I don't care and nor does Neil
So long as we can hear their song

Husker Du-Du-Du
Captain Beefheart, ELO
Chris de Burgh
Sun Ra
Del Amitri
John Coltrane
I don’t think anyone has sold billions of records;) but I agree that Bowie is not really a cult artist but he has a ‘cult like’ following
 
I think Elliot Smith is something of a cult artist & one who is perfectly praised. A massive talent who decided he’d had enough, masssive shame.

I am currently listening to Ben Folds Five, the titular artist never really took off from his early days but has produced some very fine albums which no one bought.
 
Are the Feelies a 'cult' band? They certainly seem to exist way under the radar of the mainstream music press and have made a string of supernaturally excellent albums.

Thought: Is there still such a thing as the 'mainstream music press'?
 
Or Fountains of Wayne? One hit and several superb albums with supremely entertaining specific lyrics.
 
One of the ultimate cult artists / bands has to be:


37 Years of recording and probably never troubled the charts once.
 
That is still not billions
Singles
  • The Beatles released a total of 63 singles worldwide
  • By 2014, the official figure for US single sales was an astonishing 1.6 billion.
  • Estimated world sales were well over 2 billion.
Albums

  • The Beatles officially released 13 albums, plus three anthologies
  • They had a total of 21 Number 1 albums in the US.
  • Total US album sales are estimated at around 177 million
  • Album sales outside of the US are in excess of 600 million.
http://www.beatlesfaq.com/2019/04/how-many-records-have-beatles-sold.html
 
Singles
  • The Beatles released a total of 63 singles worldwide
  • By 2014, the official figure for US single sales was an astonishing 1.6 billion.
  • Estimated world sales were well over 2 billion.
Albums

  • The Beatles officially released 13 albums, plus three anthologies
  • They had a total of 21 Number 1 albums in the US.
  • Total US album sales are estimated at around 177 million
  • Album sales outside of the US are in excess of 600 million.
http://www.beatlesfaq.com/2019/04/how-many-records-have-beatles-sold.html
I stand corrected
 


advertisement


Back
Top