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Originally Posted by evollove
What's most interesting about Joni, Kate and possibly PJ is that not only are they capable of releasing a string of strong records, but they reinvent themselves along the way. I mean, it's one thing to make three or four good ones in a row. It's another to stretch artistically and veer off into new directions while still producing worthy records. Brave and astonishing, really.
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Mmhmm. This is one of the most important parts of the equation to me. It's why I prefer Sonic Youth to Fugazi. It's why I see Kanye West as being utterly without rival in the genre of hip-hop. It's why I love and respect the Flaming Lips so much. Even though some of their experiments don't really pan out, they never stop trying new things.
In PJ's discography, there are, like, a minimum of three different PJ's. The Flaming Lips probably shouldn't even be talked about using any umbrella terms to define their sound. Sonic Youth covered so many different styles and sounds that it's truly difficult to describe them to someone who's never heard them. Are they punk? Rock? Noise? Pop? No wave? Improvisational/jam? Sound collagists? Indie rock? Art-punk? Ambient? Yes and no to all of the above.
This is something that goes back to the Beatles, and later Bowie (quite possibly to an even greater degree).
Making album after album of the same old shit is all fine and good, especially if it's done well. But it's got nothing on the kind of systematic world conquering that music's most adventurous artists engage in.
In other words, I love Guided by Voices. Always will. But I don't feel the need to keep more than 2 of their albums on my iPod. Conversely, I wouldn't be able to to last long without direct exposure to the entire catalogue of artists sy, Beatles, Bowie, Lips, Kanye, PJ...