Every huge artist has their "New Jersey" - a huge event album that ultimately feels a bit hollow & signals a career decline

Except that they kept getting more popular during that time. Washing Machine?

Yeah, it feels like to me that SY were at peak popularity around Washing Machine/SYR eps/A Thousand Leaves, even if none of those are among their best albums.

I really need to start thinking through these things before I post. Dirty was big, and Experimental Jet Set was very much looked forward to, and they got to be on the Simpsons from that, but people didn't love it, and their popularity went down after that. So I think it's that one.

Really, I think they were much bigger before Washing Machine and post?

Dirty was probably their most commercially successful album (just guessing, I don't know for sure), but mid to late 90s is when they had completely saturated the discussion.

joan of arc's third album, man all the DJs were playing that on my college radio station and I saw one the other day and was like "lol remember that joan of arc album?" and he was like "whut?" and then I screamed "NEW JERSEY!" at him until we were both in tears

I guess Mylo Xyloto would qualify for Coldplay on sales alone but I dig it and their new one so iono

Yallsodono whether ghost stories is their keep the faith yet so hold yer damn horses

Adele's New Jersey is obviously 28

"yallsodono"

lol

For real though, Prism actually seems like a New Jersey, right? Teenage Dream sold 6 million worldwide, had 5 #1 singles (6 if you count "Part of Me" from the deluxe edition). Prism sold big initially and has had 2 #1s, but its momentum is kind of waning.

it's really hard to say when someone's huge career peak also ultimately felt a bit hollow and signaled a career decline

did you guys hear that bon jovi is putting out a deluxe edition of their New Jersey?! www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bon-jovi-celebrate-three-decades-with-extensive-new-jersey-reissue-20140520

haha they're STARTING the reissue program with New Jersey instead of Slippery When Wet?

aaaaand Dolly Parton recorded a cover of "Lay Your Hands on Me" on her new album.

i didn't think it was possible for her to cover something worse than Collective Soul's "Shine"

omg she did what

it's not bad!

http://maxcdn.top40-charts.com/thumb.php?x=342&&i=http://top40-charts.com/images/news/20140211021028-Collective-Soul-Announces-9th-Studio-Album-Celebra.jpg

Re prism, Pointless to consider an album for New Jersey status until its clear the next one is Keep The Faith.

Newest album to arguably pass that muster I can think of is Born This Way

Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

i dunno, isn't it at war with the mystics? yoshimi has "do you realize"

the yeah yeah yeah song from at war with the mystics did fairly well, yeah? no one remembers that one

Robbie Williams - Sing When You're Winning

One mention way up there, but Moby - 18.

18 definitely debuted high, but I remember it having kind of a dead-on-arrival feel. Like, the lead single was so dire that everyone knew instantly that "Moby-as-pop-music-force" was over. It wasn't an instance of "outwardly successful but ultimately hollow" as far as I can remember.

I feel like with all these cult maybe-platinum-once-maybe people keep mentioning for no goddamn sensible reason there's no fucking New Jersey (obv you fuckin solipsistic schmindie fools) but there is that album that was clearly a commercial grab that maybe charted relatively high but it was clear by the follow up that a cult act was all they were ever gonna be: Paul Westerbergs Eventually, Jon Spencer's Acme, that kinda thing.

But Jesus anyone calling that a New Jersey needs to go lick richie samboras boot until they see the light

yeah you guys are missing the point of this thread: they gotta be followups to blockbusters.

just want to drop in and give thx to bon jovi for realising that new jersey is in fact their best album

I'm sure they thought that even at the time, since they probably had the biggest budget they'd ever had.

prism never felt like an event album to me although yes it was a followup to a blockbuster

jesus…. centipede hz might be a fairweather johnson
mr impossible by black dice is a fairweather johnson

Yeah Alfred OTM, why are people talking about Sonic Youth or the Flaming Lips or Animal Collective on this thread?

ilx quotas

There's also these artists whose popularity massively exceeds the extent to which people actually talk about them - I have no idea if there's a Michael Buble or Snow Patrol New Jersey.

The last undeniable New Jersey is probably the 20/20 Experience. Although I'm guessing that the One Direction one, when it appears, is going to be huge and pronounced.

I'd probably deny 2020 with a "too soon to tell" esp considering dude is in the top ten with a song off part 2 right now

And on the other hand despite the opening week boom the drop off single wise and album sales wise between future sex and 2020 part 1 is enough that New Jersey status may be too flattering.

Also hard to really say Part 2 is his Keep The Faith when its a year-later tack-on to the alleged NJ. Load works as a New Jersey becuz whether you say the follow up is reload, s&m or st anger doesn't matter. The career decline is there, no ambiguity about it.

Lol wait reload did 4x platinum anywaaaay I just think its silly to go there for newish albums, feels more like people making wishes than applying hindsight

Collapse of record sales generally over the same period also makes it hopeless to compare anything, unless we develop a statistic that denotes an album's sales divided by total album sales in all formats at that date, times some factor to keep it from being a tiny fraction or w/e.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYbEB7tQF80

THE ONLY ROCK ALBUM IN HISTORY WITH 5 TOP TEN HITS should have a "60s bands released multiple albums a year, jovi hawked one over two years, don't get it twisted" asterisk

the only *rock* album you'll note. there must have been tons more in other genres. weedy boast IMO.

"the only rock album in history with with 5 top ten hits"??? bon jovi might want to talk to a certain neighbor of theirs on the jersey shore about that.

also, obvi, the "5" should be spelled out and the "ten" should not. don't they teach ap style at rock school anymore?

also wait a goddamn minute doesn't born in the usa have like 7 top ten hits

lol xpost

Maybe they're sneaking by on the fact that Born in the USA had 7 top 10 hits. That's not 5! It's 7! Only New Jersey had 5.

tico torres was on some bullshit like "max played with a jazz grip on that album, it barely even counts as rock"

That Jovi's going with this claim only make me angrier that Def Leppard's "Rocket" only got to #12.