Yes' Big Generator maybe?
― Sun? Sun? It's your cousin, Marvin Ra (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
xposts If so, I love that BTW even sounds like it's trying to be a New Jersey.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
xp: based more on momentum than appeal, I assume
― alpine static, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
In penance for my challopsy stance on REM I would like to nominate Bossa Nova, which charted higher than Doollittle in both the US and UK. I think it's fair to say that "Velouria" and "Dig for Fire" are hardly listened to now compared to the earlier singles, but they were a big deal at the time.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
"Adrenalize" would have been even more of a "New Jersey" if had come out in say 1990 rather then 1992.
"Use Your Illusion 1 & 2" mention'd up thread is so otm it is kind of blowing my mind a bit
― chr1sb3singer, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:27 (eleven years ago) link
I can't decide if it's Kid A or the one that came after it.
― Clarke B., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:27 (eleven years ago) link
Seriously, can we refrain from listing albums that sold less than a million copies, much less 5 million?
― Eric H., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:28 (eleven years ago) link
idk if i had a special nose for these or anything but new jersey, adrenalize, and mellon collie all just seemed plain BAD to me at the time
― goole, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:28 (eleven years ago) link
I remember trying really hard to love "Rhythm of Love" as much as I did "It Can Happen" or "Leave It," but I dunno, this was well outsold by 90125 and had no huge hit like "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:28 (eleven years ago) link
Bossanova totally sounds like a low-level Jersey to me
― mr.raffles, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:29 (eleven years ago) link
The Pixies discography is too short imho but Bossa Nova could definitely fit in this thread.
― Moka, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:29 (eleven years ago) link
I don't know how general consensus had it, this kind of thought applied to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots for me for a while, until Embryonic brought something new. But since there's (surprisingly to me) only one album in between it muddies it a bit - with the novelty band ubiquitousness they managed to maintain over a fairly long period of not releasing much it feels like there had to have been a couple of other passable but uninteresting Yoshimi-style albums in there somewhere.
― (500) Days of Sodom (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:30 (eleven years ago) link
yeah I get Eric's "actual hit please" request but in hindsight Doolittle is clearly a bigger deal than Bossanova and the only people who even talk about Trompe Le Monde are people who thought the Pixies were consistently awesome (like me).
― da croupier, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:30 (eleven years ago) link
Journey - FrontiersREO Speedwagon - Good TroubleForeigner - Agent ProvocateurStyx - Kilroy Was Here
― don't slip in mud (Matt #2), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:31 (eleven years ago) link
Paula Abdul - Spellbound
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:31 (eleven years ago) link
hah perfect
― da croupier, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:31 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i don't think the pixies qualify here but frank black's solo career sure does. maybe his first solo album? idk
― goole, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:32 (eleven years ago) link
I dunno how big a deal it was but:
Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:32 (eleven years ago) link
Journey's Raised on Radio closer, Matt #2, no?
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:32 (eleven years ago) link
I considered Bossanova my fave Pixies album for a long time. I still love it.
I understand it's not as good as Doolittle, etc., but it's a good record. And if nothing else, I don't think the bottom dropped out on Trompe Le Monde AT ALL. Yeah, there are a couple weak tunes in the second half, but overall it's great, too.
Could be that I just love the Pixies too much to see any of the albums as a NJ.
― alpine static, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:33 (eleven years ago) link
though actually the problem with the Pixies is that people weren't saying "oh the pixies they're over" when Trompe Le Monde came out or anything. That album still got them Buzz Bin status and high placement in critic charts - in general maybe it is a good idea to stick to actual chart heavies.
― da croupier, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:33 (eleven years ago) link
man those Spellbound singles have vanished, in part, I hope, because everyone realized they were awful
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:33 (eleven years ago) link
I love Spellbound. So it probably deserves to be mentioned in this thread.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:34 (eleven years ago) link
fwiw, i think keeping this to giant hits a la REM, U2, Def Leppard, etc., makes more sense than something like Frank Black's solo albums...i mean it's hard to even fathom shoehorning "NJ" status on like The Cult of Ray
― alpine static, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:34 (eleven years ago) link
Tho in that case, the problem was that it deviated too far from its predecessor. So "coasting off the last one" isn't really in play.
and by Cult of Ray I meant Teenager of the Year
― alpine static, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:35 (eleven years ago) link
Also, "Rush Rush" gets played about as often as "Opposites Attract" and "The Way That You Love Me" these days, so *shrug*
― Eric H., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:36 (eleven years ago) link
― Clarke B.
You're probably joking but anyhoo:Hail to the Thief did pretty good on sales and even though we don't know actual sales numbers 'In Rainbows' but it seemed like a big thing at the time. 'Nude' hitted the Top 40 charts (something which they hadn't managed since High and Dry) and it did pretty good with fans and critics. If anything The King of Limbs might be it but you'll have to wait for the next album to be sure.
― Moka, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:36 (eleven years ago) link
I think Ministry bricked too hard to qualify here otherwise I'd totally be repping Filth Pig
― keeping things contextual (DJP), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:36 (eleven years ago) link
Some people in this thread are confusing the difference between an album they consider bad versus one that gave the overall perception that it was over. I never said Bossanova or Monster were bad albums, I actually like them a lot.
― Moka, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:38 (eleven years ago) link
But do you think Bossanova gave the overall perception that it was over? If anything I think Trompe Le Monde did that.
― alpine static, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:39 (eleven years ago) link
which it was, of course. sort of. for a while.
cult acts have a different but similar arc involving albums that seemed like potential breakthroughs that weren't in hindsight, shit like that deserves its own thread
― da croupier, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:40 (eleven years ago) link
the ministry pick should be psalm 69 if you were an OG wax trax head but the sales numbers throw that one out, no?
xp hm lotta rules to this thing
― goole, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
well as an OG Wax Trax head I'd actually say A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste is the answer but I know no one agrees with me; I did have Psalm 69 in there originally but for whatever reason a lot of people still like that thing
― keeping things contextual (DJP), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:42 (eleven years ago) link
But do you think Bossanova gave the overall perception that it was over?
I do, and I think you see a lot of Bossanova in used-CD racks a la Monster.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:42 (eleven years ago) link
someone should have told spin
― da croupier, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
also u2
a lot of people in 1991 missed that the pixies were in decline
I think Bossa gave the perception that they'd only likely be a marginal concern going forward, rather than breaking through into the mainstream.In the slipstream of Doolittle, it kinda seemed anything was possible.
That WOULD be a nice separate thread.
― mr.raffles, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
Skimming 180+ posts, has anyone said Autoamerican? And does it qualify? Boatloads of people bought it for "Rapture," but many of my early-adopter Blondie-loving friends couldn't really hang with the lounge jazz or the pretensions of a lot of it.
― David Allan Cow (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:45 (eleven years ago) link
Tool - Lateralus
― Legendary General Cypher Raige (Gukbe), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:46 (eleven years ago) link
any album from this list of albums that sold less than half of their predecessors, including Filth Pig, should probably be out of contention: commercially disappointing major label rock/alternative albums of 1996
― some dude, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:47 (eleven years ago) link
Janet Jackson's last blockbuster from her 5 album run of being huge, All For You, probably deserves a mention
― some dude, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:49 (eleven years ago) link
I was trying to do Billy Joel, but I'm stymied by the fact that his last two records, which I think of as well past the point where he was at all relevant, were both massive hits and went to #1.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:50 (eleven years ago) link
xpost Totally! Can't believe I didn't think of that one.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
I'm stymied by the fact that his last two records, which I think of as well past the point where he was at all relevant, were both massive hits and went to #1.
That's part of the definition for being a New Jersey. That they were actually massive in every way but relevance.
― Eric H., Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:52 (eleven years ago) link
Storm Front's singles have too much staying power to count, and River Of Dreams might be disqualified for not having a follow-up
― some dude, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:53 (eleven years ago) link
Janet Jackson is a slightly unfair case because IMO what actually torpedoed her career was having Justin Timberlake expose her breast piercing to everyone watching the Superbowl halftime show rather than everyone deciding that everything was over when All For You came out, plus the placement for the singles off of it isn't really surprising/shocking
it also didn't help that large chunks of Damita Jo were terrible
― keeping things contextual (DJP), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:53 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, sad as it is I think "We Didn't Start The Fire" and "This is the Time" are both part of BJ's permanent record.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 18:56 (eleven years ago) link