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

but, yeah, if it was all Bluegrass or if it sucked then it would sell poorly

not sure you understand how few albums sell a million copies anymore. so far this year it's just that Lionel Richie album.

Elrond, just so we know the parameters of this experiment, how many country stations does your area have? I don't keep track of these things but it feels like I pass maybe four on the FM dial, and I would imagine they cater to different niches. Any ILM country heads know more about this?

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, August 8, 2012 11:14 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

actually....it looks like there are 2 of decent power FM...I think there used to be a quirkier old school AM station that played older cool stuff but that's pretty low powered...

both of them have playlists so fuck this i'm not going to listen to this shit

http://www.k102.com/iplaylist/playlist.html?last10=1

K102

and 102 Buz'n (??) Country

http://buzn1029.cbslocal.com/playlist/

i think if Garth put out an album of new material and did even minimal "return of Garth" hype work, it would sell over a million. i wouldn't bet on "millions" plural, though.

yeah, maybe. to me that feels a little like saying Bobby Brown could return to R&B radio and outsell Usher but maybe i'm underestimating him.

let's call him up and get this started

Bobby Brown isn't to R&B what Brooks was to country, I don't think.

bobby hasn't sold 128 million

Garth is a deity in his genre in a way that Bobby Brown is ... not. A CD of new Garth songs would do quite well among people who still buy CDs, i.e. my aunt in Missouri.

Garth vs. Bobby, how did we get here agaain?

forget it alpine static, it's new jersey

not sure you understand how few albums sell a million copies anymore. so far this year it's just that Lionel Richie album.

― some dude, Wednesday, August 8, 2012 12:19 PM Bookmark

Yeah, but country album sales are generally stronger than other genres, right? All three of Taylor Swift's records are 5x platinum or more. Lady Antebellum went 3x with their big record, single platinum with their other two. The goddamned Band Perry went platinum... Those aren't 1990s numbers - No Fences came close to double-diamond! - but a well-marketed comeback could still clean up.

Bobby Brown comparison is baffling. Garth Brooks is the best-selling albums artist of his era, in any genre, by a long shot. If John Lennon and George Harrison came back from the dead and reunited the Beatles, and their album came out the same day as Garth's, I still wouldn't know who to put my money on to win it.

sorry guys i thought it was clear i was being facetious/purposefully diminishing w/ my bobby brown comparison

hmmmmmm, okay then

Garth's Vegas show is apparently just him in sweats with a guitar and atool. I'd like to see that.

(stool)

I'd see him with just a guitar and stool. Proper pants would be a nice touch, though.

a guitar and a tool

Magic Garth

He'd like to see that.

haaaaaaay y'all what's going on?

http://funnycrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/nice-shirt-kh100410.jpg

i just want to watch garth brooks sit on a stool naked

thanks for killing the thread

traveled down the road and back again
your heart is true
you're a friend and a confidant

thanks for killing the thread

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, August 8, 2012 12:49 PM Bookmark

The downward slide in the fans' estimation begins. Soon, it will be ILM's own New Jersey.

Taylor Swift's Speak Now might end up being her New Jersey. I can't imagine any of the singles really being played 5 years down the line. "Mine" is a Fearless retread, might as well play "You Belong With Me" or "Love Story". "Back To December" is great, but its not quite country, or peppy enough for Pop radio. "Mean" might keep getting play on country radio, but I think as a song it is too tied to the Taylor Swift career narrative, and so when her star fades a little bit it won't have the same resonance. "The Story of Us" is too rock, and unless there is a major style change for her, it won't be seen as Taylor-enough to get played. "Sparks Fly" is another Fearless retread, and "Ours"... its not even on the proper album so maybe it shouldn't count at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWPfK_3mbbk

that's double platnum

No way is that a New Jersey, people lost interest in the entire project almost immediately. DOA.

i just like that song. he did get millions of people to buy an album that they were confused by and quickly forgot and a lot of promotion went into it. snl, vh1, etc. i think things started to fade a bit - by garth terms - after fresh horses.

i just like that song. he did get millions of people to buy an album that they were confused by and quickly forgot and a lot of promotion went into it.

Marketing feels like it is as important to determining NJ-status as sales is.

when Bowie received some industry award from presenter Garth Brooks in '99 he thanked the committee "and, of course, Chris Gaines." The audience was like OOOOOOOH

Elvis Costello has several New Jerseys, but I suspect that Mighty Like A Rose is the winner/loser.

MLAR was a huge event album?

Spike?

Elvis C is too mcuh a cultist to qualify but I'll be challopsy and say Armed Forces.

he made good even great albums but it was the first time his anger felt like schtick.

yeah with culty critic's picks you get into "here's where they started sucking and we didn't notice immediately" and "here's where we should have realized they'd never expand their audience" etc etc that rely far too much on taste

Armed Forces does kinda fit, because at that point he was starting to look like a major star, but his momentum was slowing even before the Ray Charcles debacle

i really don't get the sense that people were like "well it's over for EC" when Get Happy! out

i mean we're dealing with serious serious hindsight here

AF was his commercial peak.

Does Spiceworld count?

Yeah, do people really think Armed Forces feels a bit hollow or signals a decline? I'm not a big EC stan at all, but I think it's a great record, and stands up. xpost

Spiceworld counts, I think.

It's hard for me to hear AF these days without trying to forget the literally dozens of acerbic roots-rock records he's released since I started typing this sentence.

that's super, but there's no reason that's a New Jersey any more than Get Happy! which charted equally but sold less, and had about equally high charting singles in the UK that are slightly less well known afaik

I don't think Costello really works for this

yeah you gotta have a slippery when wet to hope to have a new jersey

seems clear that part of the thread's purpose is to deny the premise -- it seems clearly NOT to be the case that every huge artist has a New Jersey