‘Supergroups’: Hype or Tripe?
I guess I’m slightly frustrated by the term ‘supergroup’ and the mundanity that relays around it. Could it be that by placing the word ‘super’ in the foreground your expectation hits the roof, only to be let down upon encounter…like a foreigner stumbling across Superdrug for the first time? The term can break a band too easily because we’re all under assumption that it’s going to be all the benefits of each of the corresponding bands crammed into one burger-stall quarter pounder, only to realize when you bite in that it’s all the gristle and off-cuts even the cow would be all too proud to lose.
The Dead Weather is a prime example. Their debut ‘Horehound’ sees its release next week (14th) and the hype surrounding this band is already entering dangerous territory. As you most likely already know, the group comprises of never-too-busy Jack White, Alison Mosshart, Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age. Their debut has already received average reviews (understatement) which makes you question whether it’s our fault for assuming the best or whether the public’s reaction would be the same if the band were simply nameless beginners to the scene. It just seems, on a lazy opinion level, that they’ve brought ideas to the table but haven’t really figured out any benefit of using them together, like a rushed Ready Steady Cook challenge.
With big names coming together, the commitment of the band seems questionable: will they continue together in the long term and even overtake their own bands in the run, or is it just a little fun hobby to do on the side?
I suppose another difficulty with ‘supergroups’ is the possibility of an overload. Think about it, could you even bare the thought of a band of Bonos? Chris Martins? They need their fellow band mates there with them to help keep calm any outbursts of the political; otherwise listening to one Bonorama would undoubtedly feel lecture like. Rocking.
Which promptly brings me onto Mongrel, the so called ‘indie supergroup’. You’ve got The Rev, Babyshambles, a former Arctic Monkey and a host of poets like Lowkey. This has got to be something special for sure right? Err, well although live they do what they should and get the crowds’ belief in the beat, such as this performance when up onstage with up-and-coming Londoner MPHO, on record it’s a different story. Their album quite simply didn’t get the response they wanted once the atmosphere of the live spectacle’s gone. Take this response for example. Politics and music require certain measures of each to work, and having too much information and anguish with the current affairs pumped into a song quite simply turns many off.
So, if you’re reading this, and you’re…you know, pretty well known yeah…and you were thinking about forming a ‘supergroup’, question whether there’s any benefit from doing so. Can you bring anything new and exciting, or just recycled bric-a-brac?
I guess I’m slightly frustrated by the term ‘supergroup’ and the mundanity that relays around it. Could it be that by placing the word ‘super’ in the foreground your expectation hits the roof, only to be let down upon encounter…like a foreigner stumbling across Superdrug for the first time? The term can break a band too easily because we’re all under assumption that it’s going to be all the benefits of each of the corresponding bands crammed into one burger-stall quarter pounder, only to realize when you bite in that it’s all the gristle and off-cuts even the cow would be all too proud to lose.
The Dead Weather is a prime example. Their debut ‘Horehound’ sees its release next week (14th) and the hype surrounding this band is already entering dangerous territory. As you most likely already know, the group comprises of never-too-busy Jack White, Alison Mosshart, Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age. Their debut has already received average reviews (understatement) which makes you question whether it’s our fault for assuming the best or whether the public’s reaction would be the same if the band were simply nameless beginners to the scene. It just seems, on a lazy opinion level, that they’ve brought ideas to the table but haven’t really figured out any benefit of using them together, like a rushed Ready Steady Cook challenge.
With big names coming together, the commitment of the band seems questionable: will they continue together in the long term and even overtake their own bands in the run, or is it just a little fun hobby to do on the side?
I suppose another difficulty with ‘supergroups’ is the possibility of an overload. Think about it, could you even bare the thought of a band of Bonos? Chris Martins? They need their fellow band mates there with them to help keep calm any outbursts of the political; otherwise listening to one Bonorama would undoubtedly feel lecture like. Rocking.
Which promptly brings me onto Mongrel, the so called ‘indie supergroup’. You’ve got The Rev, Babyshambles, a former Arctic Monkey and a host of poets like Lowkey. This has got to be something special for sure right? Err, well although live they do what they should and get the crowds’ belief in the beat, such as this performance when up onstage with up-and-coming Londoner MPHO, on record it’s a different story. Their album quite simply didn’t get the response they wanted once the atmosphere of the live spectacle’s gone. Take this response for example. Politics and music require certain measures of each to work, and having too much information and anguish with the current affairs pumped into a song quite simply turns many off.
So, if you’re reading this, and you’re…you know, pretty well known yeah…and you were thinking about forming a ‘supergroup’, question whether there’s any benefit from doing so. Can you bring anything new and exciting, or just recycled bric-a-brac?
I guess I’m slightly frustrated by the term ‘supergroup’ and the mundanity that relays around it. Could it be that by placing the word ‘super’ in the foreground your expectation hits the roof, only to be let down upon encounter…like a foreigner stumbling across Superdrug for the first time? The term can break a band too easily because we’re all under assumption that it’s going to be all the benefits of each of the corresponding bands crammed into one burger-stall quarter pounder, only to realize when you bite in that it’s all the gristle and off-cuts even the cow would be all too proud to lose.
The Dead Weather is a prime example. Their debut ‘Horehound’ sees its release next week (14th) and the hype surrounding this band is already entering dangerous territory. As you most likely already know, the group comprises of never-too-busy Jack White, Alison Mosshart, Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age. Their debut has already received average reviews (understatement) which makes you question whether it’s our fault for assuming the best or whether the public’s reaction would be the same if the band were simply nameless beginners to the scene. It just seems, on a lazy opinion level, that they’ve brought ideas to the table but haven’t really figured out any benefit of using them together, like a rushed Ready Steady Cook challenge.
With big names coming together, the commitment of the band seems questionable: will they continue together in the long term and even overtake their own bands in the run, or is it just a little fun hobby to do on the side?
I suppose another difficulty with ‘supergroups’ is the possibility of an overload. Think about it, could you even bare the thought of a band of Bonos? Chris Martins? They need their fellow band mates there with them to help keep calm any outbursts of the political; otherwise listening to one Bonorama would undoubtedly feel lecture like. Rocking.
Which promptly brings me onto Mongrel, the so called ‘indie supergroup’. You’ve got The Rev, Babyshambles, a former Arctic Monkey and a host of poets like Lowkey. This has got to be something special for sure right? Err, well although live they do what they should and get the crowds’ belief in the beat, such as this performance when up onstage with up-and-coming Londoner MPHO, on record it’s a different story. Their album quite simply didn’t get the response they wanted once the atmosphere of the live spectacle’s gone. Take this response for example. Politics and music require certain measures of each to work, and having too much information and anguish with the current affairs pumped into a song quite simply turns many off.
So, if you’re reading this, and you’re…you know, pretty well known yeah…and you were thinking about forming a ‘supergroup’, question whether there’s any benefit from doing so. Can you bring anything new and exciting, or just recycled bric-a-brac?
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