8 Artists Whose Music Actually Got Better After They "Sold Out"
6. Sex Pistols
John Lydon, the ringleader of The Sex Pistols, has proven time and time again that he was a very lucky winner in the game of circumstance. He become an unlikely figurehead for an even less likely movement and, had it not been for some rock solid timing, there's no way he and his band of miscreants would have made the peculiarly lasting impact that they did.
Despite the harshness typically thrown at 90s groups like NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys for being a part of the pop music machine, it was actually the Sex Pistols who were the first "manufactured" boy bands to come into the national spotlight. Because the Sex Pistols didn't start with Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious or Steve Jones, it started with their manager, Malcolm McLaren. McLaren pulled together a group of kids who had a specific look and attitude--he particularly gravitated toward Lydon's sneering rudeness--and molded them into the type of band he wanted them to be: raw, obnoxious, and with only the tiniest modicum of musical ability.
This band wasn't about music, it was about creating controversy for the sake of controversy, and using the rebellious act as a way to sell records to kids who also didn't know how to sing or play an instrument. It was all a sham, really. They just kind of lucked into becoming the poster boys for punk because they fit neatly into the lines that McLaren had drawn. Never Mind the !*$% might be a classic punk album, but it was created in nearly the same fashion as Backstreet's Back.
5. Blondie
Oh yeah. Blondie sold out big time. She started her career as a punk chick with a hankering for the new wave scene. And what should no true punk ever, EVER do? Write a damn disco song. Yet, that's exactly what happened with the inclusion of "Heart of Glass" on Blondie's third album, Parallel Lines.
At first, Debbie Harry wanted nothing to do with new producer, Mike Chapman, because he was an Los Angeles guy, and she was a New York gal. She no doubt feared the overly-produced reputation of the LA scene. Yet, somehow, she was pleased with the production of songs like "Heart of Glass," even though the sound completely betrayed her punk roots.
Parallel Lines is an inarguable masterpiece, and gave the band their first taste of critical and commercial success. It was straight-up pop-rock, as well, and ditched a lot of the arty flourishes they employed on their first two albums. More amazing than the resulting album, though, is the fact that an underground band from New York could turn into a pure pop act before everyone's eyes and escape the transition unscathed.
4. White Stripes
Before selling out and signing to a major label for their fourth studio album, the White Stripes were the undisputed king and queen of the garage rock revival, excelling at scuzzy blues rambling and barebones instrumentation. Although that description could fit nearly any White Stripes release, those facets of their style were most evident in the early albums. There was also the fact that Jack and Meg had grown into competent musicians over this span, figuring out the key to writing tightly-crafted rock songs while keeping the signature, sleazy guitar licks to a minimum. And yes, tracks like "Hello Operator" and "Hotel Yorba" are still among the best the band has ever produced, but in terms of overall album quality, those first three can't hold a candle to Elephant, which is nearly flawless. Then again, that's part of what drove the chants of "sellout" in their direction to begin with.
The Stripes were becoming too polished and perfect for their fans, who'd grown too fond of the sloppiness to accept something as solid as Elephant. Critics who chided the duo for cashing in on their gimmickry eventually caved, with many of them offering revised (and improved) reviews after a few years. That's the thing about being labeled a sellout: Sometimes it makes journalists sell out a little bit themselves.
Their next album, Get Behind Me Satan, went into more experimental territory and revisited previous album's general unevenness. But they struck gold on a handful of songs, regardless of the genre they fell under. There's the more straightforward rock of "Blue Orchid," the old-school country fiddlings of "Little Ghost," and late-Beatles simplicity of "Take, Take, Take."
If Elephant was the first consistently powerful White Stripes album, then Get Behind Me Satan was definitive proof that they were still capable of creating a beautiful mess.