I do love the
"sell out" argument for bands, I mean, how dare any band write an album so good that a lot of people who have never been into their stuff listen to it and go "man, this is some good shit" and tell their friends, who tell their friends etc etc and end up selling by the bazillion, how dare they?

Shocking.

Anyway....I'm sure there are a few very good reasons, such as Ritchie vanishing, its very difficult to be angry young men when minted,it is very difficult to get off a moving train when its successful, you enjoy it and it puts food on the table, and you know that it was the management that setup Glastonbury, they probably wanted to play and the management company made a fortune on it from both sides, because that is what they do.
(Halfy By light alone, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:08, 3 replies)

Well it does kind of gall
when their general schtick is anti-capitalism and all the righteous rage that goes with it.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:13, closed)

hmm true
although the bigger your target audience, the more likely that some people will get the message. (plus there is the old, using the system to abuse and highlight the hypocrisy and idiocy of the system argument)
(Halfy By light alone, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:19, closed)

True,
But changing your style and sound purely to sell records is definitely selling out. Pendulum did it- no longer welcome in DnB circles, someone's already mentioned the Black Eyed Peas as having done it, lots of bands and singers have done so.

Where there's a difference is when a band or artist that have been plugging away for years find themselves massively popular, without having changed a thing, like Pulp in the 90s. To use snow Patrol as an example, they were just another middling indie band that started off well (labelmates with Mogwai) but went anthemic to capture that bit of the market. Utter utter pish. To damn with faint praise indeed, they are a poor man's Coldplay.

And the Manics can be excused the portaloo thing. Right from the start they always said that they reserved the right to become Prima Donnas.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:20, closed)

then
it boils down to Ritchie, how much of his influence drove the band musically and stylistically? with that gone they have never quite been the same. some bands simply don't have the talent to continually innovate and re-invent themselves and settle into a sound and vibe they are comfortable in, don't forget, first and foremost these people put in the blood sweat and tears to write songs for themselves so there must be a point of "this is what we want to do, if people like it then more power to our elbows" in being of a certain sound.

(the same with Metallica, they have written about 6 decent songs since Cliff Burton died)
(Halfy By light alone, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:24, closed)

It wasn't so much that the Manics' were deemed to have "sold out" by any external commentators, more that they sold themselves out by announcing the end of rock n' roll as it stood and becoming icons that they themselves had vowed to kick over...

That's the irony y'see...
(caescarna Hell's Roomba, Wed 10 Feb 2010, 8:12, closed)