>None of the millions of Jarhead-Bubbas who liked Nirvana but never heard
>Bleach did so because they'd been warmed up by Jane's Addiction. It was
>because of Guns and Roses, who hadn't put anything good out for quite a
>while when Nevermind hit. Personally I think Jane's Addiction is one of
the
>most over-rated bands ever.
>Jennifer
Jennifer, I think we're gonna have to take a trip in the way-back machine.
Now, lemme see if I have the chronology correct: In 1988, Janes released
Nothing's Shocking, which was pretty damn popular on college radio and in
some limited bigger markets. I remember, in fact, KROQ and KNAC both playing
this album in the LA area that year. In 1990, Jane's blew up with the
admittedly overrated Ritual album. They went from playing concert venues to
auditoriums, and I can say from experience that there were plenty of
Jarhead-Bubbas. The Lollapalooza tour, which also began in '90, was one of
the few concert tours that made money in that (financially)-depressed
summer. Once again, the presence of Jarhead-Bubbas was ubiquitous (though,
thankfully, not the majority).
What Lollapalooza proved was that so-called alternative music (what used to
be called college music) had a very sizable base of financial opportunity.
So, when Nirvana REALLY blew up the following year, it was because of a
combination of musical and cultural factors that, in retrospect, seem kinda
obvious. One of those factors, though, was GnR's uber-anthemic Use Your
Illusions 1 and 2, a pair of bloated wanna-be masterpieces which Cobain
rendered impotent in only four chords time. And God bless em for that.
As for your dismissal of Janes, part of me agrees with you (especially the
Farrell as genius part). But, the part of me that vividly remembers the sway
they held in metal, hard rock, punk, funk, and other crossover circles can't
go with you there. Lollapalooza alone would justify theirs and Farrell's
impact. Bad or not, and as much a product of their time as they may have,
indeed, been, Janes Addiction was an historically-important band. Maybe
they're no Michael Jackson, but they were pretty damn influential.
Lance . . .
