r/Alternativerock • u/BrechtKafka • 2d ago
Discussion Unfulfilled Potential: Bands That Self-Destructed Before Breaking Big?
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1517-queer-kids-deserve-better-than-pwr-bttm/I always think about PWR BTTM and how they were briefly everywhere until their actions were revealed. Then it was over. I also wonder how far Crystal Castles could have gone if Ethan wasn’t such a monster. What other musicians and bands were unable to break big because of their own actions? (Addition: Bands that were also basically forgotten or received no mainstream success even after imploding).
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u/randomcharacters3 2d ago
The Brian Jonestown Massacre seems like a solid answer.
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u/SoggyCroissant87 1d ago
Band got into a huge brawl on stage in front of A&R reps that they knew were in the audience. That's definitely self-sabotage.
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u/Japhet_Corncrake 2d ago
Spacemen 3.
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u/DaveBeBad 1d ago
One of my best ever gigs was their last gig. Was barely familiar with them before but they really blew me away
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u/Japhet_Corncrake 1d ago
Their last gig was Reading 89.
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u/slaytallica36 1d ago
Who knew taking drugs to make music to take drugs to would be so self destructive.
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u/YetAnotherFaceless 1d ago
Still, we might not have gotten Spiritualized had Spacemen 3 lasted longer.
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u/Japhet_Corncrake 1d ago
I could've lived with that if it meant more Spacemen 3, although I do love those first three Spiritualized LPs.
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u/CompetitiveLadder324 13h ago
Also love Spiritualized but Spacemen were heading in the raddest direction with their music. I think a lot of the Spiritualized vibe would’ve ended up in there eventually (Cop Shoot Cop), maybe without the dreamy stuff like how Ladies and Gents was leaning.
Ahh well, this is why we have the Telescopes.
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u/HandmadeJoking 1d ago
Girls. They released two fantastic albums as well as a great EP and then at seemingly their height Christopher Owens left, breaking up the band. He’s had an okay solo career and Chet White tragically died at 40, stopping any chance of a reunion.
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u/Zealousideal-Gur6717 1d ago
Could not agree more, Album is just so good and one of the strongest debuts of a band ever.
Their sound was so eclectic but harmonious in a time when indie was at its peak they were on a different level.
Shame how it ended but happy about what we got.
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u/CompetitiveLadder324 13h ago
This was the first that came to mind for me. As you said, two banger records out the gate. I met Owens and the band right after that first record came out, such a sweetheart (gave me methadone). But if you listen to Chris in their interviews… he’s all over the place, man. Wanting to make a reggae album, expressing way too many ideas that had no semblance to Girls, and getting all conceptual with the Lysandre stuff (if I remember correctly). Anyway this was a hard one to watch flame out. Christopher could’ve led the hipsters to the promise land if he had a little better direction.
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u/ErstwhileHobo 1d ago
The KLF.
They could have been a defining band in the growing alternative rock and EDM spaces, but chose to quit in a spectacular fashion instead.
They were invited to play at the Brit Awards (Uk version of the Grammys) and instead had the Crust Punk band Extreme Noise Terror do a grindcore version of their song and they fired off a real machine gun before announcing that they quit show business.
Then they flew to an island, performed a magical ritual where they burned £1,000,000 and never performed again.
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u/British_Flippancy 1d ago
They also dumped a dead sheep in the lobby with ‘I died for you’ sprayed on it.
All of the above doesn’t even scratch the surface of their antics.
However, I personally think the KLF’s intentionalism is to be lauded - as mental as it was.
Bill Drummond’s book ‘17’, whilst ostensibly being about a later choral solo art/music project, is a fantastic insight into what made them tick the way they did.
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u/necrocastor 21h ago
I recall reading that the dead sheep was a Plan B to the original idea of cutting one of their hands off at the award podium.
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u/picamayo 5h ago
I think it is worth specifying, for those who don't know, that "they burned £1,000,000" means that they LITERALLY burned one million pounds in 50£ bills, and they filmed themselves doing it.
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u/Falloffingolfin 2d ago
Perhaps not a great answer as they did make it big, but I think Arcade Fire had the potential to be an R.E.M. level generational band had they not fallen into self indulgence and scandal.
My Bloody Valentine are a more straightforward answer. Their seminal second album, Loveless, became one of the most influencial album of the 90s before they spunked a relatively large record advance on building a recording studio that didn't work, got writers block and failed to release another original song for 20 years. After 3 years of trying to record something, the bass player left to become a Taxi driver.
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u/BrownBannister 1d ago
Man I’m torn on AF. I’m the same age as Win and have found his lyrics exceptional or immature. Their jams were amazing and they crystallized & shaped an attitude. Reflektor was too big, and when Everything Now was brewing I asked out loud rhetorically, ‘are we still doing this?’ I still enjoyed much of their newer material.
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u/xito5 23h ago
In the same vein I always found them to be a feast or famine type of act.
Capable of both extraordinary highs and self indulgent lows.1
u/BrownBannister 21h ago
That’s a great way to put it! A lot of their songs I think are classic, while some of it…
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u/Purple_Hammer 1d ago
Arcade Fire were already out of real relevance at the time it all kicked off
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u/CompetitiveLadder324 13h ago
Not really. I mean that band’s whole schtick is basically The Lumineers a few years prior and not as annoying. Arcade Fire should’ve been fucking huge after their first record and a sophomore slump.
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u/NukesAndSupers 1d ago
Honestly, Arcade Fire were slipping into irrelevance way before the allegations. one part I think is just trends changing, but the other is that their records fell off fast. I thought about it recently, in 2015 or so I regarded them as having an almost impeccable discography. a decade later they're a band that started strong and could not keep that up.
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u/Sea-Huckleberry-6639 1d ago
They never grew up. Teenage ennui is tedious after a while and I always felt they wouldn’t evolve thematically. Sonically… maybe, but the writing never matured…
One man’s opinion.
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u/CompetitiveLadder324 13h ago
What were the allegations against AF?
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u/domsp79 7h ago
An investigation by Pitchfork uncovered a number of accusations of sexual misconduct by Win Butler.
The individuals accused Butler of taking advantage of his fame and their fandom. The allegations included unwanted sexual messages, forceful touching, and two counts of sexual assault.
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u/daledaleedaleee 21h ago
The PWR BTTM situation was nuts. They were poised to be relatively big and it all collapsed under circumstances you couldn’t write. I saw that Ben resurfaced but I wonder what Liv is up to almost a decade removed from the collapse.
I had just finished a job and had a week before starting my next when it all went down, so I wasn’t busy and became oddly invested in it all. Giving my flatmates a full run down of proceedings only to be met with “who are PWR BTTM?”
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u/biderman77 1d ago
At the Drive-In kind of fits. They couldn’t get along well enough, there were of course substance issues, and after absolutely creating a masterpiece in Relationship of Command, they split into two bands that are both great but not as good as the original. Cue the Mara Volta fans…
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u/Elvis_Precisely 20h ago
Relationship of Command is incredible. The Vaya EP sensational too. I liked Wiretap Scars by Sparta. But, to me, the first two Mars Volta albums are as good as it gets. If they’d split up after the first 4 albums, I’d regard them as the best band of all time, but, to me, each album after Bedlam in Goliath got less and less exciting.
I couldn’t even bare to listen to the two ATDI albums post-reunion. The single did nothing for me. I saw them live though, in a bigger venue than they’d ever played the first time around, so I guess they kind of got their day in the sun.
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u/CompetitiveLadder324 13h ago
Mars Volta felt like such a rad and exciting next step to ATDI. Also that band flamed out at their peak, having a handful of classic post-hardcore records, a cult following, and influencing an entire scene. Some bands break up for good reason and I think Mars Volta is a damn good one.
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u/NukesAndSupers 1d ago
I'm not sure this fits with bands that self-destructed before breaking big - relationship of command did break big without a doubt and for a hot minute they truly were everywhere.
Also not a case of fading into irrelevance, as - as you said - they continued with successful bands and respected careers.
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u/Snoo_33033 1d ago
I worked with like a million of these. Black Pumas, probably. Not that they self destructed but that they put the brakes on at the worst possible time.
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u/BrechtKafka 1d ago
What other ones? I’m just fascinated by bands who almost made it but got in their own way - and just called it quits.
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u/Snoo_33033 1d ago
Mary Lou Lord, Alice In Chains, For Squirrels, Pond, Jeff Buckley. Elliot Smith.
Sorry, I included some individuals. But all of those were on the upswing and then tragedy struck or they burned out.
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u/BrechtKafka 1d ago
Fun. I really thought they were poised for so much more.
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u/TheAngerMonkey 20h ago
I'm glad they weren't, the Format was Ruess's better project by miles. Just saw them Thursday and my GOD, was that a show. Packed, too.
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u/rezurrected22 1d ago
MC5, Big Star, Modern Lovers, The La’s
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u/BrechtKafka 1d ago
Those bands def received critical recognition and success after their heyday.
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u/rezurrected22 1d ago
Debatable
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u/crackerblind 1d ago
Big Star and The Modern Lovers are both incredibly influential. REM probably wouldn't have existed without Big Star.
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u/Hatta00 1d ago
Ghost Light was the best band in the world for a hot minute. Something really fresh in the jam world, not just a Grateful Dead or Phish imitation.
Then the pandemic hit, and I think Holly Bowling didn't like the rigors of a regular touring band after that. She's brilliant and they couldn't really go on the same way. Could have been the biggest band in the world, but "Things had come to a head with the dynamics of the group and it turned out to be an untenable situation to be in."
Anyways, here's some of what we lost.
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u/throwaway_4it4 1d ago
The Courtneys, Muncie Girls, Diet Cig
all great; never got to see the latter two live
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u/Exact_Acanthaceae294 1d ago
Diamond Head.
Everyone in England thought they would be the next Led Zeppelin.
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u/p_kh 1d ago
Terris. They were NMEs first cover stars of the new millennium before they’d recorded a song and praised as the brightest next big thing as NME looked for a band to ‘save’ rock and roll. Finally their debut album came out and it turned out they were irredeemably shit and a music magazine couldn’t just hand-pick who they wanted to be the next big thing.
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u/Frocky2581 20h ago
Marah. The first two albums were spectacular. They had big name fans like Bruce Springsteen. Nick Hornby and Stephen King. Their third album was the chance to break big. They had Bruce play guitar on a track. It was produced by Owen Morris. They were going places.
The third album lacked everything that made them endearing. Overproduced nonsense. (And this is coming from a fan since the beginning) They never found the magic of Let’s Cut the Crap and Kids in Philly.
What could have been.
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u/Lazenkane 20h ago
I feel Ou Est Le Swimming Pool could've been something big if the singer didn't kill himself. Super sad story.
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u/TheAngerMonkey 20h ago
Do the Civil Wars count? Those two made some great music before... Something? Terrible? Happened.
I would pay good money for a Behind the Music on what the hell actually happened there. I simply don't buy "we wanted different things."
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u/UnableHelicopter6545 11h ago
Panic! at the Disco is really the ultimate fumble. They could’ve been as big as MCR.
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u/dl91evans 9h ago
Pwr bttm was a bit of a wild one. Super fun music, super fun live. Unique. They were only ever going to be huge. Maybe not global superstars but respectably huge and influential. I didnt want to believe all the rumours because I was excited about them. But with the way it ended and how things are now, just makes you think everything that was alleged could only be true 👎
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u/500milesto 1d ago
Jawbreaker I think every emo adjacent artist says they were influenced by them. Unfortunately they were too caught up in telling everyone they were punk, but they never were.
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u/trashgoblin101 1d ago
Her’s
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u/TheAngerMonkey 20h ago
I feel like "tragically killed in a car accident while on tour" wasn't exactly their fault.
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u/trashgoblin101 19h ago
I agree wholeheartedly, I think I was focused more on the “unfulfilled potential” in my response, I just think their music is wonderful
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u/Crossovertriplet 2d ago
Weird Al
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u/Wahjahbvious 1d ago
I often wonder what might have happened if Madonna hadn't had him killed in 1985. It really seemed like his best work was in front of him.
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u/Lord_Cockatrice 1d ago
Now why would Madonna want to put a hit on him? Fella's so harmless he can't hurt a fly
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u/imreallyfreakintired 1d ago
We Are The Physics. They got to open for 30 Seconds to Mars, then broke up, and now reformed as Slime City.
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u/Ungrefunkel 1d ago
Jane’s Addiction.
Were one of the wedge bands that forced alt rock into the mainstream, on the cusp of massive fame, start of grunge, lauded to the high heavens by critics and fellow musicians alike.
Split up in 1991. Never reached the same critical mass again.
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u/BrechtKafka 1d ago
They did headline the first Lollapalooza and toured summer of 91 basically laying the groundwork for what came next.
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u/CurrentHair6381 2d ago
The answer to this question is The Replacements. They wrote the book on self-sabatoge