What band or musician are you most surprised that they "sold out"?

Question

You can define selling out however you wish....

I'm going to say Iggy Pop and The Stooges.... Lust for Life was this great angry rebellious song that got put in cruise line commercials to sell $10,000 carribean getaways to rich white people.

dinny Ho Ho - I think you misinterpeted my question... I didn't mean "sold out" as in concert ticket sales. If anything, Hanna Montana was bred to peddle crappy music to niave white suburban rugrats.

Liz Phair is a good one. I forgot about her... she was quite the feminist back in the early 90's.

George - Cadillac has ruined that song for me... I cringe every time I hear the riff on a commercial.

Answer 1

Liz Phair. She was the indie poster girl for so long and then comes out with friggin' pop/dance songs.

Answer 2

Hannah Montana never had a chance to sell out because she was never UNsold out. She was with Disney from the moment she started, and they automatically pushed her to be where she is now. Her music has never changed and neither has her fanbase. All of her music has been directed to pre-teen girls from the first minute she was signed.

The idea of "selling out" has become extremely strained in the recent years because people do not truly understand the original definition. They have taken it to mean being on television or getting a lot of attention, such as being on MTV, which is considered to be pretty much the height of "selling out." For example, The Plain White T's or Paramore with their recent hits on TRL, "Hey There Delilah" and "Misery Business." They have been considered sold out because they are gaining fame. However, this is not true. So, going by the actual way of selling out, CHANGING YOUR MUSIC to push yourself into a different level to gain popularity or to reach MTV or whatever it is you want to reach, my answer would be Rilo Kiley. They made 'Under The Blacklight' knowing that if it didn't bring them success, they were going to break up. Listening to the other albums, it is completely different and in interviews, Jenny Lewis has explained that this is exactly the reason.

Answer 3

Rckts beat me to it. I was really taken off guard when Liz Phair sold out. I really thought I was beyond shock when it came to that sort of stuff, but she definitely suprised me, and so mercilessly at that (that first single of the new Liz Phair era was just BRUTAL). After thinking about it though, at least she acknowledges it and I'm glad to see her making money.

Hi Mike, I never forget about The News. It's all about the quality Sports! "Hot lovin every night! whoa-oh"

Answer 4

I never thought I'd see the day Liz Phair would go Hollywood and become an adult-alternative artist geared for soccer moms.

Answer 5

Not that Kurt Cobain had a say, but I'm not surprised that Courtney Love let Nirvana songs be used in video game commercials, etc?

It's weird to see.

Answer 6

I must admit to being rather shocked when I heard Ramones songs blaring at me through television commercials. I don't even remember what the commercial was for... I just remember being disgusted.






NP: "Power of Love" - Huey Lewis & The News
(Now, how many of you have thought about them in the last 15 years?)

Answer 7

Led Zeppelin - When their music appeared in Cadillac commercials, I thought it was the worst slap in the face of rock fans around the world.

Answer 8

Slash in the VW commercial!

There's a lot of songs from the 60's in TV commercials but Slash really blew my mind.

Answer 9

I was very disappointed to hear The Clash's version of "Pressure Drop" on some car commercial.

Answer 10

Anti-Flag signed to RCA (owned by Sony). Surprising for a band with so many anti-capitalist tendencies (they even ended up appearing on Madden 07). But, they are also dedicated to spreading their message. I guess something had to give.