Page 3 • Thursday, September 24, 1998
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air today, gone tomorrow
ids from the ’80s make comebacks with mixed results
BY GRAY WHiTTEN
The Battalion
T he Billboard Magazine Hot 100
Charts are usually as predictable
as Dennis Rodman’s hair color.
But some artists prove themselves
to be pillars of the music business.
In a time when most acts follow the
standard hit single/double live al
bum/fade away cycle, longevity is a
truly unique quality .
The genre of rock is perhaps the
most willing to accept ‘oldies’ making
a comeback.
Some succeed, such as U2, which
constantly re-invents itself, or the
Rolling Stones’ never-ending series of
increasingly elaborate tours.
Not all bands are as fortunate in
terms of support and sales.
From the band’s heyday, when sell
ing five to 10 million albums was the
norm. Van Halen has come a long way
in sales.
The band’s March 1998 effort, 3,
sold less than 500,000 copies and
quickly dropped off the Billboard 200
chart, and the radio.
Others have given up the genre
completely and moved to electronic
experimentation.
A new Guns ‘N’ Roses album, mi
nus Slash and produced by Moby, is
rumored to be closer to techno than
the hard rock that made Axl Rose a
household name.
Fans of the band still exist, even if
they are not the most vocal these days.
Evidence exists in the fact that Ap
petite For Destruction the band’s mul
ti-platinum debut, still sits at No. 10
on the Billboard Catalog Albums
chart after 381 weeks.
The chances of that seem slim. Es
tranged guitarist Slash is currently in
the studio at work on a new album,
according to the band’s promoters at
Geffen Records.
Austin Glaves, a junior manage
ment major, feels that rockers with
roots in ‘80s are still widespread and
influential.
“For me, Metallica was the band
that started it all (’80s metal),” he
said. “And they still are the ’80s metal
band.”
With two albums on the Billboard
Top Pop Catalog Albums chart, a mea
sure of sales for top-selling older al
bums, Metallica remains a strong sell
er as well as a mighty presence on the
concert circuit.
Annual tours and prolific produc
tion of music have kept the band in
the eyes of the public.
Bands do not need to be of the long
hair and angst variety to sell records.
R.E.M. has built a strong career since
its quiet start in Georgia in the early
’80s.
Kellye Gaskill , a junior journalism
major at the University of Texas, said
she still thinks of the band as very but
feels less strongly about recent efforts.
“Their earlier stuff is a whole lot
better than the stuff they’re putting
out now. I especially like Reckoning
and Life’s Rich Pageant.”
With the loss of drummer Bill Berry
and the decision not to tour in support
of its forthcoming album, R.E.M. pre
sents fans with additional challenges.
However, considering the record-
breaking album contract signed with
Warner Brothers Records last year, the
band seems determined to continue
no matter what gets in their way.
New bands appear every week on
MTV, BET, GMT and the rest, but very
few will be around long enough for
the next generation to enjoy them.
Photo courtesy of Van Halen Website
Left: Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose wows fans.
Above: Van Halen ushers in a new era with lead singer Gary Cherone.
Below: REM band members watch Michael Stipe belt out another song.
Photo courtesy of REM Website
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