We have all seen it.
A nobody band who comes from some a small town in the middle of nowhere and has a hit album.
After the fame and fortune, inspiration soon dwindles, but that doesn’t stop the record label from pressuring the artist to produce another hit.
Can lightning strike again so soon for another amazing album? Or will the artist’s vision and talent be put on the sidelines for record sales? This process is quite sad and is never ending, except for a few artists who can break the chain.
Albums that are amazing from the first note to the last track cannot be succeeded by an exact masterpiece, but one could hope it would have some of the qualities of the first and have some positive growth from where the band or artist started.
This is not the case in the theory I call “they were sad and brilliant and now they are happy and crappy.” Sorry I know it rhymes (but not on purpose, of course).
One artist that falls under this category is Alanis Morissette with her ingenious album Jagged Little Pill, which was released in ’95.
There was a favorite track for every listener and it was liked by males and females alike with the releases: “Ironic,” “Head Over Feet,” “Hand In My Pocket” and “You Oughta Know.”
Her pain and frustration that could be identified with and came down hard in “You Oughta Know.” It was such a powerful album that she released Jagged Little Pill Acoustic in 2005 to sell exclusively to Starbucks.
After Morissette found fame and began to try to “find herself,” the quality and intensity of her music suffered greatly. These days, she can be found playing a watered-down version of Jagged Little Pill on VH1.
When an artist decides to split from their band and pursue a solo career, disaster can soon follow, as it did when Rob Thomas parted ways with Matchbox 20. Matchbox 20’s debut Yourself Or Someone Like You was an instant hit for good reason. It was something new.
Matchbox 20 continued to sing about getting your heart stomped on and trying to pick up the pieces on their next two albums More Than You Think You Are and Mad Season.
After pairing up with Carlos Santana, Thomas got married and left Matchbox 20. It seems his troubles with heartache had disappeared along with his inspiration.
Thomas has become as cheesy as a solo artist can get. He traded his super rugged hoodies for rhinestone-incrusted shades and it is hard to take him seriously with all of his bling.
All we can hope for is a Matchbox 20 reunion tour and a new album, because Thomas’ credibility is dwindling quickly, along with his record sales.
As clich as the tortured artist is, it does happen. Just think about the last time you heard a great album by Natalie Imbruglia. She started off strong with her somber hit “Torn,” but after success and popularity, she turned to a watered-down and over-produced sound.
As sad and depressing as it is, it happens to even great musicians, so all we can do is love them for their great music and hope they become inspired once again.

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