Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodo36
I know it's a super unpopular opinion, but Flohr wasn't wrong when he asked where the Tripping Billies was with LWS. We also don't know which songs exactly were submitted. (Because in my mind, JTR fills that Billies vibe). LWS as a whole was depressing AF and would have satisfied the existing fanbase but not likely to attract many new listeners. The label is interested in growing the artist's marketshare, and LWS as we know it would not have done that. The hardcores will buy it regardless, but there was nothing to attract sales from casual listeners who (in the 2000s) learned about new music through the radio. For an act of their calibre and their following at that time in the industry, a zero radio presence would have been a financial nail in the coffin. We might have gotten one more album after LWS before they went independent. (Of course, we now know that between '02 and '08 the band was in a much more fragile place than anyone could have guessed on the outside of that circle). ED didn't appeal to a lot of the long-time fans, but most of us were willing to be open to it in a way that wasn't the pinch your nose/grin and bear it that we suffered for SU.
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Everyday killed DMB's potential as a truly timeless act. Here's the thing, I like Everyday; I like most of the songs on it. But it was a big "FUCK YOU" to much of the fanbase at the time.
If you really think that LWS would've killed their career, how the fuck do you explain something like Kid A then? That album has ZERO radio appeal and yet it launched Radiohead into another stratosphere; the album went #1 and remains a favorite by many to this day. LWS was also downloaded a million times btw. The band was playing football stadiums before Everyday came out; haven't seen them really play those since.
Either way, DMB has done really well for themselves since Everyday but I think they could've been even bigger had they actually
worked on tLWS a little more rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Album seemed to be damn near close to finished. JTR could've been a single. Sweet Up and Down, with a little more work and polishing, could've been a single. Or they could've just pushed Dave to write a potential single if it was that big a deal to the label at the time.
Ultimately, I'd like to hear everyone involved, Dave, the band, Bruce, Coran, Lillywhite, etc., talk about tLWS more and all the drama around it. Feel like much of it is still a mystery to this day.