MERGED ---> Rock Star: INXS + Rock star INXS + And the new lead singer of INXS is...

[Kieran McConville]

Calluna, I admit it, I'm really sting2. Sorry guys, it was good while it lasted.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I want to hug calluna and kyra mackonville for doing a fine job towards this thread's closure. seriously.

 

[STING2]

I didn't think it would come to this but...



Everyone agrees that on a purely sales level INXS were not popular post-X. What we are trying to say is that they were still widely admired, accepted and sought after. The people still very much admired the INXS of INXS->X period and had they churned out anything remotely appealing to that audience post X it would piss in platinum easy (which their Greatest Hits did).

Look at it like a piece of fruit. I like strawberrys, infact I love strawberrys, a lot of people do. But next year, if strawberry season turns out some awful fruit I'm not going to buy it. Does it mean I like/love strawberrys any more/less? No. I just am not going to buy a sub-standard product despite how much I love it. INXS went that way publicaly post-X, their albums were unfocused and their live performances (from what I've read/heard) were pretentious. Thus the people didn't front.

Do you understand that you are able to have a deep love/appreciation of somthing without buying an album/purchasing a ticket to a concert?

Certainly, but that is something from the past and most people that are truely fond of a group will at least buy a ticket to seem them play when they are in town, even if they could care less about INXS after 1990.

 

[STING2]

sting, you don't need to play backseat mod here. you continue to drag this thread more off-topic with every post, so you really have no right. this is not a charts position thread nor is it a thread comparing inxs' popularity to anyone else. it's about the show rock star inxs and the band's new line up. if you're not going to post about that, don't post in here at all, please.

I started a thread on the INXS Rock Show which got combined into this one. If my postings are some how out of line, then can I start a new thread without it being lumped into this one again? It does have to with the show because people debated the reasons for the show and I brought up the fact that the show was an excellant way for INXS to re-introduce the band after their popularity had dropped off so heavily in the 1990s. Other people then started to go after this question of popularity in the 1990s for INXS. I'm not the only one here debating INXS's popularity in the 1990s, or how popularity is measured.

 

[STING2]

Jesus Christ, I can't believe this ridiculous argument is still going. STING, listen carefully, please. Australia has 5 states worthy of tours. With me? One capital per state which usually is the host of large acts. INXS are a mix of both international success (the type detailed in a previous post who might do a grand total of say 10 shows IN TOTAL IN THIS COUNTRY PER TOUR) and also a band who can and did play anything on the small venue circuit, less so as time went on, but factual this is nonetheless.

Still with me? Ok. Australia sees this U2 reactionary griping with many bands. Dont get caught up on U2, they're being used here to paint a picture. Many bands skip this country altogether. We're isolated and starved of shows. We get them, sure. But in no means the ridiculous volume you enjoy. We also pay through the nose to allow bands to come here. We dont complain when they come, it is just the way it is. If you want to see a large international band, be prepared to spend upward of $120 AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS. With me? Ok, so what does this mean? We're not the concert-happy nation America is? Seems like it, really.

You have 3 or 4 (?) people independantly describing to you why INXS was still incredibly popular, and you are ignoring it. You have these same people telling you why tickets and cd sales do not reflect popularity in an absolute way, and you are ignoring it. You're determined to apply the same philosophy to the music industry in the US to here, and it just doesn't work.

I hereby give up. Your stubbornness is your problem, my friend.

I haven't ignored anyone. I just don't agree with their views on this particular issue and have facts to support my reasons. I'm sure you have heard of Paul McGuinnes. Paul McGuinnnes like every other manager and music industry professional looks at album sales and concert ticket sales when gauging the popularity of an artist anywhere in the world.

I don't have a problem, I have an opinion and I'm no more stubborn than anyone who agrees or disagrees with that opinion.

 

[indra]

Do you understand that you are able to have a deep love/appreciation of somthing without buying an album/purchasing a ticket to a concert?

I like some INXS songs. I've never bought an album by them or gone to one of their concerts. But if I was asked to list Australian or Australian-based bands I like, they would make the list. I actually would have to say I like them better than Midnight Oil and I have purchased a album or two by midnight Oil.

 

[indra]

Certainly, but that is something from the past and most people that are truely fond of a group will at least buy a ticket to seem them play when they are in town, even if they could care less about INXS after 1990.

I don't agree...or maybe I'm just not "most." I can love a band and not go to see them play live. I've done it (or rather not done it) many times. Hell, I didn't even see a live show of a band I've dearly loved for 18 years until 2004. But not seeing them live has no bearing whatsoever on how much I adore them.

 

[indra]

I haven't ignored anyone. I just don't agree with their views on this particular issue and have facts to support my reasons. I'm sure you have heard of Paul McGuinnes. Paul McGuinnnes like every other manager and music industry professional looks at album sales and concert ticket sales when gauging the popularity of an artist anywhere in the world.

I don't have a problem, I have an opinion and I'm no more stubborn than anyone who agrees or disagrees with that opinion.

Perhaps it's your apparent unwillingness to accept that people in different areas of the world have a different take on things than you do. What I see is that you are thinking of current popularity, whereas the Aussies are thinking of what might be best called icon status. INXS have icon status in OZ whether or not they are currently popular. (Still, I'm seeing it from a more US view as the US is where I am)

 

[Golightly Grrl]

If anyone cares - the man on the far left is Mig. This is back in his dark days of kids TV here in Australia!!

Cringe!

The vest alone proves Mig was "not right for our band, INXS."

 

[timothius]

I like some INXS songs. I've never bought an album by them or gone to one of their concerts. But if I was asked to list Australian or Australian-based bands I like, they would make the list. I actually would have to say I like them better than Midnight Oil and I have purchased a album or two by midnight Oil.

What a bittersweet post.

 

[STING2]

Just wanted to say that "The Best Of INXS" is the best selling Catalog Album in the United States this week. The album was at #4 last week and this week makes the climb to #1. Catalog albums are albums that have been out for 2 or more years. "The Best of INXS" was not even in the top 200 3 months ago. Very impressive and it shows the positive impact the show has had. Thousands of people who never knew who INXS were are now getting into the band.

 

[one4u2]

The vest alone proves Mig was "not right for our band, INXS."

I thought he was hot now

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Just wanted to say that "The Best Of INXS" is the best selling Catalog Album in the United States this week. The album was at #4 last week and this week makes the climb to #1. Catalog albums are albums that have been out for 2 or more years. "The Best of INXS" was not even in the top 200 3 months ago. Very impressive and it shows the positive impact the show has had. Thousands of people who never knew who INXS were are now getting into the band.

And those "thousands" will never understand what a "real" band INXS was or what "Icon Status" means.

But hell, that doesn't matter, The Band That Was Formerly INXS are having a hit.


(PS I didn't know there were so many versions of Throw your arms! Does seeing a clip of CH singing it to Dame Edna on the Joan Rivers show count?? )

 

[timothius]

(PS I didn't know there were so many versions of Throw your arms! Does seeing a clip of CH singing it to Dame Edna on the Joan Rivers show count?? )

Anymore information.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I'm sure you have heard of Paul McGuinnes. Paul McGuinnnes like every other manager and music industry professional looks at album sales and concert ticket sales when gauging the popularity of an artist anywhere in the world.

Of COURSE he does!!! As if he would give a shit about anything other than album sales and concert ticket sales!! That's his job, and that's what he's getting 20% of. If I were in the running for 20% of U2's income, I sure as hell wouldn't care about anything else but that. The popularity and success of the band are ONLY measured in $$ for Mr McGuinnes. Someone who loves U2 but doesn't buy the concert ticket and t-shirt may as well not exist to him.

A 'fan' however is a wide ranging category to fall into. Check these boards - some us will jet all over a country or the world to see multiple shows. Some us will be just as happy to just catch the one. Some collect absolutely every version of every single from every country and a thousand bootlegs and whatever. Some of us just pick up the albums. Is there a difference in levels of 'love' of the band between those different people? I doubt it. Could there be people out there who adore U2 but just don't care for absolutely everything they release, may 'skip' an album if it's a little too experimental, or a little too commercial? Yep. Plenty. Does it downgrade the bands popularity with that person? No. I mean, think of it this way. How many people on any given night in an arena or stadium watching U2 don't own The Bomb? Probably quite a few. Several hundred or more. How many people own The Bomb but don't go to a concert? Thousands and thousands and thousands. How many people would identify themselves as loving U2 but neither own The Bomb or will go to their concert?

U2 are 'popular' with all these different groups of people but not every "I love U2" comes with the ring of a cash register. I don't think that a bands entire 'popularity' can be nailed by a sales statistic. Granted highs and lows in such things are a very large part of the story, but certainly not the whole story.

 

[STING2]

Of COURSE he does!!! As if he would give a shit about anything other than album sales and concert ticket sales!! That's his job, and that's what he's getting 20% of. If I were in the running for 20% of U2's income, I sure as hell wouldn't care about anything else but that. The popularity and success of the band are ONLY measured in $$ for Mr McGuinnes. Someone who loves U2 but doesn't buy the concert ticket and t-shirt may as well not exist to him.

A 'fan' however is a wide ranging category to fall into. Check these boards - some us will jet all over a country or the world to see multiple shows. Some us will be just as happy to just catch the one. Some collect absolutely every version of every single from every country and a thousand bootlegs and whatever. Some of us just pick up the albums. Is there a difference in levels of 'love' of the band between those different people? I doubt it. Could there be people out there who adore U2 but just don't care for absolutely everything they release, may 'skip' an album if it's a little too experimental, or a little too commercial? Yep. Plenty. Does it downgrade the bands popularity with that person? No. I mean, think of it this way. How many people on any given night in an arena or stadium watching U2 don't own The Bomb? Probably quite a few. Several hundred or more. How many people own The Bomb but don't go to a concert? Thousands and thousands and thousands. How many people would identify themselves as loving U2 but neither own The Bomb or will go to their concert?

U2 are 'popular' with all these different groups of people but not every "I love U2" comes with the ring of a cash register. I don't think that a bands entire 'popularity' can be nailed by a sales statistic. Granted highs and lows in such things are a very large part of the story, but certainly not the whole story.

Album sales and concert ticket sales are the only way to accurately measure a bands current popularity vs. other bands and other artist. I can tell you how many people bought HTDAAB and how many people have seen the Vertigo tour so far, but you cannot tell me with any degree of accuracy, how many fans are there that love U2 but are not going to see them on this tour and have not purchased HTDAAB. You may know 5 or 6, a couple of a dozen or even a hundred, but you'll never be able to accurately say how many people are in that catagory. That is just one small reason why that is never part of the criteria in determining the current popularity of an artist. Also, the purchase of the album and the concert ticket are not just money flowing to the band, but represent and accurate head count of people who are supporting the band and can be accurately compared to other artist figures.

 

[U2DMfan]

Album sales and concert ticket sales are the only way to accurately measure a bands current popularity vs. other bands and other artist. I can tell you how many people bought HTDAAB and how many people have seen the Vertigo tour so far, but you cannot tell me with any degree of accuracy, how many fans are there that love U2 but are not going to see them on this tour and have not purchased HTDAAB. You may know 5 or 6, a couple of a dozen or even a hundred, but you'll never be able to accurately say how many people are in that catagory. That is just one small reason why that is never part of the criteria in determining the current popularity of an artist. Also, the purchase of the album and the concert ticket are not just money flowing to the band, but represent and accurate head count of people who are supporting the band and can be accurately compared to other artist figures.

But in 10 years, you can say with a certainty not guided by statistics and numbers which of any artitsts, of any genre had the greatest effect and influence which always will translate to popualrity on a bigger scale that a cash receipt.

It takes a set of ears to do this of course. Not all of us have ears, most of us do, and of those who do, some don't really know how to use them. You can't count that on a Billboard chart.

Until you accept this difference, then of course you are right.
But to ignore this difference as if it doesn't matter or doesn't exist only reveals the inability to discern true influnce, effect and popularity from a fucking boxscore and statistic.

You have to acknowledge the difference first. It's as simple as that. We all can list 9 million of the best sellers and best grossers in popular music history, but what truly tells you their ultimate popularity? Endurance, my friend. Endurance and influence.

You can't put that shit on a chart. Leave that to the money geeks.

 

[STING2]

But in 10 years, you can say with a certainty not guided by statistics and numbers which of any artitsts, of any genre had the greatest effect and influence which always will translate to popualrity on a bigger scale that a cash receipt.

It takes a set of ears to do this of course. Not all of us have ears, most of us do, and of those who do, some don't really know how to use them. You can't count that on a Billboard chart.

Until you accept this difference, then of course you are right.
But to ignore this difference as if it doesn't matter or doesn't exist only reveals the inability to discern true influnce, effect and popularity from a fucking boxscore and statistic.

You have to acknowledge the difference first. It's as simple as that. We all can list 9 million of the best sellers and best grossers in popular music history, but what truly tells you their ultimate popularity? Endurance, my friend. Endurance and influence.

You can't put that shit on a chart. Leave that to the money geeks.

The artist that had the greatest influence on other artist is not necessarily the most popular artist 10 years down the road or the most remembered. Once again, what people purchase and want to hear on the radio is what determines what continues to be most popular 10 years later.

One can claim they have an "ear" for whats still popular in public from another era, but this is essentially an individual opinion. Other individuals will disagree and dispute such claims. What can't be disputed are statistical facts from sales and airplay.

The Enduring popularity of any artist can be measured by catalog album sales, radio airplay, and if the artist decides to go on tour, how many tickets they sell.

 

[beli]

What can't be disputed are statistical facts from sales and airplay.

Wrong! Yes it can be disputed. Just about everyone in the end of this thread IS disputing it with you. You're not listening. You're also not responding to what is being said. The art of conversation involves one person saying something and another responding to what the first person said. STING, you are just repeating the same thing over and over with little relevance to what the rest of us are saying.

In case this is unclear, heres an example. A group of people at a party are discussing a movie:

PersonOne: "Johnny Depps a bit of a spunk isn't he?"

PersonWhoDoesn'tGetIt: "The train line is closed for repairs. There will be no trains on Saturday night from eighteen hundred hours to six am the following day. There will be a number 404 replacement bus. The bus departs from platform 1 above the station.

Everyone:

PersonTwo: "Anyway........, doesn't Johnny Depp have the most perfect smile?

PersonWhoDoesn'tGetIt: "The largest warship in the world is docked at Fremantle at the moment. It's 18 storeys high, and 1.8 hectares wide. The ship will be in port from Thursday until Tuesday to allow the personnel to enjoy some R & R."

Everyone:

PersonThree: "Anyway........, what about Johnny Depps bum?


etc. and on it goes. Much like this thread.

 

[timothius]

Post of the week.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

 

[bammo2]

beli I you

 

[STING2]

Wrong! Yes it can be disputed. Just about everyone in the end of this thread IS disputing it with you. You're not listening. You're also not responding to what is being said. The art of conversation involves one person saying something and another responding to what the first person said. STING, you are just repeating the same thing over and over with little relevance to what the rest of us are saying.

In case this is unclear, heres an example. A group of people at a party are discussing a movie:

PersonOne: "Johnny Depps a bit of a spunk isn't he?"

PersonWhoDoesn'tGetIt: "The train line is closed for repairs. There will be no trains on Saturday night from eighteen hundred hours to six am the following day. There will be a number 404 replacement bus. The bus departs from platform 1 above the station.

Everyone:

PersonTwo: "Anyway........, doesn't Johnny Depp have the most perfect smile?

PersonWhoDoesn'tGetIt: "The largest warship in the world is docked at Fremantle at the moment. It's 18 storeys high, and 1.8 hectares wide. The ship will be in port from Thursday until Tuesday to allow the personnel to enjoy some R & R."

Everyone:

PersonThree: "Anyway........, what about Johnny Depps bum?


etc. and on it goes. Much like this thread.

I've read nearly every post in this thread and have responded with my opinion to each one. I've never criticized anyone for having an opinion or expressing it. Your "examples" suggest that you may not have read what I said. I don't see the point of your posts because its not discussing the topic but rather is simply an attack on another person simply posting their opinions on a topic.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I dont understand what album sales statistics have to do with the topic either (the topic being the new singer for the band), to be frank.

Frank

 

[STING2]

I dont understand what album sales statistics have to do with the topic either (the topic being the new singer for the band), to be frank.

Frank

The topic is Rock Star INXS and I stated that one of the great things about the show was that it brought INXS to a whole generation of people who did not know who they were. I stated the sales position the band was in, in 1997, and noted how the show had significantly boosted sales of the INXS catalog, especially INXS "best of" which is currently the #1 Catalog album in the USA.

I thought this was a brilliant move by the band. Not only did they find a new singer, but they got the band a level of exposure they had not received in probably 15 years, which dramatically increases the probability of success any future album or tour will have.

Other people have jumped in to dispute this and other things that I have said about INXS. I think everything has fit under the topic which is not nearly as narrow as some people think. The thread I started in the "other artist" forum got combined into this one.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Now the hottest rumour - there has been rumblings of PopStar N'Sync - JC, Chris, Joey and Lance seek a replacement for Justin. Justin has made it clear his NSync days are over - but the million plus sales of the new Backstreet Boys album shows there is money to be made...

Please tell me this is not true.
I don't think I can handle another season.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

The topic is Rock Star INXS

yes. this thread is about the show, nothing else. this is not the place to quote statistics. this is my final warning, i'm telling you to cut it out. no more posts about statistics or anything like that or i'm closing the thread.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Sorry WildHoneyAlways - Mike Burnett (the producer of RSI) announced there would be a new season next year - and he also was quoted as stating it would appeal to younger adults.. thus the hot rumour is N Sync... What other group needs a new singer (Justin has been quoted numerous times as saying that phase of his life is over)???

 

[Earnie Shavers]

This is a short little blurb from a Sunday newspaper here (unfortunately it's not online). Brandan Shanahan's column from the Sunday Telegraph for any Sydneysiders playing at home. Note for non-Australians, Noiseworks were a well known rockband in Australia, kinda a very weak INXS in sound. Jon Stevens was their lead singer (the named song is embarrasingly band) and he was drafted as the initial choice to replace Hutchence, something that alone was a divisive decision among people who like the band. I agree 100% with what he's 'not' writing about -

-----------
A Reality Show That's Hardly Worth Talking About

Despite requests, I’m not going to write about INXS; it’s all just too depressing. Each development – the reality show, the new singer, the lost money – is more horrible than the last.

Watching it happen is like standing in the hospital waiting room wondering whether you should flip the switch on a coma patient. So I’m going to refrain from pointing out that Tim Fariss looks like an ageing eunuch from a medieval harm or that Kirk Pengilly could be a 17th Century French aristocrat who has just woken up from a six-moth binge of champagne and foi gras.

Cheap shots about Garry Gary Beers and his ridiculous name, while still funny, are hereby deemed passé and impolite.

I’m just not doing them. I consider it unseemly to make jokes at the expense of Jon Stevens, former lead singer of Noiseworks, a man who suffered two indignities: being dumped from INXS and being forced to become a judge on New Zealand Idol.

For a performer who gave the world tracks like Hot Chilli Woman, this must surely be a cross to bear.

It would be stating the obvious to say that the surviving members of INXS will make far more money from their TV show and increased back-catalogue sales than they could ever hope to make from any new album, negating the whole process of finding a new singer and revealing it for the cynical sham that it is. So I won’t say it.

I also refuse to point out that INXS are the first band in the world to have become their own tribute act. That would be unkind. As would noting that their foray into reality TV is a sad attempt by greedy 80’s has-beens to prove that if they walked around in public, anyone would recognize them.

INXS are an embarrassment to themselves and to anyone who may have once enjoyed what they were. As I said: I’m just not going to write about it.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I agree 100% with what he's 'not' writing about

as do i. that was excellent.