• Hand-Me-Down Bands & Brands

    Posted on October 28th, 2008 by and currently 19 commenting.


    YouTube video by WasteTimeChasingCars.

    My daughter and I discuss music a lot it’s one of those things that we connect on. It’s also one of those things that we disagree on, not the music itself but our philosophies on bands. My daughter complains about bands selling out and forcing her to hand-down a band. I get it, as a teenager once a band become mainstream I didn’t think I had that personnel relationship with their music anymore. Is that realistic… probably not but that’s the thing about music. As a teen and an adult your music is very personal. For example let’s take Metro Station and there song ‘Shake It’ my daughter likes them but calls the song a sellout. I’ve said so what, they make music to connect with as many people as possible and to sell their music. But my daughter takes it real personal to the point that she stops listening to them and as she says, “hands-them-down to her friends.”

    Digging deeper my daughter feels that these bands lose what they had. In the beginning they were sacred to their underground fans, these fans have a special emotional connection that they have invested in from day one. This causes an odd conflict of sharing your band with others too. A person’s selfishness could cause them to keep their secret band to themselves. The desire to keep this music theirs is complicated. When a band gets popular due to creating a hit song, they tend to write more hits, over-produce their sound and ultimately become a big band to the masses. Does this translate to brands? I think so. Early adopters are the underground scenes for a brand; their first-hand experience is very personnel. The risks are greater at the beginning of the fan cycle.

    Geno’s Top 5 Hand-Me-Down Bands & Brands
    1) Aerosmith
    2) KISS
    3) Green Day
    4) Banana Republic
    5) timbuk2

    So, what’s your Hand-Me-Down Bands or Brands?

  • Eric Dodds

    Sell out bands:

    1) Green Day
    2) Creed
    3) P.O.D

    I didn’t really listen to any of those bands regularly, though.

    I find it interesting that people become obsessed with finding and listening to ‘underground’ music to the point of ‘handing an artist down’ when they change direction or gain substantial popularity, especially in the main stream music arena. Sure, there are sellout bands, but as I sat down and tried to think of them, it was much more difficult than I thought. I think many bands that people hand down make a major directional change in the art they create, and fans react negatively to the change.

  • http://www.bigfishministries.com Thom McGuire

    I assume that #5 you mean Timbuk3

  • Lisa V Gray

    I remember how heartbroken I was when REM went from “my band” to THE band!

    But whether you’re talking bands or brands, isn’t this “in club” appeal really more about fan-ego than it is about any qualitative discussion on the merits of the music? For plenty of musicians, they still have plenty to say – despite the bloom of celebrity. And there are plenty of musicians whose real goals are to be rock stars. [See copyblogger’s post yesterday re Kurt Cobain: http://lateralaction.com/articles/kurt-cobain-startup-success/

    If you want to build micro-fandom, the web offers more opportunities than ever. And if you want to build your playlists around emerging artists, that gets easier on the web too. But seems to me your daughter is confusing product issues with marketing issues here. For the true artist, they’re the same thing.

  • http://www.freshpee.com Chris Wilson

    My top 5:

    1. No Fear (This on makes me laugh)
    2. Dr. Martin shoes
    3. Maroon 5
    4. Dashboard Confessional
    5. Last one hurts me to say it but, the Redsox

  • http://www.freshpeel.com Chris Wilson

    So I typed my own blog address into the field wrong.

  • http://brainsonfire.com Geno

    Thom, no I actually meant the messenger bag company timbuk2. Sorry for the confusing I listed 3 bands and two brands.

    Lisa, I agree sometimes emotion trumps especially at 14. If YOU think a band sells out, they sell out.

  • http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/ olivier Blanchard

    My top 10 hand-me-down brands+bands (from me to my kids):

    1. The Beatles (brain food)
    2. Oreos (deliciousness)
    3. Swiss Army Knife (rite of passage)
    4. Hincapie (performance threads)
    5. Moleskine notebooks (creative expression)
    6. Confiture Bonne Maman (French style preserves)
    7. Zune (okay, that’s kind of weak, but still)
    8. Nutella (taste bud nirvana)
    9. IBC Cream Soda (sweet nostalgia)
    10. The Gap (hey, it has its classics)

    Cool conversation, Geno.

  • http://Brainsonfire.com Matt

    All I’m going to say is that I pre-ordered the first Paramore CD… Not that that makes me awesome or anything, but I did it.

    Oh and also, my sister bought me a Hoody that has a map of the NY Subway system on it and I have rocked that guy out for almost a year and now DC is doing a line of clothes with the same thing on it… So sad.

  • http://brainsonfire.com Geno

    olivier, great comment. Wow that makes me think about the good and the bad that I’ve handed down to my daughter.

    That needs another list:

    1. Storybooks (from Thunder Bunny to Runaway Bunny)
    2. Disney (from the parks to the classics)
    3. Converse Chuck Taylors
    4. Fall Out Boy
    5. Rollercoasters

  • Cliff

    For me, this ideology is all about identifying oneself through affliation. Once a band or brand loses its uniqueness, it is no longer useful for distinguishing one individual from another. I can easily argue that this way of thinking is a direct result of not having a strong sense of self (or more specifically, self worth). At the same time, I know I’m as guilty of it as anyone I know. So here’s my list
    Dave Matthews Band
    Outkast
    M.I.A.
    Daft Punk
    Urban Outfitters
    Ikea
    Apple
    Target
    Klipsch
    7 for all mankind
    Technics
    Puma
    Vans
    West Elm

  • abax

    these are all related more towards the company and community i keep where i am. lord knows by my age that i was no where near old enough to “get into” #3 in time to call myself an early adopter, but i strongly shared my love for said number until my friends saw the light…por ejemplo

    1. The Most Serene Republic
    2. Fleet Foxes
    3. Radiohead
    4. Larrivee guitars
    5. the cut capo

  • http://www.refreshweb.com/blog Sara

    Good post, Geno! I was thinking about this the other day, the way picking up the very subtle references is like the password into the speakeasy of cool. Some of these bands are just starting to hit the wider world, but it’s always fun to have been listening to someone for a couple of years the first time a friend says, “Hey, there’s this new band that just came out…”

    1. The Decemberists
    2. Band of Horses
    3. Sigur Ros
    4. Arcade Fire
    5. Facebook (since 2002 or 2003 o.O)
    6. Blogging
    7. Threadless
    8. Whole Foods (the original, baby!)
    9. Chateau Ste. Michelle wine (used to be ~$4 *sniffles*)
    10. The Office (British version)

  • http://www.catchyourlimit.com Jeff

    Sanuks
    Jack Johnson
    Starbucks
    Godiva
    Really the whole luxury for the masses category concept

  • http://brainsonfire.com Matty

    Great insight Geno! After a lot of thought I am going with the following list:

    1) Coheed and Cambria (they’ve changed since their first album. I feel the were leaning more towards sticking with pop songs. Granted there are some amazing tracks they still put out at the end)
    2) Green Day (I totally agree with you on this one)
    3) Linkin Park (early adopter, dropped them like a bad habit)

    I’m gonna stop my list and say that I think my biggest issue comes with the radio (FM/AM not XM). They ruined some of these bands for me by over playing the songs. I think the saturation of the airwaves cause me to hate some of these bands. It’s ridiculous to hear the same song 3 times within an hour. I understand giving the listeners what they want to hear, but at some point you have to show some moderation!

    Can this idea of over saturation apply to brands? I am going to have to chew on that for a while.

  • Brandy

    It is wrong to stop listening to a band you once loved because now the masses love them? I think of all the bands or brands I now know about because they hit it big. Why should only a few people be in on the secret of awesome talent?

  • Pete

    Seems to me if a band or musician is up for an MTV award, they’re automatically on the hand-me-down list. The awards recognize the “artists” that sell.

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Carrie

    I’m not very hip when it comes to music…Yes, I own the Carpenter’s box set and play it whenever I get the chance away from friends or family that will make fun of me.
    But I do get sad when I think about seeing bands in beer soaked venues in college for a $3 cover that I thought were so great!…then they went mainstream…now just a memory…I’m no longer a fan…Hootie and the Blowfish, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Cravin’ Melon.
    Clothing is another story…I miss the old Abercrombie!!! Leather Rhinos in the stores not half naked 16 year olds. Here are the others I can now pass along…
    Lacoste
    Puma
    Coach
    The North Face
    Lily Pulitzer

    I have to agree with Jeff…I’m over the luxury for the masses…Not everyone needs to carry a Louis!!!

  • cliff

    I read this article today and it reminded me of this blog post: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/146843-column-poptimist-19

  • http://justinkownacki.blogspot.com/ Justin Kownacki

    The converse of this idea is the petty hubris that comes with being an early adopter. Suddenly, you feel like you “know” the band / brand personally because “you were there from the beginning,” and when the band / brand decides to expand to a wider audience (aka make a living doing what they love), you as an original “fan” resent them for their newfound success.

    That a person should consider themselves a fervent supporter of something ONLY as long as the people creating it can’t make a living by doing it is a bit pathological, but then, “fan” is short for “fanatic,” so…