Here's a thread to discuss bands that had a window of cultural relevance, that were the it thing for one hot minute, but either abruptly fell off or over time became no longer cool and/ or the epitome of unhip.

I'll start with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I discovered them in middle school, loving them for along with Fishbone, keeping the funk alive. They were a underground thing at the time, but would go over big when I'd put the George Clinton produced 'Freaky Styley' cuts on mix tapes I'd pass around.

Then in my last year of HS, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' hit and it was a sensation.  It was kind of like 'Pet Sounds' was to the late 60's rock renaissance; kicking off the Alternative / grunge era. (I guess if that analogy flies, 'Nevermind' was Sgt. Peppers?). Like the Beach Boys, the band made California seem like the last teenage paradise - where dudes were funky monks and the California girls were ready to suck your kiss.

It was the soundtrack to a dream lifestyle.

Rick Rubin was already a hero from the Def Jam days and bringing the world Slayer and Dice. His production here felt next level. It was hard and you could dance and make out to it.

The guitar player was a virtuoso, and Flea and Kiedis were golden gods.

What happened?

Somehow, they went from peers of Farrell, Cobain and Vedder, to sliding into being Def Leppard like arena rock.

It seemed Rubin's touch wasn't as special in subsequent efforts.

It didn't help, they were one of the first bands to increase cd loudness level, so you got no dynamic range/ no low or high end. It was a wall of noise instead of a layered groove. That was no way to funk. At the time for that reason I found 'Californication' unlistenable.

Today they have a few staples on classic rock radio and feature heavily on Lithium, but they have stigma of being soundtrack to the lives of middle aged frat boys much like Van Hagar once was for their dads.

Is there a worse fate than to be that uncool?


It truly is better to burn out than to fade away...



Glory days:





Coda: back in the day, of all the bands coming up in my era, they would've been my pick to have the Grateful Dead-ish cult Pearl Jam and DMB have. Cuz they were always a killer live band.

What say you?

Inspired by a recent question on Film Twitter, what is one cinematic milestone you could change?

Ensuring an unmade film actually happens (like David Lean's Nostromo), perhaps keep a casting or directing choice that famously went elsewhere (a la George Lazenby not quitting Bond after On Her Majesty's Secret Service), a film being a big hit instead of a big flop or vice versa (Imagine a world where Heaven's Gate wasn't a disaster) or a film famously not being taken away from the director (like Orson Welles keeping his cut of The Magnificent Ambersons), anything.

Lots of things come to mind but if I had to settle on just one, I'd say have Paramount and Francis Ford Coppola stop dicking around and agree to pay Robert Duvall's fee allowing him to co-star in The Godfather Part III (Wionna Ryder doesn't bail at the last minute either).

I'm late to this latest (last?) season, but the premiere was fun.  Sam Richardson cameo is always a plus.