Bands That Won't Die

I find it humorous that there are adequate fans to support the eternal nature of a band like Poison. While in their prime, Poison would not touch a place like Idaho with a 10-foot mic stand. However now, as most sane people have abandoned them, they are forced to cater to true fans who have been waiting literally decades in the nether reaches of the earth for a tour to come to them. Poison is not alone. I've noticed a disturbing trend of ancient, petrified rockers who refuse to stop playing formerly popular songs. Summertime is when the most problems arise, as touring state fairs and biker bars increases exponentially. Some bands, unlike Poison, where at some point capable of producing something of substance, but because of their incessant persistence, have become little more than a novelty. The following is a list of bands (ranging from good to terrible) that have apparently burned all other bridges and refuse to stop playing their music, much to our misfortune:

Dead Kennedys
Misfits
Pennywise
Scorpions
Poison
Van Halen
Quiet Riot
Coolio
Run DMC
Snoop Dogg
Eagles
Peter Frampton
Styx
The Lovin' Spoonful
Skid Row
Korn
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Rolling Stones
etc, etc, etc.

Almost all bands would have been better off had they called it quits after two albums. Seldom does a band get better. In the cases above, they get worse and worse until all of humanity questions the purpose of life. I will concede there are exceptions to this rule. Some bands actually do develop and improve over time. The Ramones is my favorite example. They started off great, then were absolutely terrible for about 15 years, followed by some great songs before they called it quits.

The pattern is thus: 1) youth+passionate song writing and idealism 2) aging+focus on money and loss of ideals 3) Either a return to passion and idealism or increased focus on marketing of musical product.

Few can pull off what the Ramones did, while there seems to be no end to the sales associate traveling shows criss-crossing the nation. I'm glad some bands have broken up and kept their bad music from propagating itself, and also good music from becoming corrupted by overuse.