Dear DDG,
It was my original intent to write you a letter that I felt expressed how Worse Than A Fairy Tale is one of the most under-appreciated albums that I know of. When I gave it it’s first listen, I thought Worse Than A Fairy Tale (WTAFT) was terrible. It lacked many things that In Vogue provided. Breakdowns are few and far between, guitars are dirty, and the vocals seem off, more whiney than before and after. I left WTAFT on the shelf for about a month, enjoying some crappy pop infused post-hardcore album more. Finally, figuring that I should give WTAFT a full listen to before I wrote it off as a lousy album, I threw it onto my iPod before a run. After that run that I never wanted to end, I was sold.
When your most recent album came out, it was obvious what had happened to the band. Hot ‘N Heavy was filled with crowd pleasers. Similar to In Vogue but with a bit more pop that was been syruping the industry for the past two or three years. While your most recent album is by no means bad, something you had on your previous album you lost some where in between albums. I understand that as a band, your livelihood is from shows and WTAFT is not a very live friendly album. But at the same time, you lost what made WTAFT different than almost every album out there.
Following this realization, I decided to go back and see what others said about WTAFT. iTunes reviews proved themselves to be unreliable. Some loved it and some hated it but almost all conveyed it through an unintelligible babble of caps and numbers. Searching websites proved more successful although provided more mellowing results, I found a review that labeled WTAFT as a cult classic. What? This amazing album is just a cult classic? While it relegated me to the label of fanboy playing video games in his underwear at 3 a.m., it made sense. The concept was very non-mainstream, as concept albums tend to get swept under the carpet unless they’re by Muse or Coheed & Cambria, and the content was very dissonant, a recipe to turn away most listeners.
So now we come to the major questions. Do you satisfy the alternative mainstream or do you cater to those who want you to tell a story? As a band, could you survive another concept album? If you continue to produce albums like Hot ‘N Heavy will you continue to headline tours or will you fall into nothingness? I understand that nothing is forever, especially not bands, but I’m under the impression that if you release an album with the same amount of creativity as WTAFT, you will be able to continue to be a band for sometime. Many bands think that if they create more mainstream work, it will allow them to reach more people who will be able to support their band. This theory seems to work for some, though I do not think it is a fact. In turn, those who believe that this is fact have muddied up the alternative music industry with music that sounds generally the same, creating a glob of bands that may just sink. While I understand that it may be the death of you, please make music that lets everyone know that you still care about producing albums (yes, I know the album is dead and that WTAFT did not sell as many copies as In Vogue) and not just songs to be played at a live show.
Sincerely,
John Lugg
http://www.myspace.com/dropdeadgorgeous
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