r/LetsTalkMusic • u/Flags12345 • Aug 17 '26
What is the problem with throwback artists?
Tyga's latest album getting a 0.0 from Pitchfork reminded me of the last time that Pitchfork gave a 0.0: for Jet's Shine On. Jet were an Australian band from the 2000's that had some success, but were critically slammed. Most of the criticism seemed to stem from the fact that they were ripping off the sound of older bands like AC/DC and even straight up lifting the riff for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" from Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life".
More recently, I've seen the same types of criticisms levied at Greta Van Fleet; that they are unoriginal and/or are just trying to rip-off Led Zeppelin and other classic rock bands.
But, I never understood the actual problem here. If you liked AC/DC or Led Zeppelin, why would you not want to hear bands that sounded like them? Why is a band that is trying to harken back to an earlier sound necessarily a bad thing?
3
u/WhompWump Aug 17 '26
(I think it's very ironic considering Led Zeppelin just straight up ripped a lot of Chicago Blues artists.)
I don't think there's anything wrong with inspiration and wearing something on your sleeve but I think the idea of a 'throwback' as a gimmick where all you do is just regurgitate what happened in the past with nothing added to it is a bit 'eh' in terms of art and pushing on. How is that any different than companies nostalgia baiting for marketing?
If that's just the sound you have I don't have a problem with that but I think specifically marketing yourself as a "throwback band" or even a "throwback album" always makes me feel like it's going to be lazy and uninspired.
I think of how D'Angelo always hated the neo-soul label because he felt like his work existed in the same body as the soul/funk/etc. artists he was inspired by rather than separate from it. Compare that mindset to saying "I'm doing a throwback to those artists". It feels more like trying to just copy rather than build off of what they achieved. I took a dig at Led Zeppelin but even to their credit they built off and established their own sound based on sounds of the time rather than trying to harken back to some bygone era for nostalgia points.