The Josh Innes Show - Remember When Fans Were Actually Critical Of Favorite Musicians?

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

I'm seeing stories about how people are afraid to be critical of the new Taylor Swift album. Back in my day, you could love a band or artist and still be critical when new music sucked. Why is this no longer the case? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. I enjoy this headline

Headline reads Some Taylor Swift fans are hating on the life of a showgirl But why? I don't know because people have opinions on things And some people aren't complete fucking shills That just love everything an artist puts out Maybe that's it You know we talked about this a little bit yesterday

Like back in my day you'd have an artist that was really successful And then they put in an album that people didn't like And people just wouldn't buy that album You know, like, it's the 30th anniversary of melancholy, the melancholy and the infinite sadness, the pumpkins album. And that was a gigantic album that sold a billion copies. Then the follow-up, and I don't even remember the name of the follow-up album, and it didn't sell nearly as many. And then they sold less after that, and then Smashing Pumpkins became a nostalgia act and wasn't a current act anymore. You know, look at Houdie and the Blowfish.

Hootie and the Blowfish had cracked rearview. You know how many albums cracked rearview sold? I want to say it was like 20-something million copies. Like it was some gigantic number worldwide. How many, let's see here, charts. Let's see how many copies cracked rearview sold. 22 million in the United States. 22 million copies of cracked rearview.

It is the number seven album in the 1990s. The 1990s top 100 albums, it was number, fucking seven one of the biggest albums of all time right you know what happened the next album for hooty and the blowfish it was an album called fairweather johnson you know how many albums that one sold worldwide three million it just happens that way sometimes somebody puts out a gigantic album and everybody loves them and then gradually people lose interest people are critical the music isn't as good go look at the tunes that were on cracked rearview hold my hand let her cry only want to be with you time. Those are four all-time bangers right there. Certainly only want to be

with you and let her cry. Let her cry is a fucking jam. Go to Fairweather Johnson. Find the song on there that you're like, oh yeah, that one. None. There's not one hit off of Fairweather Johnson. None of them. The next album, musical chairs. You know how many albums that sold? a million and then after that hooty and the blowfish are just off the face of the earth that's not ripping them that's not shitting on them that's reality sometimes you have a huge album or two albums or three albums and then your fan base gets older or gets out of the demo or just loses interest because the music isn't as good so like the idea that you have to think that everything an artist puts out as good because you're a fan of them is poppycock but let's see

this story after listening to the most controversial tracks, would, canceled, and actually romantic on Taylor Swift's new album, I could almost, I almost couldn't bear continuing. I've never been a self-proclaimed Swifty, but I grew up watching her career take off with classics like You Belong with Me and Love Story, attended the heiress tour with my mom in 2022, and appreciated the intricate storytelling on her COVID-era albums, folklore, and Evermore, which some fans argue are her best work to date. Well, those people are stupid because they should look at the red album, which is better

than all of that shit. Anywho, that's my editorial. It's hard to imagine that the same artist who crafted such beautiful melodies and narratives. I think your house is haunted. Your dad is always mad and that must be why she sings in seven could write something as derivative is, did you girl boss too close to the sun? She's already proven to be an amazing songwriter even before 2020 albums. So why regurgitate years old internet slang? Because she's a child. This isn't difficult. She writes music for fucking Lady Peter Pans that don't grow up. That's what she does.

And maybe she's just running out of fucking ideas. Like, that's also possible. If you think about what someone like Taylor Swift has done, Taylor Swift has put out, like, how many albums are she put out that have been certified bangers with tons of hits on them? A lot. And she sold a billion albums, right?

Like, at some point, you just kind of run out of ideas or you sometimes just lose interest. Maybe that's where they are. There's a lot of artists that have sold a ton of albums and then eventually just don't sell a ton of albums anymore. There are lots of artists that do that. People don't buy Bruce Springsteen music anymore.

They used to. They don't. Like, that just sort of happens, and you lose interest. And songwriters don't become as interesting, and they lose interest. It just happens. That's human nature. So, like, the idea that you're not allowed to criticize someone in this era, like, it's mean to criticize someone, or it proves that you're not a real fan.

Like, back in my day, real fans would be like, yeah, listen, I like that album, but this album is shit. and they just wouldn't listen to it and you would lose the fan base after that and then like time would pass and then there would be this nostalgic desire to have you back and then they'd be a fan again like look at the new kids on the blog maybe not the greatest example but the new kids had like two albums that were gigantic one was called um hang well one i forgot what their first album was called but then hanging tough and i think was the name of one of the albums and hangin tough was just this huge album right and the new again it's the new kids on the block. They're not, you know, fucking Bruce Springsteen. But like, look at them and tell me that they didn't sell a shit ton of albums back in like 88, 89, 90, right? Like, they sold a ton. Their first album was called New Kids on the Block. Their second was called Hangin' Tough. I was right on those two. And then step by step, all right? They put out three albums that were just loaded, right? you know didn't I blow your mind this time was on their original new kids on the block album but

hanging tough please don't girl girl girl you got the right stuff I'll be loving you forever hanging tough cover girl then they put out step by step which was in the midst of like their gigantic fucking tour where they were so big that like little Japanese girls were getting trampled at the shows step by step valentine girl like they put out banger after banger after banger again I understand it's the new kids on the block but then they were gone for a couple years and They put out an album called Face the Music. And Face the Music was a harder-edged version of the new kids on the block where they try to be kind of hard. Like, MC Hammer did the same thing.

MC Hammer was putting out like his fun poppy type of rap shit. And then one day decided he wanted to be a gangster rapper and nobody fucking bought it, right? And then, like, you disappear for a while. And then, like, there's this desire 10 years after the fact for you to have a comeback. And then you have a nice run on the nostalgia circuit. And that's exactly what the new kids on the blog did. they disappeared in like 1995 and they all tried solo stuff and Jordan Knight did give it to you and Joey McIntyre had a song called Stay the Same and I Love You Came Too Late.

They all showed up on, you know, you know, you'd see like TRL. They all had, they'd have a song or two on TRL and that was that. And then sometime in the mid-2000s, like 2008, they put out a new album, had a song called Summertime that was a moderate pop hit. And now they fill up amphitheaters and arenas for their tours now with like the Backstreet. boys. And that's how the circle of life usually goes for these people. You know, Hootie and the Blowfish sells 20 million albums, then three, then one, then falls off the face of the earth. Then 10 years later, people are like, I really miss Hootie and the Blowfish, and they start putting people in. That's what happened to all those 80s acts. You think Poison was filling up

stadiums in 2009? You think that Motley Crew was filling up arenas in 1996? No. But then sometime around 2008, 2009, they say we're going on a farewell to and people start filling up the stadiums again for nostalgia and now everywhere Motley crew goes they can fill up stadiums that's the circle of life that doesn't happen with people in this air like taylor swift hasn't had to experience that and maybe she never will because she transcends all of those people but that's kind of the circle of life that's how this whole thing goes so people decide with their wallets what is a hit and what isn't and what careers will continue now we're kind of in this situation where if you don't blow artists that you love all the time, then you're not a true fan and their weird fan armies.

Social media has changed the game. I don't know what life would have been like if there were social media in these eras. Would these bands have ever gone away or would they have survived longer? I don't know. But like this idea that you have to be a sycophant for whatever artists you love. And if you don't like a particular album that you're a piece of shit, like, okay. I don't know what any of that has to do with anything. Like why that has to be the case, why you have to operate in that world.

But sometimes you just put out shit And maybe people aren't going to like it But people also don't want to say that publicly Because they don't want to get attacked by the racist Wackos that are supporters of Taylor Swift No offense, you're not all racist But a lot of you are You're just kind of like undercover racist

And wackos and lunatics And you're the true mean people You know Like as I've been in their crosshairs before My wife has been in the crosshairs of these lunatics before They are strange They are weirdos but like you listen to some of these songs

I told you I listened to some of them for the fuck of it you know and they are not good songs they are dull they're uninteresting the lyrics are childish but it's like you're forced if you're a Taylor Swift fan to say they're good

like nah anywho I guess I need to get to my actual job now but I'm glad we had this discussion but think about that think about artists that you love from a particular era right and think about how like you loved one album and the next album you were kind of down with because you love that artist then the next album wasn't all that good they kind of ran out ideas and then you just lost interest for a while and then somewhere about 10 years later you were like fuck i really miss hooty and the blowfish or fuck i really miss the new kids on the block or fuck i you know i really miss mc hammer or i miss i mean the backstreet boys are going through it too if in sync got back together with just and timberlake like i saw a story where in sync might tour again but just with or without Justin Timberlake.

And I'm like, if you tour without Justin Timberlake, that is the difference between playing like an arena and playing the food court of a mall. That's what we're talking about here. Like, imagine you're in sync and you're like, guys, I think we should go out on tour. But what if Justin doesn't want to come? Fuck him. We do it anyway. Like, do you?

Do you, friend? Like, I don't think you want to play that game. I don't think you want to see the difference. If Justin Timberlake is a... And by the way, Justin Timberlake should strongly consider it and go on a real tour. her with Insync, because people aren't that interested in him right now either. Like, that's the thing. Like, he's always got that in his back pocket.

Like, you should hold on to that until you need it. Like, Taylor Swift should hold on to the Super Bowl until she needs it. She didn't need the fucking Super Bowl. So hold on to that. Put that in your back pocket. Timberlake's been holding on to, like, the Insink full-on reunion until he really needs it. Because once he decides to do that, like, we all know it's because, like, the other part of it's failing.

But he can spin it as, hey, he just wants to get back together with the boys. And that's what he should do. That should be the angle is he should get back together with the boys. and go out there and just and sell out arenas. Maybe team up with, you know, another, you know, like, hey, here's 98 degrees and in sync and and then go out and do whatever. But if they do it without him, like they're literally playing some kids bar mitzvah. Like some girl's kinsenegra is being played by the current members of NSYNC.

Like, that's how big the difference is. No one wants to see Lance Bass. No offense to Lance Bass or Joey Fatone. Nobody wants to see them, and they know that. know that like I read that headline they're like even like the in sync is considering a comeback even without Justin Timberlake you may not want to do that that seems like a bad decision kids nothing against you feels like a really shitty decision to make because like you're you're like doing the grand opening of a Ross either you're playing the United

Center or you're playing like the the grand opening of a five below like that's what we're talking about here within sync. That is the difference between Justin Timberlake and no Justin Timberlake. So just keep that in mind. All right, more to come.