- Cover of Pyromania
In 1983, the biggest-selling album in the US was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, still a pop classic more than 25 years later. The second biggest-selling album was from a relatively little-known (at the time) UK rock band called Def Leppard. The album was Pyromania.
Selling more than 10 million copies in the US alone, Pyromania launched Def Leppard into the melodic rock stratosphere, and introduced music fans previously against rock into their brand of catchy hooks and excellent live shows.
The point?
Prior to 1983, Def Leppard were as unfashionable as you could get. A British rock band that were stuck between a rock and a hard place – trying to bridge the gap between old-school heavy metal and more mainstream rock. Their albums previous to Pyromania showed promise but were still mired in old school thoughts.
Step up producer and songwriter extraordinaire Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who helped Def Leppard reach the potential they had always shown. Getting them to work in new ways, be open to new ideas, and experiment with new approaches to get their song messages across more effectively.
You can do the same.
Look at what you do each day and see how you can improve it by thinking differently. Look at the old you and see what’s good and not so good, and how you can turn both into great.
If you blog, ask yourself how you can stand out from others. Write about the things you want to read as opposed to what you think others want to read. Take existing ideas, put your personality into them and make them your own.
If you’re a business owner, be Mutt Lange. Make your employees your band and open up the recording studio to fresh views. You’re still the producer at the end of the day, and you’ll make the final recording, but bands also know what their fans want – give them their voice too.
Safe and steady won’t harm you – you’ll always have a comfort zone around you. But wouldn’t you rather take a risk and see how far you can really go?
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Didn't you used to have the Twitter ID thing on your comments?
I'm following your advice, but I'm only commenting on your blog. Not the whole 'roll. That would take all day.
I would love to have time to research the edge between unique and weird. I love your inspiration to live on the edge, but it seems to be a strategy to pay off for so few.
Look at the manufactured boy bands and Britney Spears. Is it art? Of course now. But it's so marketable. If the right people cue it up, it's almost a guaranteed success.
One of my favorite books, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, almost never got published. But make another "Chicken Soup for your Conformist Soul" volume, and it will be a bestseller.
I know I must sound like some terrible pessimist, but my two blog posts that really get hits are "5 Twitter Stars You Must Follow Today" and "Twitter 101 for College Students." Let's just say I didn't exercise the ol' doctoral education much in writing those.
- Listless in Lubbock
I did actually have the TwitID plug-in, Sam, good memory! Unfortunately it's incompatible with IntenseDebate (for now) so between the two I'll stick with the threaded comments option (again, for now).
I see your point about manufactured being marketable, but then isn't everything like that? It's the safe route, but if you're looking for where the real music is happening, dig beneath into the indie scene, or the rap that doesn't make the record labels. True innovation is where the real music fan is going – after all, juniors and teens that grow up will lose their love for the manufactured band and find real talent.
Like I say, there's nothing wrong with the safe, and it definitely has its appeal. The risk, though, is where the real future lies (IMO).
And I know where you're coming from on your Twitter posts, it's my most popular too.
But is that because it's mainstream? No – more likely that it hit a nerve with the early adopters and users of the service – and it's the early adopters that are the equivalent of the indie music fan.
Cheers for offering your view, always appreciated fella.
I remember Pyromania very well, being only 12 at the time I probably missed some of the best parts of it, but I do remember was that it was a bit of a kick in the ass compared to other things out there at the time. Was I too young to be refreshed by this? Maybe, but now, reading your post, I get it. Funny to think, now, of Def Leppard as standing out from the crowd!
I guess everyone has their Eureka! moment – that was certainly the Leppard's.
Twitter: ariherzog
Dang it, Danny! And I thought you were writing about pyromaniacs, such as me in 11th grade chemistry class.
I didn’t get into Def Leppard until the late 80s but I know exactly what you mean. I saw a Def Leppard concert 1993ish and it was eerie seeing such a wide range of ages, but the band hit the ages.
Twitter: JulieWalraven
Doing my homework, Danny! And I loved this line, “Look at what you do each day and see how you can improve it by thinking differently. Look at the old you and see what’s good and not so good, and how you can turn both into great.”
Going to be my mode for 2010. Blessing, Danny, on everything you do in 2010!
Julie Walraven´s most recent blog post …Mind Spinning!
Hey there Julie,
Always a pleasure to have you around these parts
Glad you enjoyed the message – still one of my favourites, and like you something I want to keep trying each day.
Here’s to an amazing 12 months ahead, and beyond!
Twitter: iCreaTech
A thought provoking article Danny. While the manufactured products like the boy bands and Brittany can be hot, they typically will not stand the test of time – either in the group lasting decades, or the music being appreciated decades later.
You make an excellent point on the constant improvement point of view. Have you ever read ‘Good to Great’? Very similar premise on how to take a good organization, and make it truly great.
Cheers TJ.
It’s weird, when I was looking back at this as part of putting my list of personal favourites together, I was trying to think of any artists today that may stand the test of time as long as artists from a while back.
I do think that a lot of the “VH-1 generation” will probably have a shorter shelf life than previous artists, because few of them want to experiment and try new sounds.
I haven’t read “Good to Great”, but I’ll be sure to check it out.
Cheers!