Bands/Artists You Gave Up on...and what album was your point of departure?

Guided By Voices/Robert Pollard in general. I guess I called it a day at around Universal..., at which point I started thinking about mortality, and about how I didn't know when I was gonna die, and that I should spend more of my life listening to music that was unlike stuff I'd heard a thousand times before.

I hope to god I don't have to say 2067 at some point.

Suede - loved their albums and b-sides through to Coming Up. I bought Head Music and the Electricity singles, and after a few listens, got rid of them. I didn't even care when A New Morning came out.

I'm slightly interested in the new Butler/Anderson project.

The Rolling Stones/Tatoo You

Massive Attack - 100th Window. Was that the title? Can't even remember.

Guided by Voices at some point. I think the 47912th release. I just couldn't keep up and I ventured in other directions. Not that they turned bad (per se), I just wasn't interested anymore.

Unfortunately, Built To SPill's Ancient Melodies Of The Future fits into that category for me. I'm hoping it's just a mulligan, and they'll rebound from it, but after a 4 year wait, I'm not so sure.

Buzzcocks - Since their `89 reunion (resulting in the Alive Tonight e.p.) the band has cranked out albums, but Trade Test Transmission was really the last one I liked (I own both Modern and.....is it Go!, but rarely play them).

I gave up on Massive Attack after Mezzanine.

haha Dom OTM. I even liked Up, but lord...

XTC - I still count myself as a huge fan of theirs, but I found Nonesuch to be such a letdown (though there were hints of the same sort've -- to my ears -- sonic complacency on Orange & Lemons) that I almost completely wrote them off. I didn't completely write them off, however, until hearing Apple Venus. Never heard Wasp Star, and can't summon the desire to.

neil young, broken arrow. which is to say i even liked the pearl jam collaboration that came right before it. but broken arrow was the last straw, and the last time i bought anything of his.

(though he may not be an honest fit into this thread for me, in that i haven't given up entirely. i still hold out hope that something he does will bring me back one day. then again, i imagine you all feel the same way about the artists you've given up on, too.)

David Bowie - Let's Dance
Lou Reed - New Sensations

I second New Sensations. And I had even gotten it autographed by the man himself, for what it's worth.

I will third New Sensations, though I still like the title song.

My immediate thought on seeing the title of this thread was REM, but even earlier than Dom. Automatic for the People was my last, and even then I didn't buy it -- someone gave it to me.

I have had a tendency to give acts a second chance, and I often see them improving a lot next time around. This was the case with Depeche Mode, who followed the disappointing "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" with the brilliant "Ultra". Also, Blur did some improvement from "13" with their most recent effort (even though I see no reason to waste my time on the Gorillaz side project).

Radiohead returned to form (at least partly) with "Hail To The Thief", and the two albums in-between (although they are still huge disappointments after OKC) have their moments too.

So I guess it is hard for me to cite somebody that I've given up completely. Or, that is, I gave up Dodgy after singer/songwriter Nigel Clark left and was replace by some loonie into some soul guy.

I have had a tendency to give acts a second chance, and I often see them improving a lot next time around. This was the case with Depeche Mode, who followed the disappointing "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" with the brilliant "Ultra". Also, Blur did some improvement from "13" with their most recent effort (even though I see no reason to waste my time on the Gorillaz side project).

Radiohead returned to form (at least partly) with "Hail To The Thief", and the two albums in-between (although they are still huge disappointments after OKC) have their moments too.

So I guess it is hard for me to cite somebody that I've given up completely. Or, that is, I gave up Dodgy after singer/songwriter Nigel Clark left and was replace by some soul guy.

PJ Harvey - 4 Track Demos

Metallica...St Anger being the departure point. Part of me hopes that they'll find their way back, becasue I can't conceive that they would suck ass so terribly for the rest of their career.

I almost gave up on Nick Cave after Nocturama...but thankfully Lyre of Orpheus/Abattoir Blues brought me back in.

Regurgitator - I gave up after Unit. The addition of the keyboard player killed me.

Soundgarden - Down On The Upside...but I was ready to say seeyalater after the novelty of Superunknown wore off. Once Chris stopped banshee-wailing, I lost interest. They pulled back too far, and I got bored.

I gave up on Metallica after the live box. Gave up on Soundgarden after Badmotorfinger. Gave up on Slayer after the live album, though having listened to the 4-CD box, I'm starting to regret that decision, and may pick up the albums I missed.

Alex, you're wrong about Motörhead. Their last two records have been great, and Overnight Sensation, which I believe is post-1916, is a must-hear, too, especially "I Don't Believe A Word."

R.E.M. - "Green" ("Orange Crush" killed it for me only I didn't know it for awhile yet)

Pearl Jam - "Yield"
A fine album but by the time Binaural came out I had no interest in the band anymore

Manic Street Preachers - "This Is My Truth"
See above

Beach Boys - "Keeping The Summer Alive"
I just can't bring myself to listen to the s/t album from 1985 even though I own it.

REM - "Up"

gave up on one of the most important bands to me ever, Neurosis, after the newest one, Eye of Every Storm. sometimes i wish bands would just remake their best album over and over and not 'progress' or grow...

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion "ACME" 1998

It might have been "NADIR" but, alarmingly, there was worse to come. This album destroyed nice balance of kick-ass guitar/drum shredding and tongue-in-cheek goofball swagger that made the JSBX a favorite of my undergraduate years.

OTM. I keep it because I like "broken homes" but it'll be lucky if it makes it through the next end-of-the-month-broke period without getting traded in. maxinquaye and p.m.t. can stay.

REM - "Reveal"
Tricky - "Angels w/ Dirty Faces"
Blur - "13"
U2 - "Zooropa"

Blur - The great escape

Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Hooverphonic - The Magnificent Tree (but not really purposefully)
Sneaker Pimps - Bloodsport (Splinter was fantastic and the demos were stellar for this album but they added electronics that ruined the essence of each song)

Spiritualized - "Let It Come Down"
Mercury Rev - "All is Dream"
Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"

Living Colour - "Stain"

Apparently they gave up after this one too. The funky presence of their original bassist was just too-much missed. Suddenly they were no fun at all.

Was the last R.E.M. album I bought really Document? Yeah, I guess that's true. I did like "Turn You Inside Out" from Green, though. Man I should try to hear that again soon, that would be fun.

I was surprised to hear Alex had given up on Motorhead as well. I heard something new from them recently and it actually sounded pretty good as far as their thing goes.

There are probably plenty of bands I could name for this thread, but I'd rather not as it depresses me. R.E.M. is the one that comes to mind first because people always talk about all these later albums of theirs and I have no idea what they're talking about!

It's not that I necessarily abandoned Motorhead -- I still count them as one of my favorite bands of all time -- but I just didn't hear quality consistency. I wish all my favorite bands were as tirelessly prolific as Motorhead, but only if they're going to maintain some sort've standard. Being that I haven't picked up a new on of theirs for some time, I suppose I shouldn't harp too much about it. I still go see them live when the plough through town, but I'm not wild about the current line-up (I can't shake the fact that the drummer used to play for Dokken, which is unforgivable to me, considering Phil Taylor's herculean stamina [notice I didn't say chops or finesse]).

I'm the very sort of Motorhead fan that depresses and confuses Lemmy to this day. I still pine for the Ace of Spades line-up.

Interesting how much I totally disagree with. Let's see:
Apple Venus Vol. 1 is a work of utter glorious beauty and genius. Nonsuch has a lot of great stuff on it too. Indeed, I think a lot of older XTC albums are fairly patchy...

R.E.M. lost me way back at Automatic For The People.

Meanwhile, I think Chiastic Slide is one of Autechre's best albums, but then I like Confield and Draft 7.30 too, and am loving most of the new one.

Mezzanine is by far my favourite Massive Attack album, although I adore the ones previous too.

I love Ill Communication, although Check Your Head is probably my fave. I think Paul's Boutique is mostly boring. So sue me.

Tori basically lost me around From the Choirgirl Hotel, although it has a few good songs, as does the one after...

Radiohead: Never gave up; Love OKC, Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief...

Depeche Mode: I most like Songs of Faith and Devotion, but despite having lots of singles off Ultra and later (for the awesome remixes: Jedi Knights, Shadow, Atom(TM), etc), I really couldn't care less about the albums...

But my vote would be Nick Cave...
I thought Murder Ballads was mostly tedious, and really can't give a fuck since The Boatman's Call, although I hear the latest double epic is meant to be good. I did like "God Is In The House", mind you.