Attempts by the band/artist to kill off their mainstream fanbase by making inaccessible music

I guess the Dandy Warhols are a good recent example, since Odditorium was so awful that I'm inclined to believe that they really did intend to go back to the small time. I mean, that's what they said they were trying to do, but who believes anything they say.

Pearl Jam.

Radiohead.

Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music

Lou wasn't trying to alienate his fanbase.

Seem to recall Mark E. Smith saying that Slates was his attempt to "get rid of the students".

Could make an argument for Band of Gypsys maybe?

(xpost) The previous album - Sally Can't Dance - had been Reed's biggest selling album up to that point, so MMM could be seen as a deliberate attempt to stop people buying his records. Although from interviews it does seem that Reed was serious about MMM as a piece of music.

He switches backwards and forwards on whether it was serious or not, but I always thought it was a contractual obligation fuck you rather than a piss off the fans thang. I guess you're right you could read it as both.

Radiohead

That's probably the only time in history where it had the opposite effect and the band became even more popular.

Dylan's Self-Portrait (though who believes anything Dylan says in interviews?)
Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers
Neil Young's Geffen records

Could make an argument for Band of Gypsys maybe?

Absolutely.

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

Talk Talk's entire career, album by album, song by song. All the way to Hollis' solo album.

In Utero was the album I first heard this meme attached to.

Closely related phenomenon: band/artist deliberately abusing mainstream fanbase by giving them weird, off-color or freeeeeeeeaky music. This'll blow their minds! I can't think of a really great example but Son of Schmilsson seems like it might qualify.

Scott Walker...

Blur's self-titled album, they were pretty vocal about it at the time.

Tricky's Pre-Millennium Tension?

Blur is a good shout because there was, I believe, a sense of anti-populist alienation to s/t and 13.

Talk Talk flashed into my mind but I dismissed 'em instantly because I don't think they were attempting to kill off any sort of mainstream fanbase, rather I think they were attempting to better express their musical vision.

Would Liz Phair exemplify the exact inverse of this formula?

'Tusk' has got to be the classic example, though whether or not it was intentional I don't know. I think this was also said about 'Paul's Boutique' when it was released, though I doubt the band themselves were trying to alienate folk. It doesn't really sound like that type of record now.

Perhaps more importantly, has any band actually improved by trying to wipe out their mainstream fans? I'm guessing not - it's a pretty unattractive pose to take.

Perhaps more importantly, has any band actually improved by trying to wipe out their mainstream fans? I'm guessing not - it's a pretty unattractive pose to take.

of those already mentioned, blur, radiohead and scott walker fit this bill.

blur did it twice, arguably.

I'd argue against it being what they tried to do, but I think the Boo Radleys' post-"Wake Up!" albums did a pretty good job of it nonetheless.

I don't think they were attempting to kill off any sort of mainstream fanbase, rather I think they were attempting to better express their musical vision.

This ^^ could be argued for any artist on this thread.

i'm not sure Big Star had much of a fanbase when they recorded 3rd

Aphex Twin definitely did this at some point/points, although I guess it's hard to pinpoint exactly when. Maybe following Come To Daddy/Windowlicker (which must've been his most mainstream phase) with Drukqs counts.

Weezer with Pinkerton. That whole 'rawer' sound type of thing.

Weezer with everything post-Pinkerton. That whole 'rawer' sound making shit music type of thing.

Well, post-pinkerton they were trying to gain back as many fans as possible, not alienate any.

Why are we wasting our time discussing Weezer?

. . . Because they pertain to the thread topic?

Pinkerton is only "inaccessible" in comparison to the s/t Weezer album. Both of which are shit.

i think some listeners found it "challenging"

..has any band actually improved by trying to wipe out their mainstream fans?

I'd argue the case for Air. Whether or not you feel 10,000 Mhz. Legend was an improvement on Moon Safari (for my part, it took me about five years to come around to realizing it, but I think it was), their determination to rankle the dinner-party-and-NPR set by making their music more "challenging," at the very least, set the stage for the happy marriage between the two approaches on Talkie Walkie, which is easily their best album

Radiohead seems to be a pretty obvious answer to this as well.