Something wonderful happened recently.
I was looking through used CDs, searching for bargain additions to my collection, and I ran across a title that I had bought nearly 30 years ago.
I had liked it at the time, but apparently my roommate had liked it even more – the CD had disappeared when the roommate and I went our separate ways.
Listening to it again after not hearing it for a few decades, I was pleased to find that it held up really well.
House Of Hope was Toni Childs’ second album.
But after the next one, it was nearly 15 years before she released more music.
I didn’t see her name mentioned in the press. And though I didn’t forget about her, I had no idea where she had gone. The possibility that she was lost to addiction – or worse – crossed my mind, but back in those days information wasn’t as accessible as it is now.
Hearing this music again was like crossing paths with an old friend. But what was really great was learning that, even though she’s based in Australia these days, she’s still around:
And still performing!
Apparently, she had a rough spell with a difficult medical diagnosis, but now she seems to be thriving.
Her voice is still strong, and in current photos she’s practically luminous.
It reminded me of a similar situation last year.
Some random person on a Facebook page made a post regarding a new album by Johnette Napolitano. I’d had no idea that she was still involved in music!
Her band, Concrete Blonde, had some respectable success in the early 1990s, but didn’t hold together.
Learning in 2022 that she had a for-real new album was shocking. Hearing it and realizing that it was as solid and moving as those tunes from 30 years earlier was a jaw-dropping experience.
Also in 2022, one of my all-time favorites, who is legendarily reclusive and mostly retired, returned with new music.
You may recall that I gushed at length about Cocteau Twins not long ago.
Their singer, Elizabeth Fraser, unexpectedly announced in early 2022 that new music was imminent.
Fittingly, it didn’t sound quite like Cocteau Twins, but it wasn’t so far removed – it’s still otherworldly and utterly beguiling.
There’s something incredibly gratifying about favorite artists who keep the dream alive and manage to continue making music successfully for such extended periods of time.
They are the survivors.
tnocs.com Contributing Author and Friend Both Grouse
Another of my favorites from the early ’90s was Hüsker Dü.
They were on the edge of breaking up at the time that I began listening to them, but thankfully Bob Mould, one of the primary songwriters, continued making music. He has released over a dozen albums since then. His 2020 record, Blue Hearts, is as fierce as anything from his Hüsker Dü days.
A decade prior to the rise of Hüsker Dü, Robert Plant, vocalist for the iconic heavy Rock legends Led Zeppelin, learned a hard lesson about surviving (or not) the music biz.
Led Zeppelin collapsed, but Robert Plant never stopped making music. Most recently, he released his second album with Alison Krauss, which I think it’s safe to say is a partnership that no one would have predicted.
And then, of course:
There’s Paul McCartney.
Sure, he’s released a few songs that people seem to love to dump on.
But when those songs are weighed against the totality of his vast output – and the man has released over 40 albums SINCE the Beatles broke up…
Well, I’m sorry – but your least favorite McCartney song is not worth being brought up.
Not only is Paul McCartney one of the most successful musicians of the last 60 years, and not only has he never, ever stopped making music during that whole time:
He’s also, by nearly all accounts, one of the most genuinely friendly guys in the business.
A person can spend a whole day reading accounts of random people who have had a chance encounter with McCartney:
Invariably, he comes across as perfectly down-to-earth and approachable. For someone who has had to deal with mind-boggling fame and success for his whole adult life, that’s really extraordinary.
There’s probably nothing I could say about Paul McCartney that hasn’t been said already, so I’ll just say this:
It makes my heart happy knowing that he’s still around, and that also applies to the other artists I’ve mentioned.
I think the world’s a better place with them walking it.
Obviously there are other music biz survivors.
Who are some of yours?
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I guess it says something about my age that I consider them still relatively new, but I always appreciate hearing anything from Cyndi Lauper, Boy George or Annie Lennox. Like the artists you mention, they have a way of releasing work that still seems of a piece with previous work while moving in new directions. Hope to hear more from each soon.
Re: House of Hope. I wasn’t familiar with that CD. I loved Toni Childs’ “Don’t Walk Away,” so it’s good to know there’s more to listen to from her.
Interestingly, the same day I got the Toni Childs, I picked up one of Annie Lennox’s albums- SONGS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. It’s pretty good!
I wasn’t aware of Elisabeth Fraser’s new band. They sound great!
The most moving instance of this lost artist phenomenon for me was David Bowie. For 10 long years he successfully avoided the spotlight (though I caught him in the front row of an Antony & the Johnsons concert in 2006). Then, out of nowhere, he dropped The Next Day, and then released music fairly steadily right until his very sudden death. And the album he released just days before passing was one of his finest. It was so powerful to have this man not just back, but showing the world that he could fire on all cylinders, even at the end.
And obviously Kate Bush makes us go through this from time to time. I got into Kate in 1999, so I didn’t have to wait the full 12 years until her next release in 2005, but it really seemed like she was done making music. And then she wasn’t.
Just this year, Patrick Wolf released an EP of new music after 11 years of silence, and 12 of new music. Welcome back, Patty!
Currently, I’m hoping that Light Asylum and TV on the Radio, or at least their respective musicians, show up some time soon. Maybe they’ve found meaning through some other avenue, and if so that’s fantastic. But, should they ever project more musical magic into the world, I would be absolutely delighted.
In the 80s I found Kate Bush weird and disturbing. That voice was like nails on a blackboard. By the 90s I was starting to get her. Now I can totally appreciate her uniqueness and was delighted when she came back to music.
I’d love some new TV On The Radio music but the long silence doesn’t bode well. We’ll always have the back catalog.
Mentioning the 12 year wait for Kate Bush and Patrick Wolf they’re no match for Vashti Bunyan. Released her debut in 1970 but quit music disillusioned with the response to it. It was rediscovered and re-released in the 00s and she started performing again and released her follow up in 2005. The third album only took another 9 years. She’s 78 now so looks like that may be it. Train Song from her debut was used in a few ads and TV shows in the 00s and 10s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_cZyavt06U
True. My first exposure to Vashti was her guest spots for Devendra Banhart and Animal Collective, the very gigs that had inspired her to come back, so I didn’t feel any of that wait. I believe she guested spotted on Devendra’s album for this year as well.
I love Vashti Bunyan! A friend of mine played me her JUST ANOTHER DIAMOND DAY (1970) album a couple of years ago and I was instantly captivated. Haven’t heard her first one yet, but I did pick up LOOKAFTERING. So I guess I’m about halfway to having most everything she’s recorded…
I do appreciate Kate Bush, and sometimes like her. But she’s definitely weird and disturbing.
I’m only a casual fan of Bowie, but I’ve been meaning to give his last album a solid listen. Everything I’ve read about it sounds impressive.
Not familiar with Light Asylum, I’ll keep an eye open.
Basically:
Nitzer Ebb + Goth Grace Jones = Light Asylum
Shannon Funchess is a force to be reckoned with. When she comes out from the shadows, at least.
It is amazing to hear Elizabeth Fraser’s voice sounding the way it is after decades of singing. She’s not going freakishly high on the track posted, but she’s playing to her current strengths and it’s good stuff. That’s pretty darn impressive.
I’ve realized over the years that for the most part, I get attached to songs and albums more so than the artists themselves, so there isn’t anyone I’ve really continued to follow over the years. I will say that long after his peak years, Billy Idol came out with an album in 2014 that I thought was really good.
I heard Billy Idol fairly recently, singing the outro song on an episode of Bob’s Burgers! His voice sounded stronger than I would have expected.
That Bob Mould record is great, as is Plant/Krauss, and I’m definitely going to have to check out Johnette Napolitano’s new stuff.
I’m a Who fan. Always have been. Their recent output has been iffy, with Townshend falling back on some lazy rhymes, but there are some great moments on each album and Daltrey’s voice is as strong as ever. I realize they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but I still dig ’em.
https://youtu.be/h2IN8wYqQ6E
Great topic, Both Grouse!
You’re a fan of Who?
I don’t know.
Guess who.
Yes.
Who’s Bud and who’s Lou?
Third base.
Beat me to it. 😆
That routine could also work for this-
Q- What’s your favorite Ozzy song?
A- I Don’t Know
I rarely follow artists over the years – my tastes change, and I move on looking for the next thing.
That being said, there is ONE artist I would go out of my way to search for if they ever released anything new, and would go see in concert in a heartbeat:
https://youtu.be/FHsip5xOenQ?si=J2BsWSPXLrWlk1ll
I’ve heard very little of the Sundays’ other music, but that’s a great song.
I am bad at this topic. Mainly because I don’t seek out recent music, even by my favorite artists. But there are exceptions.
The main one that comes to mind is Basia, who I really love. Her heyday was the late 80s through early 90s, but she’s only put out two studio albums since 1994. The latest, Butterflies, released in 2018 was refreshingly good! I saw her in concert on the ensuing tour and couldn’t have been more impressed with her voice at age 64. It helps me that her sound hasn’t changed much since she started–still the same upbeat, latin-tinged, jazzy-pop and still with the same collaborator, Danny White. It’s not for everybody, but here’s the first song on the album…one of the better ones, “Bubble”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb8zseccYTA
Wow, I didn’t know she had recent music! I love her debut. I’ll track down the 2018 release, thanks for bringing her up.
Like Chuck said, seeing those early MTV icons still out touring and continuing their musical career into their 60s is always a welcome sight. Like, just this week, I got an email alert from Ticketmaster that Adam Ant tix were going on sale, and first thing I thought was – no kidding, that’s awesome!!!
I’m not sure what it is that makes it so oddly gratifying to see veteran artists continue to find creative outlets and make new music. Maybe it’s because it makes them more legit at that point? Like, they could set up shop in Vegas and be a legacy act and sit in cruise control for the rest of their life, but they actually continue to put in the work, like the rest of us common everyday schlubs that have to work 9-5. It means something to them, and one can’t help but commend that attitude.
Hey, I’ve seen the full spectrum as a Duranie for 40 years. I was there when Duran was down to playing small clubs in the late 90s with a few hundred other fellow loyal passionate fans. I was there to see John Taylor play during his short solo stint to a room of about 60 people in the late 90s. I’ve watched them slowly build back up from 3,000 seat theaters after their 2003 reunion to seeing them sell out arenas again 40 years on. They’ve been around so long that the original drummer left after 5 years, stayed away from the limelight for 15 years, and was able to return to the fold and pick up with them for 20 more years and counting. That’s insane to stop and think about.
Cheers to those who love their job. 😀
That’s very cool to have such a long history with a band like that. And Duran Duran have gone way beyond expectations in terms of longevity!
From where I’m standing, it seems like the raw numbers of people who are able to achieve any kind of success in the music industry is absurdly low. For every one who’s at least marginally successful, there are 100,000 (probably not an exact number) who basically never get anywhere with it. I think that’s why it’s so satisfying when a favorite musician is able to do it long-term.
Other welcome veteran drops this year include:
Slowdive
Explosions in the Sky
Blonde Redhead
Aphex Twin
Brian Eno
John Foxx
Depeche Mode
Blur
The Smile (come on, it’s basically Radiohead)
I was just listening to a live stream of a Depeche Mode concert from earlier this year, just fabulous, such a monsterly solid live act still. Kudos to Dave Gehan for managing to retain his singing voice after all he’s been through.
Great subject and totally with you on Paul McCartney. I wouldn’t say I’m a Beatles obsessive but not too far off. There’s a long period of Paul’s post Beatle career that is variable in quality, a mix of great and not so great but since the mid 90s he’s really hit his stride. The older he gets the more I treasure each release.
Plenty of acts I’ve been following a long time. Last week I went to see The Charlatans. Almost 30 years since I first saw them. There’s been the odd album I didn’t connect with but another always comes along that I love. Although they haven’t released a new album since 2017 they’re still touring and singer Tim Burgess has been doing his own great solo stuff. They still end with the same song they’ve closed sets with since the first album in 1990; Sproston Green – it was never a single but as a 6 minute epic that they sometimes draw out past 10 minutes it’s a fan favourite.
Plenty others that I still keep with from the 80s or 90s and still make great music that doesnt rest on their legacy;
Spoon
Pet Shop Boys
Madness
Blur
Chemical Brothers
Flaming Lips
Belle & Sebastian
And many many more
Love your take on McCartney. With all of that output, are there some duds? Obviously. Are they even worth mentioning? Nope. Paul himself had this to say about critics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9xDBTpLz-8
I was happy to hear the Rolling Stones’ new album. Not that they have ever disappeared, but to be making new music at that age is amazing and inspirational. I want to still be doing what I love at 80. Will it be done as well as I did it in my prime? Maybe not. Who cares? As Paul said, “Shut up.”
o Doves waited 18 years (2002 – 2020) between albums
o Orbital waited 14 (2004 – 2018)
o My Bloody Valentine waited 22 (1991 – 2013)
All three of those later albums surprised the heck out of me.
Archers of Loaf had 24 years between White Trash Heroes (1998) and Reason in Decline (2022). Of course, Eric Bachmann did a lot of work between then, both as a solo artist and in Crooked Fingers. But the Archers are a different phenomenon entirely. And some high points of Reason in Decline were right up there with the best early Archers material.
https://youtu.be/KUylqoBHdpo?si=b-_7WDrL7IKFzL22
Do you remember Thrashing Doves? They recorded three albums. Their last album was a reboot, newly christened as The Doves. That was in 1991. So I waited thirteen years to be disappointed that Doves were neither Thrashing Doves or The Doves.
Legend goes that Margaret Thatcher killed their career. She was on a youth show with Thrashing Doves. When the music video for “Beautiful Imbalance” was over, the host asked if Thatcher liked it. The prime minister gave the band a “thumbs up”. And their career immediately went down in flames.
In my mind, Thrashing Doves would still be an active band if not for Margaret Thatcher’s endorsement.
Somebody on my mother’s side has a copy of Toni Childs’ Union.
Grammys ’89 tried to be cool. Besides Childs, Sinead O’Connor, Metallica, and Tracy Chapman all performed.
I like Union a lot.
I think “Walk and Talk Like Angels” had the most commercial appeal. But alas, it was the third single.
I was in a Johnny Clegg and Savuka phase. Childs, as you know, had a song called “Zimbabwe”. I blame “Asimbonanga” for turning me into this weird political activist pipsqueak weirdo. I remember my South Africa mixtape. I had “Zimbabwe”, The Special AKA’s “Free Nelson Mandela”, Clegg’s “Scatterlings of Africa”, and Julia Fordham’s “Happily Ever After” all in a row, framed by The Indestructible Beat of Soweto tracks at the beginning and end. The other side featured tracks from Little Steven’s second and third albums.
That ’89 Grammy Awards Show was unusual because three out of the four artists I mentioned above lacked a top forty hit. OMG. It’s as if the criteria for being nominated was…talent.
Toni Childs has a very compelling voice.
I fell out of my chair when The Connells announced new music. Also, Drop Nineteens, and the aforementioned Archers of Loaf.
C’mon, Judybats!
YES to all that. I’m not overly familiar with most of the artists you mentioned, but THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BEAT OF SOWETO is tremendous. And Toni C definitely has a compelling voice – I don’t know anyone else who sounds like her.