Why are Bon Jovi not a credible band?!
 

Hi guys?

I just wanted to share a rant with you all, so please bare with me...

I'm so sick of having to justify to people why I love BJ so much, I mean, if somebody says they love U2, that's fine, no questions asked...but with BJ, people laugh as if you have no taste.

The thing I love about them live is the amazing atmosphere, 2.5hrs of pure fun, where nothing else in the outside world matters. And I know it's songs like LOAP and IML that achieves that atmosphere, but why can't the band play/release songs that show them to be the gifted songwriters they are?

If they sang Something to Believe In/Dry County, etc, people couldn't fail to see how lyrically and musically superior they are to, for example, U2 (though I like them too...just not as much :) )

As 40-somethings you'd think they'd want to be taken a wee bit more seriously, rather than being known soley for stadium anthems? Or do you think they don't care about being taken seriously, and just wanna spread the fun of rock n roll?

Anyhoo, if anybody shares my views, I'd love to hear them!

Sheonagh

Ignore it.

People USED to ask me that before It's My Life came out. To that point, they were "just an 80's band" in many people's eyes. After that "comeback", people really couldn't say they weren't relevant anymore.

I'm a guy, so it's harder for me. I get shit from my 'friends" all the time about liking them, about how they're pussy rock or Jon's gay, crap like that.

Personally, I think they're just pissed because Bon Jovi is still around and much bigger than any of the music they listen to.

Or maybe we just have bad taste.

Like someone said in other thread "I wish that jon was fat and bold" or something like that.

Maybe part of it is we know the album tracks and most people just know the singles.

Aside from that, I find that you're a lot less likely to be brushed off for being a Bon Jovi fan now as you were 10 or 15 years ago. They keep coming back and having hit songs and having successful tours. It would be difficult for anyone to win an argument about their relevance if you're armed with some knowlege of their history. ;) And in the end, it's music--it's entertainment. So if you're entertained, they're doing their job.

I find that even though Bon Jovi are enjoying huge successes again with Who Says being #1 and the sold out world tour most people I know who aren't fans still think of them as a band that sucks. I have never felt embarrassed to love the band, I do not keep it a secret that I am a huge fan, I defend them when people say they suck, but I don't let it bother me if someone makes fun of me for loving the band so much.

It is really difficult to explain to someone who doesn't "get them" why you love the band so much. My dad is constantly like "Why are you going to see them again/ you don't need to see them again/ you just saw them, it's the same show etc." But at the same time my parents do know how important the band is to me and how their music has had such an impact on my life. It's not some phase I am going through. If it was I would have outgrown it a looong time ago. There is a connection with the band. My mom was a huge Beatles fan in the 60's so I always tell her that Bon Jovi is to me what the Beatles were to her.

I sometimes feel sorry for people who don't have a connection with a band like the way I do with Bon Jovi. It's like they cannot even imagine what they are missing out on. Oh well.. it's their loss. ;)

I can relate to that! My coworkers ask me why I'll go see the "same show" three nights in a row and they don't seem to get it when I say, "It's NOT the SAME show." My family was sure I'd outgrow Bon Jovi too, but it hasn't happened yet. It doesn't look like it's going to. ;)

The U2 parralel always really confuses me, they're not overly different ... both play anthemic stadium rock, both had huge commercial success in the 80's, experimented with different directions in the 90's, and had a bit of a commercial comeback in the 00's; and yet U2 is rated higher than BJ by just about everyone

you are all soooo right. I have a load of friends who think that they just do sentimental crap for the masses nowadays. say they've forgotton their roots and stuff. these are mainly people who are into stuff like AC/DC and appreciate the heavier numbers. Although I never really feel the need to justify BJ (why bother, if they've written them off...) I sometimes play Undivided or Bounce just to show them that they still do do heavier numbers and it's not all Welcome to wherever you are, Always or bed of Roses -- although I then have to point out that even back in the 80s they had ballads... But I agree, it is annoying...

It is annoying but that's about all. There is something to be said for "those who have the last laugh" LOL. I've been a Bruce fan since the 70's and I get the same kind of comments about him too. "Haven't you outgrown that phase yet?" etc. Ignore them all and enjoy being entertained as Becky said.

I might point out that other Jersey boys have had similar reputations - maybe it's something in the water LOL. In the 60's the Four Seasons were huge here (I don't really know about the rest of the country). Everybody made fun of the "pretty boys" who sang funny. Earlier this week - "Jersey Boys" (the musical about the Four Seasons) won a pile of Tony Awards including Best Musical. In the end - it really is all about enjoying the show.

Kathleen

I couldn't agree more!! :D
You just can't explain to someone else..but that's the goos part of being a Bon Jovi fan. It's the best kept secret, isn't it??
I've never felt embarassed, most of th time I feel really proud and I don't care if someone thinks I only like Jon's ass. Some people just don't WANT to understand. Let's leave them to their ignorance.

... both charge an arm and a leg for a ticket.

just to sum up the anti Bon Jovi arguments:not mine,of course
- Bon Jovi is a boys band
because most of their fans ,are female in love with jon 'face or ass'
choose what you want
- jon is gay
because he looks like a gay (his hair ,his clothes etc)
- not a rock band..but a pop band
too predictable..few solos ,no impro ,cheesy lyrics,

it's what i read sometimes on this group

Not really in the big concert scheme of things. Three years ago I paid $250.00 a ticket to see Simon and Garfunkel (and Paul McCartney) at the same venuus I see BJ at. This tour, three years later I am still only paying $100.00 a ticket for Bon Jovi. I'm not saying it isn't expensive, ut's just that other acts do charge way more.

Kathleen

I don't generally have that sort of budget. To me the original £75 I paid for Wembley was top end. But, then again, I tend to see bands once per tour. I prefer to see lots of bands every year, rather than one or two bands several times. Bon Jovi might have moved out of their humble working-class backgrounds, but some of their fans still have to struggle away.

I paid $100 to see Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson and they don't have the longevity to charge the big bucks that Bon Jovi, U2, Simon & Garfunkel, etc... have.

I think people who don't go to a lot of shows don't realize that Bon Jovi are pretty reasonable compared to their peers.

This year I've seen three of my favourite (we're talking top 5) bands. Two of them charged about £15 a ticket and one was £60 (Bon Jovi). I go to lots of gigs, doesn't mean I have to folk out a fortune each time. To me £60 is expensive, but I'm willing to pay it for a one off gig.

nobody to comment my quote ?
are you too shy? is it false or not ?
come on if you love the group ,can can respond to that

Seems someone is a little desperate for attention.

a little bit of truth in my quote ?

What do you want someone to say? I haven't heard anyone legitimately accuse Jon, Richie, or David of being gay since late 1990. Back then, it was an insult. Now it's very much accepted and gay musicians don't lack credibility (Queen, Elton John, Melissa Etheridge).

Rock/pop... bleh, who cares. That's been discussed to death. Boy band? Who thinks they're a boyband? Boy bands dance and don't play instruments.

Becky of course you don't go to other message board
just some examples
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...wsitemID=49073
plus
http://www.metalsludge.tv/phpBB2/vie...light=bon+jovi

just to know the image of this group outside fan's message board

What is the point of posting those? Alot of people have already stated that it doesn't matter what other people think of the band. I really don't care if someone thinks Jon is gay or thinks they are a boy band. It doesn't mean if I read it enough or see it enough I am going to stop being a fan cause oh the majority of other message boards think that the band isn't cool or don't make good music. Like I said some people who don't like Bon Jovi don't know what they are missing out on. It's their loss. And after all 100,000,000 fans can't be wrong now can they? ;)

How could somebody have "real" argumenst against Jovi... Those guys have done everything. There aren't any band than Jovi from early 80s who could still fill stadiums just by claping your hands. In fact there aren't many of those bands even from 90s or from 21th century.
Or course some heavy digging idiots can say that you love pretty boy but that is just sad. It's not our problem that those heavy bands' leaders are so god damn ugly. That is their own problem. Jovi make hit singles in every record, Jovi sell out stadiums in every tour, Jovi gets better every moment and they get yonger everyday... Who can you blame.

It's just a bit of banter. Some people are very protective of their favourite band, in the eyes of a die-hard Metallica or Guns N' Roses fan, they are the best.

I don't go to other message boards unless they're interests I hold. I'm not going to police the internet to disagree any time some idiot says Jon is gay. I don't CARE that much! lol

I haven't even hear that kind of crap... How low can someone go. Is this because he is married or something. What is bad about that rocker is good looking. I'm a guy and I have a girlfriend and I'm as strait as man can be but still I think it's better that Jon is good looking than ugly.
I think it's great to see Jon and guys coming to stage looking fit and young. It is great to see 40-50 year old guys taking care of their appearance. I can accept that somebody don't just like Jovi's music but that they go to the personal thing to prove something that's not there. If I don't like some band, I just say it's bad but I don't call the singer gay or ugly cause that doesn't make any difference to the quality of musiv and personalities... just sad.
Heavy guys don't just get that there is also something else than long hairs and black clothes. It's like they have too much balls to addmit that guy can look good. For all of you there... they don't bite you even though they've got better looks.

They lack credibility because they're cheesy. There's so much cheese and cliche that people refuse to look a little deeper and see that they do cliche WELL, they're actually talented, and there is more to them than WHOA-OHs.

RIGHT! There are NA NA NA's too, dammit!

Exactly. See, we get it.

I was there when nearly everyone had slippery playing out of their car window and it was cool to be a Jovi fan....U2 were big to and I can understand why people liked them in the early days but not since then , perhaps a couple of records have been good, but a lot of their stuff was weird I couldnt understand what they were singing about...

I think a lot of people are closet Jovi fans because if you put Livin on a Prayer on and watch people they all know the words and sing along...

I dont really care if others dislike Jovi as long as they are respectful

Dawn

Liking Prayer doesn't translate to being a fan of the band. There are lots of songs I like that I could give two shits about the band who sings them.

hi
 

i totally agree with you on this one i do like jovi alot especially richie and i respect other peoples opinion as that is what they are entitled to and i have disliked them in the passed with certain songs but i do love them as an all and if people criticise them they need to think first as they are probably the only people other wise the band wouldnt have been going so long

I agree, but I think the initial point was there ARE alot of closet Jovi fans out there.

I will say though, nowadays, it's not as "uncool" to like them as it was back in the early or mid 90's.

I don't think that it's ever has been "uncool" to like Jovi, some people just like 'em some don't... I like big time. It is't more "uncool" than enyone else. Jovi got a huge fan base, one of the biggest in the world... you just have to look the size of the audiences and it's clear as a day. What are those arguments that proves that...? Results speak from themselves...

Don't get me wrong - I have loved Bon Jovi for over 20 years but there are reasons for these things:

It's partly the legacy from the 80's that they've never lived down - the long permed hair, make-up, spandex trousers, masses of tassles and scarves - the whole 'soft metal' girly thing. They never lived what people see as a real 'rock 'n' roll' lifestyle (i.e. sex, drug problems, alcohol problems) and their popular songs have been really commercial. Also, the songs that have been popular are about working class people living working class lives and trying to have some fun along the way. The difference with U2, especially in the 80's, was that they were writing about the political situation in Northern Ireland and Martin Luther King amongst other things. I think that Bon Jovi write fantastic songs, but they're not serious song writers in the same sense. I think they've tried to grow into that, but it's not what the masses want from them - we want fun, and that's what they give us.

Here in the Philippines, they laugh at me if I say I like Bon Jovi. To them its uncool, cuz I guess its not badass with all the shouting and screamings of rock bands today. And its not cuz of tastes too. I love Aerosmith, people dont look at me differently cuz of that, but when I mention Bon Jovi, they laugh about it.

Personally, I think its cuz Jon is handsome, that a lot of guys feel threatened by it, or that they fear that people will say they are gay for liking a band with a handsome lead singer. Much like about Cruise and Pitt, a lot of guys hates them more than other actors(who are crappier).

But in the end, its what I like, not theirs.

I don't bother to defend. I love their music and thats all that matters. You cant force the world to have the same love. Obviousely they do something right because they are still relelvant and still touring.

They write some cheesy lyrics yep as I think do every band going. But they write some lyrics and music that I think is absolutely amazing.

Who wants to like whats considered cool anyway?

If people cant see beyond the hair then theres not much I can do about that.


Kat