THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: SOLO ALBUMS - GOOD OR BAD?

Last week things got really interesting on the show when we discussed whether or not politics and music mix. I feel they do in a certain context, others felt that they just don't pay $100 (or $10) to hear what's on an artists mind. Others felt that if an artist (like Mel Gibson) has views that offend them, they don't want to support anything he or she does. 

My take is that I like to hear that an artist actually has something to say, with the caveat that if they talk about something, they better be able to back it up. Most artists that I like tend to have similar political views to me. But I don't love KISS any less because Gene Simmons thought that draft-dodging cokehead male cheerleader bush would do a better job defending us than war hero/hockey player/rock and roller John Kerry. Even the fact that Lemmy wears German army uniforms hasn't kept me away from Motorhead's music (although it does bug me, I gotta admit). 

This week is an even more controversial topic: are solo albums good for the health of a band? Do you get mad when someone from your favorite band does a solo project? I'm not talking about guys like Paul McCartney or Curtis Mayfield of Chris Cornell or Aimee Mann, who went solo after quitting their bands or after their bands broke up. I thought of this because Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes (I actually thought he sort of was Bright Eyes) have solo albums coming out this week, and I'm going to see Eddie Vedder do a solo show.  I actually chatted with Amy Ray informally today. She says that in the case of her band, her solo career has been a good thing. I heard that there was some tension in Pearl Jam over Eddie doing solo stuff (odd, as every other member of the band does their own thing), but I'd argue that it's been good for him to do some solo stuff. We'll probably also talk about Stevie Nicks, who maintained a very successful solo career for quite a few years while Fleetwood Mac were on top of the world. Apparently, there are some Stevie fans on the Larry Flick show! By the way, I'll be on Thursday instead of Wednesday this week.