On occasion, classic rock stars have decided to jab at their fans in their songs. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, they are usually successful in making certain fans angry. Let’s look at a few times when rock stars from years passed used a song or two to pick fights with their fans.
“Stupidmop” by Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam didn’t make a habit out of bullying fans. Still, it’s pretty clear that “Stupidmop” was intended to alienate some fans who wanted Eddie Vedder to be the next edgy rock star. To end the album Vitality, which as a whole was a divergence from the band’s typical grunge sound, Vedder included the song “Stupidmop”.
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This highly experimental art rock track has been compared to The Beatles’ “Revolution 9” on occasion. And it was just as divisive, honestly. More than a few casual fans checked out before the eight-minute-long song came to an end.
“In Bloom” by Nirvana
When Nirvana blew up, Kurt Cobain wasn’t exactly happy with the aftermath. Much of his music focused on his feelings of alienation and isolation. So, when the same type of people who bullied him growing up started going to Nirvana’s shows in droves, the hypocrisy was pretty obvious to Cobain. To ruffle a few feathers, he included “In Bloom” on Nevermind. That album isn’t without its pop-leaning hits like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. But, “In Bloom” was an ode of sorts to the OG fans of Nirvana while also pissing off the newer fans. The lyrics say it all:
He’s the one who likes all our pretty songs, and he
Likes to sing along and he likes to shoot his gun, but he
Knows not what it means.
“My World” by Guns N’ Roses
After Guns N’ Roses made it big with Appetite For Destruction, Axl Rose was ready to get ambitious and experimental. The double album Use Your Illusion was certainly a very different-sounding follow-up. And one song was so different that fans were straight-up mad about it, especially because it closed out the album on a sour note.
It’s clear that “My World” was supposed to be Rose’s take on industrial rock a la Nine Inch Nails or something similar. However, a lot of people hated it. It seemed like Guns N’ Roses was done making classic rock songs and instead were ready to do something different, eager to piss off the OG fans that loved Appetite For Destruction. It would end up being to their detriment in the end. The covers album The Spaghetti Incident? would follow, and the classic band lineup would end with it.
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