Today I purchased the swan song of what was to my estimation the greatest band to ever pick up an instrument. It was with a somewhat sad and heavy hearted excitment that I purchased the thing and I tried very hard not to think about what it really meant. It was 'Who Cares A Lot? The Greatest Hits' and it was the last bit of material they needed to fulfill their contract along with a compainion video tape which I have not yet purchased. Now a good many people snicker at the notion of a greatest hits record for Faith No More, a band that enjoyed little commercial sucess in the United States beyond Epic and We Care A Lot but the band existed for 16 years and produced 5 albums. They had several singles, they just weren't recieved well here.
Faith No More was a great band because they refused to do what the trends demanded. They valued their expression, what they wanted to say with their music over things like money and fame. They could not be pigeon holed into a genre or a sound, this being the most pervasive reason that they never were readily accepted by Mtv and its lust for clear compartmentalization. They were always a breath of fresh air with whatever material they chose to provide us with. It was always something different and always something better than what was on the radio at the time. They were true visionaries.
If you scan the 15 tracks worth of singles from the band, it doesn't become readily apparent that when you listen to them you will be stunned by the diversity that is contained, a progression which is totally illogical but completely refreshing. These recordings have a punch to them that most bands will never dream of being able to have. As a budding musican I pray that I will have even an ounce of their vision with which to make my music.
Now this may sound over sappy or what not, but this band shaped and molded my high school existance as much as anything else I was exposed to. Their single 'Falling to Pieces' got me through some of my most emotionally trying moments when I was younger. I feel that I owe a great deal to this band and I am sad to see them go. As I listen to the disc and the familiar and unfamiliar tracks slide by I feel sad knowing that in the annals of history, bands such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and even outfits like Nirvanna will be revered as the movers and shakers of the industry. And this band, this wonderful band will most likely be ignored. It makes me sad to think that they will now fade away with little fanfare to see them off. But they will be remembered in the hearts of the people who loved them. People like me. I wish them the best and hope that they continue to produce great music of some kind or another.