We're Still Relevant, Dammit!: Difference between revisions

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* [[Metallica]] preemptively pulled this trope between the albums ''Load'' and ''St. Anger''; during that time period, they tried to adapt to the rising [[Alternative Metal]] trends by changing their sound, [[Important Haircut|hair]] and logo. After the... erm... "not so well-received" album ''St. Anger'', they finally returned to their trademark thrash sound that we all know and love on ''[[Rescued from the Scrappy Heap|Death Magnetic]]''.

* [[Herbie Hancock]] spent most of the seventies and eighties jumping from genre to genre. He tried fusion, disco, funk and electronica, [[Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly|sometimes combining several of these]].

* In 1981, [[Village People]], those 1970s disco icons, tried to adapt to a new decade by discarding their [[Manly Gay|macho gay]] look and adopting a New Romantic one. The result was [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Villagepeople_renaissance.jpg less than] [http://cdn.hmvdigital.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/006/184/0000618491_500.jpg convincing].

* In 1981, [[Village People]], those 1970s disco icons, tried to adapt to a new decade by discarding their [[Manly Gay|macho gay]] look and adopting a New Romantic one. The result was [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Villagepeople_renaissance.jpg less than] [http://cdn.hmvdigital.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/006/184/0000618491_500.jpg convincing]{{Dead link}}.

* Arguably, [[Elton John]] has stayed (or tried to stay) contemporary for many decades, with mixed results. He dabbled with Philadelphia soul with "Philadelphia Freedom", disco on ''Victim Of Love'', new wave and synth-pop on parts of ''The Fox'' and ''Jump Up!'', experimented heavily with contemporary synthesizers and drum machines in [[The Eighties]] and [[The Nineties]] (especially 1985-1993), planned to record a [[Hip Hop]] album with [[Eminem]]'s producers before Proof's death, and returned to basics with ''Songs From The West Coast'' after hearing the [[Alternative Country]] of [[Ryan Adams]] in 2001. Part of the trend may have been aggravated by Elton's [[Signature Style]] of singer-songwriter Piano Pop, which was rarely fashionable in rock in the first place.

* [[Korn]]'s announcement that their album ''The Path of Totality'' would consist of a blend of their traditional sound and brostep rather smacked of this trope.

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== Western Animation ==

* [[Disney]] was pretty bad at this in [[The Eighties]]—chiefly, it tried to keep its core characters timely by releasing [[Image Song|albums of original songs]] for said characters after the surprisingly successful ''Mickey Mouse Disco'' in 1979. Follow-ups included ''Mousercise'', ''Splashdance'' (though the ''Flashdance'' connection was only in the title), and ''Totally Minnie''. The last was actually accompanied by [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b8mYFPlSR8 a very odd television special] where Minnie, dressed like the young Madonna and accompanied by [[Elton John]] in what may be the most embarrassing costume he ever wore, taught people to "be hip". Also, [[Donald Duck]] [http://babbletrish.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-disney-was-around-1987.html became a skateboarder]. And then, after a dry spell, there was the [[So Bad It's Good|infamous]] ''[http://saturdaymorningcentral.com/articles/001.html Mickey Unrapped]'' album in [[The Nineties]]...

* [[Disney]] was pretty bad at this in [[The Eighties]]—chiefly, it tried to keep its core characters timely by releasing [[Image Song|albums of original songs]] for said characters after the surprisingly successful ''Mickey Mouse Disco'' in 1979. Follow-ups included ''Mousercise'', ''Splashdance'' (though the ''Flashdance'' connection was only in the title), and ''Totally Minnie''. The last was actually accompanied by [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b8mYFPlSR8 a very odd television special] where Minnie, dressed like the young Madonna and accompanied by [[Elton John]] in what may be the most embarrassing costume he ever wore, taught people to "be hip". Also, [[Donald Duck]] [http://babbletrish.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-disney-was-around-1987.html became a skateboarder]. And then, after a dry spell, there was the [[So Bad It's Good|infamous]] ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20100530052715/http://saturdaymorningcentral.com/articles/001.html Mickey Unrapped]'' album in [[The Nineties]]...

** The cartoons on the 90s Disney Afternoon block on ABC had the premise of taking old classic characters and updating them in new settings with new clothes and, occasionally, new personalities... usually to reflect what was "in" at the time. Huey, Dewey and Louie got theirs in ''[[Quack Pack]]'', for example, where they aged into hip teenagers. Donald ditched his iconic sailor suit in favor of a Hawaiian shirt, and Daisy Duck became a sassy, assertive woman.

*** Of course, [[Donald Duck]] (especially in the comics) is often ''the'' go-to character for this trope. With all the fads he's joined, all the different jobs he's had, and all the many, ''many'' things he's been an "expert" on in various stories, Donald is the one classic Disney character who ''can'' pull off [[Totally Radical]] [[Tropes Are Not Bad|and remain perfectly in character at all times]]. Hawaiian-shirted cameraman for a popular TV show? Sure, why not? You ''know'' that next month he'll try to be an astronaut or get hooked on sushi or whatever.