Sooner or later, it always happens. That band you love, that band whose albums you buy the day they come out and then play until your friends beg for mercy, that band that changed your life - they put out a bad record. Maybe it's a horrible record. Well, with any luck, it's just one low point, and they get back on track. But that one record is always there, lurking in the background, ignored and mostly forgotten.
We tend to be pretty forgiving of our favourite bands. Oh, sure, they put out a stinker or two. But it's easy to forget about the stinkers when we have our favourites to enjoy. But maybe those stinkers deserve a second look...
In this fantasic article for the AV Club, Jason Heller makes the case for revisiting and finding the merit in the music we've written off. It's an argument that I find pretty compelling - I've been known to spend whole afternoons looking for something to love in the objectively terrible Jaws sequels. After all, who doesn't love rooting for the underdog?
Have you ever gone back and found merit in a "bad" record? Do you think it's even worth trying?