Pablo Picasso is widely quoted as having said that “good artists borrow, great artists steal”. In the case of your humble weekly music thread writer, he merely stumbled upon what he thought would be a fun idea for a discussion topic in one of the open threads a few days back:

(https://the-avocado.org/2019/04/28/the-day-thread-is-260-lb-of-good-lovin/#comment-4441940469)

Regarding R.E.M., I’m on record here and elsewhere as a fan of 1994’s much maligned Monster, and will also go to bat for the largely unloved post-Berry albums Up and Reveal. As for Wilco, I think that Being There and Summerteeth are much better and more significant than anything Jeff Mangum did prior to Aeroplane, and A Ghost is Born is easily my second favorite Wilco album right after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (though it’s arguably diminishing returns after that). However, much I enjoy some of the albums that R.E.M. and Wilco made after Automatic and YHF respectively, it is interesting to ponder how those bands might be perceived differently or be even more revered today had they called it quits after producing what are widely considered to be classic albums (well, with the exception of the very vocal “NOTHING AFTER I.R.S.!” crowd in R.E.M.’s case).

Can you think of any other examples of bands or artists who are already well known and/or revered, but where “knowing when to quit” might have even further elevated their reputation? Let us know in the comments, and feel free to agree or (respectfully) disagree, as that’s all part of the fun, right?

So have at it, and as always, rock out with yr guac out!

(And since it’s probably already stuck in your head anyway after seeing the header image):