Has JOURNEY Jumped The Shark OR are Happier Days Ahead?

[Wheels Of Fyre]

I mentioned this in another thread and wanted to explore it further.

When I was a kid Happy Days was a popular TV show. It was the 70's and our parents who grew up in the 50's had become the executives of the times. They felt that the time was right to revisit their youth and the 50's so they created Happy Days (among other nostalgic works such as Grease, American Graffiti, Sha Na Na, etc). It was great fun until the show "jumped the shark." Many people agree that the episode when Fonzie jumped his motorcycle over a pool containing a giant man-eating shark was the death of the series. From this was born the phrase, "Jumped the shark." which is applied to anyone or anything that has reached its peak and has nowhere to go but down.

I disagree with this premise. I don't believe art can ever reach a peak. It seems to me that art is an expression of the human experience. Certainly, the human experience has so much on the horizon. It also has a lot in which to revel. Happy Days was nostalgic and its audience loved its salute to the 50's however people only want to visit nostalgia - they don't want to live it. As the Happy Days audience grew weary of its slideshow the writers of the show had to resort to spectacle in order to keep them. In a rather extreme effort they mangled together the blockbuster movie JAWS and a cheap Evel Knievel stunt into their show. This destroyed the nostalgia of Happy Days and reduced it to ridiculous.

JOURNEY has been touring now for almost 10 years on nothing but pure nostalgia. Some say that they've jumped the shark. I don't think they have but they're perhaps poised on the ramp and revving up the motorcycle.

[fred_journeyman]

I think they jumped the shark a while ago. I'm not sad about it, or happy about it. It's the way it is.

[Rockindeano]

Journey jumped the shark when they wrote Open Arms.

[yulog]

they have jumped the shark so many times it doesnt even get aroused anymore when they splash in the water

[Voyager]

Jumped the shark? Never heard that one before, and I saw lots of Happy Days reruns.

[cubby69]

Journey jumped the shark when they wrote Open Arms.

You got that shit right...

[Rockindeano]

Journey jumped the shark when they wrote Open Arms.

You got that shit right...

Where the Hell have you been you old bloodhound?

Old School Cubby rolling in and NOTHING has changed uh dude? Still an old school Journey fan. Love it.

[cubby69]

Journey jumped the shark when they wrote Open Arms.

You got that shit right...

Where the Hell have you been you old bloodhound?

Old School Cubby rolling in and NOTHING has changed uh dude? Still an old school Journey fan. Love it.

Hey bud, nope I'll never change when it comes to that shit.

Well you know this thing out there called real life, well, it grabbed me by the balls, dragged me around for a few months on my ass and wouldn't let go....lol....you all don't mind if I go postal, do you

I'll be around a little more, spreading that 'old school' Journey gospel, Billy Graham style

[maverick218]

Journey jumped the shark when they wrote Open Arms.

You got that right!

[The_Noble_Cause]

None of the above.
They are static.
Like the Augeri-era preceeding him, JSS-Journey will continue to tour succesfully and release albums no one buys.
The one upshot is the albums will be more cohesive.

[Carrington]

None of the above.
They are static.
Like the Augeri-era preceeding him, JSS-Journey will continue to tour succesfully and release albums no one buys.
The one upshot is the albums will be more cohesive.

Agreed..........

[Red13JoePa]

JSS-Journey will continue to tour succesfully and release albums no one buys.
The one upshot is the albums will be more cohesive.

Overrated, TNC. Generations is Jrny's Exile On Main Street. Sort of all over the map musically. Now Exile's the consensus choice as the Stones' masterpiece....

[Matthew]

Journey jumped the shark in 1998...

[The_Noble_Cause]

Overrated, TNC. Generations is Jrny's Exile On Main Street. Sort of all over the map musically. Now Exile's the consensus choice as the Stones' masterpiece....

Dude, I like Generations a whole lot, more than most, but it is no fucking masterpiece!

[Red13JoePa]

Maybe not yet.... your man jeb's CR Mag did indeed tab it a "masterpiece" last summer, though.
I guess it can never be regarded TRULY as such with Escape out there...

[captexshreve]

Jumped the shark? Never heard that one before, and I saw lots of Happy Days reruns.

http://www.jumptheshark.com/
enjoy...

[The_Noble_Cause]

.... your man jeb's

My man?
I don't even go to that guy's website.
You know I remain dotingly in love with that Aussie ramrod, Andrew McNiece.
C'mon now, 13.

CR Mag did indeed tab it a "masterpiece" last summer, though.
I guess it can never be regarded TRULY as such with Escape out there...

Then they are fucking retarded.
I don't know any Journey album I'd call a masterpiece.
"Frontiers" comes closest for me.

[SteveForever]

not the same thing exactly, but met one of the producers of this film a few months ago and it should be fun to see, everyone got on board for it-he said the biggest jerk and only jerk was Richard Dreyfuss-Spielberg called Dreyfuss to make him do it, anyway here it is: http://www.sharkisstillworking.com/

[Wheels Of Fyre]

None of the above.
They are static.
Like the Augeri-era preceeding him, JSS-Journey will continue to tour succesfully and release albums no one buys.
The one upshot is the albums will be more cohesive.

So they're not even racing up the ramp? Are they even on the ramp? If not then WHERE the heck are they?

[The_Noble_Cause]

So they're not even racing up the ramp? Are they even on the ramp? If not then WHERE the heck are they?

80's Nostalgia Purgatory. The place all good bands go to die.

[Wheels Of Fyre]

I mentioned this in another thread and wanted to explore it further.

When I was a kid Happy Days was a popular TV show. It was the 70's and our parents who grew up in the 50's had become the executives of the times. They felt that the time was right to revisit their youth and the 50's so they created Happy Days (among other nostalgic works such as Grease, American Graffiti, Sha Na Na, etc). It was great fun until the show "jumped the shark." Many people agree that the episode when Fonzie jumped his motorcycle over a pool containing a giant man-eating shark was the death of the series. From this was born the phrase, "Jumped the shark." which is applied to anyone or anything that has reached its peak and has nowhere to go but down.

I just visited www.jumptheshark.com and they list Fonzie as jumping garbage cans. My memory is faltering on this one. I'm not sure what I remember now! I think I must be mangling JAWS, Happy Days, and EK in my own mind! Did Fonzie jump a shark or only garbage cans? I vaguely recall EK jumping over a pool of sharks. What the heck?

Anyway, the point being that Happy Days abandoned nostalgia and resulted to spectacle in order to maintain an audience. They didn't stay true to the endearing quality of the show and therefore jumped the shark.

[Wheels Of Fyre]

So they're not even racing up the ramp? Are they even on the ramp? If not then WHERE the heck are they?

80's Nostalgia Purgatory. The place all good bands go to die.

And as I said in my Ugly Betty thread: nobody cares! Everyone's running around placing blame on band members, radio, the media, management, etc when it truly comes down to THE AUDIENCE.

JOURNEY is playing to the wrong audience. Your sig quoting SP is spot on! A change is needed: a new audience!

[NealIsGod]

I mentioned this in another thread and wanted to explore it further.

When I was a kid Happy Days was a popular TV show. It was the 70's and our parents who grew up in the 50's had become the executives of the times. They felt that the time was right to revisit their youth and the 50's so they created Happy Days (among other nostalgic works such as Grease, American Graffiti, Sha Na Na, etc). It was great fun until the show "jumped the shark." Many people agree that the episode when Fonzie jumped his motorcycle over a pool containing a giant man-eating shark was the death of the series. From this was born the phrase, "Jumped the shark." which is applied to anyone or anything that has reached its peak and has nowhere to go but down.

I just visited www.jumptheshark.com and they list Fonzie as jumping garbage cans. My memory is faltering on this one. I'm not sure what I remember now! I think I must be mangling JAWS, Happy Days, and EK in my own mind! Did Fonzie jump a shark or only garbage cans? I vaguely recall EK jumping over a pool of sharks. What the heck?

Anyway, the point being that Happy Days abandoned nostalgia and resulted to spectacle in order to maintain an audience. They didn't stay true to the endearing quality of the show and therefore jumped the shark.

Good Lord. Who can forget the episode where they went to California and Fonzie jumped a shark on water skis? It was my generation's 1958 NFL Championship Game.

[Just Mindy]

Good Lord. Who can forget the episode where they went to California and Fonzie jumped a shark on water skis? It was my generation's 1958 NFL Championship Game.

LOL I remember that very well

Nobody was cooler than the Fonz

[Voyager]

Oh, I see:



I still think it's a goofy phrase. Sounds UK or something.

[Voyager]

Hey, I found the picture that was taken on the day that Journey jumped the shark:

[Just Mindy]

Hey, I found the picture that was taken on the day that Journey jumped the shark:

Oh crap now THAT is funny

[Matthew]

Oh, I see:



I still think it's a goofy phrase. Sounds UK or something.

Eh? We Brits might be many things...but GOOFY ?

By the way...jumping the shark is an all American expression.

[yulog]

never heard of it

[Voyager]

Sounds like it's from the UK? Because it's goofy?

Here are a few of them:

Misunderstood British Phrases:

Accumulator (Car battery)
Afters (Dessert )
Aggro (Deliberate troublemaking)
Air screw (Propeller)
Alsatian (German shepherd)
Aluminium Aluminum
Antenatal (Prenatal)
Argy-bargy (Heated argument)
Back of beyond (Middle of nowhere)
Bap (Hamburger bun)
Biscuit (Cookie)
Blotto (Drunk)
Bobby (Policeman)
Bollocks (Testicles)
Bum (Buttocks)
Bun in the oven (Pregnant)
Butty (Sandwich)
Cooker (Oven)

These phrases sound goofy to Americans. There are a lot more of them here:

http://members.tripod.com/~outsidetl/la ... tish1.html