There seems to be a new trend in the world of rock music. Artists don't seem to want to be famous anymore. They seem to be angry about their newfound fame, and they want people to know about it. Three bands that come to mind (when I think of bands that say they don't want to be famous even though they already are) are Blind Melon, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam.

After seeing their video for "No Rain" played so many times a day on MTV, Blind Melon felt it was time to speak out. In an interview for MTV, they said that they were happy that none of the other songs on the album sounded like "No Rain." They hoped that it would make some of the people who bought their album merely because they liked a song that MTV shoved down their throats, get turned off to the band. This seems like an odd way to act toward people who are shelling out money to hear your songs, but alas, they aren't the only ones who act this way.

Nirvana also seems to hate all of the attention that they are getting. In many of the songs on their new album "In Utero," the listener can hear Kurt Cobain's disdain for his newfound popularity. The song "Rape Me" is one of the examples of how Cobain feels about the way he was treated by the media/industry. It starts off with chords that sound similar to the opening chords of "Teen Spirit." It then breaks into Cobain screaming the words "Rape Me!" He's letting everyone know he feels like something has been taken from him by the industry.

Pearl Jam is probably the most successful band around today, and apparently they aren't too happy about it. Although they don't make any references to it in their songs, the actions of their lead singer, Eddie Vedder, show the world that he isn't happy about the media flocking around him. Nowadays, he is always seen with a bottle of wine in his hand. lt's probably due to his fondness for wine that every time he's seen in an interview, he seems to be in another world. I guess he needs a way to get away from all the hype that surrounds his band.

Not being able to deal with their new popularity is probably what leads these bands to act harshly toward the media. They seem to be afraid that with everyone liking them, they will lose credibility with the fans who have been with them through the years. It would be a shame if this mass popularity caused them to compromise the integrity of their music, but with the latest releases from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, we can see that it hasn't been affected so far.