It's seems if they got any mass attention at all, then they are mainstream. These definitions we throw around are broad and poorly-defined. I really don't know what the hell "mainstream" means much like I am not sure what the hell "selling out" means. I know my thesis is flawed, I am human. Even after Layne Staley died, I haven't heard of a huge ground swell of support for AIC. These guys could never transcend to a wider fanbase and I don't know why that is. Maybe the heads at Columbia thought these boys were freaky and from another plane of existance. When I heard these guys at first, I thought they were from Hell. But, I threw my initial thoughts and perceptions to the side and I came back with a greater appreciation for them. That doesn't mean a non-fan has done what I have done. They think these are guys are strange and won't give them a second look. I think there is an ingrained acceptance to digest shit known as "music" and the truly artistic and musically talented ones are left to rot on the vine. By that comes my cosmetic mathematical judgment. Fans of Britney Spears are not musically sensed and they eat that shit faster than pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner. That's why Brittany sells 50 billion albums. AIC is not easily digested, they are like seafood and pepper jack cheese mixed together. I can digest both but I like one more than the other, pumpkin pie is great but too damn sweet. Pepper jack and seafood makes a great Subway sandwich and I can eat those several times a month. More people like pumpkin pie than pepper jack and seafood. AIC sells maybe not even 10 million albums period and they will be remembered if at all. So by my warped ass thinking, coolness factor is inversely proportional to the size of fanbase. I do agree with you that this band is awesome despite the size of the fanbase. I am only one person and my thinking is far out in left field that I will get lamb-basted by the more moderate ones of the group. You're a moderate, autumns_gone, and thank you for the creative criticism.
It's seems if they got any mass attention at all, then they are mainstream. These definitions we throw around are broad and poorly-defined. I really don't know what the hell "mainstream" means much like I am not sure what the hell "selling out" means. I know my thesis is flawed, I am human. Even after Layne Staley died, I haven't heard of a huge ground swell of support for AIC. These guys could never transcend to a wider fanbase and I don't know why that is. Maybe the heads at Columbia thought these boys were freaky and from another plane of existance. When I heard these guys at first, I thought they were from Hell. But, I threw my initial thoughts and perceptions to the side and I came back with a greater appreciation for them. That doesn't mean a non-fan has done what I have done. They think these are guys are strange and won't give them a second look. I think there is an ingrained acceptance to digest shit known as "music" and the truly artistic and musically talented ones are left to rot on the vine. By that comes my cosmetic mathematical judgment. Fans of Britney Spears are not musically sensed and they eat that shit faster than pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner. That's why Brittany sells 50 billion albums. AIC is not easily digested, they are like seafood and pepper jack cheese mixed together. I can digest both but I like one more than the other, pumpkin pie is great but too damn sweet. Pepper jack and seafood makes a great Subway sandwich and I can eat those several times a month. More people like pumpkin pie than pepper jack and seafood. AIC sells maybe not even 10 million albums period and they will be remembered if at all. So by my warped ass thinking, coolness factor is inversely proportional to the size of fanbase. I do agree with you that this band is awesome despite the size of the fanbase. I am only one person and my thinking is far out in left field that I will get lamb-basted by the more moderate ones of the group. You're a moderate, autumns_gone, and thank you for the creative criticism.