Canon Discontinuity/Music

Examples of Canon Discontinuity in Music include:

• The Divine Comedy's first album, Fanfare For The Comic Muse, is very firmly in the Canon Discontinuity bin; it's been long deleted, and nobody - least of all Neil Hannon - seems to want it rereleased.
  • Other musicians who do their best to pretend their first albums don't exist include Tori Amos and Genesis. Y Kant Tori Read, like Fanfare, is long deleted, and From Genesis to Revelation probably would be if anyone from Genesis had their way, but they don't own the rights to it, their then-manager does.
    • Genesis also likes to pretend that the widely panned album Calling All Stations (featuring Ray Wilson on lead vocals) never happened either. No songs from that album were included on the 2006-2007 reunion tour.
• Another musician to do this is David Bowie, who never included his first self-titled album (his second self-titled album was later renamed "Space Oddity") in his discography.
  • His early novelty song "The Laughing Gnome" is generally acknowledged as something that should not and should have never existed. When fans voted for him to play it in a concert, he scrapped the poll altogether.
  • Never Let Me Down (1987) is not only often considered his worst canonical album, but one song on it — "Too Dizzy" — was dropped from reissues.
• Eminem's debut album, Infinite, was a complete commercial failure, and has never been reissued. The songs featured a very young Eminem performing in smooth R&B styles he would never revisit, and none of the material has reappeared in any form. (While his second release, The Slim Shady EP, has also never been reissued, most of the material was either repeated or remade for The Slim Shady LP.)
• Both Alanis Morissette and Bjork have embarrassing early albums they don't acknowledge as part of their discography; Björk's was an LP of covers recorded when she was a child, while Alanis' were teen pop which won her fame in Canada but failed to chart in the US.
• The Doors have never reissued their two post-Morrison albums, Other Voices and Full Circle, even in the supposed Complete Studio Recordings boxed set. These have allegedly only seen CD release in Russia, and those discs are very likely unauthorized.
• Both the fans and Helloween themselves agree that there's no such thing as Chameleon in their discography. It was the last album with Michael Kiske on vocals, and the most Lighter and Softer of them all. Nowadays Pink Bubbles Go Ape has fallen into Canon Discontinuity as well, despite that the band played some of that album's songs, like "Mankind" and "The Chance".
• While The Final Cut still exists in the mind of Roger Waters (who still performs its material live), the album was shunned by the other members of Pink Floyd, who had very little input in the disc. David Gilmour in particular was disgusted that Roger would not only fashion a new album out of rejects from The Wall, but have the nerve to credit Pink Floyd as mere sidemen on his 'requiem for the post-war dream.'
• For Pantera and their fans, their first album was 1990's Cowboys From Hell, ignoring the previous 4 albums a.k.a. their hard rock/glam era.
• The second verse of the British national anthem, "God Save The Queen" is now discarded as it is deemed too belligerent:

O Lord our God arise, Scatter her enemies And make them fall. Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks, On Thee our hopes we fix, God save us all.

• • The very dated verse six, which makes reference to George Wade and his "rebellious Scots to crush" has also proved worthy of omitting, for obvious reasons.
• Similarly, only the third verse of "Deutschlandlied" is part of the German national anthem. Verse 1 was already being questioned for its apparent belligerence and imperialism before it was co-opted by the Nazis. Verse 2 is jingoistic self-aggrandizement that is... a bit awkward now, to say the least. Verse 4 was a Nazi invention, so... yeah.
  • Although this is a result of misinterpretation. The Deutschlandlied was originally written at a time when Germany was still divided into numerous little fiefdoms. "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" ("Germany, Germany above all") was intended as a rallying cry for uniting the small states and setting aside local squabbles in favor of creating a German nation.
• The third stanza of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is often omitted in official renderings, because it mocks the British military as "hirelings and slaves". Of course, Britain is now a key ally of the USA, making the verse very outdated.
  • In Isaac Asimov's WWII-era short story "No Refuge Could Save", a German spy is discovered when he is able to recite the third stanza. No "real" American would know it.
• Both Metallica and Megadeth will generally pretend that the eighth album in each of their discographies, St. Anger and Risk, don't exist. "Generally" is a key word: the material is rarely, if ever, performed in current concerts, but both bands will admit to the albums' existence if pressed hard enough.
• Devo has generally ignored the entire Enigma Records discography, and their last Warner Brothers album, "Shout". While they acknowledge their existence, good luck hoping for a re-release, or hearing anything from it performed live again.
• Ozzy Osbourne has deleted the live albums Speak of the Devil, Just Say Ozzy, Live and Loud and even the studio album The Ultimate Sin from his catalog, and they are no longer being made. The reasoning for the live albums being erased might have something to do with Ozzy often being criticized for having a large amount of Greatest Hits and Live Albums (9 studio albums of original material compared to a total of 10 compilation/live albums, not counting work with Black Sabbath), but the deletion of The Ultimate Sin most likely has something to do with the legal troubles with a former band member over songwriting credits.
  • At the time it was released (1982) Ozzy made no bones in interviews about hating Speak of the Devil passionately. He did it only because he was contractually obligated to do a double live album with a lot of Sabbath classics at the time (and the shows in question were recorded mostly after Randy Rhoads' sudden death, not a good time for Ozzy). Of course, it helped him out a lot because his versions were a lot better than what his former bandmates served up on Live Evil. It's not a great surprise that as soon as he could put it out of print, he did so.
• The Goo Goo Dolls started as a hardcore punk band before switching to ballady pop-rock, a move that brought them great commercial success. They no longer perform/discuss the old material for obvious reasons. Their 1987 debut First Release has been out of print since...1987, and when asked what the chances of them ever play the old punky material again were, they said "take the highest number you can think of and multiply it by three".
• Squeeze, the final album by The Velvet Underground, was never reissued to CD or MP3 format and has been out of print on vinyl since the early 80s. It also sounds very unlike anything else by The Velvet Underground due to the absence of Lou Reed or anyone else associated with the band aside from Doug Yule. It is also the only album left out of the otherwise retrospective compilation Peel Slowly and See.
  • In fact, the only reason anyone tried to call it canon in the first place was Executive Meddling. Doug Yule wanted to release Squeeze as a solo album.
• Judas Priest seems to have all but forgotten about the era of Tim "Ripper" Owens now that Rob Halford is back.
• Van Halen III, the group's only album with Gary Cherone is not mentioned on VH's offical website nor do songs from it appear on any Greatest Hits Album.
• Paul McCartney clearly considers The Beatles album Let It Be to be this, while John Lennon didn't (George and Ringo were either apparently neutral or didn't make their views on the subject known). The reason for this essentially stems from Creative Differences; the album was recorded during a period of tension between the band, and the recordings were shunted aside until producer Phil Spector was brought in to sort them out and make something presentable of them. However, either through oversight or spite no one actually let McCartney know what was going on, so while Lennon was satisfied McCartney was horrified to hear what had been done to his original songs (especially "The Long and Winding Road") without his knowledge or permission.Let It Be... Naked, released over thirty years after, is generally considered an attempt by McCartney to replace the original.
  • Not only that, but the American Beatles albums are also ignored, with the occasional exception of Meet The Beatles.
• Since it was the only Yes album made without him, Jon Anderson refuses to perform any material from Drama live.
• The KLF did this to their entire back catalog when they left the music business in 1992. Well, specifically they pulled all of their albums out of print to make it clear that their retirement wasn't just a stunt to sell more of their back catalog.
• Robyn Hitchcock disowned his second album Groovy Decay: He pulled it out of print a few years after it's release and replaced it with Groovy Decoy, which featured the original versions of four Groovy Decay songs but mostly consisted of demos from the same period. The original Groovy Decay album can still be found in it's entirety on the box set Gravy Deco though, and the album even got a 2007 remastered re-release with bonus tracks, although it was only released as a digital download.
• The Bob Dylan album Dylan was released without his approval by Columbia after he jumped ship for Asylum Records, pieced together from some dubious outtakes. After he returned to Columbia several years later, it was quietly buried and largely has remained so ever since.
• Scooter have all but ignored their first single Vallée Des Larmes. HP Baxxter introduced his signature rapping/singing style on their second single Hyper Hyper, which was successful. Vallée Des Larmes was not included on an album and its only recognition by the band since is the inclusion of a Remixed version on the 1998 compilation Rough And Tough And Dangerous. It appears on the bonus disc, as the remix was a B Side. The reason for them ignoring Vallée is because it's an instrumental, it wasn't successful and it was recorded at a time when Scooter were meant to be a one off project. Its main B Side Cosmos appears on the band's first album And The Beat Goes On, however.
  • It would appear that HP and Rick spent years pretending their Depeche Mode inspired pre-Scooter band Celebrate The Nun never existed...but in recent years they have acknowledged the influence they had on Scooter and the band have done the odd darkwave inspired song since. They have admitted that it was more financially viable playing Scooter's style of music.
    • Scooter have pretty much buried their album Sheffield, it's definitely the Oddball in the Series and they aren't fond of its lead single I'm Your Pusher. The second single from the album, She's The Sun, is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs, but it doesn't really fit in with their repetoire these days. No tracks from the album were included on the UK version of their Push The Beat For This Jam compilation, but they have been on all others.
• Neither of the two original videos for Madonna's first single "Holiday", which featured the pre-MTV, pre-Lucky Star singer dancing in a production studio (featuring an observer dressed in a nightgown in the background), have been included on any of her official video releases. This included 2009's Celebration DVD collection, which collected almost every other music video she ever released (including a live performance of "Holiday", shot at the same time as the videos). Notably, both versions featured poor production values.
  • In the same vein, the original music video for "True Blue" (which didn't feature Madonna in it) has never been acknowledged either, due to it being helmed by an amateur director who won an MTV "Make My Video" contest in 1984. Madonna has also refused to play the song at most of her concerts, as the song was written about her (abusive) ex-husband Sean Penn, after they divorced in the 90's.
• The second album by Bad Religion, Into The Unknown, actually got better reviews than their first album, but was rejected by fans because it explored prog-rock influences and piano melodies. After selling poorly, it was ignored in the discography for years, only being reissued 27 years later (in vinyl only) as part of a box set.
• The Bee Gees' "First" LP was actually their fourth - they released two prior albums as a local Australian act, "The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs" and "Spicks & Specks." (They also recorded a wealth of material for a third LP, of which an acetate was pressed, but the disc was never released - at least, until all but two of its tracks appeared on an unauthorized German compilation, "Inception/Nostalgia.")
  • Likewise, the group universally ignores their 1981 album "Living Eyes." Due to legal issues surrounding the band at the time, as well as the huge backlash brought on by the end of disco, the album slipped quietly in and out of the marketplace without any attention whatsoever. Ironically, it was the first rock album to appear on CD - but its initial pressing would be its only CD edition.
• Kraftwerk is insistent that their catalog begins with "Autobahn" - completely ignoring "Tone Float" (released under the band name Organisation, but later amended to Kraftwerk for an unauthorized CD release), "Kraftwerk", "Kraftwerk 2", and "Ralf und Florian." None of these albums have seen an official CD release, despite "Kraftwerk" containing the well-known track 'Ruckzuck.'
• Brooks and Dunn pretty much disowned their 1999 album Tight Rope, their last album with original producer Don Cook. Most critics thought the album was phoned in and tired sounding; it was also their lowest-selling and did not produce any big hits. Launching it with a tepid cover of John Waite's "Missing You" (an obvious attempt to try and re-make their wildly successful cover of B.W. Stevenson's "My Maria" in 1996) didn't help. Most fans skip straight from If You See Her to Steers & Stripes.
• After "Slow Motion Daydream", Everclear released a Greatest Hits album and then evaporated into the ether.
• Gogol Bordello seem to have disowned their first two albums, Voi-La Intruder and Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony because they hadn't really "found their sound" until Gypsy Punks (album number three). Which is too bad, 'cause those first two albums are still pretty good.
• In a case of Canon Discontinuity by the artist himself, Noel Gallagher tries to forget Oasis' third album, Be Here Now, which he describes as "a bunch of guys, on coke, in the studio, not giving a fuck." Even if reviewers consider that, beyond the overblown production, there are standout tracks.
  • Liam, on the other hand, likes it. The fans are split down the middle not only with regard to BHN but with every one of their albums except the first two. When a survey was done asking 100 fans which twenty songs should appear on the "best of" compilation album, there were no songs (even obvious choices) that featured on everyone's list. No songs from Be Here Now appeared on Stop the Clocks (the aforementioned "best of" collection) anyway. Not even "Don't Go Away", the one song on the album that was universally praised by critics. (Noel considered including "'D'You Know What I Mean", but felt its length ruined the pacing)
  • And now that the band is over, Beady Eye tries to forget its existence, not playing any Oasis material in concerts (unlike Noel).
• Autechre seems to have forgotten that its first release was a generic oldskool hardcore single from 1991, Cavity Job, and not its first foray into IDM, "The Egg" (released on the seminal 1992 Warp compilation Artificial Intelligence).
  • Similarly many fans of Warp Records would rather forget that it ever released straightforward Techno in its earliest years rather than IDM, or that it now focuses on more commercially-accessible indie rock.
• Irish band Altar of Plagues stated in an interview that they disregard the first EP they recorded, the "First Plague" EP. Indeed, if one goes to their Myspace page, only their debut album and the other three E Ps they recorded are listed.
• Following the release of Spiritual Machines in 2001, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace went into a coma and the rest of the band refused to go on without him. Since then, some other band calling itself OLP released a couple of albums, but fans of Clumsy and Happiness Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch are still waiting for Raine to wake up.
  • Slight correction: Guitarist Mike "emtee" Turner left and producer Arnold Lanni got fired (keyboardist Jamie Edwards also left, but he was always in the background). While the latter two could arguably be forgotten, fans are waiting for emtee to come back from producing and reform the band. This OLP thing is Raine Maida's solo project.
    • Of course, by the same token, there is now an equal-sized (if not larger) fanbase that thinks the band debuted in 2002 with Gravity. It's more than this troper can bear...
• Radiohead's first album Pablo Honey is ignored not only by most fans, but also by the band. It's been aeons since the last time they played a song from it.
  • And the one song ("Creep") they used to play all the time dropped off the setlist for about five years because fans used to come for the song and then leave. Apparently, they've softened up and play it once every couple dozen gigs now.
• Another disowned debut: The Prodigy's Experience. Since their second album came out and Oldskool Rave went out of fashion, Prodigy fans would deny there was ever a time when Howlett's music was bright, humorous and cartoony.
  • Similarly some fans would rather forget about their 2004 album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned; and The Prodigy themselves have disowned the 2002 non-album single "Baby's Got a Temper"

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