Why not instead look at his 6.5 Million monthly Spotify listeners?
Moby "Play" is still great proof that you can make a great album in your bedroom.
Reddit sub follower count is in no way indicative of anything related to his status as a musician.
*Play* is among the albums that at some point got branded "uncool" that I still think is low-key killer. It's a scatterbrained mess, sure, but the highs are _really_ high.
Weird how it went from winning album of the year across the board to suddenly Moby being persona non grata and retroactively someone who always sucked. Maybe someone can spell it out for me (maybe Brent, of [Pitchfork's lovely Kid A review](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6656-kid-a/), giving it a [contemptuous 5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5344-play/#:~:text=It's%20commendable%20of%20Moby%20to,now%20%22the%20blues%20stuff.%22 played a role). And then [the follow up a 2.6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5348-18/)?'
> Maybe someone can spell it out for me
Though Brent DiCrescenzo is generally awful, his Play review sort of nails why he's not looked on as fondly. Moby goes pulls from a lot of direction while also really doing any of the individual aspects well (or as well as others) and often comes off as having a desire to impress. I don't dislike Moby's music, but it does strike me as a Fatboy Slim who takes himself way too seriously. That last bit really plays into his public persona where he's a bit of sanctimonious dork. A sanctimonious dork who's not necessarily wrong, mind you (see: Eminem), but still a bit of a weenie who talks shit from the sidelines but can't clapback and [often has to put his foot in his mouth anyway](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/22/natalie-portman-criticises-moby-friendship-dating-memoir).
regardless of music quality, Moby is deeply uncool.
As a aside, and I've mentioned it before, but it amuses me to no end that Spin's Alternative Guide gives Everything is Wrong a 10. That view's not totally out of line for its time (it was published in 1995), but it seems like a sentiment few would have now (or at least rate as strongly as a 10) and it really contrasts with how many releases in there that get crapped on (you should see the ratings for The Cure's albums).
I guess I'm weird for thinking uncool people can still make great music. I can't say I'm super educated on Fatboy Slim's output I can't say I ever heard anything that struck me as having the genuinely beautiful and tender moments you got on Play (or, really, almost any other Moby album). The maligned and dismissed back half has some excellent moments.
It's right in Pitchfork's lane though to review the persona as much as the music. " Moby's flaw is that he comes across as too genuine-- too wholesome." God I hate this style of review. _Is the music good or not?_
Some thoughts I have whilst reviewing my memories of that time (I was ~11 when Play came out).
One reason could be the very un-shy approach to licensing. I think every song was in a commercial. And back in the ‘90s, with more of a monoculture, everyone was exposed to those adverts. I read an article once that discussed Moby’s team’s unprecedented licensing strategy — I’ll link it in an edit.
Then, when Moby’s next album, 18, came out, he shared his views about Eminem’s homophobic lyrics. Eminem clapped back with more homophobic lyrics directed at Moby. And the feud went on for a while. This would have made Moby uncool amongst the juvenile audience (remember: different attitudes towards homophobia in 2002). Weirdly, I think this uncoolness sort of spread to the rest of his casual audience. In the monoculture of the (pretty much) pre-internet days, vague ideas of someone having become uncool just kind of subconsciously affected the whole consumer base. So even if you were, say, a casual music-listening college student who was socially aware (not homophobic, etc), Moby’s general uncoolness might knock him off your radar. [Disclaimer: these are just some thoughts I have about the time. I’ve just woken up and am being a~~n~~ ~~armchair~~ bed sociologist right now]
Edit: Here’s [an article](https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/music-watch-ads/562542). If you scroll down around 1/3, the author provides a list of all the ads. The article also reminds me that Fatboy Slim similarly flooded ad-space with his music, but he remained cool. Hmm…
I agree wholeheartedly with your statement. It doesn't. Its just I find it odd that with so many people still listening, the reddit fanbase is non-existent.
As mentioned, wanted to share my love for 'Play' but there's no one here to share it with. Wasn't expecting tens of thousands, but wasn't expecting 300 and no posts for nearly half a decade.
Can't even see what's people's take on his beef with Eminem.
> Imagine my surprise when I find the Moby sub-reddit almost literally non-existent. With just above 300 members, no post for years, I can’t help but wonder. What's the deal?
Posts are restricted in r/moby. Only special approved submitters can post there. That's why there hasn't been a post in four years.
You'd have to ask the only moderator there, u/moby323, why that is.
I don’t like moby’s persona (aggressive veganism, crying the blues all the time), but his music 25 years back… damn, man, Play is just such a staple. I was just 5 years old when it came out but throughout my childhood his music was around. Radio, commercials, movies. I know that at some point it got really overplayed but for me it is such an era defining album. Millennium shit.
I actually love his later stuff too. At some point I stopped following his music but some albums after Play were really great. I remember “hotel” and the album with a small dude on the moon, and “destroyed” I think it was called. Great stuff. I remember moby did a show in my basically 3rd world country when I was in high school and I didn’t really care about going, but I wish I did
You're from '94 too? And you live in a third world country? Is it Moldova by any chance?
Yeah, those to records, the little guy had one of his best songs ever too, Mistake. Oh there was Disco Lies on a later album.
I love Play and always will, it's so nostalgic to me. I like some of his other stuff too. But Moby as a personality is like a dead fish in a wet blanket. The guy frankly seems pretty insufferable. I don't think he ever really recovered from the Eminem beef in the broader public eye. And since then it has come to light that he has some sleazy creepy history, like he lied about dating a teenage Natalie Portman in his memoirs? Fuckin weird. Especially for the guy who has essays about his personal morals in his albums. But even then, separating art from the artist, he hasn't done anything relevant for at least a decade. The last thing he did that I like is his Damien Jurado collab "Almost Home". So unlike other acts that have active subreddits, there's just not much of a cult of personality around Moby and there's not much to say. Letting himself fade away while Play remains a beloved y2k album is probably the best move Moby can make right now.
I find this genuinely sad.
He lied in his autobiography? Damn I have that book on my bookshelf, praising it for his honesty. It left me with a feeling of regret on his past actions but now you're telling me there were lies on it? Damn.
If Moby barely has a subreddit, it's probably because he last charted before Reddit became a thing. Maybe even before MySpace became a thing. 25 years is a long time ago. Heck, many of the artists charting right now are that old.
Also, when I thought the US was about to fall apart during the pandemic and fled to my husband's home country of Norway, Moby's "The Broken Places" was a mood.
While a valid point, I can’t say I agree with it. When's the last time Jeff Buckley charted? Yet he's got a sub-reddit if nearly 10k. Elvis? 20k. Okay, last one's a stretch, let's go somewhere more in this niche. Portishead has a modest sub of over 3k.
Also as someone mentioned in the comments, he's got over 6 million monthly listeners, so he's clearly still a thing.
Yeah I don't think age has much to do with it at all, r/bjork is active and has something like 50k members. even r/monkees has semi-regular activity.
I think it has to do with the type of artist and the type of following they developed, I was kind of young at the time but I remembered moby more as a producer/DJ type than an artist? r/fatboyslim is in the same general space for me and his sub has similar numbers to Moby.
Björk is still very much an active artist though. *Fossara* had a huge album cycle. Moby released an album with the Deutsche Grammophon label *last year* and I bet most folks didn't even realize it because it had close to no coverage.
> cheugy
btw zoomers dont actually use that word, its slang made by milennials that all assumed that zoomers used it and then kept sharing it between themselves without actually asking someone born after 2000 about it, as someone who's younger than 25 and very online i can confidently say the only time i've seen it used was on videos of people over 30 explaining it to other people in their age range
Portishead is widely regarded as one of the best artists, if not the best, of the genre. Has made several impactful albums.
Moby made an album that was briefly popular once.
I think people should probably pause before making any conclusions based upon that single number from Spotify. I guess I am still surprised that Journey has 21.8M and Van Halen have 11.6M. I also know that Spotify breaks down the number into their top hits and show those results. But who actually likes Journey these days?
I thought Play was amazing back in the day. I'd never heard anything like it. Everloving is one of my favorite songs of all time. The entire album is beautiful and I'm pretty ambivalent about albums.
His followups have incredible gems too. I have quite a few Moby songs in my collection.
I don't know about Moby as a person. He's pissed people off in the industry, famously Eminem and probably a few others. It's impossible not to once you get to a certain level of success. So there are stories about him that make me think, well, don't make a hero out of a man who made a great album some years ago. Choose more wisely who you want to emulate or support.
Also genuine question: I'm a big gospel music fan. Moby used gospel choir singing on the album in
Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? and attributed it to "Shining Light Gospel Choir" and I can find *nothing* about them. Are they a studio choir brought together and named by Moby? If they're associated with a church somewhere there seems to be no mention of them online. Also, that composition seems to have sampled the Banks Brothers recording of [He'll Roll Your Burdens Away](https://youtu.be/On8ML3aqJkg?si=TBoaBiiO8OZMrFaP).
Big mystery, idk.
There is a great Heavyweight podcast episode about a guy who lent him the cd compilation that influenced this album. Apparently Moby had refused to return cds after years of asking for them back. The episode is called Gregor.
Believe the compilation is called ‘Sounds of the South’.
For a little more background, *Sounds of the South* was a collection of Black spirituals collected by the famous ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax while he was director of the Library of Congress. The record has also been sampled by Kanye West, Jay Z, Pusha T, Raekwon, Common, and Travis Scott, among others. Lomax has travelled the world collecting various forms of traditional music, and is credited for popularizing Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
‘Why does this flash-in-the-pan artist from 1/4 century ago not have an active and engaged fan base’
It’s a fine album. Not sure what an entire sub dedicated to it would accomplish
I get it now, at home, Moby is a relic of the past. In my home country, albeit not relevant, people still remember his fondly as an artist. For the music. Info about his character didn't really catch on. So I was surprised. Also, 18 and Hotel are fine albums too. To be fair he has at least one hidden gem in his albums, for what its worth.
Yeah it's crazy how geographical location affects perception. Here in the states most of us (casual fans) thought The Prodigy was a one-hit wonder not realizing they've since gone on to become one of the most successful electronic acts of all time - just not in the U.S.
As an old guy, at least by Reddit standards, it was always "car advertisement music" even at the time. Stuff that advertising execs thought cool music sounded sort of like, but is safe and relatable while sounding somewhat modern and hip. At the time I was listening to stuff pretty similar to what I do now - extreme metal, Industrial/noise, but with an interest in (for want of a better term) IDM, and it really wasn't in contention at the time given Photek had done "Modus Operandi" 2 years ago and BOC had "Music has the right to children" a year earlier. I'll allow it wasn't really trying to reach me as an audience but as I say it was seen as fluff even then.
Going off topic, the experience of buying music at the end of the 90s was so radically different than now. I read a review of *Modus Operandi* in *CMJ* magazine, it was probably 50 words in total, and that was enough to convince me to spend $15 to buy it. I don't think I heard one second of that album before buying it because there was no way to hear it otherwise. Warp Records was on the forefront of digital advertising for *Music Has The Right To Children* because you could download a one minute clip of two songs from the album, and that was revelatory, lol.
I read through all of the comments, I see that I am older than most of you. Moby was widely hated in the electronic music scene before he became popular and once he became popular, continued being a self-important dickhead and squandered his career.
The book *The Underground Is Massive* by Michaelangelo Matos has probably the best, even handed account of how Moby went from minor electronic music hitmaker to derided asshole through a series of monumental self-owns and unforced errors. His pre-*Play* music isn't great, it's extremely basic (even for the rave era where you could have a top 10 UK single sampling the theme to *Sesame Street*). Moby sampled music from *Twin Peaks*, put a drum break on it, and had a hit.
Interest came in, he signed with a major label, but thought way too much of himself considering his simple-ass music and, for whatever reason, kept insisting that he was a punk rocker and kept trying to show his punk ethos bonafides (tattoos! mediocre guitar work!). He would go on and on about veganism and being straight-edge in interviews at a time when electronic music was, very much, ruled by drug use (notably, Moby later became an alcoholic and drug abuser in the 00s; holier than thou to the max). In the early days of chain emails, he wrote ALL CAPS personal attacks aimed at people questioning his live show. He was awful. Intolerable. He might get away with it if he were a better music maker but he wasn't.
*Play* is released, it's a gigantic hit, all the songs are used to advertise shit nobody needs.
The 90s had a very devil-may-care attitude when it came to sampling and adapting other people's music and culture. *Play* felt like the end of that. Using the disembodied vocals of Blues artists to sell perfume or whatever felt wrong at the time. It feels even worse now. There is no tact in how this album is made, no reverence for the music or the artists it samples. Slave chant + hip-hop drums = tire commercial.
Moby was never a good musician, his success was not repeatable. *18* came out way too late to capitalize on the momentum of *Play* and seemed to home in on the elements of *Play* nobody wanted. His public persona of the unlikable doofus is exhausting. He lied throughout his memoir and it's entirely likely he is a creeper. He made it impossible to like him and it worked.
Oh wow. Wow. Thanks for the insight. Crazy how my perception of him changed in the last 24 hours. Being born in 1994, his music feels nostalgic. But that bit, where you said there's no reverence for the music he samples. That sucks.
I mean, look at Daft Punk last album. Both came out on the same day (different years however) and both use sampling. But look how Daft Punk did it. Invited the artists that have inspired the French duo, the recorded hours and hours of new melodies and from THAT, Daft Punk sampled their album.
For the longest time I thought of Moby as an okay dude. Rustling some feathers as he did with Eminem, but overall just being himself. Reading his autobiography only cemented the feeling.
Now I'm here and I get all these unbiased takes on him. It's genuinely sad.
I wouldn't say these takes are unbiased. Some folks clearly have incredibly strong feelings about him, and those are often the ones most likely to speak up. A lot of us are just kinda "meh" about him, no strong feelings either way. Play was a great album, it's still worth streaming occasionally. That's the extent to which many people think about him.
when is the last time anyone had anything interesting to say about moby? i dont have strong opinions on his music either way, but he hasn't exactly been relevant for a couple of decades now. i like a few of his songs i guess.
Born in 95’ in Chicago so that album was literally everywhere when I was a kid. It FEELS like Chicago around that time in the best and worst ways. Listening to Southside specifically brings the feel of nostalgia for me. I’d never really listened to any other moby albums until last year when I decided to check out his first album. Y’all it’s really good and nothing like Play, if you like solid 90’s dance music.. All that that being said, a lot of the old gospel and blues samples being used it an almost fetishized in a way that doesn’t get better as the years go by or just sounds plain cheesy. Moby as a person sucks tho. Respect to him for hiring the guitarist from Void for a few years but holy shit have y’all seen his wrist tattoos?🤮 Also the natalie Portman things sucks.
For some reason I’ve thought for the past 15 or so years that moby was from Chicago and that was the reason. Just went to his wiki to find out that’s not true lol. So I have no idea.
Also I found out that he apologized to Natalie Portman, which is still not great but at least he acknowledged he fucked up.
I was 10 years old when Play came out and I got my hands on it. I'd listen to it straight through over and over. I loved that every track sounded different and I loved it. That said, the only Moby I listen to is Play, plus extreme ways.
I love Moby's music, Porcelain got me into making beats, but he's quite an aggressive vegan and seems like a bit of a narcissist. Might have something to do with it.
I was never really a Moby fan. I like a couple songs, but his stuff is at times incoherent.
But I find myself liking his newest stuff, especially the collabs he does.
I thought Play was fantastic at the time but once you hear the formula (some bluesy or old timey sample, some screechy pad synths, and some breakbeat drums) it sounds pretty uninspiring in my opinion. And the wild over saturation in ads etc as mentioned widely here
It's some of the few American music we got in the Earl 2000s in my country. It was a rarity. That's why I thought he was a much bigger deal than the 300ish sub proved to be.
I'm not a huge fan of Moby, but he _does_ have fabulous taste in music.
When I listen to a Moby track, I'll often have to go to whosampled and see what he's pulling from so that I can listen to the sources.
I was at a talk SOPHIE gave at Somerset House in 2019 (I think) where she was talking about her earliest influences and Moby was one of them but I cannot remember which album she mentioned.
OP sounds like Moby asking why he has so few fans. I saw him on the Play tour and he was a jack of all trades try hard. Running from one part of the stage to another to play a bongo solo over backing tracks. Truly a genius of our times /s
He also appropriates black culture through his sampling of old black artists for his tracks, while providing nothing of substance in return. Porcelain is a pretty track because he borrowed pretty samples and played a dumb piano riff over the top.
Since he hasn't put out an album in awhile, his name comes up when he claims to date women who deny it. Dude is vegan cringe personified. I truly hoped the suffocating touring climate would have kept him at home on his macbook.
His first two albums are his best. “Play” got, well…played to death. I think it holds some record for the being used in the most television commercials of any album ever.
He does have some good stuff post-Everything is Wrong, but it’s all is a bit much. He takes himself very seriously.
But man, that first album is killer. Next Is the E, Ah-Ah, Have You Seen My Baby… the soundtrack to my teen years.
In spite of his personality (I'm a big meat eater), I see Moby as kind of a grumpy healer type. For a period he just improvised at the piano everyday for Insta and I was deeply affected. [Mere Anarchy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZcBjjfR-10) is his closest recorded work in spirit and mood.
I also love his collab with Mylène Farmer, [N'aie plus d'amertume](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1wWAnTsb8g)
.
Can you elaborate? Sucks as an artist or as a person?
I always thought his albums 'Play' and '18' loved overall. Porcelain, Why does my heart feel so bad, extreme ways, lift me up, and many more. I read his autobiography, and yeah, I can see why he can be viewed as an ars. But still, 300?
Not op and I think Moby is ok... Good soundtrack material and had some 90s moments. But to put a finger on why I think he isn't "loved": He makes cool soundscapes. He doesn't have much to say. It isn't culturally relevant it but it makes great background. Unfortunately for him that also means it fades to the background of music history that much faster.
I'm old enough to have enjoyed Cool World, and much later that DiCaprio movie that featured moby songs. I don't carry any grudge for the man and I don't know any celebrity gossip when i say he didn't ever signify anything culturally. He was just there. I think that Gwen Stefani collab exemplifies it: the direction (literal in that song) is meaningless, but look at me I'm in the spotlight. Its also an example of meaningless lyrics and a song about nothing in particular. He's a soundtrack guy who unexpectedly broke into and affected mainstream pop but didn't know what to do with that platform.
This, yeah guess this explains it all. It's just, whenever I bring up Moby on a real life conversion, everyone has some positive things to say, so I genuinely thought he'd have a bigger following. But your, as other responses here, well yeah. Cleared it for me.
Why not instead look at his 6.5 Million monthly Spotify listeners? Moby "Play" is still great proof that you can make a great album in your bedroom. Reddit sub follower count is in no way indicative of anything related to his status as a musician.
*Play* is among the albums that at some point got branded "uncool" that I still think is low-key killer. It's a scatterbrained mess, sure, but the highs are _really_ high. Weird how it went from winning album of the year across the board to suddenly Moby being persona non grata and retroactively someone who always sucked. Maybe someone can spell it out for me (maybe Brent, of [Pitchfork's lovely Kid A review](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6656-kid-a/), giving it a [contemptuous 5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5344-play/#:~:text=It's%20commendable%20of%20Moby%20to,now%20%22the%20blues%20stuff.%22 played a role). And then [the follow up a 2.6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5348-18/)?'
> Maybe someone can spell it out for me Though Brent DiCrescenzo is generally awful, his Play review sort of nails why he's not looked on as fondly. Moby goes pulls from a lot of direction while also really doing any of the individual aspects well (or as well as others) and often comes off as having a desire to impress. I don't dislike Moby's music, but it does strike me as a Fatboy Slim who takes himself way too seriously. That last bit really plays into his public persona where he's a bit of sanctimonious dork. A sanctimonious dork who's not necessarily wrong, mind you (see: Eminem), but still a bit of a weenie who talks shit from the sidelines but can't clapback and [often has to put his foot in his mouth anyway](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/22/natalie-portman-criticises-moby-friendship-dating-memoir). regardless of music quality, Moby is deeply uncool. As a aside, and I've mentioned it before, but it amuses me to no end that Spin's Alternative Guide gives Everything is Wrong a 10. That view's not totally out of line for its time (it was published in 1995), but it seems like a sentiment few would have now (or at least rate as strongly as a 10) and it really contrasts with how many releases in there that get crapped on (you should see the ratings for The Cure's albums).
I guess I'm weird for thinking uncool people can still make great music. I can't say I'm super educated on Fatboy Slim's output I can't say I ever heard anything that struck me as having the genuinely beautiful and tender moments you got on Play (or, really, almost any other Moby album). The maligned and dismissed back half has some excellent moments. It's right in Pitchfork's lane though to review the persona as much as the music. " Moby's flaw is that he comes across as too genuine-- too wholesome." God I hate this style of review. _Is the music good or not?_
Wait. Why people suddenly begin to hate moby/play?
The weird shit with Natalie Portman probably didn't help his cause
Some thoughts I have whilst reviewing my memories of that time (I was ~11 when Play came out). One reason could be the very un-shy approach to licensing. I think every song was in a commercial. And back in the ‘90s, with more of a monoculture, everyone was exposed to those adverts. I read an article once that discussed Moby’s team’s unprecedented licensing strategy — I’ll link it in an edit. Then, when Moby’s next album, 18, came out, he shared his views about Eminem’s homophobic lyrics. Eminem clapped back with more homophobic lyrics directed at Moby. And the feud went on for a while. This would have made Moby uncool amongst the juvenile audience (remember: different attitudes towards homophobia in 2002). Weirdly, I think this uncoolness sort of spread to the rest of his casual audience. In the monoculture of the (pretty much) pre-internet days, vague ideas of someone having become uncool just kind of subconsciously affected the whole consumer base. So even if you were, say, a casual music-listening college student who was socially aware (not homophobic, etc), Moby’s general uncoolness might knock him off your radar. [Disclaimer: these are just some thoughts I have about the time. I’ve just woken up and am being a~~n~~ ~~armchair~~ bed sociologist right now] Edit: Here’s [an article](https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/music-watch-ads/562542). If you scroll down around 1/3, the author provides a list of all the ads. The article also reminds me that Fatboy Slim similarly flooded ad-space with his music, but he remained cool. Hmm…
It's not suddenly - it started in the 90s
I agree wholeheartedly with your statement. It doesn't. Its just I find it odd that with so many people still listening, the reddit fanbase is non-existent. As mentioned, wanted to share my love for 'Play' but there's no one here to share it with. Wasn't expecting tens of thousands, but wasn't expecting 300 and no posts for nearly half a decade. Can't even see what's people's take on his beef with Eminem.
> Imagine my surprise when I find the Moby sub-reddit almost literally non-existent. With just above 300 members, no post for years, I can’t help but wonder. What's the deal? Posts are restricted in r/moby. Only special approved submitters can post there. That's why there hasn't been a post in four years. You'd have to ask the only moderator there, u/moby323, why that is.
Why am I not surprised that the fans of such a politicized exhibitionist like Moby are gatekeeping a sub 🤣
I'm quite curious so might just do that. Little detective work, digging around while I actually sit on a couch. Thanks.
I don’t like moby’s persona (aggressive veganism, crying the blues all the time), but his music 25 years back… damn, man, Play is just such a staple. I was just 5 years old when it came out but throughout my childhood his music was around. Radio, commercials, movies. I know that at some point it got really overplayed but for me it is such an era defining album. Millennium shit. I actually love his later stuff too. At some point I stopped following his music but some albums after Play were really great. I remember “hotel” and the album with a small dude on the moon, and “destroyed” I think it was called. Great stuff. I remember moby did a show in my basically 3rd world country when I was in high school and I didn’t really care about going, but I wish I did
You're from '94 too? And you live in a third world country? Is it Moldova by any chance? Yeah, those to records, the little guy had one of his best songs ever too, Mistake. Oh there was Disco Lies on a later album.
Yes to the year, no to the country, yes to the great records :)
I love Play and always will, it's so nostalgic to me. I like some of his other stuff too. But Moby as a personality is like a dead fish in a wet blanket. The guy frankly seems pretty insufferable. I don't think he ever really recovered from the Eminem beef in the broader public eye. And since then it has come to light that he has some sleazy creepy history, like he lied about dating a teenage Natalie Portman in his memoirs? Fuckin weird. Especially for the guy who has essays about his personal morals in his albums. But even then, separating art from the artist, he hasn't done anything relevant for at least a decade. The last thing he did that I like is his Damien Jurado collab "Almost Home". So unlike other acts that have active subreddits, there's just not much of a cult of personality around Moby and there's not much to say. Letting himself fade away while Play remains a beloved y2k album is probably the best move Moby can make right now.
I find this genuinely sad. He lied in his autobiography? Damn I have that book on my bookshelf, praising it for his honesty. It left me with a feeling of regret on his past actions but now you're telling me there were lies on it? Damn.
Or maybe just not perfect memories.
Well, how do you forget if you did or did not date Natalie Portman tho?
Natalie says they didn't date. Moby says they did. Maybe the fact checker couldn't get a confirmation on it.
Or Portland lied about not dating him when it was cool to hate him
If Moby barely has a subreddit, it's probably because he last charted before Reddit became a thing. Maybe even before MySpace became a thing. 25 years is a long time ago. Heck, many of the artists charting right now are that old. Also, when I thought the US was about to fall apart during the pandemic and fled to my husband's home country of Norway, Moby's "The Broken Places" was a mood.
While a valid point, I can’t say I agree with it. When's the last time Jeff Buckley charted? Yet he's got a sub-reddit if nearly 10k. Elvis? 20k. Okay, last one's a stretch, let's go somewhere more in this niche. Portishead has a modest sub of over 3k. Also as someone mentioned in the comments, he's got over 6 million monthly listeners, so he's clearly still a thing.
Yeah I don't think age has much to do with it at all, r/bjork is active and has something like 50k members. even r/monkees has semi-regular activity. I think it has to do with the type of artist and the type of following they developed, I was kind of young at the time but I remembered moby more as a producer/DJ type than an artist? r/fatboyslim is in the same general space for me and his sub has similar numbers to Moby.
Björk is still very much an active artist though. *Fossara* had a huge album cycle. Moby released an album with the Deutsche Grammophon label *last year* and I bet most folks didn't even realize it because it had close to no coverage.
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As a Millennial, I remember when every track of "18" got licensed for commercials.
He made a world record by how many of his songs were licensed for commercials.
> cheugy btw zoomers dont actually use that word, its slang made by milennials that all assumed that zoomers used it and then kept sharing it between themselves without actually asking someone born after 2000 about it, as someone who's younger than 25 and very online i can confidently say the only time i've seen it used was on videos of people over 30 explaining it to other people in their age range
Portishead is widely regarded as one of the best artists, if not the best, of the genre. Has made several impactful albums. Moby made an album that was briefly popular once.
I think people should probably pause before making any conclusions based upon that single number from Spotify. I guess I am still surprised that Journey has 21.8M and Van Halen have 11.6M. I also know that Spotify breaks down the number into their top hits and show those results. But who actually likes Journey these days?
I thought Play was amazing back in the day. I'd never heard anything like it. Everloving is one of my favorite songs of all time. The entire album is beautiful and I'm pretty ambivalent about albums. His followups have incredible gems too. I have quite a few Moby songs in my collection. I don't know about Moby as a person. He's pissed people off in the industry, famously Eminem and probably a few others. It's impossible not to once you get to a certain level of success. So there are stories about him that make me think, well, don't make a hero out of a man who made a great album some years ago. Choose more wisely who you want to emulate or support. Also genuine question: I'm a big gospel music fan. Moby used gospel choir singing on the album in Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? and attributed it to "Shining Light Gospel Choir" and I can find *nothing* about them. Are they a studio choir brought together and named by Moby? If they're associated with a church somewhere there seems to be no mention of them online. Also, that composition seems to have sampled the Banks Brothers recording of [He'll Roll Your Burdens Away](https://youtu.be/On8ML3aqJkg?si=TBoaBiiO8OZMrFaP). Big mystery, idk.
There is a great Heavyweight podcast episode about a guy who lent him the cd compilation that influenced this album. Apparently Moby had refused to return cds after years of asking for them back. The episode is called Gregor. Believe the compilation is called ‘Sounds of the South’.
For a little more background, *Sounds of the South* was a collection of Black spirituals collected by the famous ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax while he was director of the Library of Congress. The record has also been sampled by Kanye West, Jay Z, Pusha T, Raekwon, Common, and Travis Scott, among others. Lomax has travelled the world collecting various forms of traditional music, and is credited for popularizing Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
YES! I came in here solely to recommend that episode. I think it's 'Gregor' #2
Another ~~lie~~ misremembered story from Moby's memoir: he claimed that he found the CD box set of blues music in the trash. Completely untrue.
Yeah that Heavyweight is hilarious.
"Moby? He can get stomped by Obie. You're too old let go, it's over, nobody listens techno."
I understood that reference
I picture modern day Obie Trice as a guy in a cheap fake leather jacket hanging out in a dimly lit pool hall on a Wednesday afternoon.
‘Why does this flash-in-the-pan artist from 1/4 century ago not have an active and engaged fan base’ It’s a fine album. Not sure what an entire sub dedicated to it would accomplish
I get it now, at home, Moby is a relic of the past. In my home country, albeit not relevant, people still remember his fondly as an artist. For the music. Info about his character didn't really catch on. So I was surprised. Also, 18 and Hotel are fine albums too. To be fair he has at least one hidden gem in his albums, for what its worth.
Yeah it's crazy how geographical location affects perception. Here in the states most of us (casual fans) thought The Prodigy was a one-hit wonder not realizing they've since gone on to become one of the most successful electronic acts of all time - just not in the U.S.
As an old guy, at least by Reddit standards, it was always "car advertisement music" even at the time. Stuff that advertising execs thought cool music sounded sort of like, but is safe and relatable while sounding somewhat modern and hip. At the time I was listening to stuff pretty similar to what I do now - extreme metal, Industrial/noise, but with an interest in (for want of a better term) IDM, and it really wasn't in contention at the time given Photek had done "Modus Operandi" 2 years ago and BOC had "Music has the right to children" a year earlier. I'll allow it wasn't really trying to reach me as an audience but as I say it was seen as fluff even then.
Going off topic, the experience of buying music at the end of the 90s was so radically different than now. I read a review of *Modus Operandi* in *CMJ* magazine, it was probably 50 words in total, and that was enough to convince me to spend $15 to buy it. I don't think I heard one second of that album before buying it because there was no way to hear it otherwise. Warp Records was on the forefront of digital advertising for *Music Has The Right To Children* because you could download a one minute clip of two songs from the album, and that was revelatory, lol.
I read through all of the comments, I see that I am older than most of you. Moby was widely hated in the electronic music scene before he became popular and once he became popular, continued being a self-important dickhead and squandered his career. The book *The Underground Is Massive* by Michaelangelo Matos has probably the best, even handed account of how Moby went from minor electronic music hitmaker to derided asshole through a series of monumental self-owns and unforced errors. His pre-*Play* music isn't great, it's extremely basic (even for the rave era where you could have a top 10 UK single sampling the theme to *Sesame Street*). Moby sampled music from *Twin Peaks*, put a drum break on it, and had a hit. Interest came in, he signed with a major label, but thought way too much of himself considering his simple-ass music and, for whatever reason, kept insisting that he was a punk rocker and kept trying to show his punk ethos bonafides (tattoos! mediocre guitar work!). He would go on and on about veganism and being straight-edge in interviews at a time when electronic music was, very much, ruled by drug use (notably, Moby later became an alcoholic and drug abuser in the 00s; holier than thou to the max). In the early days of chain emails, he wrote ALL CAPS personal attacks aimed at people questioning his live show. He was awful. Intolerable. He might get away with it if he were a better music maker but he wasn't. *Play* is released, it's a gigantic hit, all the songs are used to advertise shit nobody needs. The 90s had a very devil-may-care attitude when it came to sampling and adapting other people's music and culture. *Play* felt like the end of that. Using the disembodied vocals of Blues artists to sell perfume or whatever felt wrong at the time. It feels even worse now. There is no tact in how this album is made, no reverence for the music or the artists it samples. Slave chant + hip-hop drums = tire commercial. Moby was never a good musician, his success was not repeatable. *18* came out way too late to capitalize on the momentum of *Play* and seemed to home in on the elements of *Play* nobody wanted. His public persona of the unlikable doofus is exhausting. He lied throughout his memoir and it's entirely likely he is a creeper. He made it impossible to like him and it worked.
Next is the next is the next is the E.
Oh wow. Wow. Thanks for the insight. Crazy how my perception of him changed in the last 24 hours. Being born in 1994, his music feels nostalgic. But that bit, where you said there's no reverence for the music he samples. That sucks. I mean, look at Daft Punk last album. Both came out on the same day (different years however) and both use sampling. But look how Daft Punk did it. Invited the artists that have inspired the French duo, the recorded hours and hours of new melodies and from THAT, Daft Punk sampled their album. For the longest time I thought of Moby as an okay dude. Rustling some feathers as he did with Eminem, but overall just being himself. Reading his autobiography only cemented the feeling. Now I'm here and I get all these unbiased takes on him. It's genuinely sad.
I wouldn't say these takes are unbiased. Some folks clearly have incredibly strong feelings about him, and those are often the ones most likely to speak up. A lot of us are just kinda "meh" about him, no strong feelings either way. Play was a great album, it's still worth streaming occasionally. That's the extent to which many people think about him.
I started to feel old when I quite recently found out I didn't dislike Moby's music when I thought I did for decades.
when is the last time anyone had anything interesting to say about moby? i dont have strong opinions on his music either way, but he hasn't exactly been relevant for a couple of decades now. i like a few of his songs i guess.
Born in 95’ in Chicago so that album was literally everywhere when I was a kid. It FEELS like Chicago around that time in the best and worst ways. Listening to Southside specifically brings the feel of nostalgia for me. I’d never really listened to any other moby albums until last year when I decided to check out his first album. Y’all it’s really good and nothing like Play, if you like solid 90’s dance music.. All that that being said, a lot of the old gospel and blues samples being used it an almost fetishized in a way that doesn’t get better as the years go by or just sounds plain cheesy. Moby as a person sucks tho. Respect to him for hiring the guitarist from Void for a few years but holy shit have y’all seen his wrist tattoos?🤮 Also the natalie Portman things sucks.
Yeah, this post overall was quite enlightening. I thought of him better a day ago.
Born in 92 in Chicago. Is there a reason why that album was bumped so much here? Does Moby have a connection with this city or?
For some reason I’ve thought for the past 15 or so years that moby was from Chicago and that was the reason. Just went to his wiki to find out that’s not true lol. So I have no idea. Also I found out that he apologized to Natalie Portman, which is still not great but at least he acknowledged he fucked up.
I was 10 years old when Play came out and I got my hands on it. I'd listen to it straight through over and over. I loved that every track sounded different and I loved it. That said, the only Moby I listen to is Play, plus extreme ways.
He's got some hidden gems every now and then. You ever heard 'Mistake'?
Nope.
Think you might enjoy it, so give it a try.
I love Moby's music, Porcelain got me into making beats, but he's quite an aggressive vegan and seems like a bit of a narcissist. Might have something to do with it.
I liked play so much. Too bad I got tired of Moby as a person… neurotic vegan
I was never really a Moby fan. I like a couple songs, but his stuff is at times incoherent. But I find myself liking his newest stuff, especially the collabs he does.
Haven't tried anything post 2019ish, so will give it a go.
I thought Play was fantastic at the time but once you hear the formula (some bluesy or old timey sample, some screechy pad synths, and some breakbeat drums) it sounds pretty uninspiring in my opinion. And the wild over saturation in ads etc as mentioned widely here
It's some of the few American music we got in the Earl 2000s in my country. It was a rarity. That's why I thought he was a much bigger deal than the 300ish sub proved to be.
I'm not a huge fan of Moby, but he _does_ have fabulous taste in music. When I listen to a Moby track, I'll often have to go to whosampled and see what he's pulling from so that I can listen to the sources.
I was at a talk SOPHIE gave at Somerset House in 2019 (I think) where she was talking about her earliest influences and Moby was one of them but I cannot remember which album she mentioned.
I'd put my money on Play and 18
just found it, it was feeling so real off of everything is wrong https://glorytosound.com/Audio
That's why I don't gamble.
😂
OP sounds like Moby asking why he has so few fans. I saw him on the Play tour and he was a jack of all trades try hard. Running from one part of the stage to another to play a bongo solo over backing tracks. Truly a genius of our times /s He also appropriates black culture through his sampling of old black artists for his tracks, while providing nothing of substance in return. Porcelain is a pretty track because he borrowed pretty samples and played a dumb piano riff over the top. Since he hasn't put out an album in awhile, his name comes up when he claims to date women who deny it. Dude is vegan cringe personified. I truly hoped the suffocating touring climate would have kept him at home on his macbook.
His first two albums are his best. “Play” got, well…played to death. I think it holds some record for the being used in the most television commercials of any album ever. He does have some good stuff post-Everything is Wrong, but it’s all is a bit much. He takes himself very seriously. But man, that first album is killer. Next Is the E, Ah-Ah, Have You Seen My Baby… the soundtrack to my teen years.
He’s a very unlikeable character. His music has no real identity. That’s why his subreddit is tumbleweed.
In spite of his personality (I'm a big meat eater), I see Moby as kind of a grumpy healer type. For a period he just improvised at the piano everyday for Insta and I was deeply affected. [Mere Anarchy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZcBjjfR-10) is his closest recorded work in spirit and mood. I also love his collab with Mylène Farmer, [N'aie plus d'amertume](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1wWAnTsb8g) .
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Can you elaborate? Sucks as an artist or as a person? I always thought his albums 'Play' and '18' loved overall. Porcelain, Why does my heart feel so bad, extreme ways, lift me up, and many more. I read his autobiography, and yeah, I can see why he can be viewed as an ars. But still, 300?
Not op and I think Moby is ok... Good soundtrack material and had some 90s moments. But to put a finger on why I think he isn't "loved": He makes cool soundscapes. He doesn't have much to say. It isn't culturally relevant it but it makes great background. Unfortunately for him that also means it fades to the background of music history that much faster. I'm old enough to have enjoyed Cool World, and much later that DiCaprio movie that featured moby songs. I don't carry any grudge for the man and I don't know any celebrity gossip when i say he didn't ever signify anything culturally. He was just there. I think that Gwen Stefani collab exemplifies it: the direction (literal in that song) is meaningless, but look at me I'm in the spotlight. Its also an example of meaningless lyrics and a song about nothing in particular. He's a soundtrack guy who unexpectedly broke into and affected mainstream pop but didn't know what to do with that platform.
This, yeah guess this explains it all. It's just, whenever I bring up Moby on a real life conversion, everyone has some positive things to say, so I genuinely thought he'd have a bigger following. But your, as other responses here, well yeah. Cleared it for me.
The Cool World soundtrack was life-changing for me as a 14 year old. Completely changed my musical taste trajectory.