I used to be loyal and a tad bit naïve when it came to authors and musical artists. When I experienced a new author or musical artist that moved me, I would often go out and get everything he or she had done up until that point, and when his or her new material came out, I'd pick that up as well.
Then something changed. If I had to try to pinpoint when it happened I'd say it was about 10 years ago when I was into a musical group called White Cross. They are a Christian group and I loved their sound—a 1980's heavy metal sound without all the trashy lyrics. Then, the grunge movement hit and White Cross changed their sound to match the new sound of the day. I had no idea they had done so when I purchased one of their CDs and when I popped it in to my CD player, it was awful. Probably because I couldn't stand grunge (still can't), but I cut them some slack and purchased their next CD, which was equally as bad. And now I have no idea whether they are even still together or not. They lost me.
I'm not against artists of any sort experimenting or doing something different. I'm sure that White Cross had good intentions. And maybe they were just tired of playing the same style of music. I don't know for sure. That's where my naivety came into play. I actually believed that if a group was able to produce material at any given moment that spoke to my soul, then they would always continue to do so. Obviously, that isn't the case.
I've had similar experiences with authors. Not that they changed their voice so much as they branched out into areas that didn't interest me. Several years ago, I concluded that I'm not really a fan of particular authors or musical artists, but instead, I'm a fan of what some authors and musical artists produce at any given moment. Exceptions do exist, but they are getting fewer. And while the side of me that likes the feeling of being loyal argues a little, I'm finding more new authors and musical artists who interest and challenge me since I'm not so quick to purchase everything a particular author or musical artist produces.
