Can we stop overusing the term ‘supergroup’?

Google defines “supergroup” as “a music band or ensemble whose members are already established and highly successful as solo artists or as part of other bands. It functions as a musical "all-star team".

Merriam-Webster defines “supergroup” as:

• “a group made up of very talented, renowned, or expert members. 
• “especially : a musical group made up of established, prominent musicians,” citing true supergroups like Boygenius, Traveling Wilburys or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
• “an extremely successful musical group,” citing the K-Pop megastars BTS.

There seems to be a disconnect between over-enthusiastic music writers and their use of the dictionary. To borrow from sage linguist Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” 

I suppose there’s some wiggle room in Merriam-Webster’s initial definition of “a group made up of very talented, renowned or expert members.” But the dictionary emphasizes “especially” in the second definition to encourage us not to get sloppy in proclaiming anyone “very talented” or “expert.” 

Below are a few examples of why I think music geeks are getting too loose with the term. 

As quoted in the June issue of 5280 magazine, which focuses on Colorado, Indie 102.3 public radio music director Alisha Sweeney proclaims Graveyard Choir as “an up-and-coming supergroup including members of INTHEWHALE and Musuji.” Hmmm. Not that Spotify listenership is the arbiter of popularity, but INTHEWHALE has 2,400 monthly listeners, while Musuji has … 10. Yep, 10.

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Innovations in media: 'Power Soak'

One of my favorite music books of 2026 is Brendan Borrell’s “Power Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound.” 

It’s the story of Tom Scholz, the founder of the band Boston, and the legal shenanigans surrounding the band’s long-delayed third album. Scholz, ever the perfectionist, resisted intense record company pressure to release “Third Stage,” in order to capitalize on the mammoth sales of Boston’s first two albums.  

As Borrell writes, “When Scholz refused to hand over his own record, ‘Third Stage,’ until it met his exacting standards, CBS Records chief Walter Yetnikoff declared war. Royalties were cut off. Lawsuits piled up. The band splintered. And Scholz sank further into isolation.

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The Police, Michael Des Barres and the deep breadth of wikis

I've been online for more than 20 years but I continue to be amazed at the depth and breadth of what's online and the passionate people who feed deep content niches.

This was the first of two Fresno shows by The Police.Case in point: I got a Facebook Messenger inquiry from a German who ran across a 2016 Facebook post of mine featuring two tickets from Police concerts in Fresno. He simply wanted to know whether he could repost my photo of my ticket from a 1980 show on his Police Wiki website.  

Say what? A wiki focused on The Police? It's one thing to have a website focused on the band, but a wiki? That's hardcore. 

I'm all for taking care of other passionate music fans, so quickly agreed. So, now the Police Wiki has this lovely addition to its page on the Saturday, Nov. 1, show in which Michael Des Barres opened for The Police. 

I had forgotten Des Barres opened the show, but clearly remember The Police being rattled when the tough crowd at the beautiful Warnor's Theater were not standing during the band's performance. As they later said in Trouser Press magazine, they would never play Fresno again. As you can see in my original Facebook post, the band did return to Fresno to play a stadium show. I guess money can trump ideals. 

As for the tough Fresno crowd, we weren't tough - we just weren't submissive, as Sting thought we should be. I was a major Police fan at that point, but after reading that, I thought, "screw you," and stopped buying their albums, although I cared enough about the band to use a complimentary ticket to see the 1983 concert.

Thanks to Dietmar Cloes for bringing back a wonderful memory and for having the passion to curate and build a small corner of the digital world.