u/ChocolateOrange21

This was inspired by Steven Hyden's recent Substack post on the challenges the band has faced over the years.

"Now, I don’t have time to re-litigate everything I wrote there, though I’ll concede some of it — the last sentence, in particular — could use some re-litigation. For now, though, I just want to bask in the irony of including The Black Keys in a series called “The Winners’ History Of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” as I don’t think anyone outside of the Auerbach and Carney clans of Akron, Ohio would dare affix the word “winner” to this band in 2026. They have, in fact, been losing pretty consistently for a number of years. Pretty much from the day I hit “send” on that column, they have been like a cartoon wolf hitting its head on every descending rung of a ladder — a tragic twist after once, long ago, briefly fetching the proverbial Goldilocks of rock stardom."

I feel the turning point would be Turn Blue, due to its style changes at several points on the album and the general turn people had against guitar-based rock music around this time. The band going on hiatus for five years also seemed to kill their momentum and they've never truly recovered.

Others might argue Ohio Players and being forced to cancel their tour/play for a crypto party as the low-point.

Thoughts?