Music ?

I have said very little of interest so far but that will happen in time and i only write when i am inspired anyway.
last night i happened to turn on CH4 late . There was some music programme showcasing new upcoming bands. I watched 3 of them. two of them i have already forgotten about. The third band was called Seven heroes. I am not going to bitch about them as at least trying but they were quite possibly the worst i have ever seen ever. I just dont know what has happened to music these days. sorry to rant again but it seems talent and charisma are no longer required to be in a band. They never say anything of interest ever in interviews or in their songwriting. Also being creative and breaking new ground, experimenting etc doesnt seem to be in anymore. Thats not to say that a lot of older bands and musicians etc werent "experimental" either but even if they were inspired by blues etc ,but they always added something of their own as well to make a unique style. What is the point in a band that sounds like their album was made 25 years ago ? I would rather listen to the real thing that was made 25 years ago quite honestly. I have the advantage of being "older" than some obviously and i grew up in a house where there was always lots of records plus a steady diet of radio one. john Peel was always a favourite plus Your favourite rock requests with Anne nightingale was as popular with us as going to church on sunday was for others as this was always on on a sunday evening after the top 20 rundown. I always remember listening to john peel and there just seemed to be an endless supply of new music that was good. Lots of home taping as well.


I am going to attack the younger generation of musicians now so if anyone doesnt like what i am about to post and you are in a band then i aplogise now as no doubt there is talent still out there. There has to be . to refer back to Seven Heroes et al then i am sorry but you are not the future of music. You are the death of it. You have no charisma. you cant play you cant write songs you dont even look good. Now lots of bands in the past didnt look good. Lots of bands in the past couldnt play well. All bands need to be able to write songs to some degree. So even if a band cant play well, doesnt look like Duran Duran on a photoshoot a certain amount of charisma and songwriting is required to make a splash. This new generation of bands just seem to somehow miss the point of music altogether. Perhaps its an age thing but music to me has always represented something that is anti establishment. That was always the point even if the musician or musicians were not outwardly rebellious in any way. Being a musician was always about not wanting a " job " as such and just doing your own thing instead. It was a statement against straight society as such.

These days a lot of bands are as straight as everyone else and its just like having a job nowadays. Get your friends together with you , buy a guitar, bass ,drums, get a vocalist and hey presto ! ! we are a band ! amazing. Also looking like any nondescript sruffy student type with a "haircut" plus brighton stubble also helps a lot. Complete lack of irony is good or alternativly that special type of "student " irony helps consideraby as in " we love watching endless reruns of kids tv from the seventies and eighties" with the t shirt to match. Theres hardly any girls in these bands either but maybe they just have a bit more taste than that. They are all a bit "beery" these bands as well. Geezer culture i reckon myself. Brewed in the uk piss as well probably. I could go on but i wont but i could but i wont.

Its inevitable that if something gets absorbed into the mainstream it becomes bland. All this Myspace business has opened doors for musicians that were otherwise closed unless you had friends in the "biz' or were lucky enough to get your demo listened to by someone in the "biz". I am not a musician but i have always known a lot of musicians. Some well known, others not known so much. I dont do this deliberatly as in saying " i know musicians ! I know people or have aquaintences that are well known " as that would be stupid. Its just the way things seem to work out for some reason. I dont seek their company deliberatly either. A friends sister years ago worked in music promotion years ago in london. It was called the Agency and i think this was the one that was promoting Primal Scream, Oasis, the Orb plus lots of others as well. This meant i never had to pay to see live music as i just had to make a call, but not too often as it would be taking advantage and becomindg a Ligger. But it was interesting while it lasted and there was a lot of hedonism but i never got involved in that as i just wanted to see the music not to mention all those free cds and records etc. I could just walk into the office and help myself to them. This agency was runned by Alex Nightingale [ son of Anne Nightingale] who was a complete lunatic and a drug fiend. In one case he completely trashed the office that he ran the agency from which was a bit traumatic for my friend there. So she left that agency to work at another . I forget who or what that agency was but she didnt last that long there either as she was stressed and overworked and in the end she gave it all up as at some point she had a nervous breakdown and couldnt go out for 3 months. So the "biz" isnt fun or glamourous at all and also there ended all my privelages as well but it was a fun chapter while it lasted, never to be forgotten but thats it now. I still have my copy of Weekender by Flowered Up as well from those days. If anyone hasnt heard that track then do so quickly as you are missing out. Its 13 minutes long and sums up the whole "weekend culture" perfectly .


I am not saying that hedonism is clever but all these new bands could learn a thing or two from all those bands and what being in a band is about particularly having stage presence and songwriting. To cut to the chase a lot of new bands dont have any "balls" to use a cliche. They dont have any electricity or energy about themselves and they never look like they mean it. They are just "having a go ". Chancers. Go back to poly or uni. do something else.

" I had so much to drink last night that i cant remember anything !!! " shouted out in a pub at lunchtime by one studenty musician type to his oh so ironic and cliched friends with their silly hair and t shirts just fill me with utter disdain not to mention their sexually explicit retelling of last nights events with a stripper or prostitute for the benefit of proving to the whole pub how "hedonistic" they are. How very rock and roll . How boring. Fuck off and die. do me a favour. Please.

Apologies for being harsh if anyone who reads this is in a band. I dont wish to knock everyone down who is trying either as it isnt fair to generalise but this is my blog and i will speak my mind otherwise whats the point ? The floodgates have opened now and there are far too many average or below average musicians these days. Anyone can get noticed now so hopefully the talent out there will start to show.

Once again no offence to any musicians who read this. Its just my critique of the state of things these days.

There is one new band who i think are called the Twang ? although that could be wrong but its the band that has that shouty geezer who doesnt sing as such but sort of sounds like a louder version of The Streets with a live band for backing. they were voted NME best new band and they played Glastonbury as i saw them on Tv. they are excellent so all is not lost and i am sure there are others as well. Seems like a genuine guy who didnt start out with high expectations but just did his thing and got noticed as talent always gets noticed.