Great new music?
Someone mentioned to me on a John Mayer fan forum on My Space, that despite great solo artists selling out in arena tours, some rarely ever have massive chart success. This person had Dave Matthews in mind, and we were talking about how John Mayer never comes to the UK to promote his music or play gigs. This guy’s comment got me pondering upon the subject.If you think about who is actually buying singles: mainly kids with pocket money who unfortunately choose to buy the crazy frog single (which I frankly think should have been banned and shunned into non existence).
The masses seem to move in fads also. For example there are many who read NME, and if NME name a band or a person such as Pete Doherty as 'cool' then people will go with it. If they named John Mayer as 'cool' then people would go with it. But it's not about whose cool, it’s about the music. On a separate note- I can't stand such things as 'the cool list'- what the hell is that all about. Image and celebrity counts for too much these days. Yes we used to have true 'rock stars', and that in itself was an image however, how many rock stars of today do you think have the staying power of 'The Rolling Stones'?
Reasons to record music have changed dramatically. In the 60/70's music was about liberation and freedom of speech; for example I think it was 'Freedom' by Aretha Franklin was written after Martin Luther King got assassinated. It wasn't about who or what was cool, it was about great music and in this case what was significant to that culture.
Many are saying now that the music scene is in a good place at the moment, something I partially agree with. On a personal level I like the fact there is much more room now for bands such as the Arctic Monkeys to make a dent in the charts, instead of hip-hop or again, crazy frog. However I have only used Arctic Monkeys such as an example as they became a success from the internet, which I credit them for. However they aren’t the best band around at the moment, and I find it amazing that because of the hype towards them, the sales of their first album have rocketed.
I have noticed, as many others have, that the fad at the moment is to be in an indie band. This therefore doesn't make much room for any other bands trying to crack the music scene. I interviewed a band a year ago called 'Seafood', lyrically and musically fantastic yet they have been dropped by their record label and amazingly kept going. The odds have been against them but for nearly ten years they have persisted. They simply love playing music, and that’s the point. The passion doesn't seem to be there anymore: it's about being in a band, being a rock star, being famous and in some cases sporting a funny hair cut.
I ran a radio show which was purely based on exposing new bands and giving them the recognition they deserved. This was exciting at first, but it soon occurred to me that some of the bands did not deserve this recognition. They had no passion for the music, but hunger for fame and celebrity. I hasten to add that not all bands and solo artists were like this, but those who were, really discouraged me from working in the music industry.
I was speaking to a friend of mine for example, and he's currently trying to get into a band. I asked him out of curiosity about why he wants to be in a band- and of course the predictable answer was 'cus I wanna be famous'. As well as this comment being shallow, it is incredibly naive. There are many who think that once they get in a band and sound okay they will land a record deal, and obviously it doesn't work like that.
So I’m going to keep on searching for new music that isn't reminisant of the Babyshambles, or any other indie drivel. Support the underdogs, be open minded and you will find some fantastically diverse bands and solo artists.
Look out for:
My Architects
myarchitects.co.uk
Nikola Rachelle
Nikolarachelle.com
Vijay Kishore
vijaykishore.moonfruit.com
The masses seem to move in fads also. For example there are many who read NME, and if NME name a band or a person such as Pete Doherty as 'cool' then people will go with it. If they named John Mayer as 'cool' then people would go with it. But it's not about whose cool, it’s about the music. On a separate note- I can't stand such things as 'the cool list'- what the hell is that all about. Image and celebrity counts for too much these days. Yes we used to have true 'rock stars', and that in itself was an image however, how many rock stars of today do you think have the staying power of 'The Rolling Stones'?
Reasons to record music have changed dramatically. In the 60/70's music was about liberation and freedom of speech; for example I think it was 'Freedom' by Aretha Franklin was written after Martin Luther King got assassinated. It wasn't about who or what was cool, it was about great music and in this case what was significant to that culture.
Many are saying now that the music scene is in a good place at the moment, something I partially agree with. On a personal level I like the fact there is much more room now for bands such as the Arctic Monkeys to make a dent in the charts, instead of hip-hop or again, crazy frog. However I have only used Arctic Monkeys such as an example as they became a success from the internet, which I credit them for. However they aren’t the best band around at the moment, and I find it amazing that because of the hype towards them, the sales of their first album have rocketed.
I have noticed, as many others have, that the fad at the moment is to be in an indie band. This therefore doesn't make much room for any other bands trying to crack the music scene. I interviewed a band a year ago called 'Seafood', lyrically and musically fantastic yet they have been dropped by their record label and amazingly kept going. The odds have been against them but for nearly ten years they have persisted. They simply love playing music, and that’s the point. The passion doesn't seem to be there anymore: it's about being in a band, being a rock star, being famous and in some cases sporting a funny hair cut.
I ran a radio show which was purely based on exposing new bands and giving them the recognition they deserved. This was exciting at first, but it soon occurred to me that some of the bands did not deserve this recognition. They had no passion for the music, but hunger for fame and celebrity. I hasten to add that not all bands and solo artists were like this, but those who were, really discouraged me from working in the music industry.
I was speaking to a friend of mine for example, and he's currently trying to get into a band. I asked him out of curiosity about why he wants to be in a band- and of course the predictable answer was 'cus I wanna be famous'. As well as this comment being shallow, it is incredibly naive. There are many who think that once they get in a band and sound okay they will land a record deal, and obviously it doesn't work like that.
So I’m going to keep on searching for new music that isn't reminisant of the Babyshambles, or any other indie drivel. Support the underdogs, be open minded and you will find some fantastically diverse bands and solo artists.
Look out for:
My Architects
myarchitects.co.uk
Nikola Rachelle
Nikolarachelle.com
Vijay Kishore
vijaykishore.moonfruit.com
posted by Emma at 9:54 pm
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