Home

Imagine staying the same your whole life. How fucking boring!!!

I’m getting fascinated these days by the hypocrisy of music fans. Myself included. Ten years ago I wouldn’t have given bands like Depeche Mode or Fleetwood Mac a moments consideration. These bands were’ shit’ in my opinion, and if you’re ’shit’ then everything you do is rubbish. I wasn’t really judging the music per se, they could have written the greatest song ever, but I wouldn’t have given it a moments thought because what I understood about the band (synthesisers, the 1980’s, gothic self-indulgence) was anathema to a kid growing up with grunge, britpop, 1960’s records and the american alternative scene. So The Bee Gees were shit, the Pet Shop Boys were shit (2 bands I now love), Pop music was shit because ‘they didn’t write their own songs and couldn’t play instruments…’ all this crap that you come out with when you are young and trying to define yourself via the things you love… or supposed to love. Crap that says much more about your own insecurities and fragile sense of who you are than any real judgement call on the bands you are slagging off.

People who love music are rightly very passionate about it. But when I think about the amount of great music out there that people hate because of how it’s percieved by the media or their own ‘chosen musical outlook’ it seems kinda ridiculous. Why spend your energy hating something when there is so much great music out there too love and be passionate about. I suppose it comes with growing up as well. Depeche Mode for instance. I have just realised what utter brilliance they are capable of. And I’m interested in the gothic atmosphere of their music now without worrying about some kid at school thinking I’m a self-indulgent twat who writes on his jacket and wears black eye-make up and listens to ‘keyboard music.’ (Me? Self-indulgent?) I can’t believe how limited we are as teenagers. How small our sonic palette is. And now I find myself judging people’s open-mindedness by how limited or not their music collection is. (which is probably just as band as anything I’m complaining about but I can’t help it.)

We were talking in the car the other day coming back from doing some Attic Lights promo stuff and I was defending Girls Aloud, saying how much I admired their song-writing team. The Promise, is a great, great song. Could have been sung by any of the classic Motown bands. Although guaranteed in the 60’s, you had the muso guitar players in every city, listening to Led Zep or The Stones and slagging off The Supremes or any of the output of the Brill Building because of the smooth sound and the fact that the singers didnt write their own songs and couldn’t play any instrumnts. Yet nowadays these bands and songs from the past are considered classics. The same will no doubt be true of Girls Aloud or any pop band these days with a great song. In 30 years time,’The Promise’ will be a classic and all the muso arseholes will claim they always liked it. Or worse, still detest it because ‘they don’t play guitars or write their own songs’ or because they never developed a broad enough appreciation of music outside of their own little world.. Morons! Elvis and Sinatra didn’t write their own songs, or play guitar very well rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant….

I suppose I’m just trying to say, we all need to open our minds to other sounds a bit more (myself included). And I certainly don’t need to define myself by joining a club and adopting a uniform - Goth, Mod, Metal, whatever… I’ve always hated the idea of being part of a group (Apart from a rock group!!!) I think, basically, and rather pathetically, I hate being told what to do. I hate following someone else’s set of rules. - I know… how very pathetically teenage! It’s at this point that you slap me and tell me to grow up. Maybe I should go finish my homework.

Went to see David Byrne in Glasgow recently. What a great gig. Standing ovation when he came on stage and 4 or 5 encores at the end. Tremendous. There were also great dancers doing amazing choreographed routines all through the gig, leap-frogging over the band and stuff. The set was great and really turned me on to his new album with Brian Eno. I highly recommend getting a copy.

Going on tour in a couple of weeks. Very excited.

So, with that self-indulgent, possibly quite arrogant blog in mind, here are the top 7(!) Ipod tunes blowing my mind this week.

Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode

Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Beautiful Girl - INXS

Daniel - Bat For Lashes

Massachussets - The Bee Gees

The Promise - Girls Aloud

Strange Overtones - David Byrne and Brian Eno

Smell my face, you mothers!

K