I wish to expand on my last blog.
I think some people may have gotten the wrong message.
My main point was that this generation has lacked a transcendent act or single musical movement which has been willing to protest and sing out against the problems of the decade. Politics wise was my main gist, which I didn't make clear enough, sorry!
However, in no contradiction to my previous statements, music this decade has been a mind blowingly, eye burstingly, eargasmingly diverse sprawling wonderland of sounds, ideas, directions, colours, textures, instrumentation, arrangements and genres. There have been more sub genres and genre splicing musicians than anyone would previously have thought possible. Brilliant pop classics, dubstep has reared its peculiar head in a wonderfully majestic manner, indie has dominated the decade spawning more sub-genres than you could care to shake a stick at- nu-rave, nu-folk, electroclash, garage rock revival, post punk revival. All of that down to The Strokes, the near undoubted godfather's of indie music this decade. Althought the decade has generally been a disappointment hip-hop wise (and it could scarcely be anything less after the 90s), us here in the British Isles got grime. Love it or loathe it, emo and scene rose and fell (thankfully), the internet redefined music and destroyed the physical single.
Whilst this decade has lost the uniting movements and artists of previous ones, it has also managed to lose the musical cliques and divides of other generations. Somehow, in some strange should-be-but-isn't-contradiction. My itunes collection is insanely diverse, I scarcely know a single person who listens solely to one type of music. Obvious and audacious genre splicing is a norm nowadays, and isn't such a gimmick or a shock as it was.
The messages of previous decades may be absent, but music in itself has been awesome. Which perhaps is a necessary step. Music has been celebrating itself this decade, going to incredible new places, busting down sonic barriers and taste barriers and making a euphoric noise. Maybe this decade's been all about having fun and just enjoying music for itself. Which is a wonderfully valid thing to strive for, and the extent to which it's been acheived in the past ten years does actually make the gaping loss of poltical protest seem less appalling now that I think about it.
This decade, musically, was definitely necessary. Music has leapt to new places, partied, celebrated, gloried in itself. And maybe now it's claimed and discovered new sounds, it will use those wonderful gifts to sing about and play about the state in which the rest of the world is heading into the next decade.
Here's to Klaxons/Yeah Yeah Yeahs/Dizzee Rascal/Radiohead/Beck/LCD Soundsystem/Battles/Porcupine Tree/MGMT/Gorillaz penning a massive anthem that defines the next decade!
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Friday, 13 November 2009
The Noughties Have Come To Nought
It's suddenly dawned on me in the traditionally premature run up to Christmas and New Year that this decade is nearly over! It's insane! Slightly terrifying! I will have a defined decade of my life, an era of history I have lived through. To quote Velma Dinkley: "Jinkies!"
Now, I am in love with music. Music is an essential part of being human. If you don't enjoy music then, in all seriousness, with no degree of sarcasm and irony, there is something mentally, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually wrong with you. But, as I review the fact that I have defined memories of an entire fixed decade, the noughties, I turn to thinking about the music of this decade and, in turn, the music of other decades.
For the greater part of the last hundred years, every decade has had a type of music that represents the youth, the culture, the wants, the issues, the politics, the social system and many other things of the present generation. Nearly every single decade has had a definitive tattoo of music branded across it. A type of music that cries out the message of that decade's generation of youths, music that SAYS something about the time that it's coming form. Music that all of the teenagers and young adults can unite together and sing, belting out a victorious, relevant chorus that's the essence of who they are as a group. They're united around it. Someone could start playing one of their songs and together, they would all join in, united, whatever their differences, by the message in their music.
The 1920s and 30s were dominated by jazz- the music of the youth, it was young, rebellious and, whilst far from being the most lyrically focussed genre of music, it was carrying a huge message that united young people.
The 1940s were overshadowed by the war. We lost a generation and there's not a particularly definitive musical genre, but there are obviously the war greats like Vera Lynn.
The 1950s obviously birthed rock n' roll in all its glorious poularity, and again we have music for the youth that's fresh, sexy, vibrant and focussing the minds and energies of a generation who want to escape from the shadow of WW2.
The 1960s, undoubtedly the era in which politics most influenced music. The great protest folk singers, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, many more. Hendrix became the precursor for any degree of heavy rock in the near future and Beatlemania obviously engulfed the globe, but they're not entirely relevant to the point I want to make.
The 1970s saw music become a lot funner, largely to escape from the seriousness of the 60s. Pop music as we know it now really began to take over, but it was, once more, fresh and youthful and a UNITING FORCE. The 70s was also the ear of a disco, a genre which has more to it than meets the eye. Whilst, like jazz, it wasn't partiuclarly political or revolutionary lyrically, disco saw black people reclaim the music industry after the glory for rock n' roll had been stolen by the white man.
The end of the 70s birthed punk rock, which carried on into and through the 1980s. Reggae also became hugely popular and these two genres united the youth of the day massively, in a desire to fight against the remains of disgusting racist National Front, in the thick of Thatcher's Britain and the revitalised Cold War (thanks to Reagan). The youth were definitely united and focussed thanks to punk and reggae.
The 1990s saw the rise of alternative rock. Nirvana, almost undoubtedly the single most important music act in the past 20 years, gave a new voice to rebellion and the upsets of youth and their breakthrough led the way for movements like Britpop. Britpop swerved from being intensely political to a way to escape politics, but it united the British youth with some incredible songs that they could all chant along to, take up arms with. It even united people in a good rivalry: Blur vs Oasis.
And so what of the noughties?
Bugger all.
Bugger.
All.
Now I am a massive fan of new music in this decade, I'm keeping up to date constantly. But this decade, the decade in which I have really grown up and lived the greater part of my teenage years, has had NOTHING, barely a VESTIGE of any kind of unifying music. No band who have reached the calibre of the class transcending, boundary trashing groups of eras gone past. The closest we've had has been Green Day with the release of American Idiot, but other factors and over commercialisation hampered them massively.
Why? Why has the generation of this decade not sung out?! It's shameful! It's not as if we don't have anything to sing about and protest against!
A corrupt, unwinnable, American led war being fought in the east, wasting hundreds of American and British lives and thousands of natives. It spawned unmeasurable amounts of protest music when it was happening in Vietnam in the 60s! Oh yes, there are protest songs in existence about the Bush administration etc, check out Bright Eyes' "When the President talks to God". But there's nothing transcendent! Nothing that can unite everyone.
We have the BNP getting more and more influential in Britain all the time. It's essentially the child of the National Front, and resistance against them in the 70s and 80s spawned incredibly unifying music. Who do we get? Jon McClure from Reverand and the Makers. Good intentions don't stop him being a tit and failing to attempt to appel to anyone other than a niche of NME readers
We're in the grip of recession, and I can't even THINK of bands who have really said anything about that!
And there's so much more. The general disintegration of Britian's moral fabric, the advent of political insanity/correctness, the impotence of New Labour and so many more things.
The 21st century has been dogged by leaders who have been unable to stand up effectively to the challenges the world faces. And it's been equally full of musicians quick to criticise them and to point out all of the problems in society. However, clearly those musicians can't measure up because they certainly haven't acheived any kind of unification for my generation. No anthems. No relevant anthems.
We've had our musical breakthroughs.
The Strokes, spawned noughties indie and garage rock revival but are a band who I don't think have ever lyrically said anything and are actually quite unkown to a lot of people.
Anddd... oh. That's it. Really.
I'm devastated that, in years to come, I won't be able to sit around with people my age and recall a song from this decade that united us all, that had a message, that said something about our world and our country and our lives and our problems.
Really, it saddens my soul.
We'll look back and see a void of meaning
A long row of empty coffins, haunted by the ghosts of anthems never written.
An unmarked grave where the truly important music of this decade should have been.
Now, I am in love with music. Music is an essential part of being human. If you don't enjoy music then, in all seriousness, with no degree of sarcasm and irony, there is something mentally, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually wrong with you. But, as I review the fact that I have defined memories of an entire fixed decade, the noughties, I turn to thinking about the music of this decade and, in turn, the music of other decades.
For the greater part of the last hundred years, every decade has had a type of music that represents the youth, the culture, the wants, the issues, the politics, the social system and many other things of the present generation. Nearly every single decade has had a definitive tattoo of music branded across it. A type of music that cries out the message of that decade's generation of youths, music that SAYS something about the time that it's coming form. Music that all of the teenagers and young adults can unite together and sing, belting out a victorious, relevant chorus that's the essence of who they are as a group. They're united around it. Someone could start playing one of their songs and together, they would all join in, united, whatever their differences, by the message in their music.
The 1920s and 30s were dominated by jazz- the music of the youth, it was young, rebellious and, whilst far from being the most lyrically focussed genre of music, it was carrying a huge message that united young people.
The 1940s were overshadowed by the war. We lost a generation and there's not a particularly definitive musical genre, but there are obviously the war greats like Vera Lynn.
The 1950s obviously birthed rock n' roll in all its glorious poularity, and again we have music for the youth that's fresh, sexy, vibrant and focussing the minds and energies of a generation who want to escape from the shadow of WW2.
The 1960s, undoubtedly the era in which politics most influenced music. The great protest folk singers, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, many more. Hendrix became the precursor for any degree of heavy rock in the near future and Beatlemania obviously engulfed the globe, but they're not entirely relevant to the point I want to make.
The 1970s saw music become a lot funner, largely to escape from the seriousness of the 60s. Pop music as we know it now really began to take over, but it was, once more, fresh and youthful and a UNITING FORCE. The 70s was also the ear of a disco, a genre which has more to it than meets the eye. Whilst, like jazz, it wasn't partiuclarly political or revolutionary lyrically, disco saw black people reclaim the music industry after the glory for rock n' roll had been stolen by the white man.
The end of the 70s birthed punk rock, which carried on into and through the 1980s. Reggae also became hugely popular and these two genres united the youth of the day massively, in a desire to fight against the remains of disgusting racist National Front, in the thick of Thatcher's Britain and the revitalised Cold War (thanks to Reagan). The youth were definitely united and focussed thanks to punk and reggae.
The 1990s saw the rise of alternative rock. Nirvana, almost undoubtedly the single most important music act in the past 20 years, gave a new voice to rebellion and the upsets of youth and their breakthrough led the way for movements like Britpop. Britpop swerved from being intensely political to a way to escape politics, but it united the British youth with some incredible songs that they could all chant along to, take up arms with. It even united people in a good rivalry: Blur vs Oasis.
And so what of the noughties?
Bugger all.
Bugger.
All.
Now I am a massive fan of new music in this decade, I'm keeping up to date constantly. But this decade, the decade in which I have really grown up and lived the greater part of my teenage years, has had NOTHING, barely a VESTIGE of any kind of unifying music. No band who have reached the calibre of the class transcending, boundary trashing groups of eras gone past. The closest we've had has been Green Day with the release of American Idiot, but other factors and over commercialisation hampered them massively.
Why? Why has the generation of this decade not sung out?! It's shameful! It's not as if we don't have anything to sing about and protest against!
A corrupt, unwinnable, American led war being fought in the east, wasting hundreds of American and British lives and thousands of natives. It spawned unmeasurable amounts of protest music when it was happening in Vietnam in the 60s! Oh yes, there are protest songs in existence about the Bush administration etc, check out Bright Eyes' "When the President talks to God". But there's nothing transcendent! Nothing that can unite everyone.
We have the BNP getting more and more influential in Britain all the time. It's essentially the child of the National Front, and resistance against them in the 70s and 80s spawned incredibly unifying music. Who do we get? Jon McClure from Reverand and the Makers. Good intentions don't stop him being a tit and failing to attempt to appel to anyone other than a niche of NME readers
We're in the grip of recession, and I can't even THINK of bands who have really said anything about that!
And there's so much more. The general disintegration of Britian's moral fabric, the advent of political insanity/correctness, the impotence of New Labour and so many more things.
The 21st century has been dogged by leaders who have been unable to stand up effectively to the challenges the world faces. And it's been equally full of musicians quick to criticise them and to point out all of the problems in society. However, clearly those musicians can't measure up because they certainly haven't acheived any kind of unification for my generation. No anthems. No relevant anthems.
We've had our musical breakthroughs.
The Strokes, spawned noughties indie and garage rock revival but are a band who I don't think have ever lyrically said anything and are actually quite unkown to a lot of people.
Anddd... oh. That's it. Really.
I'm devastated that, in years to come, I won't be able to sit around with people my age and recall a song from this decade that united us all, that had a message, that said something about our world and our country and our lives and our problems.
Really, it saddens my soul.
We'll look back and see a void of meaning
A long row of empty coffins, haunted by the ghosts of anthems never written.
An unmarked grave where the truly important music of this decade should have been.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Communication Minimisation
I'm too young to really remember much of the 90s, and what I can remember isn't particularly related to pop culture, but I'm informed enough about the changes between the last decade and this one to have noticed something.
Since the start of the 21st century, the ways in which we communicate have become increasingly abbreviated. Just think about it.
Text messaging. I'd wager that at the turn of the century, the ratio of people who had mobiles to those who didn't in the UK was probably about 50-50, possibly even higher in favour of not having one. But now, a mobile phone is an essential, the replacement for the Swiss Army knife. And the primary use of mobile phones now is text messaging. Text messaging has had its advent this decade. Short, succinct messages relayed almost instantly. And they've even spawned their own minimalsic language of few vowels and many abbreviations.
Twitter. 2009 has really been Twitter's year. Again, we have precise, 140-character-limited bytes of information being tweeted onto the internet, providing glimpses of snapshots of peoples' lives. The same goes for most social networking sites in certain degrees.
It's also reflected in the music industry now. The 21st century has seen the birth of the mp3's popularity, and many would say that now we have the ability to instantly download individual tracks, the album is a dead medium, a relic of the past to be onsigned to the history books. A massive percentage of online mp3 purchases are for single tracks, rarely are whole albums downloaded online. We now have brevity in the form of music we download! We pick and choose track for track, which is even more minimal than going out and buying a single, which has been made even more obsolete than albums! (I don't think albums are obsolete, far from it. But, sadly, singles largely are) Even when we do download whole albums from the internet, it is a much more minimal activity than going to the record store, buying a physical copy of the album, savouring the case, the cover notes, the reality of possessing something physical of music. And the advent on single mp3 downloading is making local record shops and communication with the people who work therein, who know their stuff about music and, when you bother to talk to them, usually but you on to new, exciting bands similar to what you can in looking for in the first place. But now, even that is being eradicated with things such as "similar artists" features on Spotify.
The minimisation of communication is an interesting feature of the century we have yet to travel 10% into. I'm not saying it's bad necessarily. I love the brevity of tweets on Twitter, the convenience of text messaging, the opportunities new bands gain by putting new tracks up on the internet. But it has obvious downsides I'm sure you're intelligent enough to work out without me listing them. It's gonna be fascinating watching how communication develops throughout the rest of the 21st century.
Since the start of the 21st century, the ways in which we communicate have become increasingly abbreviated. Just think about it.
Text messaging. I'd wager that at the turn of the century, the ratio of people who had mobiles to those who didn't in the UK was probably about 50-50, possibly even higher in favour of not having one. But now, a mobile phone is an essential, the replacement for the Swiss Army knife. And the primary use of mobile phones now is text messaging. Text messaging has had its advent this decade. Short, succinct messages relayed almost instantly. And they've even spawned their own minimalsic language of few vowels and many abbreviations.
Twitter. 2009 has really been Twitter's year. Again, we have precise, 140-character-limited bytes of information being tweeted onto the internet, providing glimpses of snapshots of peoples' lives. The same goes for most social networking sites in certain degrees.
It's also reflected in the music industry now. The 21st century has seen the birth of the mp3's popularity, and many would say that now we have the ability to instantly download individual tracks, the album is a dead medium, a relic of the past to be onsigned to the history books. A massive percentage of online mp3 purchases are for single tracks, rarely are whole albums downloaded online. We now have brevity in the form of music we download! We pick and choose track for track, which is even more minimal than going out and buying a single, which has been made even more obsolete than albums! (I don't think albums are obsolete, far from it. But, sadly, singles largely are) Even when we do download whole albums from the internet, it is a much more minimal activity than going to the record store, buying a physical copy of the album, savouring the case, the cover notes, the reality of possessing something physical of music. And the advent on single mp3 downloading is making local record shops and communication with the people who work therein, who know their stuff about music and, when you bother to talk to them, usually but you on to new, exciting bands similar to what you can in looking for in the first place. But now, even that is being eradicated with things such as "similar artists" features on Spotify.
The minimisation of communication is an interesting feature of the century we have yet to travel 10% into. I'm not saying it's bad necessarily. I love the brevity of tweets on Twitter, the convenience of text messaging, the opportunities new bands gain by putting new tracks up on the internet. But it has obvious downsides I'm sure you're intelligent enough to work out without me listing them. It's gonna be fascinating watching how communication develops throughout the rest of the 21st century.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Knights in Shining Spandex
Woven throughout the immeasurabley vast and beautifully vibrant canvas of humanity's fiction, myths and legends is an undeniable obsession with heroes. Achilles to Atticus Finch, Hercules to Harry Potter, we love heroes. And within our obsession with heroes is our DESIRE for heroes.
I notice this obsession with heroes primarily because of the amount of comics I read. "Heroes" often, for many, at least for the younger generation, leads to ideas of "superheroes" or similar figures. Superheroes- people with powers or abilities or qualities beyond our own, which allow them to conquer foes and acheive feats (physical and moral) which we ourselves could not. Superman has his unmatched strength, power of flight and seemingly immovable moral stance. Batman has harnessed his personal tragedy and allowed it to drive him into one of a handful of men taking an active, physical stand against the tide of evil in Gotham City. Iron Man who has utilised his incredible wealth and intelligence into technology he uses almost relentlessly for the good of man kind. The X-Men who, despite the abuse and racism hruled at them by their society, scarcely waver in defending the very people who despise and reject them.
Right there, really, is what we want in heroes. Figures who do what we can't. Figures who embody the heights of action and morality we so often wish we could reach ourselves. Those who can defeat super villains, villains who are inconceivably stronger and eviler than any other foe we could come across. Figures who deal out blind justice.
Now, morality in the realm of comic books has become increasingly complex throughout the years, and that's a whole different blog/book altogether, but those premises I began with remain there.
Humans want heroes. People who can overcome the villains, evils and threats facing the world that we cannot. Even people who are endlessly skeptical can only say that they don't think such heroes exist on earth, they cannot say that they do not want one.
And this desire for heroes shows, indisputably, the desire inherent in every human heart in history: the desire for God.
Whether you believe it or not, you want God. You are seeking the things which you can only get in an eternally satisfying way from God- love, acceptance, relationship, justice, worth, purpose, direction, creativity, moral standards and, in this specific instance, a hero.
Someone to overcome that which you cannot.
And that thing is the evil in the world.
The human race can swipe at what we perceive to be evil for millenia. We can defeat Hitler, Saddam, the next evil dictator. We can attempt to reduce knife crime. But those are only symptoms of the sin and darkness that lives in the heart of every human. They are not the thing itself. Thining you can iron the evil out of the world by targetting things such as those is like trying to blow out a gas fire. Even attempting to target their causes will never stop the selfish desires that we are all subject to, no matter what.
Through Jesus Christ, the enemies we cannot possibly hope to defeat on our own are flattened and decimated once and for all, for eternity. Sin and death. He can do what we can't. He can once and for all deliver justice to evil. He can once and for all dish out the punishment evil deserves. And He can once and for all free us from the oppression of that enemy.
I notice this obsession with heroes primarily because of the amount of comics I read. "Heroes" often, for many, at least for the younger generation, leads to ideas of "superheroes" or similar figures. Superheroes- people with powers or abilities or qualities beyond our own, which allow them to conquer foes and acheive feats (physical and moral) which we ourselves could not. Superman has his unmatched strength, power of flight and seemingly immovable moral stance. Batman has harnessed his personal tragedy and allowed it to drive him into one of a handful of men taking an active, physical stand against the tide of evil in Gotham City. Iron Man who has utilised his incredible wealth and intelligence into technology he uses almost relentlessly for the good of man kind. The X-Men who, despite the abuse and racism hruled at them by their society, scarcely waver in defending the very people who despise and reject them.
Right there, really, is what we want in heroes. Figures who do what we can't. Figures who embody the heights of action and morality we so often wish we could reach ourselves. Those who can defeat super villains, villains who are inconceivably stronger and eviler than any other foe we could come across. Figures who deal out blind justice.
Now, morality in the realm of comic books has become increasingly complex throughout the years, and that's a whole different blog/book altogether, but those premises I began with remain there.
Humans want heroes. People who can overcome the villains, evils and threats facing the world that we cannot. Even people who are endlessly skeptical can only say that they don't think such heroes exist on earth, they cannot say that they do not want one.
And this desire for heroes shows, indisputably, the desire inherent in every human heart in history: the desire for God.
Whether you believe it or not, you want God. You are seeking the things which you can only get in an eternally satisfying way from God- love, acceptance, relationship, justice, worth, purpose, direction, creativity, moral standards and, in this specific instance, a hero.
Someone to overcome that which you cannot.
And that thing is the evil in the world.
The human race can swipe at what we perceive to be evil for millenia. We can defeat Hitler, Saddam, the next evil dictator. We can attempt to reduce knife crime. But those are only symptoms of the sin and darkness that lives in the heart of every human. They are not the thing itself. Thining you can iron the evil out of the world by targetting things such as those is like trying to blow out a gas fire. Even attempting to target their causes will never stop the selfish desires that we are all subject to, no matter what.
Through Jesus Christ, the enemies we cannot possibly hope to defeat on our own are flattened and decimated once and for all, for eternity. Sin and death. He can do what we can't. He can once and for all deliver justice to evil. He can once and for all dish out the punishment evil deserves. And He can once and for all free us from the oppression of that enemy.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
James Blunt - The Early Years
James Blunt has written a few good tunes amidst his relatively bland back catalogue, but I would really hate to have been in the army with him before he started writing songs. He'd have been such a whiny little bitch.
Sgt- "James, we're under attack! What do you see?!"
James- "No Bravery!"
Sgt- "James, that really isn't helpful!"
Sgt- "James, we're under attack! What do you see?!"
James- "No Bravery!"
Sgt- "James, that really isn't helpful!"
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Isolated Memories
I was reminiscing on the highlights of the past few months of life, and I just realised I've had a fair few evenings spent outside, singing, by firelight.
Sitting in a circle by firelight singing Hey Jude or praises to God with people you love is one of those times when you just soar. Everyone there knows that they're involved in something real, organic, alive and just full of spirit and life and humanity. It's a step out from normality and one of these memories which you can observe from the outside after time has passed and know it's a totally isolated section of your life, inaccessible and unalterable, cut off by time and probably space. What's happened has happened, and will be that way forever. That memory can't be touched. And that is a beautifully and yet sometimes tragically wonderful thing.
So much of our lives we spend not really being ourselves. Keeping secrets, failing to relate like we were made to. But the most real and enduring memories, of moments or evenings or even years long periods of time, are the ones where we know we were totally open and prostrate before someone. Whether it's simply through singing without a bloody care but with your heart in a circle of people who you love, or whether it's memories of laying or sitting or talking quietly with one person. It's a wonderful gift from God that we can look back at unchangeable, wonderful memories, the happiness and euphoria and freedom of which can never be sullied.
Sitting in a circle by firelight singing Hey Jude or praises to God with people you love is one of those times when you just soar. Everyone there knows that they're involved in something real, organic, alive and just full of spirit and life and humanity. It's a step out from normality and one of these memories which you can observe from the outside after time has passed and know it's a totally isolated section of your life, inaccessible and unalterable, cut off by time and probably space. What's happened has happened, and will be that way forever. That memory can't be touched. And that is a beautifully and yet sometimes tragically wonderful thing.
So much of our lives we spend not really being ourselves. Keeping secrets, failing to relate like we were made to. But the most real and enduring memories, of moments or evenings or even years long periods of time, are the ones where we know we were totally open and prostrate before someone. Whether it's simply through singing without a bloody care but with your heart in a circle of people who you love, or whether it's memories of laying or sitting or talking quietly with one person. It's a wonderful gift from God that we can look back at unchangeable, wonderful memories, the happiness and euphoria and freedom of which can never be sullied.
An old entry from my journal- 18th/7/09
Just saw a girl dressed up beautifully in a bright dress of colour and summer, radiant make up, stunning features, the usual flowing blonde locks...
standing on a scabby grey concrete high street, next to a small pile of rubbish, outside McDonalds, choking on a cigarette.
Very Banksy. Very current Britain. Hilarious little urban irony I thought?
standing on a scabby grey concrete high street, next to a small pile of rubbish, outside McDonalds, choking on a cigarette.
Very Banksy. Very current Britain. Hilarious little urban irony I thought?
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
"Oh The Weather Outside Is Weather..."
Well September has washed over us. We had a typically transient shimmer of summer for the first week or so but no, perfectly half way through the month, the rains have deigned to rejoin us (at least here in Surrey)
Personally, I'm a priveleged member of the "We're-British-And-We're-Never-Happy-With-The-Weather-But-At-Least-We're-Used-To-The-Rain-So-Let's-Get-Back-To-It" society.
I kid. To a degree. I much prefer rain, the quietly thrilling intimidated feeling one can only get in a thunderstorm, and the instant living snap of a lightning bolt to claustrophobic and cloying walls of heat and indiscriminate blitz of sunshine that summer sometimes involves.
Anyway, all of this weather we've been having, coupled with me having a lot of time and Spotify, got me to thinking about great song to listen to in the rain. The below list is some songs I've thought of that are either about rain, mention rain or just sound a tad rainy. Enjoy. Or mope, however they make you feel.
1. Singin' In The Rain - Gene Kelly
This was always gonna be number one. Let's face it.
2. Rainy Days and Mondays- The Carpenters
This song is an indispensable essential for rainy mopers.
3. A Little Fall of Rain- Les Miserables
The rippling keys and gently plucked guitar throughout this unappreciated highlight from Les Miserables, along with the stunning chords, just sound like rain. Gentle, soft, full, resonant. Perfect.
4. Purple Rain- Prince & The Revolution
Now this song is intense. This song is the sound of the image we've all had of someone belting their heart out to their lost lover in the rain. Melodramatic, scintillating and unbelievably 80s, it's light a strike of lightning when Prince just howls that "Honey I know, I know!"
5. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head- B.J Thomas
Although this song is by an American and in a cowboy movie, I personally think it just sounds like a very British outlook on rain! (And yes I am aware than rain is a metaphor in this song and nearly every other sodding song on this list)
6. Nice Weather For Ducks- Lemon Jelly
A relatively obscure song from a British downtempo and electronica duo (although it was on Radio 1's Live Lounge album) it's just awesome and sounds exactly like ducks in rain.
7. Both Sides Now- Joni Mitchell
OK, so this song isn't about rain... and doesn't really mention it... but it mentions clouds... and you need clouds for rain... and it's just the perfect song to sit and listen to in the rain and stare reflectively out of the window, pondering the relevance of pathetic fallacy!
8. Over The Rainbow- Judy Garland
Hell yes.
9. Kentucky Rain- Elvis Presley
An Elvis song that not too many are familiar with, I still can't decide whether this song is really musically awesome or just pure cheese. Ah well. It's a tune about rain!
10. November Rain- Guns N' Roses
Say what you will about Guns N' Roses (ok, Axl Rose is possibly THE biggest twat to walk the face of the earth) THIS.... this RIGHT here... is a rock epic. It's massive, and shows really what sets Guns N' Roses apart form other cockrock and hair metal bands, the fact that there is a genuine human heart and soul beating and bleeding beneath the intense soloing and riffing some of the time.
11. When The Rain Comes- Third Day
One of those songs that really is just "a nice little song" but I find it truly listenable and just a tad touching. A very truthful chorus.
12. Fool in The Rain- Led Zeppelin
A lost gem in the never ending Zep catalogue, it's built around a funky as hell piano riff and tells an great story and, like nearly all Zep songs, is a bit of a tune!
13. Laughter in The Rain- Neil Sedaka
Sedaka's lyrical and soaring tenor croon is what makes this baby, which sounds like an old standard.
14. Space Walk- Lemon Jelly
Another entry from these dudes, this song is wonderfully chilled and has a tinkling piano riff very reminiscent of rain. It lives up to its name and you can very easily imagine floating through the air to this song. Maybe above raining clouds. That would be a sight.
15. No Rain- Blind Melon
A bright little gem of a song :) reflective and happy, a true rain watching song. Look it up.
16. It Never Rains In Southern California- Albert Hammond
A classic tune by the dad of The Strokes' lead guitarist, it's captivatingly melodic and very Beatles like, and tells a true "grass isn't always greener" story.
17. Rain King- Counting Crows
The criminallly under-lauded Counting Crows have the ability to churn out awesome Americana tunes again and again. Downbeat lyrics along with a driving and upbeat musicality serve to make this one of those obviously American songs that you can listen to and still feel as if your artistic integrity is intact!
Why did I pick seventeen? Who knows. Feel free to comment with any more suggestions or rain songs.
Happy rain!
Personally, I'm a priveleged member of the "We're-British-And-We're-Never-Happy-With-The-Weather-But-At-Least-We're-Used-To-The-Rain-So-Let's-Get-Back-To-It" society.
I kid. To a degree. I much prefer rain, the quietly thrilling intimidated feeling one can only get in a thunderstorm, and the instant living snap of a lightning bolt to claustrophobic and cloying walls of heat and indiscriminate blitz of sunshine that summer sometimes involves.
Anyway, all of this weather we've been having, coupled with me having a lot of time and Spotify, got me to thinking about great song to listen to in the rain. The below list is some songs I've thought of that are either about rain, mention rain or just sound a tad rainy. Enjoy. Or mope, however they make you feel.
1. Singin' In The Rain - Gene Kelly
This was always gonna be number one. Let's face it.
2. Rainy Days and Mondays- The Carpenters
This song is an indispensable essential for rainy mopers.
3. A Little Fall of Rain- Les Miserables
The rippling keys and gently plucked guitar throughout this unappreciated highlight from Les Miserables, along with the stunning chords, just sound like rain. Gentle, soft, full, resonant. Perfect.
4. Purple Rain- Prince & The Revolution
Now this song is intense. This song is the sound of the image we've all had of someone belting their heart out to their lost lover in the rain. Melodramatic, scintillating and unbelievably 80s, it's light a strike of lightning when Prince just howls that "Honey I know, I know!"
5. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head- B.J Thomas
Although this song is by an American and in a cowboy movie, I personally think it just sounds like a very British outlook on rain! (And yes I am aware than rain is a metaphor in this song and nearly every other sodding song on this list)
6. Nice Weather For Ducks- Lemon Jelly
A relatively obscure song from a British downtempo and electronica duo (although it was on Radio 1's Live Lounge album) it's just awesome and sounds exactly like ducks in rain.
7. Both Sides Now- Joni Mitchell
OK, so this song isn't about rain... and doesn't really mention it... but it mentions clouds... and you need clouds for rain... and it's just the perfect song to sit and listen to in the rain and stare reflectively out of the window, pondering the relevance of pathetic fallacy!
8. Over The Rainbow- Judy Garland
Hell yes.
9. Kentucky Rain- Elvis Presley
An Elvis song that not too many are familiar with, I still can't decide whether this song is really musically awesome or just pure cheese. Ah well. It's a tune about rain!
10. November Rain- Guns N' Roses
Say what you will about Guns N' Roses (ok, Axl Rose is possibly THE biggest twat to walk the face of the earth) THIS.... this RIGHT here... is a rock epic. It's massive, and shows really what sets Guns N' Roses apart form other cockrock and hair metal bands, the fact that there is a genuine human heart and soul beating and bleeding beneath the intense soloing and riffing some of the time.
11. When The Rain Comes- Third Day
One of those songs that really is just "a nice little song" but I find it truly listenable and just a tad touching. A very truthful chorus.
12. Fool in The Rain- Led Zeppelin
A lost gem in the never ending Zep catalogue, it's built around a funky as hell piano riff and tells an great story and, like nearly all Zep songs, is a bit of a tune!
13. Laughter in The Rain- Neil Sedaka
Sedaka's lyrical and soaring tenor croon is what makes this baby, which sounds like an old standard.
14. Space Walk- Lemon Jelly
Another entry from these dudes, this song is wonderfully chilled and has a tinkling piano riff very reminiscent of rain. It lives up to its name and you can very easily imagine floating through the air to this song. Maybe above raining clouds. That would be a sight.
15. No Rain- Blind Melon
A bright little gem of a song :) reflective and happy, a true rain watching song. Look it up.
16. It Never Rains In Southern California- Albert Hammond
A classic tune by the dad of The Strokes' lead guitarist, it's captivatingly melodic and very Beatles like, and tells a true "grass isn't always greener" story.
17. Rain King- Counting Crows
The criminallly under-lauded Counting Crows have the ability to churn out awesome Americana tunes again and again. Downbeat lyrics along with a driving and upbeat musicality serve to make this one of those obviously American songs that you can listen to and still feel as if your artistic integrity is intact!
Why did I pick seventeen? Who knows. Feel free to comment with any more suggestions or rain songs.
Happy rain!
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Musical Spam
I'll lay down a ground rule before I start this: The quality of music is not enitrely subjective i.e. down to opinion. There is, factually, good music and bad music. What you like is irrelevant to what is good or bad musically. You can like music that is factually bad. I'm a musician and have discovered this and I know a lot of talented musicians who all share the same view and it would make sense to listen to the people who know most about the subject. (This is a whole different blog, heck, even a whole book potentially, there's so much to cover on this topic but, for the rest of this blog, if you won't accept it as truth at least recognise it's my premise)
Anyway, this leads me to my topic for this entry: Why are people content to listen to BORING or musically uninspring/unexciting/uniteresting music?
If you listen to the radio you'll agree with me that the vast amount of sound pumped out will quickly depart your memory as soon as the next song arrives. Trying to recall all you've listened to on the radio in one day is like standing on a bridge over a busy road and trying to read and memorise car number plates as vehicles drive below you. You may successfully read one, but it's vanished from your mind as soon as you move onto the next one (unless you listen to Capital, where the same songs are played about seven times in one day)
This is primarily because the unimaginably vast majority of music is fairly uninspiring and bland. This most definitely applies to the vile tosh dished out by the likes of Chris Brown, JLS, Ne-Yo, TI, et al. They could all be the same person.
Their (and other, don't think I'm prejudiced against RnB, Oasis are one of the biggest culprits in this, it's just that RnB is what is currently dominating the charts) music simply drifts inactively across our ears, never engaging most people, innocuous, unstimulating, devoid of a fresh voice, no challenging aspect, thin unpowerful nasal vocals and a rehashing of different "love" song buzz words. It's the same format of song reworked, reproduced, repackaged and resold. Nothing new, fresh or organic. Endlessly occupying the conveyor belt that is the music industry. It's not active, enaging or challenging on any real level. Hence why they ascend the charts so quickly and then vanish, only to be listened to again when we dust off 'NOW 71' for a house party.
It's what I like to call musical Spam- processed, repackaged from the irrelevant and unexciting parts of the animal, not ressembling real, organic, living, delicious meat at all. If you're a vegetarian, see one of my previous blogs!
And the real key reason people are happy to let empty music drop out of the radio and over their ears is because people don't like to be challenged.
Most people don't like, and because of the state of music aren't even used to, hearing songs with lyrics which force them to think and to assess themselves, their lives, their views. Most people don't want to hear songs which are musically, (NOT LYRICALLY. I'm talking about music not lyrics), new and exciting, forcing them to think really about how far can you stretch the term music, forcing them to try and accept and appreciate new kinds of musicianship, music that leads them to swirling, epic soundscapes like some kind of rippling space nebula of lights and colours you've never even conceived of. Most people want music to remain as something superficial- as a commodity (this is helped along by the big record labels, out only to make money, happy to provide us with the musical equivalent of Spam)
People don't even really want music that is going to engage them to really have fun! To really revel and get lost in pure, unadulterated musical enjoyment, one of the best gifts of humanity! Brilliant music doesn't have to engage you to have deep, reflective thoughts and emotions, it's just as valid for it to engage you in real, soaring, pulsating FUN, not simple apathy, with a willingness to let whatever you're being sold scrape across your ears and into your brain.
As a Christian who's met his fair share of people who don't want to hear the Gospel I know that human beings, more often than not, don't want to be challenged, don't want to be forced to review things in themselves and in their lives, don't want to take steps into new, exciting worlds, don't want to have to make an effort. It is the eternal cliche of being happy inside your comfort zone.
People need to wake up and appreciate the real value of music. To enjoy music on the level it deserves.
Music is a beautiful, humanity spanning, living, vibrant force. Albus Dumbledore once said to Harry Potter that music "is a magic that far exceeds any we teach at Hogwarts". We have to make a stand against music that has nothing to say, nothing to offer and nothing to create. Songs about love are well and good, but they need to be fresh, alive, simmering with energy and poignancy, not simply recycling the same words and ideas, that's not love at all. That's fake an plastic like Valentine's Day. Young person's in love, great what else is new?!
Please, I emplore you, next time a song from the charts happens upon your ears, LISTEN.
Think.
Ask yourself really, is this song doing anything for my life other than filling three minutes of it, keeping bordeom at bay?
I leave you with a quote from the band Switchfoot.
"If we're just adding to the noise-
turn off this song"
Anyway, this leads me to my topic for this entry: Why are people content to listen to BORING or musically uninspring/unexciting/uniteresting music?
If you listen to the radio you'll agree with me that the vast amount of sound pumped out will quickly depart your memory as soon as the next song arrives. Trying to recall all you've listened to on the radio in one day is like standing on a bridge over a busy road and trying to read and memorise car number plates as vehicles drive below you. You may successfully read one, but it's vanished from your mind as soon as you move onto the next one (unless you listen to Capital, where the same songs are played about seven times in one day)
This is primarily because the unimaginably vast majority of music is fairly uninspiring and bland. This most definitely applies to the vile tosh dished out by the likes of Chris Brown, JLS, Ne-Yo, TI, et al. They could all be the same person.
Their (and other, don't think I'm prejudiced against RnB, Oasis are one of the biggest culprits in this, it's just that RnB is what is currently dominating the charts) music simply drifts inactively across our ears, never engaging most people, innocuous, unstimulating, devoid of a fresh voice, no challenging aspect, thin unpowerful nasal vocals and a rehashing of different "love" song buzz words. It's the same format of song reworked, reproduced, repackaged and resold. Nothing new, fresh or organic. Endlessly occupying the conveyor belt that is the music industry. It's not active, enaging or challenging on any real level. Hence why they ascend the charts so quickly and then vanish, only to be listened to again when we dust off 'NOW 71' for a house party.
It's what I like to call musical Spam- processed, repackaged from the irrelevant and unexciting parts of the animal, not ressembling real, organic, living, delicious meat at all. If you're a vegetarian, see one of my previous blogs!
And the real key reason people are happy to let empty music drop out of the radio and over their ears is because people don't like to be challenged.
Most people don't like, and because of the state of music aren't even used to, hearing songs with lyrics which force them to think and to assess themselves, their lives, their views. Most people don't want to hear songs which are musically, (NOT LYRICALLY. I'm talking about music not lyrics), new and exciting, forcing them to think really about how far can you stretch the term music, forcing them to try and accept and appreciate new kinds of musicianship, music that leads them to swirling, epic soundscapes like some kind of rippling space nebula of lights and colours you've never even conceived of. Most people want music to remain as something superficial- as a commodity (this is helped along by the big record labels, out only to make money, happy to provide us with the musical equivalent of Spam)
People don't even really want music that is going to engage them to really have fun! To really revel and get lost in pure, unadulterated musical enjoyment, one of the best gifts of humanity! Brilliant music doesn't have to engage you to have deep, reflective thoughts and emotions, it's just as valid for it to engage you in real, soaring, pulsating FUN, not simple apathy, with a willingness to let whatever you're being sold scrape across your ears and into your brain.
As a Christian who's met his fair share of people who don't want to hear the Gospel I know that human beings, more often than not, don't want to be challenged, don't want to be forced to review things in themselves and in their lives, don't want to take steps into new, exciting worlds, don't want to have to make an effort. It is the eternal cliche of being happy inside your comfort zone.
People need to wake up and appreciate the real value of music. To enjoy music on the level it deserves.
Music is a beautiful, humanity spanning, living, vibrant force. Albus Dumbledore once said to Harry Potter that music "is a magic that far exceeds any we teach at Hogwarts". We have to make a stand against music that has nothing to say, nothing to offer and nothing to create. Songs about love are well and good, but they need to be fresh, alive, simmering with energy and poignancy, not simply recycling the same words and ideas, that's not love at all. That's fake an plastic like Valentine's Day. Young person's in love, great what else is new?!
Please, I emplore you, next time a song from the charts happens upon your ears, LISTEN.
Think.
Ask yourself really, is this song doing anything for my life other than filling three minutes of it, keeping bordeom at bay?
I leave you with a quote from the band Switchfoot.
"If we're just adding to the noise-
turn off this song"
Friday, 17 July 2009
Rainy Town
There is a town somewhere, entwined around, laced across and running through a hill. The town is narrow, all the buildings taller than they are wide, all sardined together, walls white and slanted slate and steel rooves grey. The streets are like veins, thin and grey, almost blue, the tiny lines that carry life everywheere. They twist and turn and spin and loop and bend and veer and split and lead inescapably back, outlining the compressed buildings.
The town is so pressed it looks and feels like it could once have been a bigger town, sprawling like a puddle for uncharted, roaming miles, with gaping streets and discernible outlines, but some gigantic grey hand swept this metropolis up and rolled and pushed it untl it was this thin.
Like rolling up a newspaper, normally a vast sea of detail, spread out, every letter available, telling its own story. Space, air, freedom to roam, see the bigger picture. But when its rolled up, these tiny letters are thrown together, pressed up, gagging for air, barely enough space to be seen let alone tell their stories or discern themselves in the newspaer's entirety. It's clear when you see this rolled up paper that its full of life, characters, places, pictures, corners, little beauties. But they can't, for their sheer confusion and proximity, be seen.
And in the town it is always raining. Always raining.
And beautiful echoing siren voices chim throuogh the city veins, constantly there, but the citizens tune them out.
Vistitors suddenly become aware of them, rising from a drain or dropping from a pipe. One of those things you realise then wonder how you could tune it out when it's so present.
And all the time, underscored by the sounds of rain.
Rhys Laverty
The town is so pressed it looks and feels like it could once have been a bigger town, sprawling like a puddle for uncharted, roaming miles, with gaping streets and discernible outlines, but some gigantic grey hand swept this metropolis up and rolled and pushed it untl it was this thin.
Like rolling up a newspaper, normally a vast sea of detail, spread out, every letter available, telling its own story. Space, air, freedom to roam, see the bigger picture. But when its rolled up, these tiny letters are thrown together, pressed up, gagging for air, barely enough space to be seen let alone tell their stories or discern themselves in the newspaer's entirety. It's clear when you see this rolled up paper that its full of life, characters, places, pictures, corners, little beauties. But they can't, for their sheer confusion and proximity, be seen.
And in the town it is always raining. Always raining.
And beautiful echoing siren voices chim throuogh the city veins, constantly there, but the citizens tune them out.
Vistitors suddenly become aware of them, rising from a drain or dropping from a pipe. One of those things you realise then wonder how you could tune it out when it's so present.
And all the time, underscored by the sounds of rain.
Rhys Laverty
Thursday, 16 July 2009
From Your True Lover
We pretend to love the sun,
but the thunder and the rain stir our souls.
We keep it secret, just a whisper.
But the lightning and the water make us feel clean.
Like ghosts, free, in the dark,
for once unafraid of the shadows.
We love rainstorms at night,
purging and fresh,
glorious and beautiful.
Full of life, cascading redemption.
Droplets so frersh they break through the skin,
deep slumbering rumbles of satisfaction,
streaks of blistering light like new thoughts, strokes of genius.
And when the water trickles away,
swallowed,
and the sun defiles what was fresh,
and burns the blue and black and green,
it is all like an affair in the night,
an unexpected, tremulous, quivering, sensual visit
from your true lover.
Rhys Laverty
but the thunder and the rain stir our souls.
We keep it secret, just a whisper.
But the lightning and the water make us feel clean.
Like ghosts, free, in the dark,
for once unafraid of the shadows.
We love rainstorms at night,
purging and fresh,
glorious and beautiful.
Full of life, cascading redemption.
Droplets so frersh they break through the skin,
deep slumbering rumbles of satisfaction,
streaks of blistering light like new thoughts, strokes of genius.
And when the water trickles away,
swallowed,
and the sun defiles what was fresh,
and burns the blue and black and green,
it is all like an affair in the night,
an unexpected, tremulous, quivering, sensual visit
from your true lover.
Rhys Laverty
Friday, 19 June 2009
Top 10 Film Dads
We all love a great (or even not so great) father figure in a film. They can make, break and shape the picture. So here's what I think are the top 10 film dads.
Honourable Mention- The Terminator from Terminator 2: Judgement Day- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Some of you may be thinking "WHAT?!" Well, not in my real top ten, Arnie deserves a mention for Terminator 2 where the newly programmed cyborg, rigged to protect and obey young John Connor at all costs, is the one who Sarah Connor decides would make the best father for John. However, Arnie has to kill himself in order to save humanity, but he's learnt to feel emotion and gives an emotional goodbye to John in one of action cinema's most tender scenes.
10. Sonny Foufax from Big Daddy- Adam Sandler
No, he's not actually the kid's biolological father, we get it. But Sonny's stint as a father figure is what the film's about. Whilst the film was nominated for half a dozen Razzle awards, it's one of those Adam Sandler films that really, we all love. Watching him slowly learn how to be a mature and responsible adult did make for a great film.
9. Elrond from The Lord of the Rings- Hugo Weaving
In the epic scale of the War of the Ring it's easy to forget that Elrond is the father of Arya, Aragorn's elven lover. Elrond tries all he can to get Arya to go into the West rather than sacrifices her immortality to be with Aragorn, and father's everywhere can see where the man's coming from. Having lost enough friends and soldiers in the previous War of the Ring, Elrond's desire to keep his daughter safe is understandable.
8. Henry Jones from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade- Sean Connery
The original Indiana Jones trilogy is one of cinema's greatest achievements and it wouldn't quite be the same without Sean Connery's infinitely memorable appearance and Indiana's bumbling archaeologist father, Henry. A wonderful contrast to the bombastic, adventurous Indie, he provided a wonderful comic relief and a nice insight into Indiana's past- "We called the dog Indiana!"
7. Zeus from Hercules- Rip Torn
Hercules, one of the brilliant film's from the Disney Renaissance, is really carried along by all of the characters other than the title on. Hades is my favourite Disney villain and I think Zeus is possibly one of my favourite minor Disney characters. Portraying the impeteous, lightening toting cassanova of Greek mythology as a goofy dad was a stroke of Disney genius. And when Zeus bursts out of the weird rock thing the Titans lock him in and he starts pwning them, you've got to admit- he's pretty sick.
6. Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street- Johnny Depp
Having been wrongly imprisoned for 15 years in an Australian labour camp on a false charge, which was fabricated so the evil sexual predator Judge Turpin could lay hold of his wife, you could understand why Sweeney would have family issues. The musical is carried along by his smouldering desire to murder the judge and be reconciled with his long lost daughter Johanna. But with an immense amount of dramatic irony and fake blood, Todd nearly kills his daughteer, kills his wife and ends up dead himself. Happy Families.
5. Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather- Marlon Brando
Can't wait til the day of my wedding!
4. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird- Gregory Peck
Atticus is undeniably one of fiction's greatest heroes, and Peck's portayal showed us cleary Atticus' hopeless quest in the face of a despicably racist legal system. A man who never let up from teaching his children to do what was morally right, a man who never spared is children the truth, and a man who's the meanest show in town, Atticus is an incredible father figure.
3. Jack Torrence from The Shining- Jack Nicholson
Jack's slow descent into insanity culminating in a murderous pursuit of his wife and son makes for an incredible movie. Never exactly cuddly and caring, Torrence's detachment from his family is part of what makes him into the terrifying psychotic figure we see at the end of the film.
2. Mufasa from The Lion King- James Earl Jones
You still cry.
I don't need to justify this decision.
Honourable Mention- The Terminator from Terminator 2: Judgement Day- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Some of you may be thinking "WHAT?!" Well, not in my real top ten, Arnie deserves a mention for Terminator 2 where the newly programmed cyborg, rigged to protect and obey young John Connor at all costs, is the one who Sarah Connor decides would make the best father for John. However, Arnie has to kill himself in order to save humanity, but he's learnt to feel emotion and gives an emotional goodbye to John in one of action cinema's most tender scenes.10. Sonny Foufax from Big Daddy- Adam Sandler
No, he's not actually the kid's biolological father, we get it. But Sonny's stint as a father figure is what the film's about. Whilst the film was nominated for half a dozen Razzle awards, it's one of those Adam Sandler films that really, we all love. Watching him slowly learn how to be a mature and responsible adult did make for a great film.9. Elrond from The Lord of the Rings- Hugo Weaving
In the epic scale of the War of the Ring it's easy to forget that Elrond is the father of Arya, Aragorn's elven lover. Elrond tries all he can to get Arya to go into the West rather than sacrifices her immortality to be with Aragorn, and father's everywhere can see where the man's coming from. Having lost enough friends and soldiers in the previous War of the Ring, Elrond's desire to keep his daughter safe is understandable.8. Henry Jones from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade- Sean Connery
The original Indiana Jones trilogy is one of cinema's greatest achievements and it wouldn't quite be the same without Sean Connery's infinitely memorable appearance and Indiana's bumbling archaeologist father, Henry. A wonderful contrast to the bombastic, adventurous Indie, he provided a wonderful comic relief and a nice insight into Indiana's past- "We called the dog Indiana!"7. Zeus from Hercules- Rip Torn
Hercules, one of the brilliant film's from the Disney Renaissance, is really carried along by all of the characters other than the title on. Hades is my favourite Disney villain and I think Zeus is possibly one of my favourite minor Disney characters. Portraying the impeteous, lightening toting cassanova of Greek mythology as a goofy dad was a stroke of Disney genius. And when Zeus bursts out of the weird rock thing the Titans lock him in and he starts pwning them, you've got to admit- he's pretty sick.6. Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street- Johnny Depp
Having been wrongly imprisoned for 15 years in an Australian labour camp on a false charge, which was fabricated so the evil sexual predator Judge Turpin could lay hold of his wife, you could understand why Sweeney would have family issues. The musical is carried along by his smouldering desire to murder the judge and be reconciled with his long lost daughter Johanna. But with an immense amount of dramatic irony and fake blood, Todd nearly kills his daughteer, kills his wife and ends up dead himself. Happy Families.5. Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather- Marlon Brando
Can't wait til the day of my wedding!4. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird- Gregory Peck
Atticus is undeniably one of fiction's greatest heroes, and Peck's portayal showed us cleary Atticus' hopeless quest in the face of a despicably racist legal system. A man who never let up from teaching his children to do what was morally right, a man who never spared is children the truth, and a man who's the meanest show in town, Atticus is an incredible father figure.3. Jack Torrence from The Shining- Jack Nicholson
Jack's slow descent into insanity culminating in a murderous pursuit of his wife and son makes for an incredible movie. Never exactly cuddly and caring, Torrence's detachment from his family is part of what makes him into the terrifying psychotic figure we see at the end of the film.2. Mufasa from The Lion King- James Earl Jones
You still cry. You know you still cry.
1. Darth Vader from Star Wars- David Prowse/James Earl Jones
1. Darth Vader from Star Wars- David Prowse/James Earl Jones
I don't need to justify this decision.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Why Green Day Haven't Sold Out
I am a fairly big Green Day fan. I'm aware that Green Day are not the most musically amazing band in the world. They don't have the instrumental wizardry of Stevie Wonder or the subtlety of Elbow. They have been, for most of their carreer, a three chord punk band. I know that they are not a musically great band. But I like them and am proud to say I can differentiate between music that's good and music that I like, and that those two don't always necessarily coincide.
Anyway!
They formed in 1987 and for the next 17 years or so they were, to be blunt, a punk band whose songs usually about three chords (with occassional experimental phases, like Nimrod. Three chord songs aren't always bad, the theree chord song is songwriting genius, but we need some variety) and they sung about masturbation, smoking weed, living away from home and named albums after poo. And "a green day" is slang for a day spent getting high as a kite. Their fans were extremely dedicated to the Green Day they knew and loved.
Then, in 2004, they released their first album in four years.
American Idiot.
I think everyone my age remembers it. The eponymous single (in fact, nearly all of the singles) were inescapable and the album dominated the charts worldwide, going to number 1 in nine countries! The commercial acclaim at least was phenomenal.
But cries of outrage were launched.
Green Day, the fairly successful punk band from California, who sung about masturbation, boredom and (sorry to repeat myself) named albums after poo...
Had just released the single most political album of the millenium so far!
The album was one massive spewing tirade at the Bush administration told through the medium of an epic rock concept opera, including two nine minute tracks and the defined characters of Jesus of Suburbia, St Jimmy and Whatsername pervading the album!
People were livid, claiming that Green Day were sell outs. They'd abandoned their punk roots and dived into the mainstream via politics- a major turn off for fans of the irresponsible, youthful goofs they'd known so far.
There were a faithful few who thought they would give Green Day one more chance to redeem themselves. "Maybe American Idiot was a one off..." "Every band goes through a political phase at some point right?"
So, with baited breath, people waited five years to see what would happen next. But when it was announced their next album would be called 21st Century Breakdown, the future didn't seem to indicate a return to form. And, for the "ol' skool" fans, it didn't. Musically, it follows on from the pop punk of American Idiot, and content wise, it's not as specifically political, but its a far cry from their old messages.
So. Most of the "true" Green Day fans from the Dookie era and even from before that seem to think Green Day have sold out. They've gone mainstream. The ultimate, most heinous of musical crimes. Well, I would say they're totally wrong.
Green Day have not sold out in the slightest.
The first reason is that, with American Idiot, Green Day simply said exactly what everyone was thinking. A lot of pompous reviewers would say that Green Day's anti-Bush message on American Idiot was one that didn't really need stating. But, really, it did. No one in America was saying anything too much against the failures of the White House at this point, not directly at least, even if over here in Britain it was commonplace already.
Green Day brought one of the biggest things the world can agree on to the fore: most Americans are stupid.
If You're Not American: We all agree with Jeremy Clarkson. We think Americans are stupid.
If You're American: Sorry but, everyone else thinks you're stupid.
Billie Joe Armstrong got it spot on. America was one nation controlled by the media. It was under a redneck agenda. Those phrases may have been sullied by pretentious pompous reviewers in the past 5 years, but in 2004, they hit the nail right on the head. All we'd been thinking but hadn't said was thrown out their over the top of a chart busting riff. Green Day were willing to shake up "post 9/11 America" and blame the White House and turn to their fellow country men and call them a bunch of morons. Sheep. The blind being led by the blind.
Green Day wanted to really illustrate how the political rot in America was affecting people, and the best way to that was by telling a story. And they did. They created characters and turned American Idiot into a concept album, highlighting to America just how desperate their nation was. It was a wake up call, illustrated musically.
And they're doing the same thing now with 21st Century Breakdown. It isn't so much a political rant at the White House, but a look back at our millenium thusfar. We're reaching the end of the millenium's first decade everyone- what have we to show for it? We all thought the 21st century was going to be some kind of Utopia, and everything was gonna be hovering like in The Jetsons. But we stand along a trail of broken, unfulfilled promises, pointless wars, terrorism and a self induced economic crisis. The title of the album is one that even I can admit is far from eloquent, but it conveys a truth: the 21st century has utterly broken down.
People may say "well we know that already!" And I think that part of what the album is trying to do is kick that kind of apathy down our throats and make us realise we've broken down! When you break down you don't just sit there in the car not really caring! You take action!
Some of you may say "well that's all true, but by promoting those messages on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day have sold out! They're not punk any more!" I'm sorry- WHAT?!
Punk is ALL about challenging the social state that we live in, it's about "sticking it to the man", it's about being angry and restless. Green Day are more punk than ever! Also, by adopting this message, they've progressed. There is a fine line between progression and selling out and Green Day haven't crossed it. They've moved on from singing about masturbation, boredom, drugs, sitting in your room and girls. They're one of the few bands that have been around the right of time for people to be able to watch them grow up. They're all in their 30s with kids now. If they were still singing about masturbation and smoking dope it wouldn't just show no progression as a band, it would be pretty pathetic. They've become adults and are dealing with something we'll all have to deal with when we're adults- politics.
Musically, a lot of folk say Green Day have definitely sold out. They don't sound as raw and as punk as they used to. They're processed punk pop, or even power pop.
Well, a problem the punk scene has always had is that it only really preaches its message to other punks, so it stopped bringing about real change somehwere around 1980. But, by keeping a truly punk spirit and punk message, and hiding it inside music which can bust the charts (and still has the musicality and musical integrity of bands like The Clash) Green Day are bringing an honest message that the American youthful masses need to hear right to their ears. They're putting their message in their under the cover of pop influences, but without sugar coating it. Like a covert bomb being disguised and snuck into the ears of teenagers, ready to detonate.
So, if you believe that Green Day have sold out or are being pretentious and their message isn't one that needs to be said, I would suggest you examine whether you really care about the state of our world in the 21st century. I would suggest you try and pick something else which has had such a huge influence this decade on making teenagers aware of how awful the Bush administration was. And I suggest you examine if you're simply an American Idiot.
Anyway!
They formed in 1987 and for the next 17 years or so they were, to be blunt, a punk band whose songs usually about three chords (with occassional experimental phases, like Nimrod. Three chord songs aren't always bad, the theree chord song is songwriting genius, but we need some variety) and they sung about masturbation, smoking weed, living away from home and named albums after poo. And "a green day" is slang for a day spent getting high as a kite. Their fans were extremely dedicated to the Green Day they knew and loved.
Then, in 2004, they released their first album in four years.
American Idiot.
I think everyone my age remembers it. The eponymous single (in fact, nearly all of the singles) were inescapable and the album dominated the charts worldwide, going to number 1 in nine countries! The commercial acclaim at least was phenomenal.
But cries of outrage were launched.
Green Day, the fairly successful punk band from California, who sung about masturbation, boredom and (sorry to repeat myself) named albums after poo...
Had just released the single most political album of the millenium so far!
The album was one massive spewing tirade at the Bush administration told through the medium of an epic rock concept opera, including two nine minute tracks and the defined characters of Jesus of Suburbia, St Jimmy and Whatsername pervading the album!
People were livid, claiming that Green Day were sell outs. They'd abandoned their punk roots and dived into the mainstream via politics- a major turn off for fans of the irresponsible, youthful goofs they'd known so far.
There were a faithful few who thought they would give Green Day one more chance to redeem themselves. "Maybe American Idiot was a one off..." "Every band goes through a political phase at some point right?"
So, with baited breath, people waited five years to see what would happen next. But when it was announced their next album would be called 21st Century Breakdown, the future didn't seem to indicate a return to form. And, for the "ol' skool" fans, it didn't. Musically, it follows on from the pop punk of American Idiot, and content wise, it's not as specifically political, but its a far cry from their old messages.
So. Most of the "true" Green Day fans from the Dookie era and even from before that seem to think Green Day have sold out. They've gone mainstream. The ultimate, most heinous of musical crimes. Well, I would say they're totally wrong.
Green Day have not sold out in the slightest.
The first reason is that, with American Idiot, Green Day simply said exactly what everyone was thinking. A lot of pompous reviewers would say that Green Day's anti-Bush message on American Idiot was one that didn't really need stating. But, really, it did. No one in America was saying anything too much against the failures of the White House at this point, not directly at least, even if over here in Britain it was commonplace already.
Green Day brought one of the biggest things the world can agree on to the fore: most Americans are stupid.
If You're Not American: We all agree with Jeremy Clarkson. We think Americans are stupid.
If You're American: Sorry but, everyone else thinks you're stupid.
Billie Joe Armstrong got it spot on. America was one nation controlled by the media. It was under a redneck agenda. Those phrases may have been sullied by pretentious pompous reviewers in the past 5 years, but in 2004, they hit the nail right on the head. All we'd been thinking but hadn't said was thrown out their over the top of a chart busting riff. Green Day were willing to shake up "post 9/11 America" and blame the White House and turn to their fellow country men and call them a bunch of morons. Sheep. The blind being led by the blind.
Green Day wanted to really illustrate how the political rot in America was affecting people, and the best way to that was by telling a story. And they did. They created characters and turned American Idiot into a concept album, highlighting to America just how desperate their nation was. It was a wake up call, illustrated musically.
And they're doing the same thing now with 21st Century Breakdown. It isn't so much a political rant at the White House, but a look back at our millenium thusfar. We're reaching the end of the millenium's first decade everyone- what have we to show for it? We all thought the 21st century was going to be some kind of Utopia, and everything was gonna be hovering like in The Jetsons. But we stand along a trail of broken, unfulfilled promises, pointless wars, terrorism and a self induced economic crisis. The title of the album is one that even I can admit is far from eloquent, but it conveys a truth: the 21st century has utterly broken down.
People may say "well we know that already!" And I think that part of what the album is trying to do is kick that kind of apathy down our throats and make us realise we've broken down! When you break down you don't just sit there in the car not really caring! You take action!
Some of you may say "well that's all true, but by promoting those messages on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day have sold out! They're not punk any more!" I'm sorry- WHAT?!
Punk is ALL about challenging the social state that we live in, it's about "sticking it to the man", it's about being angry and restless. Green Day are more punk than ever! Also, by adopting this message, they've progressed. There is a fine line between progression and selling out and Green Day haven't crossed it. They've moved on from singing about masturbation, boredom, drugs, sitting in your room and girls. They're one of the few bands that have been around the right of time for people to be able to watch them grow up. They're all in their 30s with kids now. If they were still singing about masturbation and smoking dope it wouldn't just show no progression as a band, it would be pretty pathetic. They've become adults and are dealing with something we'll all have to deal with when we're adults- politics.
Musically, a lot of folk say Green Day have definitely sold out. They don't sound as raw and as punk as they used to. They're processed punk pop, or even power pop.
Well, a problem the punk scene has always had is that it only really preaches its message to other punks, so it stopped bringing about real change somehwere around 1980. But, by keeping a truly punk spirit and punk message, and hiding it inside music which can bust the charts (and still has the musicality and musical integrity of bands like The Clash) Green Day are bringing an honest message that the American youthful masses need to hear right to their ears. They're putting their message in their under the cover of pop influences, but without sugar coating it. Like a covert bomb being disguised and snuck into the ears of teenagers, ready to detonate.
So, if you believe that Green Day have sold out or are being pretentious and their message isn't one that needs to be said, I would suggest you examine whether you really care about the state of our world in the 21st century. I would suggest you try and pick something else which has had such a huge influence this decade on making teenagers aware of how awful the Bush administration was. And I suggest you examine if you're simply an American Idiot.
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Why Vegetarianism Is Stupid
Why (put very simply from differing religious perspectives) Vegetarianism is stupid:
If You're A Christian/Jew/Muslim/Other Monotheist: You should believe humans are made in God's image and are essentially more important than animals, and that animals were made to eat. If you're a Muslim or Jew you shoudl only really have issues with pork, and Christians have been told all foods are fine for eating.
If You're A Buddhist/Hindu/Other Karma or Reincarnation Faith: You believe life goes around in a circle, things have got to die for other things to live. There's no fighting it.
If You're A Scientologist: lol
If You're An Atheist: You believe that we've only got this far in life by eating other animals, it's all about survival of the fittest. So if you become a vegetarian, you're contradicting your own mantra. And seeing as you don't believe in a spiritual world, you have nothing on which to base a moral objection to eating animals.
If You're An Agnostic: I think it's pretty peculiar you've taken the time to decide whether or not eating animals is morally right and haven't taken the time to make the infinitely more important decision of whether God exists or not.
If You're A Christian/Jew/Muslim/Other Monotheist: You should believe humans are made in God's image and are essentially more important than animals, and that animals were made to eat. If you're a Muslim or Jew you shoudl only really have issues with pork, and Christians have been told all foods are fine for eating.
If You're A Buddhist/Hindu/Other Karma or Reincarnation Faith: You believe life goes around in a circle, things have got to die for other things to live. There's no fighting it.
If You're A Scientologist: lol
If You're An Atheist: You believe that we've only got this far in life by eating other animals, it's all about survival of the fittest. So if you become a vegetarian, you're contradicting your own mantra. And seeing as you don't believe in a spiritual world, you have nothing on which to base a moral objection to eating animals.
If You're An Agnostic: I think it's pretty peculiar you've taken the time to decide whether or not eating animals is morally right and haven't taken the time to make the infinitely more important decision of whether God exists or not.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Fire Only Begets More Fire
I was struck yesterday by how utterly ludicrous the phrase "Let's fight fire with fire!" is. If you fight fire with fire then obviously there will only be more fire i.e- whatever problem was caused by the first bit of fire will simply be elevated! The phrase is just pointless and shows an obviously revenge based mind set. The phrase is never used in the context of trying to punish someone justly- that isn't fighting. It's nearly always used with a vicious, overly vengeful heart.
Now, returning with equal and necessary force in wars is an acceptable situation where this phrase MIGHT be used, but barely. You should always be trying to stop any more fire (literal or otherwise).
So, next time you venture into the use of this utterly pointless and ridiculous nook of the English Language, I'd say two things:
1)Examine your heart: are you just out for revenge? Trying to make yourself feel even or justified? Well the more fire you throw, the more your enemy will throw and the more ridiculously out of hand the dilemna will become.
2)Think just how stupid the phrase is in a literal sense. I'd like to see you put out a fire with fire, empty a glass by filling it up or cut down a tree by throwing a few seeds at it.
Blog out.
Now, returning with equal and necessary force in wars is an acceptable situation where this phrase MIGHT be used, but barely. You should always be trying to stop any more fire (literal or otherwise).
So, next time you venture into the use of this utterly pointless and ridiculous nook of the English Language, I'd say two things:
1)Examine your heart: are you just out for revenge? Trying to make yourself feel even or justified? Well the more fire you throw, the more your enemy will throw and the more ridiculously out of hand the dilemna will become.
2)Think just how stupid the phrase is in a literal sense. I'd like to see you put out a fire with fire, empty a glass by filling it up or cut down a tree by throwing a few seeds at it.
Blog out.
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Why Do We Blog?
Meandering home from school today, a thought chanced upon me. Why do people blog? I'm sure there are lots of other blogs on this subject and I'm sure there's some immense degree of irony involved in that somehwere, but I'll just muse for a little bit.
I reckon that blogging is very rarely shameless self promotion. And I think for a minority (a large minority, but a minority) it's akin to having a diary or venting on someone (I wonder how many blogs on the internet end with the phrase "rant over") And if we're honest, most of us don't particularly care about the latest baby photos of someone we don't know from across the Atlantic. So THAT'S not why we blog.
I think the main reason people blog is because humans are a people of communication. Admittedly in our detached 21st century world, comunication can often be hard to find, due to technology and what not, but, ironically, I think internet blogging is all about communication. All literature, film, theatre etc. is communication, and blogging's on that list as well. It's just what we do as humans. It's part of who we are. We want to relate and communicate. As a Christian I'd say that is 100% tied to humans being made in God's image i.e- we're like Him in certan respects. God is incredibly communicative and relational, and our NEED for communication is trait from Him.
So I hope I've communicated something via this... see what I did there?
I reckon that blogging is very rarely shameless self promotion. And I think for a minority (a large minority, but a minority) it's akin to having a diary or venting on someone (I wonder how many blogs on the internet end with the phrase "rant over") And if we're honest, most of us don't particularly care about the latest baby photos of someone we don't know from across the Atlantic. So THAT'S not why we blog.
I think the main reason people blog is because humans are a people of communication. Admittedly in our detached 21st century world, comunication can often be hard to find, due to technology and what not, but, ironically, I think internet blogging is all about communication. All literature, film, theatre etc. is communication, and blogging's on that list as well. It's just what we do as humans. It's part of who we are. We want to relate and communicate. As a Christian I'd say that is 100% tied to humans being made in God's image i.e- we're like Him in certan respects. God is incredibly communicative and relational, and our NEED for communication is trait from Him.
So I hope I've communicated something via this... see what I did there?
Monday, 18 May 2009
Spring Sleep
I was thinking if my first blog post should be some kind of definitive proclamation or statement but couldn't think of anything particularly definitive to say, so I'll just post a thought. That's what this blogging lark is for I guess...
Some of you may or may not know of the new hit musical Spring Awakening. If you don't well I can't be bothered to explain about it, so this is for those of you who do. Suffice to say, it's West End run which was due to carry on until October has been drastically cut short to the 30th of May, 11 days from the writing of this post.
Many people are outraged, distraught and just plain angry at the closure (due, as all things are to the recession). Having met the cast, I heard it from the horse's mouth when one cast member simply said to me "It's just so... shit!"
I saw the show a few days ago and, after I watched the whole thing and thought about it, I decided it was utterly fantastic and was probably one of the best musicals I've ever witnessed.
However, I am not, like so many teenage fans of the musical, going to rant about why it should stay open. As a fan, I think it is, ultimately, the perfect thing for the show to be closing.
It's not a case of "bowing out at the right time". The show's main target audience is teenagers, and it is relevant for teenagers, it is about teenagers. It is youthful in its essence and it has a very rock and roll, almost punk spirit. And I think really, if it wants to live up to itself and the intense reputation it's garnered alredy, closing now will only be perfect for it. It's fitting.
It's not that I don't want it to be commercialised (I don't. I hate obnoxious, noisy American tourist in the West End as much as the next theatre-goer), but It's just fitting for the show to end now. The story is about a whirlwind experience of youth, and the show ends looking forward and moving on in the light of what has transpired. And I think by the show's presence in the West End being a youthful whirlwind experience, it is being pure and loyal unto its own message, and all affected by it can look forward in the light of what has transpired.
It will be a cult thing. We all love cult things deep down. Spring Awakening will be the bright, exuberant flame it currently is for years to come, before it has time to fall into the West End's rank and file of standard musicals.
Some of you may or may not know of the new hit musical Spring Awakening. If you don't well I can't be bothered to explain about it, so this is for those of you who do. Suffice to say, it's West End run which was due to carry on until October has been drastically cut short to the 30th of May, 11 days from the writing of this post.
Many people are outraged, distraught and just plain angry at the closure (due, as all things are to the recession). Having met the cast, I heard it from the horse's mouth when one cast member simply said to me "It's just so... shit!"
I saw the show a few days ago and, after I watched the whole thing and thought about it, I decided it was utterly fantastic and was probably one of the best musicals I've ever witnessed.
However, I am not, like so many teenage fans of the musical, going to rant about why it should stay open. As a fan, I think it is, ultimately, the perfect thing for the show to be closing.
It's not a case of "bowing out at the right time". The show's main target audience is teenagers, and it is relevant for teenagers, it is about teenagers. It is youthful in its essence and it has a very rock and roll, almost punk spirit. And I think really, if it wants to live up to itself and the intense reputation it's garnered alredy, closing now will only be perfect for it. It's fitting.
It's not that I don't want it to be commercialised (I don't. I hate obnoxious, noisy American tourist in the West End as much as the next theatre-goer), but It's just fitting for the show to end now. The story is about a whirlwind experience of youth, and the show ends looking forward and moving on in the light of what has transpired. And I think by the show's presence in the West End being a youthful whirlwind experience, it is being pure and loyal unto its own message, and all affected by it can look forward in the light of what has transpired.
It will be a cult thing. We all love cult things deep down. Spring Awakening will be the bright, exuberant flame it currently is for years to come, before it has time to fall into the West End's rank and file of standard musicals.
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