Life isn’t easy, there always seems to be something in the way. Take the typical life of any Tom, Dick and Harry and you will see that there are far too many people who are willing to spend their lives compromising, wasting their time thinking about what it is they REALLY want to do without getting out there, grafting away and achieving it. These people annoy me.
At the same time there are the people who seemingly spend little effort on achieving it and become overnight stars. These people also annoy me, but more…..much, much more! I’m easily annoyed! At it’s most sickening this is personified by the success of Gareth Gates and Will Young the so called pop ‘stars’ and the newest in a long line of music business puppets. Overnight stars that are extremely unlikely to last the distance and usually washed up by next year when undoubtedly a new craze will sweep the nation and drag the masses along yet again in a zombified fashion. I put this to you. How can these people possibly appreciate their success if they have spent so little trying to achieve it? All you need to do is compare the effort of one of these individuals with a member of a struggling band that has been going for years. Touring the country, (and as Matt Bellamy said "played in every toilet"), in a vain hope that the day will come when they will be noticed, and signed to a good record label just so they will be able to bring their music to a wider audience. Only when you have done this can you possibly see who the real stars are. I for one know who I would rather admire and respect. Do you?
At the crux, and something else what really concerns me about these so called manufactured bands is that there is no passion in them. No rock and roll. No blood sweat and tears. No emotion. No dedication. I want a band with music that will make me cry at it’s brilliance, crush me with awe, and to worship till I die. Music to die for, none the less. I’m still waiting. I don’t want some poxy 15 year old pop princesses and pop princes…..errr (COUGH) like Sclub Juniors for example, preaching to me some rubbish. I mean c’mon how on earth can these children (well, that’s what they are after all) with no experience of life and propelled to fame at such an early age through singing a load of dribble make music that I would want to listen to? Answer – they can’t, and never will. But I guess they were never intended to appeal to me anyway! But all the same I can’t think of one manufactured band that ever has or will, apart from Paul from S Club 7 or that really fit guy from A1! But I’m only winding you up! But, I tell you one thing for certain I definitely wouldn’t want to be an impressionable youth growing up these days being spoon fed this trash in the papers, on TV and on the radio.
It shouldn’t be the case that if you appreciate good music that you are considered a musical snob or alternative or whatever. But I can’t help but feel that way sometimes, especially when the majority of people are so willing to part hard earned cash on the latest Pete Waterman offering. Face it people, these bands aren’t in it for the music, they don’t care about how they could affect people and say something profound. They are KILLING music, and laughing all the way to the bank. Money makes the world go round, and no more starkly can this be seen in the ever changing, evolving music industry. As much as it pains me to say it the music industry really is an industry of cool, were image and maximum sales are everything and buying into it yet more compromises.
But, why should we care? It’s only music after all. But to me it isn’t just music. Music to me is a way of life, and something which makes life worth living which is why we should try to support good music, and fight against the massive music corporations out there. If you think it’s just music think of this. Ever been in love, listened to a song and felt like the words were written about you. I bet you have. That’s because music is something that you can connect to. Ever heard a piece of music which brought back good memories and bad of other times, places you had been to people you had met e.t.c. ? I bet you have. That is because you can associate music with these things. Think of this too. Why else would there be music festivals if good music wasn’t something which should be respected. A good song really is a work of art and those people who are talented enough to create it through hard work and dedication are people with a specail gift not to be sniffed at. So lets join together in mutual appreciation and support the independent music, because somebody has to, it would be a crime not to. Who’s with me?
