FEATURE: The October Playlist: Vol. 4: A RAY of Light

FEATURE:

 

The October Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: RAY BLK

Vol. 4: A RAY of Light

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THIS week’s Playlist…

IN THIS PHOTO: Robyn

is a busy and diverse one…so it is best I expend as few words as possible and let the music do the talking! There are fantastic new songs from RAY BLK, Thom Yorke and Cardi B; gems from Our Girl, Hinds; Robyn and Ross from Friends – so many wonderful offerings to get your teeth into.

It is a wonderful and busy list of tracks that will get the weekend off to a great start and get right into the mind. I have been excited to see what would come this week and it is just as well artists have delivered with some offerings that are sizzling, spicy and pretty sweet. Get involved and have a listen to the best this week has to offer.

IN THIS PHOTO: Cardi B

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

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Paloma Faith – Loyal

IMAGE CREDIT: Matthias Hombauer/The Prodigy

The Prodigy – We Live Forever

PHOTO CREDIT: Gareth Cattermole/MTV EMAs 2017/Getty Images for MTV

RAY BLK – Mama

Ross from Friends – Squaz

Maggie Rogers – Light On

White Lies – Believe It

PHOTO CREDIT: Neelam Khan Vela

Her’s – Under Wraps

PHOTO CREDIT: Hollie Fernando

Our Girl – Being Around

PHOTO CREDIT: Lisa Businovski

Hatchie – Adored

Billie Eilish - when the party's over 

Cardi B - Money

Imagine Dragons - Zero

Zara Larsson - Ruin My Life

Hinds – British Mind

HAELOS – Buried in the Sand

Mumford & Sons – If I Say

PHOTO CREDIT: James Emmerman

Sigrid – Sucker Punch

Deaf Havana – Narcissus

Elley Duhé - FEVER

Ian Brown – First World Problems

Icona Pop – Rhythm in My Blood

KWAYE – Hanging On

Lauren Jauregui – Expectations

Tyler, the Creator – You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (From Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch)

Nao – Orbit

Public Service Broadcasting – White Star Liner

Tallia Storm – World on a Slope

Fia Moon – Water Runs Through

Thom Yorke – Unmade

GRAACE – SOS

P!nk – A Million Dreams

Pillow Queens – Gay Girls

Robyn – Ever Again

The Pale White – End of Time

YONAKA – Creature

Ellie Goulding (ft. Diplo and Swae Lee) – Close to Me

The Ting Tings – A&E

FEATURE: Sisters in Arms: An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XIV)

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: Josie Dunne 

An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XIV)

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THIS playlist collates…

IN THIS PHOTO: Sick Love 

some great female artists and shows what incredible talent there is out there. Some in the music industry feel own are a genre and not a gender and, as I show, there is immense range and wonder to be discovered. I have collected together some of the best and freshest new female-led music that displays all the colours and contrasts of autumn. It is a fulsome playlist that mixes the heat and last rays of sunshine with the more contemplative and cool nights. Have a listen through this assortment and I am sure you will find some music that will go straight…

IN THIS PHOTO: Tallies/PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Gray  

TO the heart.

ALL PHOTOS (unless stated otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

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Carlie Hanson – Toxins

Ea Kaya – Don’t Complicate It

PHOTO CREDIT: Naysap

Shay D – Don’t Worry

Ayelle – Too Busy

Sick Love – Are You Ready

ARTWORK: Jackie Beverly/DESIGN: Ciarán O'Brien

Jackie Beverly – Out of Reasons

Sabrina Carpenter – Paris

Josie Dunne – Cool with It

Worst Place – Soak

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Gray

Tallies – Beat the Heart

Blithe – Bad Habit

I’m with Her – Wild One

PHOTO CREDIT: Jasmine Safaeian

Dresage – Sediment

HÆLOS – Buried in the Sand

PHOTO CREDIT: Jessie Morgan

Sit Down – Knives

IMAGE CREDIT: Magda Wrzeszcz Photography

Austel – Lost at Home (Acoustic Live Video)

PHOTO CREDIT: Declan Kelly.

Montauk Hotel - Stains

Sive – Quietly

Bishop Briggs – River

Jessie Munro – I’d Like To

Sabby Sousa – Xanax

Vera Blue – All the Pretty Girls

SOAK – Everybody Loves You

LIEZA – Special

Salvation Jayne – Cortez

Jaden Michaels – Behave

FEATURE: Do London’s Red Telephone Boxes Still Ring? The Changing Role of the Telephone in Popular Music

FEATURE:

 

 

Do London’s Red Telephone Boxes Still Ring?

PHOTO CREDIT: @jackofallstreets/Unsplash  

The Changing Role of the Telephone in Popular Music

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WE are in a time where most of us…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @quinoal/Unsplash

are communication through text and email. There are messaging services and, between that and social media; how often does one ever pick up a phone and speak?! A lot of interviews are not being done through Skype and that human connection is lacking! Even if we call a big company; a lot of the time we are connecting with a machine and pre-recorded voices. From Wilson Pickett through to Blondie; the telephone has formed the bases of music for decades. Whether it is a hero dialling up his girl or suggesting the best digits she needs to call or the heroine waiting for a call late into the night; the phone has always carried this potent symbolism and imagery. It can be used as a romantic tool or a way of communicating urgency but I wonder whether we have as many phone-related songs now as decades before. Look at cities like London and you always see tourists posing beside them and I often wonder whether anyone uses them and whether they exist merely to provide photo opportunities. In many ways, the street-level phones many of us used to rely on, pre-mobile phones, seem to be either symbols of past days or have become obsolete. Many are in a state of disrepair. It is sad to see but musicians are still using the phone in the same way musicians always have.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rawpixel/Unsplash

I will bring in an article that examines the shift in trends but it seems, although the romantic notion of sweethearts talking for hours has been replaced to an extent; we have not come so far as to replace the phone with text and swiping left or right. The article I will bring in makes a good point: many people see voicemail as a violation! How many of us leave a message (rather than text) and do we ever check them?! A lot of us do not have landlines and, as we use Smartphones; so much of what we do is texted. Music still employs the telephone when it comes to romance and friendship but it is interesting music has not shifted so much artists are referencing texting, Snapchat and Instagram. I can detect social media and technology coming into some Pop music but is referencing texting and dating apps etc. the same way artists used to talk about the telephone a step too far?! The Guardian covered this topic a couple of months ago and it resonated with me:

“From Glenn Miller’s Pennsylvania 6-5000 to Drake’s Hotline Bling, pop’s obsession with telecommunications is long and glorious; Lady Gaga committed to the theme so strongly she wore a phone on her head. Phone songs have taken in anticipation (Abba’s Ring Ring), spontaneity (Call Me Maybe), popular hobbies (Village People’s Sex Over the Phone) and smartphones’ woeful battery life (Maroon 5’s Payphone)….

PHOTO CREDIT: @trojantrj  

And that’s before you consider phones’ real-world connections to pop. Decades before Spotify, the nearest teenage fans got to “on-demand” was Dial-a-Disc, where you would phone a number and listen to music looping on reel-to-reel tape machines. Mobile phones made their own impact: from the ringtone boom of the 2000s to the way the Walkman of the past is now built into all handsets, and even the way songwriters’ melody ideas are stored first as voicenotes. In the studio vocal booth, lyrics are read off a phone screen”.

Of course; when the likes of Blondie and whoever used the telephone in their music; this was back when people had landlines and leaving a voice message was not seen as weird. Although that romantic idea of the telephone has been modernised; musicians feel it is a little too much replacing that idea with texting and technology. It is somewhat cold and inhuman singing about texting someone or breaking up with that way. Although there is not that complete move from the telephone to Smartphones; the romantic symbolism and old-skool charm has been replaced. Adele’s Hello (released in 2015) is that old friend calling up; an emotional and revealing song that stands as one of her finest songs.

I feel there is a real opportunity for songwriters to embrace the telephone in a real and old-fashioned way. I am not suggesting we have those phones were you have to dial each number individually in a very pained way – can’t recall what the phones are called but you get them a lot in classic dramas – but the vision of two lovers trying to reach one another by the phone holds so much potency. Some of those sweethearts went to voicemail but it was the build-up before the call and the actual conversation that we were all waiting for. Even in 2018; songwriters realise the lure and importance of the phone:

“Phones are a very powerful trope,” acknowledges songwriter Jack Lee – and he should know. In the 1970s, he was a struggling musician in San Francisco. One afternoon, he received a call informing him that his phone line was about to be disconnected. However, there was time for one more incoming call, which informed him that a band were interested in covering one of his songs. The band were Blondie, the song was Hanging on the Telephone. From his home in Los Angeles, the 2018 version of Lee tells the Guide: “It changed my life, and it saved my life.”

But how true is this in the era of Generation Mute? In 2015, it was reported that phone use among young people had dropped by almost a quarter in just three years. Calling someone unannounced – or, God forbid, leaving a voicemail – is now an egregious attack on privacy. Let’s pick up the phone to Emily Warren, the co-writer of Dua Lipa’s New Rules. “Agreed!” she declares. “It’s a violation!” New Rules, she says, was inspired by the real-life predicament of co-writer Caroline Ailin, who was fielding texts and phonecalls from an ex. “We sat down to write a song that was a guidebook to ending that situation”.

IMAGE CREDIT: Flavs9701  

Has technology made the way we communicate more obsessive, bombarding and less physical? Consider that quote above and many of us have to deal with a barrage of texts and messages. I get countless emails a day and many people you see on the street are texting like ninjas on crystal meth! Digits that once would twiddle a phone cable coyly are now muscular and twitching because of endless texts and this rather obsessive lure. One of the reasons a song like Blondie’s Hanging on the Telephone holds charge is because of that anticipation and the fact there was something human behind the words. Even if there was that frustration and sense of longing; we could all relate to what was being said and it (the song) has survived because of the power behind the words. In many ways, songs such as that are popular because they represent a time that no longer exists. I often compare the shift away from telephone-based songs to that age-old view of the highway. Consider the songwriters who discusses being on some dusty trail and the romance of American highways. Many people still take those trips but songwriters cannot really relate to that classic image of a sweet car burning down the highway without a care in the world. There is traffic and jams; we have more people about and, in many ways, one cannot realistically sell an image of a romantic stretch of road and the freedom of the open.

Pre-Internet and the technological boom; people could only really communicate via phone – or letter or fax if you want to be picky – and, as such, it is understandable why the telephone became such an iconic and reliable trope. Now, as I said, most of the ways in which we communicate with a sweetheart or do our daily bidding is either via email, group chats or texts. So many men and women (mainly women) are besieged by texts and it seems like technology has made it easier for us to be obsessed, overly-forceful and, in many cases, plain stalker-like. It is that synthetic and technological aspect that gets to me: how can songwriters talk about being on the phone and hearing someone’s voice when, for the most part, we communicate through texts? Does this mean the phone has lost all of its meaning and music can no longer correlate the telephone with emotional resonance and deep desire? This article explores transmogrification and why the phone will always be important and can never be replaced by texting/emails:

“Yet there are still times when you need to hear someone’s voice – in matters of life, death or love. Which is why 2015’s biggest hits don’t feel too anachronistic. Furthermore, they’re in a grand pop tradition. As Vulture recently pointed out, the Big Bopper’s 1958 single Chantilly Lace set the bar for jams like Hotline Bling. In it, the libidinous singer spends the duration of the song on the telephone, complimenting a woman on her physical assets and peppering the chat with pet names”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @dollargill/Unsplash

One downside to texting is you never know if the person is who they say they are. Not many older songs dealt with duplicity and a faux voice over the other end – someone pretending to be the lover and duping the other. In an age where fake numbers are given and you can get your phone nicked – meaning you can impersonate someone easily – it is not easy to avoid a slightly creepy and dystopian image. The need to speak with someone and hear their voice is always there and, as the above article explained; you get that emotional hit and real connection that cannot be substituted. Consider the multiple dimensions and dynamics of a phone call. It can be a desperate call for help or an emotional call from across the seas. That need to hear someone’s voice and feel reassured is something, I feel, is not being rightly explored by a generation whose minds and eyes are distracted by screens. One can flirt via phone and there is that age-old bootie call; two old friends picking up after years away or, as I did as a child, calling someone up merely to hang and see how they are. Consider that last point. How often do we take the trouble to pick up the phone and ask how someone is or whether they saw that cool new drama last night? Texting and messaging seems to provide an easier and hassle-free option – no chance of voicemail or having to speak – and it would be forgivable if artists dispensed with vocal communication altogether.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @next_spideey21/Unsplash

Consider the nuances of the voice and the way it can never be superseded or demurred in terms of its immense power and warmth:

“A call carries an emotional charge which social media will never replicate. If a boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with you via DM, you’d be humiliated – for them. And an important conversation via text will always come across as lazy, especially if you’ve shared something more special than the casual “u up?” exchange. This was proved comically last week when a woman texted the lyrics to Adele’s Hello to her ex-boyfriend as a joke. Also, texts could technically be sent or written by anyone with access to a cellphone. So despite our world having drastically changed since the days of Big Bopper, we still crave the confirmation that the person contacting us is emotionally engaged. Phone calls provide that. Texting and social media, not so much”.

Not only is there still a desire to have a voice speak to you at the other end of the line but a distinctly U.S. phenomenon has been revived – the hotline and that form of communication. I remember them from childhood – you used to get them in adverts and T.V. shows – but there was a time when artists stop referring to hotlines and they seemed tragically outdated. It seems, although not entirely, they are making a bit of a comeback – as this article explores in more detail:

“First up, some context: in 1990, fans could call David Bowie and leave a message to request the songs they wanted him to play on tour. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince had The New Rap Hotline, 1-900-909-5333, where for $2 for the first minute (35¢ for each additional minute) you could hear a recorded message that changed daily. In the UK, Smash Hits had numbers in the back of the mag to call to listen to the week’s biggest pop hits – like a pay-per-minute Our Price listening post, only one your parents would get incredibly angry about when they saw the phone bill…

“After a few years of screening calls, phone hotlines made a comeback in 2015. On the Dark Sky Paradise album, Big Sean gave out his real cellphone number, 313-515-8772, and fielded calls from fans before realising that, actually, saying “Yes, it’s really me” 8,205 times a day is boring. Shamir, meanwhile, played telephone agony aunt to fans to promote his breakup single Call It Off, while Justin Bieber fans could, er, make his Hotline Bling by calling 231-377-1113 to hear his remix of Drake’s hit”.

“So, is 2017, with Fever Ray and Eminem’s old-school music promotion tactics, the year pop goes analogue, like those irritating people who have swapped their iPhones for Nokia 3310s? The warning signs were there: Adele’s flip phone in the Hello video; Maroon 5’s Payphone; Liam Payne’s ringtone on Bedroom Floor. Could the fuzzy phone effect replace the crackly vinyl sound that lazy producers use to make a track sound “classic”? Will Beyoncé drop the mystique and be calling you 24/7 like an annoying PPI spammer? Will Taylor Swift leave you long, pointless voicemails like your mum? Call us on our premium-rate number, 0800 111 GUIDE, to find out!”

The more artists and consumers investigate and dust-off older music; the more we are becoming aware of new ideas. Consider songs about the telephone and how, when we listen to them, they make us feel warm, nostalgic and, in a way, better. I can listen to Stevie Wonder or Blondie talking about the telephone and can picture what they are singing and the mere imagery makes me imagination swim.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @gypsycompassrose/Unsplash

Even they we live in a time where, as we’re told, we are less connected and happier to avoid talking altogether; there are so many opportunities for songwriters to revoke the beauty and power of the telephone. We all still use them in everyday life: from discussing a job interview to calling your folks; they have not been replaced entirely by texting and emails. Maybe a song that details a late-night call where both lovers are being told (by their angry parents) to end the call because it will break the bank would not fly today. We can all chat for hours for free and, as I said, the landline is becoming marginalised – most homes that have them tend only to rely on them now and then. Whether you feel the telephone is a relic and pointless device that should be left in the past or prefer to pick one up and actually speak with another human; you cannot deny the effect and impact they have made on popular music. The voice, and the nuanced emotions it holds, means we will always use them and, as such, musicians will be able to mine them for gold. Although the march of time has rendered some telephone-based avenues obsolete; artists still bring telephones into music and I feel they could go a lot further. Think about the reason why they existed in the first place and how memorable songs that mention them are. We are all becoming so lost in machines and screens that, in many ways, the telephone seems like an oddity. You can never be rid of the telephone and deny why we all still need them in our lives. Whereas more modern artists are talking about texts and modern distractions; many are keeping the telephone ringing and ensuring it does not get disconnected. I still love its (the telephone’s) romance and simplicity; how it has survived through the years and the ways it can really make an impact. That may make me sound old and slightly uncool but one cannot deny the importance and potency of…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rawpixel/Unsplash

THE human voice.  

FEATURE: The Greatest Year in Music History? 1967: Twelve Essential Albums

FEATURE:

 

 

The Greatest Year in Music History?

IN THIS PHOTO: Jimi Hendrix/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

1967: Twelve Essential Albums

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THERE is a lot of debate as to which musical year…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Who during their stop in San Francisco (during the Summer of Love) where they played two concerts at The Fillmore on 16th and 17th June, 1967/PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Marshall Photography LLC

is the absolute finest. I am drawn between 1994 and 1967. The former is one I loved through and can attest to the brilliance and incredible genius that came through. I will write another piece regarding 1994 and how we witnessed a rare and beautiful time for music. 1967 is a year that is no slouch regarding the music that came through! Look at the fantastic songs that emerged in that year. The Beatles brought us Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever and All You Need Is Love. Procol Harem released A Whiter Shade of Pale and we saw The Who’s I Can See for Miles and The Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset.

That is just the tip of a giant iceberg and you can see how these artists inspired future generations. Of course; there was the Summer of Love (in 1967) and a time when people were using peace (and substances a bit stronger) to combat oppression, corruption and hatred. It must have been an exciting and colourful time and it is no surprise such eclectic and fantastic music came about. The effects and reverberation from 1967 and, in some ways, still being felt right now. I love the songs from that year - but it is the albums that hold the greatest weight. It is hard to narrow them down but I have selected twelve 1967-released records that demonstrate what an epic and wonderful year it was. Have a look through the selection and I am sure you will find many that are in your record collection. It is a genius-laden rundown that makes a great case regarding 1967 being…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jorma Kaukonen, Spencer Dryden and Grace Slick during a photoshoot in Golden Gate Park, May 1967/PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Marshall Photography LLC

THE finest year for music ever.  

ALL ALBUM COVERS: Getty Images

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Nico – Chelsea Girl

Release Date: October 1967

Label: Verve Records

Review:

“Nico once admitted that she could not relate to the songs Reed wrote for her. “I can’t identify with that,” she said of “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” “to notice only the beautiful and not the ugliness.” Despite its melancholy, Chelsea Girl is still very much caught up in this world of the Screen Test, one focused on ineffable, alluring melancholy. To today’s casual Nico fans, she still exists in this bubble, a blonde monolith in a white pantsuit, a vessel for dreams and desires. But to consider Nico as frozen in her Chelsea Girl years is a disservice to the active efforts she made later in life to move beyond her image. But consider all of Nico, the strange circumstances of the Velvet Underground, the image of Chelsea Girl, and the horrific, inexcusable actions of her later life. It’s a wholeness she craved all along” – Pitchfork

Standout Track: Little Sister

Captain Beefheart – Safe as Milk

Release Date: June 1967

Label: Buddah

Review:

“Beefheart's first proper studio album is a much more accessible, pop-inflected brand of blues-rock than the efforts that followed in the late '60s -- which isn't to say that it's exactly normal and straightforward. Featuring Ry Cooder on guitar, this is blues-rock gone slightly askew, with jagged, fractured rhythms, soulful, twisting vocals from Van Vliet, and more doo wop, soul, straight blues, and folk-rock influences than he would employ on his more avant-garde outings. "Zig Zag Wanderer," "Call on Me," and "Yellow Brick Road" are some of his most enduring and riff-driven songs, although there's plenty of weirdness on tracks like "Electricity" and "Abba Zaba." [Buddha's 1999 reissue of Safe as Milk contained restored artwork and seven bonus tracks.]” – AllMusic

Standout Track: Electricity

The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Release Date: 26th May, 1967

Label: Parlophone (U.K.)/Capitol (U.S.)

Review:

“Some songs, such as Lovely Rita, When I’m 64, Good Morning, Good Morning, Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite and Harrison’s dour, droning Within You Without You, seem undernourished excuses on which to hang florid ideas. But the title track is an improbable scorcher, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds a glittering gem, Fixing a Hole and She’s Leaving Home lovely chamber pieces, and the concluding A Day in the Life one of the strangest and most beautiful recordings ever, an inner-space odyssey juxtaposing Lennon’s ethereal surrealism with McCartney’s prosaic energy and wrapping it all up in an apocalyptic orchestral climax” – The Telegraph  

Standout Track: A Day in the Life

The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico

Release Date: 12th March, 1967

Label: Verve

Review:

“Lou Reed's lyrical exploration of drugs and kinky sex (then risky stuff in film and literature, let alone "teen music") always received the most press attention, but the music Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker played was as radical as the words they accompanied. The bracing discord of "European Son," the troubling beauty of "All Tomorrow's Parties," and the expressive dynamics of "Heroin" all remain as compelling as the day they were recorded. While the significance of Nico's contributions have been debated over the years, she meshes with the band's outlook in that she hardly sounds like a typical rock vocalist, and if Andy Warhol's presence as producer was primarily a matter of signing the checks, his notoriety allowed The Velvet Underground to record their material without compromise, which would have been impossible under most other circumstances. Few rock albums are as important as The Velvet Underground & Nico, and fewer still have lost so little of their power to surprise and intrigue more 50 years after first hitting the racks” – AllMusic   

Standout Track: Venus in Furs

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced

Release Date: 12th May, 1967

Label: Track

Review:

“Whilst some of the licks shot-blasted across the disc ape the twangy pop tones of the day, his solo on “Manic Depression” sounds like its being beamed in from another dimension altogether. “Red House” remains a dazzling blues exhibition that rightly made the jaws of London’s musical elite drop. It’s a sobering thought that when this originally came out in May 1967, the only other serious contender for the crown of guitar godhood, Cream’s Disraeli Gears, was still six months from being released.

The psychedelic flummeries added to an already rich recipe (the title track and “Third Stone From The Sun”) occasionally results in a kind of multi-coloured indigestion. Whilst such embroidery indelibly watermarks the album, it rarely detracts from the stand-out, casual brilliance that is so abundant. This is the sound of the future arriving; tacky, awkward, inspirational, exciting, perplexing and sometimes contradictory for sure, but the future nonetheless” – BBC

Standout Track: Purple Haze

Love – Forever Changes

Release Date: 1st November, 1967

Label: Elektra

Review:

“…Reality resumes on the aptly titled “Bummer in the Summer,” the album’s most straightforward (and weakest) track. It finds Lee doing a Dylan-esque sing-talk that sounds a lot like rapping to me. And speaking of rap, an alternate mix of the album’s closing suite, “You Set the Scene,” which can be found on both this and the 2001 edition of Forever Changes, includes some previously unheard lyrical freestyling (who said Debbie Harry was the first rocker to do hip-hop?). The 40th anniversary edition also includes alternate mixes of the rest of the album, songs from the band’s follow-up single “Your Mind and We Belong Together”/“Laughing Stock” (which didn’t fare any better than the album), and various previously unreleased material that neither adds nor detracts from what has rightfully become one of the most highly regarded and influential rock records of all time” – Slant    

Standout Track: A House Is Not a Motel

Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Release Date: 4th August, 1967  

Label: EMI Columbia/Tower

Review:

“Few would criticize the merits of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn itself (as reflected in the rating above)-- it's an essential album. While so many other products of the Summer of Love were positive and unifying, Piper was fractured and scary. Songs like "Astronomy Domine" and "Interstellar Overdrive" captured the sustained improvisational freakouts of the band's live shows, but did so in more concise form. Other songs, like "Lucifer Sam," "Bike", and "The Gnome", split the difference between quirky pop songs and explorations of the nightmarish found-sound fringe, setting a twisted template for countless acts to come. By 1980's The Wall, Pink Floyd had become sterile and solipsistic. At this auspicious start, Pink Floyd were thrilling. Anything was possible” – Pitchfork     

Standout Track: Interstellar Overdrive

The Doors – The Doors

Release Date: 4th January, 1967  

Label: Elektra

Review:

“"Light My Fire" was the cut that topped the charts and established the group as stars, but most of the rest of the album is just as impressive, including some of their best songs: the propulsive "Break on Through" (their first single), the beguiling mystery of "The Crystal Ship," the mysterious "End of the Night," "Take It as It Comes" (one of several tunes besides "Light My Fire" that also had hit potential), and the stomping rock of "Soul Kitchen" and "Twentieth Century Fox." The 11-minute Oedipal drama "The End" was the group at its most daring and, some would contend, overambitious. It was nonetheless a haunting cap to an album whose nonstop melodicism and dynamic tension would never be equaled by the group again, let alone bettered” – AllMusic      

Standout Track: The End

Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Release Date: 10th March, 1967  

Label: Atlantic

Review:

“…And do I even need to mention her voice" Well, here's an anecdote. Aretha famously burst into the Atlantic Records studios and told the Muscle Shoals session musicians, as a manner of introducing herself, 'Get your damn shoes on, you're getting someone who can REALLY sing.' The immediate reaction was one of jaded amusement - they'd heard it all before - and yawns. Then she sat at the piano and starting singing "Respect". They weren't jaded for long after that. The song was recorded with the crack rhythm section right there and then, and that take is the one you hear on this album. Tellingly, underneath the article I've quoted this anecdote from (Q's Top 100 Albums Ever, January 2003), there is a comment from one Sian North, via e-mail. "The greatest female singer ever - bar none!" Anyone care - nay, DARE - to disagree with that"

If nothing else I've said has hit you, then just wonder - how many soul albums are anywhere near as critically acclaimed as this is by both the rock critics and the soul community" This is vital listening if you want to understand the development of black vocal music. It's a landmark in every sense” – Sputnik Music       

Standout Track: Respect

The Who – The Who Sell Out

Release Date: 15th December, 1967   

Label: Track

Review:

“Still things didn’t run smoothly; that wasn’t The Who way. John Entwistle broke a finger punching a dressing-room wall; Keith Moon suffered a hernia; Roger Daltrey – required for the now-classic sleeve to sit for hours in a bath of baked beans – got pneumonia. And The Who’s recording sessions (unlike those of, say, The Beatles) were haphazard affairs, done here and there, all over the place. The mini-opera “Rael” (itself the blueprint for several parts of Tommy) had to be recorded twice, on two different continents, after the first lot of tapes were thrown into a dumpster by a studio cleaner. And the Track Records ad that finishes the second side was recorded over the phone, Moon and Entwistle crooning it from a nearby public bar. This definitive two-disc edition – crammed with try-outs, outtakes and discards, some of them brilliant (“Glittering Girl”, “Jaguar”) – perfectly and finally captures that creative chaos.

In the end, though, Townshend’s wonderful songs (“I Can See For Miles”, “Our Love Was”, “I Can’t Reach You”, “Relax” and the rest), and the band’s sheer exuberance, overcame all obstacles. The Who went on to make more important records (Live At Leeds, Tommy) and better records (Who’s Next, Quadrophenia). But, as this package joyously proves, they never made anything more entertaining or endearing” – Uncut        

Standout Track: I Can See for Miles

Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again

Release Date: 18th November, 1967

Label: Atco

Review:

“The album's lowest point however, follows the lonely and melancholic ballad Furay sings almost alone with his guitar ("Sad Memory"). "Good Time Boy" is sung by their drummer, Dewey Martin who is without a doubt a competent percussionist, but his imitation of soul on this track is both cruel to the lyrics and far from the creativity and high musical standard the rest of the album has. 

Neil's closing song on the album is an experimental song which includes changes from 4/4 measure to 3/4 and an illusion of changing melodies from verse to verse. His voice, Dewey's drums and Don Randi's piano steer the track from beginning to end accompanied by strange audio clips, and audiences cheering to several bizarre music acts including a Martin Sung "Mr. Soul" and an organ grinder. The song is called "Broken Arrow", with its lyrics deep in the Young universe, finding traces of the same story in other songs such as "The last Trip To Tulsa" and "Down By The River".

In short, the album's strengths are its classic rock and country songs, its catchy, blues and country inspired guitar interplay, and its great vocal arrangements both in backing ("Rock And Roll Woman") and harmony ("A Child's Claim to Fame"). Some of the most well-known Buffalo Springfield songs are included in this well-produced, well-made album and so it deserves the status of a classic: 5/5” – Sputnik Music         

Standout Track: Expecting to Fly                 

Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow

Release Date: 1st February, 1967

Label: RCA Victor

Review:

“Regardless, they did wonderful things with the music within that framework, and the only pity is that RCA didn't record for official release any of the group's shows from the same era, when this material made up the bulk of their repertory. That way the live versions, with the band's creativity unrestricted, could be compared and contrasted with the record. The songwriting was spread around between Marty Balin, Slick, Paul Kantner, and Jorma Kaukonen, and Slick and Balin (who never had a prettier song than "Today," which he'd actually written for Tony Bennett) shared the vocals; the whole album was resplendent in a happy balance of all of these creative elements, before excessive experimentation (musical and chemical) began affecting the band's ability to do a straightforward song. The group never made a better album, and few artists from the era ever did” – AllMusic          

Standout Track: White Rabbit

FEATURE: Britney Spears and a Mighty Debut Single …Baby One More Time at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

Britney Spears and a Mighty Debut Single

IN THIS IMAGE: The single cover for Britney Spears’ debut single, …Baby One More Time/IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images 

…Baby One More Time at Twenty

__________

I recently produced a piece that…

IN THIS PHOTO: Britney Spears (circa 2018)/PHOTO CREDIT: Herb Ritts

asked whether Pop music is capable of producing anthems. By that, I do not mean a simple genre called ‘Pop’: I mean every genre that is popular and visible in the mainstream. It has been years since I have encountered a song that can live through the ages! Think about those tracks you recall to mind and provoke great memories and, for most of us, they are from many years back! I think of the Britpop anthems of the 1990s and stuff that was coming out around then. The way I see it; there was this glorious radius where the three or four years prior to 1994 were spectacular and building up that revolution and, from then until, say, 1998/1999, there was this further move that kept the quality high and embraced new sounds. The 1990s as a whole was a great time for music but it was especially brilliant when it came to those bold and memorable Pop tracks. From the best British bands through the U.S. girl groups and the fantastic Pop coming from the country – we were spoiled for choice and enjoyed a rich regency. One thinks of Pop music coming from teenagers now and you might cringe and think the resultant sound is good to be dreadful. To be honest; most of the best Pop music/mainstream stuff you find is from established artists or that which lacks commercial ambition.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Britney Spears in 1998/PHOTO CREDIT: Christian Storz

Think back to 1998 and, in terms of Pop anthems, one song stood out: ….Baby One More Time. The debut of the U.S. icon took everyone by surprise and sent shockwaves through music. I am not saying it was as bold as Punk or as seismic as Britpop but, as introductions go, it was one of the more impressive of the decade. I will talk about Britney Spears’ debut single and why it signalled the arrival of a rare talent but, before then, a bit of background on Spears and, indeed, the music that was around in 1998. In June 1997; Britney Spears was in talks with her manager Lou Pearlman about the possibility of joining the female Pop group Innosense (remember them?!). Lynne Spears, Britney’s mum, sent the entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph a tape of her daughter singing a karaoke version of Whitney Houston with some pictures attached.

IN THIS PHOTO: Britney Spears in 1998/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Rudolph was impressed and felt, rightly, here was a potential star he wanted to send to labels. He wanted a professional demo, and so, the process began. Rudolph sent Spears an unused Toni Braxton song and she recorded her vocals. Spears travelled to New York to meet with four labels but, in the case of three of them, found the same problem: they wanted all-girl/all-boy bands who were in vogue at the time. They felt there was not going to be a 1990s version of Tiffany or Madonna. The 1990s would see other female solo artists become Pop icons – even though Madonna was very much active in 1998 – and they felt groups were the commercial dollar.

 IN THIS IMAGE: The cover for Britney Spears’ album, …Baby One More Time/IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images

It would be understandable for an ambitious and excited Spears to feel rejected and downhearted after being rejected by three labels. The fact they outright disliked her vocals/song – it was merely a case of her being a solo artist – meant a pleasing call from JIVE Records changed everything. Senior A&R man Jeff Fenster stated Spears’ debut has pop, drive and determination. For someone of that age (she was sixteen at the time) to deliver something commercial but have a lot of emotion and nuance come through was a rarity. Spears was not delivering a song in that very pale and predictable way many Pop artists did. There was emotional range and you could tell she meant every word that was being sung – something that impressed Fenster a great deal. Fenster and the label were also not seeing Spears as this disposal and easy-to-label star many labels were trotting out. There was something personal and distinctly ‘Britney’ coming from that tape. After the label’s president Clive Calder ordered a full album, there was this whirlwind period where Spears met with producers and flied to Sweden. Spears saw herself, at aged sixteen, as a sort of Sheryl Crow-type artist but for a slightly younger audience. When at the studios in Stockholm, Sweden; Spears was shown a song that was originally written for Backstreet Boys and TLC.

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Backstreet Boys in 1998/PHOTO CREDIT: Spin

The fact they rejected the song led to Spears’ revelation: …Baby One More Time would sound wrong in the hands of the Backstreet Boys and is a little too ‘Pop’ for the savvy, feisty and unique TLC. Spears knew the song would be a hit and JIVE felt the same – it was the first step of her career and arguably, it is her crowning moment. Spears went on to record anthems like Oops!... I Did It Again (2000) and Toxic (2003) but many feel her debut song tops those. The single cover for …Baby One More Time showed this fresh-faced, slightly sullen teenager who was cute and, to be fair, almost child-like in her appearance. The video, as I shall explore, subverted all expectations and showed that, even at sixteen, Spears was no ordinary and modest star – she was pushing boundaries and getting people talking!

The album, …Baby One More Time, was released in January 1999 and, again, showed Spears as this rather cute and sweet teenager – although there is seductive and sexual edge to her smile/pose. Although there was another smash on the album (You Drive Me) Crazy; it seemed like the lead-off single was the definite high-point. This retrospective review, written in 2006, praised …Baby One More Time’s title cut but was dubious about the remainder of the record:

“...Baby One More Time is inexorably linked with image. It is challenging to listen to any of her songs without picturing the corresponding video, or her Rolling Stone cover, or her 2000 MTV Video Music Awards appearance, or her 2003 VMA kiss with Madonna. But Britney has adopted (or has had forced upon her, depending upon your interpretation) a series of contradicting images throughout her career, and especially during her ...Baby One More Time phase. She was being marketed as an icon of innocence alwhile being not-so-subtly promoted as a sexual being. She sang of sex and lust while championing her professed virginity in interviews. The cover of the very album at question features Spears in a wholesome getup with an angelic smile on her face - but her pose is hardly a marker of chastity with the focal point being quite inappropriate for 16-year old artist being sold to 12-year old girls…

 

With the exception of the terrific title track, ...Baby One More Time is a collection of either competent pop songs underwhelmingly executed or underwhelmingly written pop songs competently executed. Attractive pop gloss coats even the most absurd of the tracks, making them, at the very least, well recorded, produced, and arranged. But I can't picture Spears looking back on this album with any sense of pride or accomplishment. Is it any wonder that she won't be performing 'E-mail My Heart' or 'Soda Pop' on the next tour" They're downright embarrassing. But ...Baby One More Time is an interesting album in that it offers a marker for Spears' progression as an artist, as a celebrity, and as a woman”.

If Spears would find greater consistency and critical acclaim on her second and third albums; it is clear her debut single was a glorious moment for Pop that announced this rare and distinct personality. Max Martin wrote …Baby One More Time and, as his chart success and prolificacy shows; he seems to have this secret formula when it comes to penning a Pop gem. He wrote Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life and the Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way; he has co-written/written songs like I Kissed a Girl (Katy Perry) and Blank Space (Taylor Swift). He is the songwriter with the third-most number-one (Billboard Hot 100) singles ever (twenty-two), behind John Lennon and Paul McCartney. As a producer, he has the second-most Hot 100 singles to his name (twenty) – behind the twenty-three of Beatles producer George Martin!

It seemed like Martin was the perfect man to help bring Britney Spears’ magic and marvel to the world. …Baby One More Time is a song in the key of C minor and has a 4/4 common time signature. With compositional elements similar to Robyn Carlssons’ Show Me Love – drum patterns, wah guitars and piano hits – it is a big and interesting song that unites brilliantly physical vocals with an evolving, changing and colourful composition. One of the reasons why Britney Spears’ debut single hits right away is because …Baby One More Time announced its presence instantly! There is no time for a build-up or any sort of mystery: you are right inside the track and it struts right out of the traps! The lyrics, I guess, are about longing and wanting to rekindle a relationship. The subject matter brilliantly complies with the history of Pop and themes relatable to a teenage audience (mainly girls) but does not do so in an ordinary and by-numbers way. It may have been written by Martin but you can believe every word is from the diary of Britney Spears. The ellipsis at the beginning of the song’s title follows the words “Hit me...” Maybe having that full title would provoke images of abuse, kinkiness or some kind of fetish – many people around the time felt the song was about sadomasochism or being hit!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Blur in the 1990s/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Press

In fact, as Spears stated, it was more about that emotional hit and rush of lust she had with this guy; the need to get that back and reignite her soul! It is clear Pop music was going through some changes towards the mid/late-1990s. We has seen the Britpop era end around 1997 and, to many, it felt like more American guitar music was taking over. There was this transition and no real gems in the market in terms of radio-friendly, mainstream songs. Spears started this revival that led to some brilliant Pop revelations. I will come to that but this cornerstone of the Pop market arrived in a year (1998) where the likes of Madonna and Lauryn Hill were reigning. The Queen of Pop (Madonna) was embracing a more electronic, moody and different sound to the one we were used to – in many ways, Spears was following in the footsteps of an early Madonna. Massive Attack (Mezzanine) and Beastie Boys (Hello Nasty) brought out these big and edgy albums whilst Hole’s Celebrity Skin kept the spirit of Grunge, Alternative-Rock and Alternative alive. It was an album that helped start a mini-revolution of its own and Dance music found a new gem in the form of Fatboy Slim’s You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby. Beck’s Mutations and Manic Street Preachers impressed with This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. Alanis Morissette’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie was turning heads…

1999 saw brilliant albums from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eminem; Blur, The Chemical Brothers and Moby. Blink-182 and Mogwai were busy and, as you can see, the years when the single and album of the same name were released…it wasn’t as though Spears had a lot of like-minded company! Maybe it was this sudden spark that arrived in this harder-edge and less Pop-orientated market that catapulted …Baby One More Time to strange heights. Maybe the albums market was not primed for Britney Spears but there were great and accessible singles from Sheryl Crow (My Favourite Mistake), Barenaked Ladies (One Week) and Faith Hill (This Kiss) that meant Spears’ debut song was not such an oddity. Aside from a couple of confident and anthemic Pop numbers in the form of The Boy Is Mine (Monica ft. Brandy) and You Get What You Give (New Radicals); there was nothing similar to what Britney Spears was putting out. We had Garbage telling us to Push It and Madonna had her Ray of Light but there was no other young, female U.S. Popstar that was bringing something so intense, evocative and memorable to us! We would see great Pop solo artists come about and we left some behind but, in 1998, Spears seemed to be in a league of her own and just what the music market needed!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Britney Spears in 2018/PHOTO CREDIT: @francesiacuzzi

I will end by looking at its legacy and how its video helped augment the song’s brilliance but this great article from the Independent caught my eye. Celebrating twenty years of …Baby One More Time; writer Lucy Jones reflects on the song’s wonder and layers:  

“Listen to it 20 years later and it’s still a startling, catchy pop song (although the optics of the video are more obviously problematic). But what actually, apart from a heady dose of personal nostalgia if you grew up in the Nineties, makes the song so good? First off, two words: Max Martin.

The songwriter’s musical background was eclectic. He grew up in a small island off the coast of Sweden listening to Elton John, Queen, Vivaldi, Mozart, Depeche Mode and the Bangles. He learnt how to read and write music thanks to a public music-education programme, and formed a glam-rock band called It’s Alive. Their albums bombed, but you can hear in the songs Martin’s acute understanding of pop, and his ability to use a voice to communicate emotion. He also landed a record deal with the late, legendary Swedish songwriter and producer Denniz PoP on Cheiron, who hired him and nurtured his songwriting talent. He started writing for Backstreet Boys, Westlife and Robyn. But “...Baby One More Time” was the first major commercial hit for the multimillionaire songwriting powerhouse...

IN THIS PHOTO: A shot from the video for …One More Time/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Nigel Dick

“The beat’s straightforward, four-on-the-floor rhythm with punchy, crashy backbeat kick and compressed snare drums is typical of early Max Martin. The dynamics are simple and solid. The “bridge” is more repetition of what we’ve heard before rather than a middle eight of completely different harmonic structure. The bottom drops out of the music and Britney’s voice is accompanied by a simple piano before the song crescendos into a maximalist: “I must confess! That my loneliness! Is killing me now!”

He’s also talked about changing the energy of the first, second and third chorus of a song. “It’s all about getting the listener to keep his or her concentration.”

Of course, it’s not just about Martin. Britney’s “baby voice”, which is different to her natural voice, is signature and instantly recognisable from the first “Oh baby baby”. According to Martin, she had a “good sense of catching the melody, performing it, taking it to another level. That’s what you’re looking for as a songwriter.” She is often adept at communicating the emotional content of a song”.

There are some songs that succeed and have a disappointing video or those that can be elevated by a great promotional clip but, in the case of …Baby One More Time; the incredible song and its eye-catching video were pretty evenly-matched. Nigel Dick directed the video – the British director has directed over five-hundred, including Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? – and that gained some flak from his peers. The original idea was to have Spears in a T-shirt and jeans but that got changed to a schoolgirl uniform.

One can only imagine the sort of reception someone like Dick would get if he were to pitch this video today and the idea of having a teenager playfully strutting in a school uniform and, to be fair, coming across as sexual and uninhibited…it would raise eyebrows at the very least! A lot of parents showed disapproval and felt Spears was a bad role model. They felt a teenage girl should not show her midriff and others felt she was being objectified. Teenage boys were hooked whilst teenage girls found this bold and relatable artist who gave them confidence and, through her music, compelled them. Say what you want about Britney Spears and the bored Catholic girl suddenly coming alive and rebelling – it is considered one of her most iconic videos/looks and, against a music backdrop that was glorifying girl and boybands; Spears was standing alone as this new and unique teenage Pop idol that was not just a commercial puppet and singing predictable, routine songs! …Baby One More Time has been covered by the likes of Travis and The Dresden Dolls and was listed (by Rolling Stone and MTV in 2000) as one of the twenty-five best Pop songs since 1963. VH1 ranked it as the second-best tracks of the 1990s and many ranked the video as one of the finest of the decade! The single sold over nine-million copies and remains one of the best-selling of all-time.

Right away, even with some weak albums on her debut album, Spears became a phenomenon and was seen as one of the most risqué, edgy and controversial female stars of the time. The drive of post-millennial teen Pop music was spearheaded (no pun intended!) by her and this was no fluke. Spears was not new to the industry when her debut single broke – she has worked as a Mouseketeer and was a well-known actor/singer – and Spears created the same kind of storm as Nirvana and Dr. Dre. MTV and the widespread airing of the music video ensured …Baby One More Time went down in history and Spears, like Madonna in a way, was seen as this figure who was a cross between child-friendly and sweet and this male fantasy – someone who was sexually desirable (despite the fact she was a teenager at the time!) but completely commanding and confident. Maybe songs like Toxic and You Drive Me Crazy are slightly stronger in some ways; …Baby One More Time arrived in the perfect place and time. If it were introduced today, I feel it would be a big hit but many might saw they were similar artists around and it was not as that uncommon. Music has seen the death of Grunge and Britpop and the sort of albums that were arriving in 1998 were very different to what Britney Spears was about.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Britney Spears backstage before her concert on the on the Oops!… I Did It Again Tour in Philadelphia on 7th July, 2000/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

With very few young Pop singers/bands about - aside from the likes of Backstreet Boys and TLC – I am not shocked …Baby One More Time made such an impact and opened up new horizons. We are all familiar with how Britney Spears developed and where her career would go – even now, twenty years later, she is still making music and is in the U.K. very soon. She has released some great singles/albums but none that have gained the same acclaim and interest as her debut offering. Spears helped bring about a new Pop wave and inspire many; it was this brilliant and eye-opening song that hit you and stayed in the head and, twenty years down the road, still evokes fond memories and compels you to sing alone (or at least mime!). I was still in high-school when the song was released (I am only a couple of years younger than Spears) and it was big news in the playground. A lot of my school peers were listening to whatever was in the charts or something like Five. Ace of Base were around and Moloko and Kid Rock appealed the ‘cooler’ kids. In the weeks before Britney Spears debut single; album releases from The Cardigans (Grand Turismo came out 1st October (1998) and Queens of the Stone Age (their eponymous record was out on 6th October).

It’s hard to put into words what today means to me… 20 years ago, the world heard my music for the very first time! So much has happened since then… but what I really want to say is thank you to my amazing fans who have been there for me since day 1... pic.twitter.com/oeMipXCSl9

— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) October 23, 2018

They sort of summed up what music was about until that point and aside from some fairly similar Pop acts – I think B*Witched were popular in 1998 – it was a very different music scene and one that was not quite prepared for Britney Spears. Some fairly accessible Pop from Cher, Billie and New Radicals sort of gave us a soft landing but, to be honest, Spears outgunned, outstripped and overtook them all. …Baby One More Time turned heads and opened eyes back in 1998 and, twenty years (and a day) after it was unreleased; have we seen a more impactful and instant Pop song? Surely there has not been a finer debut and I feel modern mainstream music could benefit from another Britney Spears.  I know Spears herself is proud of the song – a recent Tweet saw her mark the twentieth anniversary of the track – and I am sure she would be one of the first to say she has not really been able to better …Baby One More Time. It was a rare and brilliant song that came from nowhere and, even this many years on, is seen as one of the…

 IMAGE CREDIT: @britneyspears/Getty Images

FINEST Pop songs ever.  

FEATURE: Rumours and a Strange Tango in the Night: Can Fleetwood Mac Realistically Thrive Without Lindsey Buckingham?

FEATURE:

 

 

Rumours and a Strange Tango in the Night

 ALL IMAGE/PHOTO CREDITS (unless stated otherwise): Getty Images 

Can Fleetwood Mac Realistically Thrive Without Lindsey Buckingham?

__________

THE situation Fleetwood Mac finds themselves in…

reminds me of The Matrix. Neo, the protagonist, is offered the choice between a blue and red pill by the rebel leader, Morpheus. If he takes a red pill then he would be unleashed into an uncertain world and escape the machine-generated, dream-like world he is in. The blue pill would allow him to go into a beautiful prison – where he would be led to ignorance and live in confined comfort. In fact; maybe it is a bit like Alice in Wonderland. In any case; there is something tricky, unnatural and tense happening in the Fleetwood Mac camp!  The Matrix analogy might seem forced but there is a strange difference between the ‘classic’ Fleetwood Mac line-up we saw during the Rumours period and what we have now. The band’s ‘leader’ Lindsey Buckingham has been booted out of the band amidst rumours of scheduling conflicts. Buckingham, I believe, was due to record and promote a solo album and wanted to fit his Fleetwood Mac demands around that. The band were not happy and Stevie Nicks made it absolutely clear she did not want to perform on the same stage as Buckingham. The history between the former lovers is no secret. The tensions began before they recorded Rumours back in 1977 and, whilst there has been a relatively cordial working relationship since then; things have come to a head and it seems there is no way back.

It might be appropriate to turn a famous Buckingham-penned song back on him. Go Your Own Way, one of Rumours’ best songs has an unhappy irony now that Buckingham has been cast away and castigated. The fact Buckingham wanted to perform and is not happy about the situation has led to a lawsuit. This article explains the situation:

“Lindsey Buckingham — singer, songwriter and lead guitarist on and off since 1975 — is seeking millions of dollars in compensation from band mates Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and John McVie.

The mercurial musician, who wrote and sang the 1976 mega-hit Go Your Own Way, has made it clear he is not happy to go his own way.

In a 28-page lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and a recent interview, Buckingham has laid bare the astonishing extent to which he has fallen out with his former band mates — particularly singer Stevie Nicks, his ex-lover.

The case also reveals quite how lucratively popular the band remains.

Tickets to see them last Saturday in St Louis, Missouri, on their new tour cost up to $899 (£686). Meanwhile, the most expensive tickets to see Buckingham's current solo tour are less than a tenth that price.

According to Buckingham's lawsuit, each of the band's five members was to earn around $13 million from playing 60 shows over two years in a deal with a concert producer, Live Nation. He accuses his former band members of breaching their fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and 'international interference with prospective economic advantage'”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Herbert Worthington

It seems that tensions and disharmony are never far from the shores of Fleetwood Mac. I am not sure whether Nicks’ foot coming down was the deciding factor but it seems like Fleetwood Mac will carry on without Buckingham. Seeing as he has been part of the band for over four decades has created shockwaves and split fans. You can never really tell what truly split the band and whether there were other factors that influenced the decision to fire Buckingham. Maybe he felt he was the natural leader and could do what he wanted to do – the rest of the band were tired and felt he was hampering them. The fact Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks; John and Christine McVie remain in the band means you have most of Fleetwood Mac happily performing together. The fact, too, they have been this solid unit since, I guess, 1975 (bar a few spats and breaks between albums) is amazing. They have survived Rumours and tensions that followed and are resolved to take their show around the world with new band members Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Crowded House’s Neil Finn. Ultimate Classic Rock have run a piece that asks how the band will survive post-Buckingham and how Fleetwood Mac’s set will alter – given the fact a lot of their best-loved songs are Buckingham solos:

“Buckingham had been a bulwark for the band since the late-'90s reunion of its classic-era lineup, holding fast when Christine McVie took a lengthy break. Long before that, he'd helped reset their commercial fortunes upon arriving with Stevie Nicks in the '70s…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Fleetwood Mac with their new members Neil Finn (second left) and Mike Campbell (second right)/PHOTO CREDIT: Randee St Nicholas for Rolling Stone

“Then, in April 2018, he was out. Fleetwood Mac quickly announced that two people would join in Buckingham's place, Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, and then began plotting a huge tour.

On the one hand, this wasn't all that out of the ordinary: Fleetwood Mac have had more than their share of lineup changes, and they'd even added two other sidemen (Billy Burnette and Rick Vito) after a previous Buckingham departure. On the other hand, there's 1995's Buckingham-less Time, an unfocused, uninteresting misfire.

How many Buckingham songs – if any – do you expect the reformulated Fleetwood Mac to perform? Are there songs he wrote that feel like required entries?

MICHAEL GALLUCCI: If they're trying to distance themselves from Buckingham, they shouldn't play any of his songs. But I realize that won't happen. So they'll probably play a couple of the more band-oriented Buckingham cuts like "Go Your Own Way," which may be the only one fans really expect, now that I think about it.

NICK DERISO: I found the inclusion of "The Chain" in their initial preview performance on Ellen to be notable. The song, though credited to the entire band, prominently features Buckingham on vocals and guitar – but Fleetwood Mac weren't beholden to that. Mike Campbell's solo took the song in entirely new places. That says two things to me: Fleetwood Mac aren't going to shy away from Buckingham's stuff, and they're not afraid to put their own new stamp on it. Campbell's presence alone might open the door for a re-imagining of other Buckingham songs...

IN THIS PHOTO: Fleetwood Mac (L-R) bassist John McVie; keyboard player and vocalist Christine McVie; vocalist Stevie Nicks; guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and drummer and vocalist Mick Fleetwood stand together on stage after performing a concert on NBC's Today show in New York, U.S. on 9th October, 2014/PHOTO CREDIT: REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo  

On their last tours without Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac delved into material brought in by newer members like Dave Mason. Do you expect to hear Crowded House and Tom Petty songs?

GALLUCCI: Sure do. "Don't Dream It's Over" from Finn and "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" from Campbell are shoe-ins, I'd say. I'd guess at least a couple more from each of them too. Maybe Petty's "The Insider" – which, like "Draggin'" features Nicks – and "Something So Strong," the other Crowded House song people might know. Long shots: one of the songs Campbell wrote and performed with Don Henley, and Split Enz's "I Got You."

DERISO: It's actually rather astonishing how often Fleetwood Mac relied on material brought in by hired guns during the '90s-era absence of Buckingham – though it should be noted that both Nicks and McVie left during that period too. They did Mason's "We Just Disagree" and two songs by Traffic; they even covered a song by Billy Burnette's dad. It was embarrassing, really. Even so, if that trend held, we might hear a number of non-Fleetwood Mac tracks – and they'd once again risk losing no small amount of legitimacy by turning into a jukebox band”.

It seems like most of what makes Fleetwood Mac shine and inspire is being left but one cannot help notice the Lindsey Buckingham-shaped hole that remains. In spite of this; the band are planning tour dates next year.

The group have announced a run of dates that will see their new line-up perform some of the best-known Fleetwood Mac hits:

“Fleetwood Mac are to play the RDS Arena, Dublin, on June 13th, 2019, as part of a limited European tour

The veteran rock group are currently touring in the US without guitarist and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham after an acrimonious split. The line-up now features Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and guitarist Mike Campbellfrom The Heartbreakers, along with Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood.

The dates announced on Monday include concerts at Wembley Stadium and in Berlin

“We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realise that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style,” said Mick Fleetwood said in an interview in April.

“We know we have something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound.”

“We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the calibre of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family.” the band said in a statement.

“With Mike and Neil, we’ll be performing all the hits that the fans love, plus we’ll be surprising our audiences with some tracks from our historic catalogue of songs,” said the group collectively. Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honouring that spirit on this upcoming tour.”

The three dates announced on Monday are:

·         June 6th, 2019: Berlin, Waldbühne

·         June 13th, 2019: Dublin, RDS Arena

·         June 16th 2019: London, Wembley Stadium

Tickets ago on sale on Friday, October 26th at 9am”.

It is good to see any band endure tension and obstacles and come up the other side! The fact long-running bands like The Rolling Stones and The Who are still around and playing is that love of the music. It helps, of course, that the members get along and there is that bond. Others, such as Pink Floyd, seem unlikely to rekindle that spark and adding a new member would seem a strange and unpopular thing to do. There have been bands, like Queen, who have gone on with a different lead/member but it never seems right! The reason we fall for them is because of each member and you take one away and it loses its magic. Queen, obviously, are without Freddie Mercury and it is not the same – even with the talent and force of Adam Lambert belting out the songs! I guess bands like Fleetwood Mac cannot stop playing and go their separate ways if most of the members are together and happy. They are not performing for the money: they want to get the songs to new people and still love being around one another. One ‘bad apple’ or ill-fitting member cannot compromise the rest of the band so I do not begrudge Fleetwood Mac continuing. From a fan’s perspective, you have to ask whether a Fleetwood Mac gig sans Buckingham is an authentic and natural thing.

Although a lot of the band’s best songs were written by Nicks of (Christine) McVie; Buckingham’s contribution and impact cannot be underestimated. He voiced standards such as Big Love, Go Your Own Way and The Chain and it seems odd that he will not be singing them! The fact the two new members are bringing songs from their other bands, also, does not sit well. As good as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Crowded House were/are; you do not necessarily want to hear their songs played at a Fleetwood Mac gig! The reason I mentioned The Matrix and Alice in Wonderland earlier is because it seems like Fleetwood Mac 2.0 is an alternate reality or some weird dream. Would you stick with the new version of the band and live in some form of compromise or remember them as they were and return to the past?! Some might argue the point (that) Fleetwood Mac have not recorded new material since 2003 (Say You Will) and they are trotting out the same songs as we are all familiar with. That is all well and good but one assumes, at some juncture, the band will record new material. There is no use going on the road for years and that will be it – it has to lead to somewhere you’d imagine. I am a big Fleetwood Mac fan but could never consider seeing them live without Buckingham.

It is strange things ended so quickly and there has not been a clear and concise explanation as to why he is no longer welcome back in the ranks. Although you know Fleetwood Mac are, for the most part, still the band you always loved; there is something a little off not having Buckingham near the front. Maybe the new additions will be great and we’ll not have any issues but I do wonder why two new members were drafted. Buckingham has tried to open the lines of communication and get back into the band so it seems everyone else in Fleetwood Mac is making it difficult. It is a sorry sight to see one of their most important members given the silent treatment and, it seems, no longer a part of their plans. I think a Fleetwood Mac without Buckingham cannot really flourish and grow. I would hate to see the band record an album without them and the set-list will be changed. Will they do any song with Buckingham’s voice on or will Crowded House songs replace them?! There are so many things to consider and I am not sure whether the band will be able to create as memorable a show without Lindsey Buckingham as with him. I suppose one cannot live in the past and things do change now and then – even if you do not want them to. I wish the revised Fleetwood Mac the best of luck but the fact we will never hear (I assume) Go Your Own Way or Big Love again – without Buckingham at the least – leaves me very unsettled. I guess there might be a chance of a reunion but it seems the Fleetwood Mac we all know and love is…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Fleetwood Mac in 1977/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

NEVER going back again!  

FEATURE: Radio Reactive: Is Gender Equality in Radio Happening Too Slowly?

FEATURE:

 

 

Radio Reactive

 IN THIS PHOTO: Zoë Ball (who is set to take over from Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Is Gender Equality in Radio Happening Too Slowly?

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EVERY morning…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @fancycrave/Unsplash

I tune into BBC Radio 6 Music to hear Shaun Keaveny entertain and enlighten the nation – or grumble and moan a lot! That is what I love about him! He is a tremendous D.J. and, through the course of the day, I will listen to RadMac (Stuart Maconie is flying solo whilst Mark Radcliffe recovers from caner) and Steve Lamacq. Tom Ravenscroft has been standing in for Lauren Laverne and the female voices I hear between seven in the morning – before then, actually, as Chris Hawkins is on-air before Keaveny – and later in the evening are men. There are female producers and staff but how many female voices does one hear on the station? BBC Radio 6 Music is one of the fastest-rising options around and there are many reasons why it is my station of choice. I love the passion from the D.J.s and the close-knit bond between the producers and on-air talent. It terms of the music; there is a beautiful mix of genres and we get a combination of new and older sounds. There is gender equality regarding the songs played and, actually, there are a few great music news presenters on the station. Clare Crane and Elizabeth Alker are based in Salford (where a few of the shows broadcast from) and Georgie Rogers is based in London.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Georgie Rogers/PHOTO CREDIT: Georgie Rogers/BBC

I think they are all fantastic and do the station very proud; Matt Everitt, the station’s longest-running music news presenter (who is on Keaveny’s show) is brilliant but it is good there are some very talent women giving us our daily dose of music news goodness. I think they all have their own style and I feel Rogers especially could helm her own show. I think Elizabeth Alker has a Classical music show on BBC Radio 3 and you feel Clare Crane could take on her own show. Apart from a major mistake regarding RadMac – they are moving from weekday afternoons to weekend mornings -; there has been some positive change regarding women at the station. Mary Anne Hobbs moves from the weekends to weekday mornings whilst Lauren Laverne takes over Shaun Keaveny’s breakfast slot – he moves to the soon-to-be-vacated RadMac 1-4 P.M. slot. It is great see Laverne helm breakfast as it means she is the first woman on the station to be in that slot. I also like the fact Hobbs has been ‘promoted’ and allowed more airtime. There are great women on BBC Radio 6 Music: Cerys Matthews, Liz Kershaw and Lamé are essential additions to the station and show, with their talent and popularity, there needs to be more women at BBC Radio 6 Music. I love male D.J.s on the station like Hawkins, Keaveny; Gideon Coe and Ravenscroft – each of them has their place is exceptional at what they do.

IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Lamé/PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Writtle for Evening Standard

I feel, however, there is more passion and personality coming from the women at the station. There is more humour and warmth; something about their drive and connection with the listeners stands in the mind longer. I wonder whether the male dominance at the station will redress and, given the fact they have promoted two prominent female D.J.s on the station; will that lead to improvement and continued evolution?! I do not like to ask, but I am assuming the women on the station are paid less than their male counterparts. I am not sure whether experience and time slot dictates the wages but there one knows most women in radio are paid less than men. BBC Radio 6 Music is among a slew of stations that are exceptional at what they do but are not utilising the wealth of female talent out there. It was recently announced that Simon Mayo was leaving BBC Radio 2 and, at present, he presents the drive-time show with Jo Whiley. One of the comments he left on Twitter was regarding abuse levied at Whiley. She was targeted and trolled because she was presenting that slot and it shows that not only is under-representation an issue but sexism reigns. Besides the fact the chemistry between them is a little off; the format does not do credit to their combined experience and talent.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jo Whiley/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

I feel, if anything Whiley is the star of that show and brings a lot more professionalism, likeability and grace to the listeners. I know she is being given an evening slot but I wonder why she could not take on the drive-time show herself?! I have confronted this issu before – inequality in radio – and ask why there are not that many women in drive-time slots. Given what we know about pay gaps and how some male D.J.s have reacted – including BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans leaving to go to Virgin – and what we have seen published in the press; it seems alarming that, alongside the pay gulf comes this lack of trust regarding women. I am seeing improvements come into the big stations but is it quick enough?! BBC Radio 2, like BBC Radio 6 Music, has a female breakfast presenter from 2019. Zoë Ball is going to wake up the nation very soon and it is a big move forward for the station. I feel Sara Cox would have been a better choice but I wonder why she is not being talked about to fill the upcoming drive-time show change. She would be perfect for that time slot but I feel calls will go unanswered and it will be a male D.J. in that slot. I have to wonder whether Ball will get the same wages as Chris Evans when she takes over.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sara Cox/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

I know Evans’ cachet and commitment commands him a lot of money but Ball has been in radio for years and should get the same. On every big station, there is that problem with pay and gender inequality. I would like to see D.J.s like Sara Cox, Claudia Winklemann and Zoë Ball seen as figureheads and part of a new revolution. Each D.J. has their own personality and they are all fantastic. I am not going to say that every female D.J./talent on radio is better than men but, as I say, you get more warmth and passion from them. From BBC Radio 6 Music to BBC Radio 2; the best and most promising D.J.s, I feel, are women. The fact they form a minority of the stations’ line-ups worries me a lot. I suspect improvement will come in years to come but, as both stations have had shifts and line-up changes; why were there not more in regards women and balancing things out?! Although BBC Radio 1 is a little more aware and proactive regarding women in big shows – Mollie King and Annie Mac are among the station’s best personalities – I still think there is a way to go there. I am not suggesting instant remedy but I think, by 2020, we should have an equal split in terms of gender on ALL of the big BBC stations – including BBC Radio 6 Music.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @adigold1/Unsplash

There are going to be issues around pay but I feel, in terms of time slot, there should be gender equality. Maybe pay is dictated by experience but women should not be overlooked and paid less because of their gender. If a female D.J. has been on the station the same time as a man; the pay should be exactly the same! I am pleased there have been changes regarding breakfast shows but I have to wonder whether this is piecemeal regarding genuine equality. Beside an all-female radio station, JACK, being launched is the radio business still a male-dominated forum?! Through the last few years; there have been enough articles outlining the facts: women are not provided the same rights as men and paid less. Although this article is five years old; there has not been great improvement regarding numbers and ratio:

“Fresh evidence of a gender imbalance in UK radio has been revealed by a survey showing that 20% of shows hosted by a solo presenter involve female broadcasters.

The ratio of women to men on radio declines even further when it comes to shows with multiple presenters, such as the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, where Sarah Montague is the only woman among the five regular hosts, alongside John Humphrys, James Naughtie, Evan Davis and Justin Webb…

 IN THIS PHOTO: John Humphrys/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Sound Women, a campaigning group lobbying for a better gender balance in radio, found listeners were 10 times more likely to hear male voices than female ones on shows hosted by two or more people.

It also surveyed 20 of Britain's most successful female broadcasters, including Jo Whiley, Clare Balding and Annie Nightingale, and found that none of them had been asked if they would like to co-present with a woman rather than a man.

Asked which female presenter she would like to go on air with, Montague chose the BBC's economics editor, Stephanie Flanders, the presenter of Radio 4's Woman's Hour Jane Garvey, and the former BBC Breakfast host Sian Williams.

Nightingale, the longest-serving Radio 1 DJ, chose Fi Glover as her dream female co-host. She agreed there should be more women on radio but said: "You don't want just want to be there to make up the numbers. You want to be there because you are the best person for the job."

It took Nightingale four years from first applying to getting the job as Radio 1's first female DJ. It took another 12 years before the second, Janice Long, was appointed”.

It is shocking seeing the figures in black-and-white and I wonder, if we saw a report now, whether there would be a huge difference. I do not think so. There might be more women coming into radio boardrooms and in management positions – there are a lot of great female producers – but, when it comes to being on the air…how many women are we hearing daily?!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Vick Hope/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

I am baffled why it is so hard to an equality and why there cannot be that balance. There are plenty of wonderful female D.J.s who could do solo shows or be part of a partnership. Even when big stations do one-off shows and documentaries; most are from men and that is another area that can be addressed. D.J. Vick Hope – who co-hosts the breakfast show on Capital FM and is an award-winning journalist/D.J. did a piece for Marie Claire that outlined her experiences:

“…Now consider this: in the long history of male-female duos, the man almost exclusively sits at mic 1; the woman at mic 2. Incredible, right? So, without question, the man is in control, meaning that until he decides to switch her on, the woman across the desk from him essentially has no voice.

For me it’s what this mechanical fact represents that stings. I was told this six years ago when, fresh out of university and full of ambition, I attended a talk for budding broadcasters at the BBC led by Woman’s Hour anchor Jane Garvey. At 21, excitedly embarking upon my broadcasting journey, it hit me hard. Why, I thought, are producers and programmers not questioning an ingrained power structure that subconsciously silences women. Regardless of their talent or drive, the message is clear: ‘Know your place… because that’s just how it is.’

Six years into the industry, challenging this antiquated assertion has become a daily battle for me. Yes, I work with fantastic TV and radio teams, my job is a dream, I love my colleagues and, to be clear, I’m not pointing fingers here at any companies in particular. But there remains an inherent systemic problem that’s lamentably become the norm…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rawpixel/Unsplash

Why does an overwhelmingly male office of production staff raise so few eyebrows? Why is it still acceptable that the only female producer is still relegated to tea runs and answering the phones, or that an almost entirely male presenter line-up goes unchallenged for just looking plain weird. Because, come on, in 2018, it does. Really weird.

Together, we can put pressure on our employers to do better, to represent the rich diversity of the audience they serve, to stop painting women as sidekicks, as appendages or accessories to men. Otherwise, we risk other young women sitting in talks like I did six years ago thinking, ‘I know my place, and it’s not here”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rawpixel/Unsplash

It is good to hear, first-hand how sturdy the glass ceiling is. It makes people think and, as Hope says; things need to change and proactive debate/lobbying can see changes come through. There are a lot of smaller stations – most of them Internet-based – that have a balance between men and women and I feel they should act as an example as how things are done. In terms of all the biggest stations out there – including Capital FM, Radio X and Absolute Radio – it is predominantly men; most of them are white and middle-aged. I shall address age and race in a separate piece but the homogenisation and clear sexism needs to change very soon! There are some illuminating radio documentaries that show the sexism in the arts and how women are (mis)treated. The fact there has been some changes in breakfast radio is good to see but there is a long way to go before the nuclear inequality is made safe and we see a radio industry where women are equal. There are, as I stated, more women coming into the boardrooms but production teams and most of the radio heads are men. I wonder whether, in addition to direct changes at the stations, there needs to be some grassroots education at a foundational level. From school syllabuses to music colleges; do we all need to show the issue at hand and encourage greater parity?

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jenni Murray and Fi Glover of Woman’s Hour/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

There are plenty of women out there speaking loud and directly campaigning but do men need to do more?! I have tried to get onto Woman’s Hour and have a say regarding this but have not been contacted. It seems a lot of women are doing what they can but men are not coming forward – or there is a feeling men do not know what they are talking about and are insincere. I want to bring in this article from 2014 and compare it to the one we have seen from Vick Hope. Although there have been some changes between 2014 and now; look at the words below and we have seen little visible improvement:

“One cold, early morning earlier this year, Lilley Mitchell, 29, found herself standing in the kitchen of a stranger's house in Oxford, looking out onto his water-sogged back garden and expressing disbelief.

Right in front of her eyes, water was creeping up to the back of the house. Any minute now, it would spill into the kitchen.

Lilley was witnessing the cold reality of the Oxford floods. On one of her first assignments for BBC Radio Oxford, Lilley was right in the middle of the biggest story of the day in her area.

As far as local radio goes, Lilley realised it doesn't get much more 'real' than this.

She is one of a handful of 'rising stars' picked out by the BBC as part of its drive to get more women onto the airwaves. The broadcaster hopes that by giving talented female 'rookies' a chance to try out reporting in local patches, it will make room for other female reporters to move up the career ladder or branch into different roles; such as co-presenting their own show”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @csbphotography/Unsplash

There are ‘women in radio’ courses that actively encourage women to get into the business but that raises questions whether radio stations are hiring women because of tokenism or quotas:

“The BBC 'women in radio' courses, which took place in Birmingham, Salford and London, came about after Lord Tony Hall, the broadcaster's director general, last year made it one of the organisation's priorities to boost the number of women presenting local radio breakfast programmes.

As of April 2014 – the latest figures available – some 32 per cent of breakfast shows now have female presenters. In just eight months, there's been some improvement. As Mr Hall states, the broadcaster is "heading in the right direction".

But breaking these figures down, the 12 per cent rise equates to just five women. Four of those are solo presenters (Emma Britton on Somerset;Etholle George on Suffolk; Nicky Price on Norfolk and Georgey Spanswick of York) and one is co-presenting (Lizzie Rose on Humberside).

 IN THIS PHOTO: Former BBC executive Helen Boaden/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Even Helen Boaden, the director of BBC Radio, (which provides national radio stations), has said there is a "danger" that women are brought in to the BBC – whether it's presenting a radio programme or appearing on a comedy panel show – to boost numbers, rather than because they are categorically the right person for the job”.

Some defend the imbalance and say radio station hire who they think is best for the job as opposed a blanket gender equality – that suggests either women are discouraged from getting into radio or the ones here are untalented and not as skilled as men. I know well enough there are plenty of keen and talented women in radio who are not being recognised and noted as much as the men. The fact alarming figures show an imbalance makes many women feel they will not get very far at all – many are turning to podcasts to have their say and be heard; fearing mainstream and local radio will not hire them.

Another school of thought revolves around women and childcare. Some say women, obviously, will want children and that comprised their long-term reliability. Childcare is readily available and I feel it is not an issue that should affect gender equality:

“There are some excellent examples of women who juggle childcare with breakfast show presenting – including Radio 5 Live's Rachel Burden, who says that working (very) early mornings allows her to see her kids in the afternoons.

But for other mums, the hours just don't suit, Holdsworth says.

"Some women specify they can only do a certain time of the day. The other thing we have difficulty with is someone who wishes not to be on air five times a week; if they're not appearing every day it makes it harder.

"Inevitably, where mothers are the main childcarer in their family, this could exclude women for a part of their careers. They need to have the confidence to come back in."

And do mothers, generally, have the confidence to come back? More broadly, could it be the case, for example, that women – mothers and non-mothers – are holding themselves back from putting themselves forwards for radio roles?

Holdsworth says: "I think both women and men hold themselves back. The one issue we have identified with some women, though, is a fear of the technical side of radio”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @hsfju/Unsplash

The problem regarding women not being fairly represented in radio is not limited to the U.K. From Australian thorough to America; it is clear there is a worldwide issue that needs tackling. There are courses that urge women forward but I feel immediate changes can happen at the biggest station that will do more good than courses – it proves there is a place for women and equality is possible. Making changes to breakfast line-ups is great and a positive steps but look at the other time slots and how many male faces there are (compared to women) and it is clear a lot more needs to be done! From music news presenters like Georgia Rogers to on-air talent like Sara Cox and Liz Kershaw – are we doing enough to create a fifty-fifty balance in the industry?! I feel change is being talked about but not enough is being done. Until there is a retuning and big wake-up call; radio will be seen as a boys’ club and will discourage women from getting into the business. The plethora of brilliant women in radio shows what potential there is and, if we lose them from the airwaves; that will have a damaging and profound effect…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @clemono2/Unsplash

ON us all.  

FEATURE: Dissillusions: Is Bringing Musicians Back to Life Through Holographic Projection Morally Right?

FEATURE:

 

 

Dissillusions

IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse captured in 2004/PHOTO CREDIT: Karen Robinson 

Is Bringing Musicians Back to Life Through Holographic Projection Morally Right?

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THIS is one of these subjects that can really divide people…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse photoed in 2003/PHOTO CREDIT: Karen Robinson 

depending on your ethical viewpoint. Amy Winehouse is the latest deceased musician to get the holographic treatment. Winehouse died in 2011 and, naturally, people miss her and long to see her perform again. There have been rare songs released and a collection of half-finished cuts brought to the public. A documentary about her life, Amy, was released a few years back and it has been announced a biopic of the singer will start work fairly soon. I was a bit shocked to discover a biopic was being considered because Winehouse is that unique character who cannot be easily replicated. One wonders who will play her and whether that portrayal will be able to get within miles of who she was and why she captivated people. The news she is to go ‘on tour’ in the form of a hologram sent shivers up my spine. You can say it is good people get to see her tour again but the fact she is dead and what we are seeing is some weird spirit on the stage, to me, doesn’t sit right. The Guardian’s Laura Barton reacted to the news and asked, as I am, whether ‘resurrecting’ stars is ethical and moral:

“It has been announced that Winehouse will return to the stage once again in 2019, touring the world in hologram form. Winehouse is not the first artist to receive the hologram treatment – there have already been such incarnations of Tupac Shakur, Maria Callas, Michael Jackson and more. But the decision to turn Winehouse into a hologram, seven years after her death from alcohol poisoning, has divided many. For some this is a celebration of a great and much-missed musician. Others argue that an artist who loathed touring and hated fame should be allowed to rest…

 

In the case of Winehouse, proceeds from the tour will be channelled into the Amy Winehouse Foundation, the charity established after her death to aid vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, particularly those coping with substance abuse and emotional problems. The singer’s father, Mitch Winehouse, is the executor of Winehouse’s estate and chair of the foundation, and was intimately involved in negotiations for the hologram tour. It was just a couple of years after her death that he was first approached with the idea. “It was way too early,” says Mitch. “At that time, I could barely watch a video of Amy, never mind a hologram. I completely dismissed it out of hand.”

How we remember Winehouse – or any artist – is an interesting matter. Alongside next year’s hologram tour, there will be a new film about her life, made by Alison Owens, and Mitch Winehouse, who has been critical of Kapadia’s documentary, hopes that it will offer a more tender portrait of the singer. “Alison is the mum of Lily Allen, who herself has had struggles,” he says. “It couldn’t be in more considerate and caring hands.” Mitch also has absolute approval from Base over his daughter’s virtual image. There will be no drinking on stage, he tells me. “Amy will be portrayed at her best”.

One can claim some of Winehouse’s later performances were unfocused and shambolic – given her alcohol addiction and personal problems.

Whilst there were some ragged and controversial shows; when she was at her best and most composed; there was nobody who could project the same sense of wonder, emotion and realness. You felt like you were hearing sermons and soulful revelations from an artist free from bullsh*t and ego. This was a performer who gave her all to the music and, when on the stage, wanted the audience to see that. It was not so much a case of bringing them into songs and making them part of her words: it was a chance to see this physical being express what was inside her and watch that come out in a very primal and human way. The fact you were, literally, in the same space as Amy Winehouse was what made her such a popular and wonderful performer. Although she was only with us for twenty-seven years; I feel this eternal preservation through holographic representation is morally suspect. It is okay her family have approved this venture and there is money going to Winehouse’s foundation. I applaud the charity angle and the fact Winehouse going on tour as this disembodied projection will raise money to help others but one feels a tribute concert could have done the same thing. One might say having others performer her songs in memory of her treads the same ethical lines as a hologram Winehouse but I sharply disagree.

 IN THIS IMAGE: Gorillaz/IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images

There is concert footage of Amy Winehouse and archive material of her. Her records are out there and the hologram that will go touring is not going to give us anything new. You cannot add much to what has already been performed and I wonder whether people who will literally buy into these concerts are doing it for the right reasons. Are they merely there to witness something strange and new or do they genuinely want to support Winehouse and what she stood for?! I still think artists should be left alone but, alas, it seems like nobody is safe. I have covered this topic before and, last time, asked whether there are benefits to holographic versions of stars. Strangely, one can unite disparate deceased in a single performance. You could revive any dead artist and put them together with someone else to create this weird and one-off performance. The only way holograms and these kind of ideas sit well with me is if the artist is living. Consider Gorillaz who, as we know, are sort of cartoon/projection characters with real, living voices. When you see a Gorillaz concert you know the voices and instruments you see are from real people and that is part of the illusion. It is an inventive and new way of turning real musicians into cartoon versions. It has been suggested that holographs could be a way for living musicians to perform around the world without having to travel. If they are ill, exhausted or unable to perform then maybe this is a solution.

I am all for technology advancing music and open to any innovation but live performance, as its name suggests, is about the living and the audience being in close proximity to the artist they paid to see. I do not see much point seeing a hologram performing in any case and if you are struggling to perform then you need to take some time out and recuperate. Unfortunately, Amy Winehouse is in good company when it comes to being turned into a hologram. There is a school of thought that suggests holograms – whether that word is a misnomer or truly accurate – are the way forward and there is a definite appetite for them. There is a theatrical side to it and it certainly does something new with the concept of a live show. If you want to enhance music and use technology this way; ensuring only living artists are involved avoids any moral issues and avoids it being too creepy. An article from Noisey looked at the evolution of holograms and talked about ethical implications:

“When it comes to creepiness, there’s also a moral implication of bringing a celebrity back from the dead and making profit from their image. One suspects Michael Jackson may have been thrilled by his showstopping performance at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards – made by Pulse Evolution, the company Textor started with other facial animation team members from Digital Domain when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But what might Billie Holiday, who died in 1959, think about playing at noon everyday on the Hollywood Boulevard at $22-$32 a pop? Is the fact we can’t ask her – or Jackson – reason enough not to do it? And isn’t the whole thing a little macabre?

IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Holiday in 1938/PHOTO CREDIT: Underwood & Underwood/Corbis  

“Look, Billie Holiday or anyone of our deceased celebrities are performers, right?” says a slightly exasperated Alki, sounding like a man who’s heard this question more than a few times since he entered the burgeoning industry in 2012. “They lived for the limelight, so an ability to continue after death would be something they’d want.” So the thought never troubles him? “Personally, no. Does it create controversy with people? Sure it does. We embrace the controversy because it kickstarts the conversation and creates awareness”.

Another odd thing about holograms if the fact it is sort of a commercial Heaven. Artists can obtain this immortality and continue to make money – for their estate – long after they die and proves, in music, there is life (of a sort) after death. One of my big problems is the artist does not consent – the same is true of biopics. I am uneasy with estates and families speaking for the artist and taking decisions out of their hands. I think Winehouse would object to her going on the road as a hologram; Roy Orbison would be a bit weirded-out and I am sure there are few deceased artists who would actively welcome them being kept on life support through this new technology. How long has the idea of a musician hologram been around? How far has it come? This article looks at that point:

“Five years after his death, Michael Jackson stole the show. He always did when he was alive, and it was no different during Sunday night's Billboard Music Awards (BBMA), when a holographic MJ joined a five-piece band and 16 dancers onstage.

He wasn't the first. When hologram technology emerged two years ago, it seemed like a fad. Now it's a trend of resurrection so common it might just be the future of the industry…

It began in April 2012, when a virtual Tupac Shakur took the stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. It was the first time a hologram had been used in a live performance for such a huge American crowd, and the first time hologram technology was used to ressurrect a dead singer.

The technology is widely celebrated, but the principle is a little more troubling. Bringing back the dead has always been treacherous ground to tread. In robotics, there's a concept called the "uncanny valley," where a digital or robotic likeness of a human is cool until it looks just enough like a real person, at which point it becomes terrifying. Think about any of Pixar's human caricatures, and now think about the Polar Express.

There's also the disturbing symbolism of the whole practice. This may be the future of entertainment, but perhaps it will never sit well. It takes months and long hours to create a likeness (and we will get faster), but it takes years of full life to build the real thing”.

I might come around to the concept of holograms if there was a way of utilising living artists and doing something impossible in real life.

I am always going to be suspect and uneasy with departed musicians because it has that creepy and synthetic quality. A final article agrees with my moral hesitation and asks whether the technology is actually fully-realised:

“I guess I’d be a little more inclined to open my mind to the hologram concert idea if it were more to recreate a particular historical musical moment in the most realistic way possible. If offered the chance to “be there” when Led Zeppelin played three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, just to name one example, I’d probably bite at it. Live Aid: The Hologram Experience, anyone?

But we’re a long, long way off from hologram technology being anywhere even remotely close to having the capability to “re-create” a full show like that. And I’m not sure we should even try. Maybe things happen and we miss them and that’s OK. Maybe our favorite singers just die and they can “live on” in video footage or through actually living musicians who cover their work. As we’ve learned so often from our technological advances, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should”.

Other people will have their views and say this is a way of preserving artists and ensuring they reach new audiences. Others will state holograms are a chance for people to experience artists in a new light and get to see something nobody else has. I respect some people are open-minded to this concept and see light in it but I feel leaving artists like Amy Winehouse alone is doing more to her memory than reimagining her – whether that is via holographic form or a biopic. Artists need to have a say regarding their life/work and holograms do not give them that chance. The technology might improve and I may come around to the idea but, right now, the idea of reviving a lost musician in this fashion…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @russbaum/Unsplash

LEAVES me somewhat cold.  

FEATURE: Twelve Years of Silence to See a Perfect Prologue... Kate Bush’s Aerial: A Return from the ‘Wilderness’

FEATURE:

 

 

Twelve Years of Silence to See a Perfect Prologue…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush (2005)/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton/National Portrait Gallery, London

Kate Bush’s Aerial: A Return from the ‘Wilderness’

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MY rationing regarding Kate Bush has had to be revised…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

because November is a busy month in terms of her album anniversaries! I will not put up another feature regarding her albums until next year but I wanted to look at Aerial because, not only is it thirteen on 7th November, but few people actually expected it to be released! The fact she has a book of lyrics coming out and is a series of remastered albums before the end of the year suggests any notion Bush is a reclusive and quiet artist should be put to rest. Although she has not released a studio album since 2011’s 50 Words for Snow; the fact she is gearing up for fresh activity suggests she is in the sort of mood to at least tease a new album – who knows what next year will bring?! I am sure something, in some form, will arrive next year but we must be patient! Her album, The Red Shoes, came out in 1993 and that was after an four-year gap (The Sensual World was released in 1989). There were reasons why there was a bit of a hiatus after The Sensual World. Although Bush was never known for her consistent series of albums; she has released two albums in 1978; one in 1980; another in 1982 and another in 1985 – five albums in seven years is quite a lot from someone who was putting her all into every note!

 IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images

1982’s The Dreaming took its toll and Bush needed to relocate to the country to find new energy, space and impetus. Hounds of Love was a great and rewarding experience but, again, one that took energy from her. By the time she had finished with that, and after heavy promotion, got down to recording The Sensual World; you could tell there were some strains and a need for a rest. 1993’s The Red Shoes was a strange album that saw various tragedies and personal issues affect the material and influence her after the album was released. Look back at the albums that came before and you can see leaps and evolutions between each. The Red Shoes was a bit of a step back and, to many, remains one of her weaker albums (that and Lionheart (1978) usually get considered her worst). There are some great moments on the record – Rubberband Girl and Moments of Pleasure – but it was not on the same level as the likes of The Sensual World and Hounds of Love. Maybe there was too much pressure to change or top what had come before; a need to adapt to 1990s technology – the production was quite edgy and ‘modern’ – and take a step in a new direction. Whatever her reasoning; some were a bit cold regarding the album and it was a rather rough creative spell.

  IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images

People were used to gaps between albums but there was not the four/five year gap that had had come before. The Red Shoes is the only record from Kate Bush from the 1990s and, by the time the new millennium came around; many wondered whether the icon has retired and was done with music. I listen back to The Red Shoes and it is one of those albums that is sort of half-and-half: there are four of five classic Kate Bush songs that are wonderful but then the rest sits between the average and under-par. Maybe a sense of dissatisfaction and critical infidelity got to her and she needed to retrench and find some new solution. The death of her mother around the time the album came out made a huge impact and she split with her long-time boyfriend Del Palmer. It was a tough time for sure and one can understand Kate Bush wanting time to reflect and breathe. The announcement of a new album in 2005 took many by surprise, that is for sure! In the twelve years between records, to be fair, Bush was busy raising a family (her son Bertie was born in 1998) and enjoying a more domesticated, maternal life. Domesticity and a more settled nature affects the material on the double-album, Aerial. Mrs. Bartolozzi is a paen to a washing machine and cleaning.

Make what you want of the potential sexual references regarding entangles clothes succumbing to suds – that sort of double-meaning and cheekiness has always been part of her work. On the album’s first side, Bush opens with the determined, hypnotic and assured King of the Mountain; she, literally, rattles off the number of pi on π and ends with the splendid A Coral Room. Although it is a fairly conventional side of music; the music and lyrics take us in a new direction. Certainty, there are few similarities between The Red Shoes’ songs and what we find on Aerial! The production on 2005’s Aerial is quite modern and fresh but has a warmth and old-fashioned naturalness that is wholly appropriate. The music has that familial and gentle quality. This is Kate Bush in a more settled and content life; she is singing about family, nature and everything around her. With Del Palmer engineering and Kate Bush producing – the former lovers still have a fond and dedicated working relationship – it is a record that sounds as accomplished and consistent as any she ever put out. Most artists, after twelve years away, might come back a little rusty and would take a few more records to find their former feet.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @firstmohican/Unsplash

If The Red Shoes was not a great fit; Aerial is a freer and more sumptuous album. There are fewer weak moments and the music is a lot richer, deeper and more intriguing. I love most of the first half but sometimes skip over Bertie and Joanni. No song on Aerial can be truly considered poor: conversely, it is one of Kate Bush’s most pleasing works and sounds like she has taken all the stresses, doubts and strains of the period after The Red Shoes and mixed them into the album! A new album from Bush, coupled with a more settled and family-orientated life, did not mean a tepid and restrained songwriter. Songs about washing machines, literally rattling off numbers and projecting the most wild and odd imagery showed she had lost none of her potent touch! An Endless Sky of Honey, the second side, is her first concept suite since Hounds of Love in 1985. Where that conceptual arc was about a woman being stranded at sea and trying to stay awake in hope of rescue; Aerial’s storyline is an immersion into the beauty of nature; an embrace of birds, bees; the sky, sea and everything in-between. Like its first side; An Endless Sky of Honey has endless warmth, grace and adventure. In many ways, Aerial’s concept is grander and more startling than Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave. Both relate to the natural world in their own way but there is no struggle and need for survival: a more enriched and recharged Bush is positively opening her imagination and taking the listener with her!

The second side charts a day in the world: from the rising sun and morning birds to the dawning night and silent darkness. It is more like a Classical symphony than a conventional ‘Pop’ concept. Maybe inspired by Pink Floyd and some of their most ambitious moments; one’s mind is boggled by all the detail, invention and beauty throughout the forty-two minute suite. It is testament to Bush’s command that people sit through it and immerse themselves in the music. As I say; it is like a Classical epic that requires you to sit still and digest every note and reflection. Such a contrast to the first side; in some ways, it seems like a perfect accompaniment. If Bush was keen to engage and hook listeners with more straight-forward (if strange) songs on the first side; the second is a chance to unwind and experience this beguiling and wonderful thing! On 7th November, 2005, the world snapped up a new Kate Bush album, not really knowing what to expect and whether it would be an improvement on The Red Shoes. Critics, largely, heaped praise on Aerial and proclaimed it a return to form for the enigmatic musician. The Guardian had their say:

“Aerial sounds like an album made in isolation. On the down side, that means some of it seems dated. You can't help feeling she might have thought twice about the lumpy funk of Joanni and the preponderance of fretless bass if she got out a bit more. But, on the plus side, it also means Aerial is literally incomparable. You catch a faint whiff of Pink Floyd and her old mentor Dave Gilmour on the title track, but otherwise it sounds like nothing other than Bush's own back catalogue. It is filled with things only Kate Bush would do. Some of them you rather wish she wouldn't, including imitating bird calls and doing funny voices: King of the Mountain features a passable impersonation of its subject, Elvis, which is at least less disastrous than the strewth-cobber Aussie accent she adopted on 1982's The Dreaming. But then, daring to walk the line between the sublime and the demented is the point of Kate Bush's entire oeuvre. On Aerial she achieves far, far more of the former than the latter. When she does, there is nothing you can do but willingly succumb”.

Entertainment Weekly, meanwhile, were keen to share their thoughts:

“Maturity hasn’t dulled Kate Bush’s propensity for musical loopiness. Twelve years after her last album, she is still besotted by all the wonders of this good green earth. On the sprawling but focused Aerial, she is a sprite flitting across verdant, languorous soundscapes, cooing along with the birdsong and extolling the virtues of her son, the beauty of numbers — even doing the wash — all the while mesmerizing with her controlled whimsy and intricate arrangements that never overwhelm her voice. Considering the length of her hiatus, this is a remarkable surprise”.

There is another positive review from Rolling Stone:

“Featuring songs about Elvis, mathematics, her son and a washing machine, the first disc rarely rises above a musical whisper. The second, a conceptual work that follows nature's course from afternoon to sunrise, slowly builds via fantastically gorgeous strings, a brief smattering of Spanish guitar, one slinky protracted groove built for "Nocturne," and a duet of laughter and birdcalls on the throbbing title track. Akin to recent Antony and the Johnsons and latter-day Talk Talk, Aerial doesn't deliver anything resembling a conventional pop tune. And this suits Bush just fine”.

There was no shortage of love for Kate Bush and her marvellous return! People were keen to add their comments and, as with all of her albums; Aerial is a work that needs to be played in full and listened the whole way through. The fact An Endless Sky of Honey has multiple parts but you can only stream/buy it is a single album shows how she wants her audience to listen to each part – it would sound disjointed and odd if you picked an odd song here and there!

Bush would not leave us with such a length gap before she followed up Aerial with 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. That album, as the title suggests, took on a wintery theme and saw Bush, again, stick a concept. Her modern work is more synonymous with unified and singular themes – in the sense there is not a collection of disconnected tracks – and it is interesting to see what comes next. One hopes there is not another five years to wait until we see a follow up to 50 Words for Snow but, as I say, it seems like there is activity brewing in the Kate Bush camp. We will wait with interest to see what forms and arrives but I wanted to look at Aerial some thirteen years after its release. One waited almost as long to see that album arrive after The Red Shoes and listening to Aerial in 2018 is a startling thing. The album continues to reveal its treasures and stories and I am amazed she was able to produce something as brilliant as she did. That sounds condescending but it was like being back in the mid-1980s and a refreshed Bush striking rare heights! She left us waiting for a while but it was wonderful seeing her return triumphantly after twelve years. What happens next is down to her but I feel we will get something pretty soon. Kate Bush could have retired from music or released something underwhelming but, with 2005’s Aerial; she confounded everyone and produced an album that reminded everyone…

 IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images

WHY we love her so.  

FEATURE: (Not in Our) House Music: How Noise and Resident Complaints Are Threatening Brilliant Venues

FEATURE:

 

 

(Not in Our) House Music

PHOTO CREDIT: @5tep5/Unsplash 

How Noise and Resident Complaints Are Threatening Brilliant Venues

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WE are aware there are a lot of venues closing…

around the country - and it is hard to pinpoint an exact reason why this is happening! In some cases, there is a lack of demand and popularity that means venues cannot afford to keep going. In other instances; there are factors around licensing and legalities; some close because of a change of management and, whatever the reason behind venues closing, it is sad to see this happen. Some have their theories as to why small venues, especially, are closing and why the live music landscape is getting poorer. This article, written last year for The Guardian assessed the damage and theorised one reason why some venues are closing:

“But for the past five years Total Refreshment Centre has been under the perpetual threat of losing its space in the relentless redevelopment of London’s east. In the last decade alone more than half of London’s 430 music venues that traded in London between 2007 and 2015 have followed a similar path – toppled by planning regulations, noise abatement rulings, the juggernauting cost of land in the capital, not to mention the great outlay of booking bands and staging gigs. It’s a similar story outside of London too: across the UK, music venues that have flourished for decades have begun to disappear.

This week, the Music Venue Trust, the charity that supports the interests of Britain’s small music venues, questioned Arts Council England’s decision to reject its application for funding. The trust argues that while Arts Council England does much to support new music, with money for the internet radio station NTS, live-streaming Boiler Room and contemporary music curators Capsule to name but three, 85% of its music funding has been allotted to opera and classical music, according to the charity, with £96m given to the Royal Opera House alone. With the next round of funding applications in 2022, it’s hard not to foresee that many more small music venues might close in the next four years”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @foulsterr/Unsplash

It is hard to say how bad the problem can get and whether a turnaround can happen – there is a very real issue and I do wonder how long it will be until all our grassroot venues are lost. This report investigated London’s grassroot venues and hoe extreme the issue of closures are:

“35% of London's grassroots music venues have been lost since 2007. Music helps make London a dynamic city. Our music scene is second to none and this decline needs to stop if London is going to continue to be a city that nurtures, creates and enjoys a world famous live music scene.

The Mayor and London's Night Czar are leading the city-wide charge to support and protect London's important grassroots music venues and make London the world’s best music city.

Impact of business rates on London grassroots music venues

A fifth of London’s grassroots music venues could be forced to close due to business rates increases.

A further 18 of London’s 94 grassroots music venues are expected to experience significant financial challenges. In total, these 39 venues account for up to 530 jobs and generate up to £21.5m for the capital’s economy.

On top of this, an additional 23 venues are at risk of having to cut the number of new artists they book, instead opting to put on safer, more-established artists that generate higher sales.

Together, these grassroot music venues account for at least 14,000 emerging-artist performance opportunities annually at risk, and have a knock-on effect for the music industry as a whole, while reducing the opportunities for new and emerging talent in London.

This conservative figure is based on one emerging artist performing at each of the at risk grassroots music venues per night.

Read the full report below produced by Nordicity, commissioned by the Mayor of London”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @seththr/Unsplash 

I know measures are being put in place and the Government are pledging remedies to stem the closures. It is worrying, for all music fans, to see any venue go under and close its doors. I can understand a venue closing if it were not pulling in traders because of low demand and a general feeling of apathy in the community. Maybe that could be reversed but it is hard to compete with modern consumerism and how we spend our nights – people more willing to stay in and save money than go out. It seems, however, one factor is responsible for a lot of venue deaths: noise and complaints from local residents. This report from the BBC sheds light on this growing trend and ways in which soundproofing can protect venues from closure:

"They can be some of the best shows. You have everyone packed in... It's often the most intimate and standout experience on a tour."

That's how artist Isaac Gracie describes playing small venues around the UK - and it's a feeling many in the audience recognise too.

But the UK is at risk of losing more of its music venues, members of the British music industry say.

And now they're hoping parliament will help them stop the decline.

UK Music, which represents the British music industry, is pushing a new law based on something called the 'Agent of Change' principle…

PHOTO CREDIT: @chairulfajar_/Unsplash  

UK Music says 35% of venues across the country have closed in the last decade.

"The big problem has been in recent years that developers have moved in next to pre-existing music venues," says the body's chief, Michael Dugher.

"All of a sudden, the people in a block of flats are complaining about the noise of a venue."

Agent of Change would mean that developers have to pay for soundproofing - either in the homes being built near venues, or in the venues themselves.

Bristol venue Thekla has hosted live music and club nights since the 80s.

Julie Tippins is from DHP Family, the company which owns the venue.

"Thekla is one of the few live music venues and nightclubs that operates from a boat on a harbour," she says - something which limits how much soundproofing they can do at the venue.

DHP Family says Thekla is under threat because of plans to build residential buildings nearby.

"It is completely avoidable if we build the right kind of soundproofing into residential developments," she says, arguing this hasn't happened in the planned development near Thekla.

"If we continue to lose live venues, then it will only just make all of our lives a little bit poorer"

Some new venues, such as The Horn in St Albans, have been working closely with residents to ensure there is cooperation and understanding. Soundproofing checks have been carried and, whilst there is trial-and-error associated; it has meant greater visibility, transparency and understanding. This is one case where a new venue has been able to foresee potential stumbling blocks and avoid needless complaints.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @ddinuzzo/Unsplash

An established venue near where I used to live - The Star Inn in Guildford (Surrey) - is under threat because locals are complaining about the noise projected by live acts. A petition is online – so people can save the venue – and it has drawn a lot of coverage:

“The pub, which claims to be Guildford’s longest running music venue, hosted The Strangler’s first official gig in 1974.

However, the pub has been handed a noise abatement notice requiring a reduction in noise levels or facing fines of up to £20,000.

Pub manager Georgina Baker, who started the petition , described the decision as "stupid beyond words" and said it will "kill our business".

The pub’s “Back Room” is a popular venue for live music and regularly hosts events from the Guildford Fringe each year.

Neil Young, a developer, converted a former office that backed onto the pub into four flats and, shortly after, made the noise complaint to Guildford Borough Council.

That was despite warnings from the pub’s owners, Shepherd Neame, when he applied for planning permission that noise would be a problem.

The warning came five years ago but, nonetheless, consent was granted by the council.

Those signing the petition have been lending their support to the prestigious pub.

Callum Weston, who signed the petition five months ago, said: “The Star Inn is an invaluable asset to the cultural fabric of Guildford. It has played host to countless well-established home and international acts, as well as giving young local musicians and promoters a fantastic platform to hone their skills and take their first steps into the creative industries.

“The loss of this historic venue would be an outrage and a huge loss for the people of Guildford.”

Council leader Paul Spooner has also given his support to The Star after the noise complaint was initially made, and said he was “very disappointed” that officers had decided to issue a noise abatement notice.

You can sign the petition here”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @aplaceforcreation/Unsplash

It seems that noise complaints are among the most popular (if that is the right term?!) reasons why venues are closing down. Although spaces like The Star Inn have been there for years; it seems a new crop of residents are creating problems. As the article above shows; many venues are informing councils and local bodies of potential issues and trying to avoid conflict. Maybe, in a lot of cases, councils and those who receive these complaints need to do more. I feel soundproofing should be part of every venue’s plans. Whether that will be too costly and it will be unrealistic I am not sure. I feel that method and solution would avoid needless problems and ensure more venues survive. I am concerned there are closures because of noise complaints. You have to wonder why people are shocked to discover venues will project noise. The people who are complaining live pretty close to these venues. Unless the venue has their windows open and are blasting music from speakers; you have to wonder the radius that comes into play and issues around proximity. If you do live that close to a venue or pub; noise, of course, is to be expected. A lot of venues that are receiving complaints are contained – in the sense there is not a great deal of noise bleed and there is a case of residents being sensitive.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @alexiby/Unsplash

Most of the people who are complaining, one hopes, would have done some research and have been around the local area! You have families moving close to good schools and considering amenities; they are keen to move somewhere affable and well-off and, you feel, they must realise a music venue not only puts out a little bit of noise but is essential to the community. I do wonder whether it is mostly families who are making these complaints and concerned about their children. The exact demographic is not being released but many complaints are from new residents making claims against a venue that has been there for years. These new developments and high-rise apartments attract a more affluent type of person and, not to judge, they tend to be quite delicate and self-concerned. Many do not spend a lot of time at music venues and do not realise how much they mean to musicians who rely upon them. In many cases, the residents could have saved themselves a lot of hassle by doing proper research and consider things like noise when moving into a new place. I do wonder why there is such vociferous complaint regarding noise because the venues who are closing due to noise complaints could have just put in some soundproofing and solved the issue – residents are not accepting this and are unwilling to be malleable. It seems like the majority of the venues that are being threatened with closure due to noise have either been there years – and new residents are making an issue – or local bodies are not adequately protecting them.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @marceloleal80/Unsplash

Is noise really that much of an issue when it comes to health and well-being?! This illuminating article studied the issue at hand:

“…anti-social noise can be an enormous problem. Quite apart from the immediate distress it can cause, some research suggests a link between noise pollution and health issues like heart disease.

Anti-noise legislation exists to make sure noise that is genuinely causing a nuisance can be stopped. And as the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health found, that legislation gets used a lot.

It’s research asked 150 local authorities in England and Wales (that’s 43% of the total) about noise complaints. And it found that, over a 12-month period, there were 10,442 noise complaints relating to licensed premises such as pubs and clubs.

“It’s hard to talk about noise without examining a whole chain of factors,” explains Mark Davyd, founder and CEO of the Music Venue Trust. “At this level, running a live music venue is generally a not-for-profit business.”

“There’s an enormous amount of pressure on venues. Touring budgets have been cut, yet the industry still wants venues to take on the risks of helping new bands develop. At the same time, music venues don’t receive the same levels of public funding as other arts venues.”

It’s something of a slippery slope, with noise just one of many factors affecting venues’ prospects.

PHOTO CREDIT: @outdoor_junkiez  

“A noise complaint can be the last straw,” confirms Mark. “When margins are so thin, venues don’t have the leeway to comply with even minor licensing adjustments”.

It is hard to negotiate and navigate noise! It is such a varied, unpredictable and widespread issue in any high-street. Consider noises from pubs and bars in general – before you even throw in musicians and live performances! I know there is mediation and attempts at detente when venues are threatened but you have to wonder whether venues that are being threatened – and those already closed – have been met with (ironically) deaf ears! Can the problem be avoided on a tight budget?

“Even on a tight budget you can take measures to minimise how much sound escapes your premises:

·         Make sure doors and windows stay closed during performances. If customers tend to enter and leave frequently, install door closers to keep sound leakage as low as possible.

·         Fit acoustic seals around doors and windows. You can buy kits to install yourself for around £100.

·         Evaluate where speakers are located. Speakers attached to walls and ceilings may vibrate the structure of your building, transmitting noise externally.

·         Install sound absorption materials beneath your stage, and make sure there is some kind of anti-vibration material on top.

·         Think about installing noise limiters. These restrict volume without interrupting the sound. If acts provide their own amplification, you can also install a cut-out system, activated if the volume exceeds a defined level.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @jontyson/Unsplash

·         Evaluate noise levels during the sound check for each event. Set a maximum volume level and then restrict who has access to volume controls on the amplifiers or mixing deck.

·         If you are concerned about noise from customers leaving, put up signs and get staff to ask people to be quiet on the way out. Some venues have even experimented with handing out lollipops at closing time!

·         Think about the small things, too. Ask local taxi firms not to toot the horn when picking up customers. And don’t carry out noisy tasks – like tipping bottles into the recycling – late at night.

·         This means you need to be prepared on another front. Try to build up some positive PR that you can draw on in the event of problems.

·         If your building is physically attached to another, go and have a chat with your neighbour. Building a relationship makes it more likely that they’ll come to you with any complaints, rather than going straight to the local authority.

·         Then think about how loyal customers can help. With a little effort, you can turn their enthusiasm to your advantage.

·         “In the UK, we’re terrible at praising,” explains Mark. “We don’t say enough about how much we love having a library, an arts centre, or a music venue. Venues need to take the initiative in showing how much value they give the local community.”

      

·  Try to mobilise your regular customers. For instance, Mark co-owns the Tunbridge Wells Forum. By asking social media followers to post reviews on TripAdvisor, he was able to get the venue listed as the town’s top attraction.

·         He says it’s about playing the long game: “It may seem irrelevant right now. But if we ever have a noise complaint, the council’s attitude will be influenced by the fact that we’re rated as the number one thing to do in Tunbridge Wells.”

·         There’s strength in numbers, too — because when it comes to nuisance noise, a single complaint can shut down a venue. “You’d be amazed at how often a perceived noise problem relates to one angry, vocal person in the community,” says Mark.

The Government has brought in plans to combat the issue. It seems the problem regarding noise is being taken seriously:

“On 18th January 2018, the Government announced plans to adopt 'Agent of Change' into The National Planning Policy Framework.

The principle of ‘agent of change’ protects clubs and music venues by transferring responsibility to “identify and solve any sound problems” at new properties back to developers, rather than the owners of nearby music venues.

What effect will the changes have?

Essentially, it means that a developer of flats next to a live music venue would need to make provision for ensuring the residents were not affected by noise from music, via proper design and soundproofing…

PHOTO CREDIT: @tinaflour/Unsplash 

Likewise, an operator of a new live music venue in a residential area would need to ensure that they installed adequate soundproofing to prevent noise adversely affecting residents already living nearby.

Currently the law, in particular in licensing terms, favours developers of residential homes and their buyers. Under the Licensing Act, they can review a premises licence at no cost to themselves and force the venue to change its practices for the benefit of the residents, even if it has been hosting music events for decades.

Who do the changes apply to?

Introduction of the principle into general law would give added protection to premises to fight against such outcomes. The Planning Policy would not change the ability of people moving into existing residential properties to complain about noise coming from a venue, but it allows for a more balanced approach to the problem.

Richard Arnot, a Partner in Ward Hadaway’s Licensing team, said: “The increase in demand for housing in built-up areas means some residents are coming into conflict with existing live music venues.

“There needs to be consideration between the parties as someone shouldn’t be able to move next door to a music venue and decide afterwards that music is a nuisance. In the same way that it wouldn’t be right for a live music venue to install a sound system without consideration for nearby residents…

PHOTO CREDIT: @aliyahjam/Unsplash  

What effect will the changes have?

Richard added: “This proposal means that developers will be responsible for identifying and solving any sound problems if they are granted permission to build.

“It strikes a balance between the obligations of developers and protects music venues from running into expensive issues as a result of complaints from new neighbours”.

Although these measures have already been implanted and there is on-going contingency; it seems a lot of venues are suffering because they are older and have not been fitted with insulation or been considered under these new guidelines. It is clear cooperation and better communication between venues and residents needs to happen. I can empathise and feel needless noise and volume can put them off; it makes their lives worse and can actually affect property prices. Rather than them going straight to ‘teacher’ and lodging their grievances; I wonder whether they should actually go direct too the venue; not with anger and threats but suggestions and ways in which everyone can benefit. How many times has this potential truce occurred when venues are being forced shut?! I can appreciate how people moving into an area want as little noise as possible but music venues, unless you in big cities, are not all over the place and it is easy to live away from the worse of the noise.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @antonio_dicaterina/Unsplash

If you happen to be in the noise ‘radiation zone’ and near the epicentre of the issue; one would image you’d take all that into consideration and discuss your concerns with the venues. As we heard earlier; new musicians rely on these venues, large and small, in order to cut their teeth and hone their skills. If it is not for these venues, it means artists have fewer chances to improve and that can impede their career development. Not only that but local residents who do not have that many venues near them and being denied and it makes an area poorer. Music brings sociability and togetherness; it can put a town/city on the map and bring revenue to that venue and other local businesses. I realise most venues in the country are not responsible for putting out too much noise and receiving complaints. There are other reasons why venues are closing but, as this article highlights; musicians are feeling the pinch and it is having a knock-on effect:

“The UK’s first live music census has found that a third of Britain’s small venues outside of London are fighting to survive in the face of high business rates and noise restrictions.

Some 29% of small venues, and 27% of all venues, reported experiencing problems with property development around their premises, which can provoke complaints from nearby residents. In response, the researchers recommended that the government continue to develop at a national level a legally binding “agent of change” principle, which would put the onus on developers to soundproof new-build properties, rather than placing restrictions on existing venues. Last month, ministers including housing secretary Sajid Javid committed to strengthening planning rules to protect grassroots venues…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @foulsterr/Unsplash

“Beverley Whitrick, strategic director of the Music Venue Trust, welcomed the news. “For us, the UK live music census is an entirely positive story because it’s taking a lot of the things that we have been saying about the needs of the grassroots music sector and reinforcing it with evidence. MVT has operated as a small organisation on anecdotal evidence for the last few years and we have gone as far as we can with that. And what we needed was evidence to show why help is needed. The census is a huge step forward in providing that help.”

The report also highlighted the difficulty of making a living as a musician in Britain: 68% said stagnating pay made it difficult to earn a viable income, with the figure rising to 80% for those identifying as professional musicians; 66% reported working unpaid for “exposure” that they believe had no positive effect on their career.

Further recommendations resulting from the census included continuing to investigate secondary ticketing via the Competition and Markets Authority, encouraging more extensive funding for emerging artists, venue infrastructure, tour support and rehearsal spaces, and promoting music education in schools and encouraging live music attendance inside and outside the curriculum”.

We all, as music fans, want to reduce the number of closures and stem the issues that are clear and growing. Even though the Government are assisting when it comes to noise; you wonder how much of a long-term impact this will make: in the short-term, we are still seeing beloved music venues close and, with that, musicians and locals who rely on that lifeblood are being hit hard.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @snowshade/Unsplash

I feel noise complaints will continue to threaten venues for years and it is so easy to avoid. If a local resident does not want ANY noise and wants to live like monks observing a vow of silence then good for them. If venues are tossing out nuclear noise then I can see where they are coming from. Venues do not want to close and stop putting on live music and are willing to make arrangements with taxi companies and locals to ensure as little noise as possible is projected. So many of the venues who are being scrutinised are old and have been there before new-build apartments. Even if buildings have been around longer than local venues; you feel a civil compromise and conversation could happen. I cannot stress how important these spaces are for musicians and locals. Bands and artists depend on them for revenue, experience and new fans; locals have that social aspect and can discover new local artists/those travelling to their area. You are not only impacting the local area by shutting down venues but those wider afield. Many people travel from further afield to go to these venues and, when the spaces are closed, where do they go?! I feel more needs to be done, especially by residents, to understand the importance of small venues and avoid such needless loss. If we can do this then that will mean the world to musicians and residents and make that local area…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @gaspanik/Unsplash

A more peaceful and culturally-rich place.  

FEATURE: Beating the Curse: The Artists Who Overcame the ‘Difficult Second Album’ Pitfall in Style

FEATURE:

 

 

Beating the Curse

PHOTO CREDIT: @adigold1/Unsplash 

The Artists Who Overcame the ‘Difficult Second Album’ Pitfall in Style

__________

EVERY artist who releases a controversial or exceptional debut…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @tjump/Unsplash

has that initial praise…and then they have that burden of expectation. Critics and fans want something even better and, given the fact they came out of the traps so fast and hard; it can be hard replicating that success. So many artists have failed and not been able to reproduce the magic and heat of their debut – producing a whimper of an album and losing all that momentum. There have been, however, plenty of artists who have motivated and moved their way past the hurdles of the ‘difficult second album’ and come up with something if not better than as good as what came before. There are many examples out there but I have collated together the artists who laid down a remarkable second album after a promising/hard to follow/average debut. Whatever the reason for that expectation and pressure; here are the albums that subverted expectations and…

PHOTO CREDIT: @akshar_dave/Unsplash 

OVERCAME idle talk of a ‘difficult’ second album.

ALL ALBUM COVERS: Getty Images

_____________

Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)

Debut: Definitely Maybe (1994)

Review:

“Fortuitously arriving at the mid-point of the '90s—and representing the peak of a Britpop narrative that took root with the retro-rock renaissance of the Stone Roses and the La’s five years previous—(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is Oasis' absolute pinnacle. If Definitely Maybe presented Oasis' raw materials—’60s psychedelia, ’70s glam and punk, Madchester groove—Morning Glory melted down and remoulded them into a towering sound that was unmistakably their own, with those omnipresent (but never ostentatious) string-section sweeps classily dressing up the songs like ribbons on a trophy. And yet the real triumph of Morning Gloryis measured not by the tracks that have since become karaoke classics, first-dance wedding standards, and go-to bathtub sing-alongs, but the exceptional album tracks that never got a shot at certain chart supremacy—like the jet-roar jangle of “Hey Now” (for my money, the best Oasis song never to be issued as a single) and the crestfallen “Cast No Shadow”, dedicated to a then-mostly-unknown Richard Ashcroft of the Verve, a band that would soon reap the benefits of Oasis’ American incursion” – Pitchfork

Standout Track: Wonderwall

The Beatles – With the Beatles (1963)

Debut: Please Please Me (1963)

Review:

“What’s particularly distinctive about these early Beatles records is their unapologetic, working class Britishness. The lyrics have the colloquial immediacy of everyday chatter and the band play with a kind of rough house energy, not attempting to match the sophistication of the American records that inspired them. When Lennon lets rip on 'It Won’t Be Long’, there is no attempt to disguise his Liverpool roots, no prettification, just an unadorned vocal (although McCartney is slightly more polite, his over precise enunciation on 'Til There Was You’ sounding like he’s trying to please his headmaster, or, more probably, George Martin).

The songwriting partnership is starting to flower. The loping, jangly rhythm and ascending and descending melody of 'All My Loving’ with its brilliant walking bassline seems utterly original. This is the point rider for where they are going but the cover versions are still the highlights. The Beatles could really rip the guts out of a song, and there’s a rich bluesy version of Smokey Robinson’s 'You Really Got A Hold On Me’, before they utterly take a wrecking ball to 'Money (That’s What I Want)’” – The Telegraph

Standout Track: All My Loving

Joy Division – Closer (1980)

Debut: Unknown Pleasures (1979)

Review:

“Opener "Atrocity Exhibition" was arguably the most fractured thing the band had yet recorded, Bernard Sumner's teeth-grinding guitar and Stephen Morris' Can-on-speed drumming making for one heck of a strange start. Keyboards also took the fore more so than ever -- the drowned pianos underpinning Curtis' shadowy moan on "The Eternal," the squirrelly lead synth on the energetic but scared-out-of-its-wits "Isolation," and above all else "Decades," the album ender of album enders. A long slow crawl down and out, Curtis' portrait of lost youth inevitably applied to himself soon after, its sepulchral string-synths are practically a requiem. Songs like "Heart and Soul" and especially the jaw-dropping, wrenching "Twenty Four Hours," as perfect a demonstration of the tension/release or soft/loud approach as will ever be heard, simply intensify the experience. Joy Division were at the height of their powers on Closer, equaling and arguably bettering the astonishing Unknown Pleasures, that's how accomplished the four members were. Rock, however defined, rarely seems and sounds so important, so vital, and so impossible to resist or ignore as here” – AllMusic

Standout Track: Isolation

Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)

Debut: Bleach (1989)

Review:

“The music — fuzz-blast guitars, throbbing bass — roars and spits with enough in-your-face bluster to make your compact disc skip; left-of-center rock rarely sounds as alive as the metallic punk of ”Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the album’s first single. Adding to the music’s edginess, though, are the lyrics. The characters in singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain’s songs all seem vaguely pathological-and oblivious to it. Cobain’s strange idea of a love song, ”Come as You Are,” has a refrain of ”And I swear that I don’t have a gun,” as if that’s supposed to be comforting; in other songs, he mutters lines like ”the animals I’ve trapped have all become my pets.” Nirvana may not stand a chance of selling anywhere near as many records as Guns N’ Roses, but don’t tell Cobain; you never know how he’ll react” – Entertainment Weekly

Standout Track: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)

Debut: Slanted and Enchanted (1992)

Review:

“Pavement's sophomore outing does not contain 12 perfect songs but it is close to a perfect album. Each of the best half-dozen-- "Silence Kit", "Elevate Me Later", "Cut Your Hair", "Unfair", "Gold Soundz", and "Range Life"-- contain Malkmus' catchy and highly unusual melodies ("Silence Kit" cribs from Buddy Holly, but even that's an odd gesture) and would be career highlights for most rock bands. But even the songs that aren't necessarily brilliant work well in the context of the album, moving things along in their own way. The Dave Brubeck send-up "5-4=Unity", for example, is a perfect placeholder between two unbelievably great songs. And the closing "Fillmore Jive" ends an album at least partly about the music industry on an appropriately classic rock note, with an extended group-jam coda on par with "Hey Jude". Not many records are this easy to put on in the car and let play start to finish” – Pitchfork

Standout Track: Cut Your Hair

Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique (1989)

Debut: Licensed to Ill (1986)

Review:

“There’s a lot that's already been said about the daring eclecticism and arguably irreproducible anything-goes technique with which the Dust Brothers assembled the album’s beats. The music is a big, shameless love letter to the 1970s filled with a conceptual bookend (the Idris Muhammad-sampling, ladies-man ether frolic “To All the Girls”), numerous line-completing lyrical interjections from Johnny Cash, Chuck D, Pato Banton and Sweet, and, just for kicks, nine truncated songs spliced together and stuck in at the end as a staggering 12 and 1/2-minute suite. If the sonics on It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back evoked a sleep-shattering wake-up call and 3 Feet High and Rising a chilled-out, sunny afternoon, the personality of Paul’s Boutique completed the trinity by perfectly capturing the vibe of a late-night alcohol and one-hitter-fueled shit-talk session. Even now, after being exposed to successively brilliant sample-slayers from the RZA to the Avalanches to J Dilla, it’s still bracing just how meticulous the beats are here. These aren’t just well-crafted loops, they’re self-contained little breakbeat universes filled with weird asides, clever segues, and miniature samples-as-punchlines” – Pitchfork

Standout Track: Shake Your Rump             

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (2006)

Debut: Frank (2003)

Review:

“Any album that features the lines "What kind of fuckery is this?/ You made me miss the Slick Rick gig" demands closer investigation. Of course, 23-year-old Londoner Amy Winehouse demonstrated her aptitude for a tart couplet on her debut album three years ago, but this time the music, too, packs a similar punch, and the upshot is a 21st-century soul classic.

Starting with the pungent single Rehab, everything is in its right place: the exuberant neo-Motown swing supplied by producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi; the rich, sinewy vocals, somewhere between Lauryn Hill, Beth Gibbons and Etta James; and the thoroughly modern songwriting, in which infidelity is betrayed by a telltale carpet burn (You Know I'm No Good) and a lover is less desirable than a good supply of weed (Addicted). On the latter song she triumphantly declares: "I'm my own man." Only a fool would argue” – The Guardian

Standout Track: Back to Black                      

Adele – 21 (2011)

Debut: 19 (2008)

Review:

“While 19 went to number one and she picked up the inaugural Critics’ Choice Brit award, what distinguished Adele from the similarly retro-voiced Duffy was the name she made for herself across the Atlantic, where she won two Grammys and influential fans such as Bob Dylan and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

It is that American success that has shaped Atkins’s follow-up album. It’s steeped in Southern blues, country and soul. In another singer’s hands this might seem a nakedly ambitious attempt to appeal to the American charts, but Atkins makes the material sound genuine, largely because it is perfect for her. Where previously her slight, observational songs seemed barely able to carry her powerful voice, the emotional and musical heft of these styles enables her to really spread her vocal wings.

And her voice is a thing of wonder. There is warmth, power and vulnerability, sometimes in the same note. She has less of the unpredictable edge of Amy Winehouse, or the am-dram cool of Florence Welch, but she has a far greater range and subtlety than either, and hers is a voice that seems to go right to your heart” – The Telegraph

Standout Track: Set Fire to the Rain           

Led Zeppelin – II (1969)

Debut: Led Zeppelin (1969)

Review:

“Clearly, with their hot streak of three LPs, Creedence Clearwater Revival had the most impressive multi-album year of 1969: Bayou Country in January, Green River in August, and Willy and the Poor Boys in November.

But still.

Still: Led Zeppelin II, which came out in October ’69, just nine months after its almighty, self-titled predecessor, must have benefited from the fast turnaround. The recording process was completed at different studios during the band’s near-constant touring in 1969, and maybe the reason it was so successful was the London group, while on the road, didn’t even have time to think about the hype they were building. With LZII, Led Zeppelin became Led Zeppelin, proving their essence at the same time. To speak cosmically about the matter: What happened was what was supposed to happen.

Even more than the debut, LZII is a document of the band’s technical ability, their musicianship. After one album with The Yardbirds — a good rock band, yes, but they had no balls — Jimmy Page linked up with Robert Plant, almost five years his junior but already one of the most dynamic rock vocalists in England, up there with Rod Stewart. A powerful foundation, then, was set from the beginning. Between Page’s solos on the likes of “Whole Lotta Love” and Goldilocks’ yelps on “What Is and What Should Never Be” and others, LZII dazzles. John Bonham, too, was able to shine from behind the kit, particularly with his “Moby Dick” solo. Generations of hard rock and metal musicians, from Metallica to Soundgarden and Mastodon, would be influenced by these very stretches. It’s a lot to think about while the record’s playing, but the physical force is there” – Consequence of Sound

Standout Track: Whole Lotta Love

Madonna – Like a Virgin (1984)

Debut: Madonna (1983)

Review:

“Madonna had hits with her first album, even reaching the Top Ten twice with "Borderline" and "Lucky Star," but she didn't become a superstar, an icon, until her second album, Like a Virgin. She saw the opening for this kind of explosion and seized it, bringing in former Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers in as a producer, to help her expand her sound, and then carefully constructed her image as an ironic, ferociously sexy Boy Toy; the Steven Meisel-shot cover, capturing her as a buxom bride with a Boy Toy belt buckle on the front, and dressing after a night of passion, was as key to her reinvention as the music itself. Yet, there's no discounting the best songs on the record, the moments when her grand concepts are married to music that transcends the mere classification of dance-pop. These, of course, are "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin," the two songs that made her an icon, and the two songs that remain definitive statements. They overshadow the rest of the record, not just because they are a perfect match of theme and sound, but because the rest of the album vacillates wildly in terms of quality. The other two singles, "Angel" and "Dress You Up," are excellent standard-issue dance-pop, and there are other moments that work well ("Over and Over," "Stay," the earnest cover of Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here"), but overall, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts -- partially because the singles are so good, but also because on the first album, she stunned with style and a certain joy. Here, the calculation is apparent, and while that's part of Madonna's essence -- even something that makes her fun -- it throws the record's balance off a little too much for it to be consistent, even if it justifiably made her a star” – AllMusic  

Standout Track: Like a Virgin

Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)

Debut: Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987)

Review:

“In retrospect, Yo! Bum Rush the Show was a blueprint. What came after it was the work of a well-rehearsed unit keenly aware of its purpose and capabilities. Released the following summer, Public Enemy’s sophomore album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was a brash refinement of the themes of Yo! and a jab at the jaws of detractors, high and low. “Bring the Noise” and “Don’t Believe the Hype” railed against the press, holding up the lurid sensationalism surrounding the group as a warning against trusting anything you read. “Caught, Can We Get a Witness?” is a nightmare where P.E. gets nabbed for sampling. (More on that later.) Nationteemed with a didactic social consciousness too. “She Watch Channel Zero?!” strikes out against junk television, while “Night of the Living Baseheads” addresses the crack epidemic, and “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” leads a draft-dodging conscientious objector through a vengeful jailbreak. Chuck’s booming ministerial baritone sparred with Flav’s piercing yawp in a masterful hero-and-sidekick interplay. The message couldn’t entice the masses without the levity; the levity was gimmicky without revolutionary grit giving it weight” – Pitchfork

Standout Track: She Watch Channel Zero?!

Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)

Debut: Leisure (1991)

Review:

“As a response to the dominance of grunge in the U.K. and their own decreasing profile in their homeland -- and also as a response to Suede's sudden popularity -- Blur reinvented themselves with their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, abandoning the shoegazing and baggy influences that dominated Leisure for traditional pop. On the surface, Modern Life may appear to be an homage to the Kinks, David Bowie, the Beatles, and Syd Barrett, yet it isn't a restatement, it's a revitalization. Blur use British guitar pop from the Beatles to My Bloody Valentine as a foundation, spinning off tales of contemporary despair. If Damon Albarn weren't such a clever songwriter, both lyrically and melodically, Modern Life could have sunk under its own pretensions, and the latter half does drag slightly. However, the record teems with life, since Blur refuse to treat their classicist songs as museum pieces. Graham Coxon's guitar tears each song open, either with unpredictable melodic lines or layers of translucent, hypnotic effects, and his work creates great tension with Alex James' kinetic bass. And that provides Albarn a vibrant background for his social satires and cutting commentary. But the reason Modern Life Is Rubbish is such a dynamic record and ushered in a new era of British pop is that nearly every song is carefully constructed and boasts a killer melody, from the stately "For Tomorrow" and the punky "Advert" to the vaudeville stomp of "Sunday Sunday" and the neo-psychedelic "Chemical World." Even with its flaws, it's a record of considerable vision and excitement. [Most American versions of Modern Life Is Rubbish substitute the demo version of "Chemical World" for the studio version on the British edition. They also add the superb single "Pop Scene" before the final song, "Resigned” – AllMusic   

Standout Track: For Tomorrow

Carole King – Tapestry (1971)

Debut: Writer (1970)

Review:

“Conviction and commitment are the life blood of Tapestry and are precisely what make it so fine. Of course, commitment alone means nothing; but commitment coupled with the musical talents of a genuine pop artist mean everything. To paraphrase Pauline Kael, writing about director Jean Renoir, Carole King is thoroughly involved with her music; she reaches out towards us and gives everything she has. And this generosity is so extraordinary that perhaps we can give it another name: passion” – Rolling Stone    

Standout Track: It’s Too Late

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (1968)

Debut: Blowin’ Your Mind (1967)

Review:

“Morrison doesn't reach out to the listener, but goes deep inside himself to excavate and explore. The album's centerpiece is "Madame George," a stream-of-consciousness narrative of personal psychological and spiritual archetypes deeply influenced by the road novels of Jack Kerouac. The climactic epiphany experienced on "Cyprus Avenue" paints a portrait of place and time so vividly, it fools listeners into the experience of shared -- but mythical -- memory. "The Way Young Lovers Do" is the most fully formed tune here. Its swinging jazz verses and tight rhythmic choruses underscore a simmering, passionate eroticism in Morrison's lyric and delivery. Astral Weeks is a justified entry in pop music's pantheon. It is unlike any record before or since; it mixes together the very best of postwar popular music in an emotional outpouring cast in delicate, subtle musical structures” – AllMusic     

Standout Track: Sweet Thing

FEATURE: Bad Girl: Erotica at Twenty-Six: A Pivotal Album from a Pop Icon

FEATURE:

 

 

Bad Girl: Erotica at Twenty-Six

IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images 

 A Pivotal Album from a Pop Icon

__________

I know that yesterday was the official twenty-sixth anniversary…

 IN THIS PHOTO: A publicity shot for the 1991 documentary, Madonna: Truth or Dare/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

of Madonna’s Erotica but it is an album that deserves to be marked. There are a lot more interesting albums coming up over the next few weeks that I need to be pay tribute to. You may ask why I’d mark Erotica and single it out. Madonna’s albums are always relevant and many others have passed me by without being commemorated in an article. We continuously talk about music and how it is evolving; whether there are any true icons and superstars out there. Madonna is someone who has always had her own team around her but I think, when you hear the music and how she speaks, this is nothing but her. I have been a fan of her since childhood and always marvel at how she managed to change and evolve without it seeming unnatural. Erotica, released in 1992, was released simultaneously with her first book publication, Sex – a book she alludes to on her follow-up album, Bedtime Stories. Erotica was her first release on Maverick, her own multimedia entertainment company. It was the Pop icon ascending from those earlier days of label control; breaking out and creating an album, if anything, defined who she was an still is. That is not to say she is sex-obsessed but the way she frankly and boldly talks about the subject through the album changed music.

She documented everything from the loss of two close friends to AIDS through to personal desires; something teasing and oblique to the out-right explicit and determined. Although the album was completed fairly quickly; this was Madonna in serious mode and not willing to play it safe. Erotica was much more commercially successful than previous albums and was largely well received by critics. The record saw a return after three years and revealed, as we know, a transformation from Madonna. She released the phenomenal compilation, The Immaculate Collection, in 1990 and that sort of signalled, in its title, that something more sexual and brash was coming. Maybe I am misreading but one can definitely sense that desire to be unleashed. Like a Prayer was released in 1989 and many see it as her most successful and acclaimed album. It is accomplished and introspective and, in terms of fashions, it was Madonna less in a fetish mode and more in transition from the boho chic of her early work; looking to incorporate more sensual and revealing looks in her rotation. The cover for the album sees her mix this blend: adorned in jeans and beads but cresting her thumbs inside her jeans that suggests something alluring and saucy! The Like a Prayer was a sensation and marked the first real time she was displaying a more vivacious, sexually liberated and herself! The three years between Like a Prayer storming the charts and Erotica coming into the world was not wasted. Madonna was involved in film and, obviously, ensuring she could take more control and say on her next record.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1992/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Before getting into the studio; Shep Pettibone – her main collaborator on the record – built the basic music for the album and sent it to Madonna before she started filming A League of Their Own. Madonna wrote the melodies and the lyrics and it marked a harmonious and productive collaboration. Although there are some other writers in the mix; the most decisive and obvious blend is Pettibone and Madonna. Madonna liked what Pettibone has come up with and, after filming was completed, work began. The early stages were a bit fraught with some dissatisfaction. Madonna wanted a raw and vibrant edge on Erotica and the first group of songs recorded were met with a bit of a muted reception from the Popstar. This was a period of awakening and the Pop Queen riding high on her fame. She was appearing more on film and her celebrity was rising. Of course, each new album is a chance for revolution and development and, alongside her Sex book; Madonna was embracing something more provocative and intense. We think of Madonna’s career and there are various stages where sex came to the fore. Think about Like a Prayer’s video and songs released for that album. Every album in her career, in some manner, would embrace sex in a very open way but Like a Prayer was a very personal and introspective record. Erotica changed things and is a very overt and confessional record – the confessions on Erotica are more of the sensual, revealing and explicit.

Erotica is a concept album that looks at sex and romance where she adopted the alter ego, Mistress Dita. It was heavily inspired by the actress Dita Parlo and, in terms of music; there is a lot more Pop and Dance – some slight tonal shifts from Like a Prayer but no huge departures. Alongside that core came elements of Disco and House; some New Jack Swing and Soul. The concept sees Madonna ask her lover to beg and, right from the off, here is the world’s most-famous female Pop artist showing she is the boss! Although Madonna references safe-sex; there are references to oral sex and bondage. It is not an album for children and, for sure, it is a record we define with her transition to the apex of the music world. A lot of the lyrics are quite raw and this would continue on her follow-up, Bedtime Stories. In a way, we had a bookmark of Like a Prayer and Bedtime Stories. These albums have a maturity and sense of confession: in a way, Erotica is that middle child that broke out and took chances. I guess people were a little overloaded by sex by 1994 when Madonna had to follow Erotica! Rain, one of the album standouts, is the heroine waiting and hoping for love. One assumes Erotica is full of elicit and sexy songs that push the envelope but, like all of her albums, there is that balance of the mature and immediate.

A lot of the more negative and mixed reviews around the time of Erotica’s release were concerned about its explicitness and frank talk of AIDS. Many, around 1992, were being fed on something softer and tame. The album was ahead of its time and it is only in the years that followed critics fully got on board with it – there are some who still doubt its credentials and look inside the cracks. Renowned for Sound, in a 2014 review, provided their thoughts:

“Without this album, Madonna would simply have remained a provocative yet mainstream pop superstar who could do no wrong, no matter the controversy. The critics would not have slammed her so much that many believed that her career was finally over. Madonna would never have had her comebacks. Pop music observers would also not understand why female pop stars today tend to be naked (Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Rihanna) or in drag (Beyonce in Haunted) in their videos.

In short, Madonna would never have become the Queen of Pop.

Madonna’s weary, husky and rough vocals on Erotica are nothing like the polished, radio-friendly vocals on previous albums. However, they accentuate the rawness and stark reality of the album. Her uncharacteristically gentle purr is alluring on the chilled cover of Fever, but sounds downright creepy on the aggressive hip-hop of Bye Bye Baby. Waiting (whose follow up Did You Do It? is the only real dud on Erotica) has Madonna wandering in that same hotel hallway from the Justify My Love video after a few cigarettes, pleading for her lover in rap and song…

IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images 

Erotica highlights more of Madonna’s ‘bitchy’ side. Her falsely sweet vocals are disarming on Thief of Hearts, as they brutally dish out threats to backstabbers ice cold over sounds of police sirens and smashing glass. Words speaks the truth without being too preachy, over a backing track spiced up with a simmering anger and striking, Arabian-sounding synths.

Other confronting tracks include Where Life Begins (whose priceless lyrics promote safe sex and the woman’s right to be eaten out), Bad Girl (about a lonely woman succumbing to cigarettes, booze and meaningless flings) and In This Life (a funereal ode to Madonna’s friends who passed away from AIDS and a passionate plea against prejudice and ignorance)”.

It might not appear in the top-three Madonna albums among most fans – Like a Prayer, Ray of Light and Like a Virgin, I guess, would be the common choices – but Erotica is, perhaps, the most important and revelatory she ever produced. It is hard to compare it with a modern album because, in today’s climate, Erotica would be banned or muted somehow. There are sexually revealing and confident artists but nobody who has taken to sex in the same way Madonna did in the early-1990s! Billboard celebrated the album’s twenty-fifth anniversary last year and  showed why it such an influential album:

“Erotica occupies a watershed place in the pop pantheon, setting the blueprint for singers to get raw while eschewing exploitation for decades to come. For its 25th anniversary, Billboard spoke to the players involved in Madonna's most creatively daring release. Here's what producer-writer Andre Betts, backup singer Donna De Lory, producer-writer Shep Pettibone, co-writer Tony Shimkin and Living Colour bassist Doug Wimbish recall of the writing and recording of Erotica, the insane release party for the LP and book, and the collective societal pearl-clutching that followed.

Tony Shimkin: After doing The Immaculate Collection and "Rescue Me," she let us know she was working on a new album and wanted us to be involved in the writing. Seeing I was a musician and writer and Shep [Pettibone] was more of a DJ and remixer, we collaborated on the writing of the tracks for the Erotica album. We went up to meet with her in Chicago, post-"Vogue," when she was filming A League of Their Own. So we met with her and started to get to work on some music, and sent it to her as we were working our way through it. She would come into New York and have a book full of lyrics and melody ideas and we started working together in Shep's home studio. I believe the first time she was in New York for an extended period, we were working on "Deeper and Deeper" and "Erotica" and "Bye Bye Baby." She's very driven. There's was never a period of feeling it out -- it was diving in headfirst”…

IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna performs in New York City (circa 1993)/PHOTO CREDIT: L. Busacca/WireImage

“Doug Wimbish: I remember Madonna when she used to go to the Roxy before she got really put on. I'd see her at the Roxy when Afrika Bambaataa was down there or [Grandmaster] Flash, and she was down there jamming out. And not just being a spectator, but being engaged in the scene. Madonna's association with the dance music and the gay scene and the hip-hop scene merging in the downtown clubs in New York City, and her coming from Michigan, she got it.... And she knew Dre had something special. A song like "Where Life Begins" is right up his alley. She had a relationship with Dre for his rawness and realness. You gotta be around someone in this business who tells you, "No, I'm not digging that, that's why." And also keep the window open to listen. I think that's what Dre did”.

Maybe her epic workrate and output in the early-1990s meant the music would suffer a little bit but you cannot deny the impact and inspiration of Erotica. Erotica, Rain and Secret Garden are among her finest tracks and the tour that followed the album’s release was a spectacle and feast for the senses. Bringing the music to life would always be risky but (on the tour) there were naked dancers and all manner of thrills!  

 IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1992/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

This article looks at the album and how Madonna found people’s reaction to her career and how people were perceiving her:

“I think it’s boring,” an emboldened Madonna confided to Jonathan Ross in 1992, when asked about critics not taking her seriously as an artist. “But I think it’s a reflection of society. The subject matter I deal with, because it usually is about taboo subjects, people are so frightened of my ideas that they try to undermine my actual talent or any artistic value that may be in any of my work. And just say ‘oh she’s just doing that to shock people,’ or ‘oh, look, she’s changing her look again, she really knows how to manipulate the media.’ But the fact is if that’s all I was good at doing, I don’t think people would be paying attention to me for this long. I mean, I’m still here”…

 

“Far less shocking—or stimulating—to the senses by today’s more desensitized standards, to say that Erotica was controversial upon its release 25 years ago is an understatement. But the flip side of the coin is that it was an undeniably revolutionary record. The unabashed and forthright way that Madonna redefines sexual identity and power dynamics, deconstructs sexual taboos, and evangelizes sexual freedom was indeed groundbreaking for its time, serving as a much-needed wake-up call for the sexually repressed and repressive, particularly here in the notoriously puritanical United States of America…

Across Erotica’s fourteen compositions (thirteen on the LP’s edited version), Madonna successfully subverts the antiquated, straight-male dominated dialogue about sex by taking full command of the conversation and delivering a clinic in sexual liberation. With confidence and charisma in droves, she flips traditional gender-driven roles and ethics on their head, blurs the socially-constructed lines between the multitude of sexual identities that exist, and gives mainstream voice and validation to those traditionally marginalized toward the fringes of social acceptance”…

 

“The most painful and poignant moment appears with the somber “In This Life,” Madonna’s homage to two close confidantes who tragically lost their battles with AIDS—Martin Burgoyne, an artist and her first tour manager, and Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher and mentor. Reminiscing about Flynn during a 2010 discussion with the film director Gus Van Sant for Interview magazine, Madonna reflected, “Growing up in Michigan, I didn’t really know what a gay man was. He was the first man—the first human being—who made me feel good about myself and special. He was the first person who told me that I was beautiful or that I had something to offer the world, and he encouraged me to believe in my dreams, to go to New York. He was such an important person in my life. He died of AIDS, but he went blind toward the end of his life. He was such a lover of art, classical music, literature, opera. You know, I grew up in the Midwest, and it was really because of him that I was exposed to so many of those things. He brought me to my first gay club—it was this club in Detroit. I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t fit in anywhere. But when he took me to that club, he brought me to a place where I finally felt at home”.

“Just as refreshing and rewarding musically as it was for its brave social and cultural conscience, Erotica was, is, and will forever be a fearlessly fierce album that only Madonna could make. No one has ever come close to replicating it and no one ever will. In Vanity Fair’s October 1992 issue, Madonna proclaimed, “I’m out to open [people’s] minds and get them to see sexuality in another way. Their own and others.’” More than any other album in her prolific oeuvre, Erotica fulfilled her objective and struck a mighty blow to the plague of cultural and moral myopia, in America and beyond”.

There are other tributes and articles that celebrate and mark Erotica but it is amazing to see how fresh, brash and unique it sounds twenty-six years after its release. I have missed the exact release date by a day but I thought I’d let the hangover cure and the assorted bodies depart the party! I prefer Ray of Light, Bedtime Stories and other Madonna albums but I think Erotica is a hugely important and underrated collection. Perhaps the overt sexuality and frank talk would be censored and criticised if released today but one can look at Erotica and see how it has inspired so many modern artists. From the self-reflective and personal recordings on Like a Prayer; Madonna adopted this new, in-control persona that, whilst fictional, was mirroring her own rise. Madonna was more autonomous and confident than ever and was releasing music that not only shocked but showed there was nobody in music like her!

Erotica split critics but people are still taking about it and it was a pivotal and important period in Madonna’s career. There was yet another big shift between Erotica in 1992 and 1994’s Bedtime Stories – as Billboard investigate:

“While Madonna certainly didn't lack for fame in 1994, the button-pushing Eroticaalbum had soured many critics and fans. For the first time in a decade of superstardom, people weren't shocked by her antics anymore -- even worse, they often seemed exhausted by her.

Artistically speaking, she'd spent the last four years challenging and subverting America's sexual puritanism. But after releasing an entire book called Sex featuring nude pictures of herself and other celebrities, there didn't seem to be anywhere else to go in that realm.

Instead of Erotica's chilly, pounding dance pop, Bedtime puts Madonna in softer sonic territory. There's the singer-songwriter-y "Secret," the avant pop of "Bedtime Story" (co-written by Bjork), the new jack swing jam "I'd Rather Be Your Lover" (featuring Meshell Ndegeocello rapping), the Herbie Hancock-sampling ballad "Sanctuary" and the lush, orchestral R&B of "Take a Bow."

But softer sounds didn't necessarily mean muted lyrics. "Human Nature" finds Madonna taking on her critics more directly than ever with a logical, defiant attack on slut-shaming. And while album opener "Survival" is a cozy R&B-pop song, it was similarly unrepentant in attitude”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: A promotional shot of Madonna for 1995’s Bedtime Story

With the Queen of Pop still active and, if rumours are to be believed, preparing material for a new album; I am fascinated looking back at her career and how she progressed. One can see jumps between every album but not more pronounced than the Like a Prayer-Erotica shift. Maybe there was dissent when Erotica was released and some found it too spicy for their tastes. The songs are incredible and Madonna sounds completely confident and fascinating throughout. I will look at Bedtime Stories when I look at 1994 but I was keen to mark Erotica and show how it impacted music and why it was an important release. Maybe other events around the album – including her book – soured the perception of Erotica and took away from the music but, strip all that away, and what you have is a huge achievement and a stunning album. Erotica helped assert the blueprint for modern-day Pop; it would inspire everyone from Beyoncé and Britney Spears to Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj. Although none come close to matching Madonna’s iconic status; many artists today are still dipping in and out of Erotica and letting it fill their creative minds. If you have a moment spare – and have some headphones as not to offend sensitive ears – have a visit of Erotica and revisit a wonderful L.P. It is a stunning creation from a Pop megastar who was determined to rule the world and outgun her peers. Whilst her best work was a few years away; Erotica saw Madonna rise from the promising and rising Pop artist to a peerless and controversial…

 IN THIS IMAGE: A shot from Madonna’s Sex book/PHOTO CREDIT: Steven Meisel

CONTROVERSIAL icon!

FEATURE: Fool’s Gold: Will We Ever See a Classic Pop Moment Again – or Does Nostalgia Cloud the Way We See Modern Music?

FEATURE:

 

 

Fool’s Gold

PHOTO CREDIT: @rexcuando/Unsplash  

Will We Ever See a Classic Pop Moment Again – or Does Nostalgia Cloud the Way We See Modern Music?

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MUSIC is a truly subjective medium…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @emmafranceslogan/Unsplash

and not one that imposes rules and absolutes. I am one of those people who are open-minded and do not like to constrict my horizons. That being said; I am not as ‘broad’ as I could be and do avoid some genres. It is hard with music, really. You try and embrace as much as you can but nobody likes every single thing that is before them and you overlook some things. What strikes me about modern music is how much choice there is available. I am stunned by the range and openness that means we can access pretty much anything – artists are splicing sounds together and there is endless choice. I am reading an interview the Beastie Boys gave and thinking about their regency. I am also looking ahead to next month and the fact a few Kate Bush albums are celebrating anniversaries. I am always pumped when legendary artists remain and continue to release work. I am also excited reflecting on the albums and songs I grew up around. The reason why I wanted to raise this article is down to the split between older music that I grew up around and what is available right now. I listen back to music of the 1980s and 1990s and wonder how far we have really come. In many respects; music is more open and the market is a lot more widespread. Artists who, decades ago, wouldn’t have been heard on the radio or discovered without a record label, in this age, are free to share their music and get it out to the world.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @sudhithxavier/Unsplash

One is amazed seeing how digital platforms have transformed music and what options we have now. I wonder whether that mass of newcomers has made it difficult to discover genius albums and wondrous songs. We all have songs we grew up around and, whether they were cheesy or cool, they have remained in our mind and are in our head. Popular music has no real scenes and clans the way it did decades ago. We do not have the Punk revolution or Britpop; there is no Beat Invasion and we have few of the communities that used to bond us. From those groups came defining anthems and works of brilliance that seemed to sum up the world or a particular group of people. Other masterful works arrived outside of those communities and the scene was more enriched and bold. I can recall a load of Pop classics from my childhood – by ‘Pop’, I do not mean a limited genre but what was considered popular. Whether a Madonna classic or a wonderful offering from Blur; a Beatles anthem or something from Destiny’s Child – I was spoiled for choice and was being brought up on new music and the stuff my parents listened to. We can all name those songs that scored our childhood and got us interested in music. Whilst there are great songs being released each week; when was the last time you heard a song that stopped you in your tracks and matched those classic songs from way back?!

Maybe The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army is the last real anthem I can compare with the greats but that was back in 2003! I love music now but the Pop mainstream does not have the same icons of the 1980s and 1990s. So many tracks are written to appeal to the streaming generation and create something easy and uncomplicated. Maybe modernity and technology have made it impossible to create anything generations-lasting and fresh. I look at the Pop genre and there are some wonderful artists but nothing that gets into my head. Look around every other genre and, again, you get some stone-cold classics but the joy only lasts a certain time. Most of the music I listen to on a daily basis is from years back. I still hanker and hark back to the music I grew up around and that usually ends at the start of the last decade. If you had to do a list of the top-twenty songs of all time; how many ‘recent’ songs would be in there? The same goes for albums, too. We all know the classics but I wonder whether any record from the past decade would be anywhere near the upper leagues. Again; brilliant albums have come and every year sees some brilliant albums come through. Maybe one or two records from the past decade could make it into the top-fifty all-time albums but, again, most of the top-ten/twenty would be from the 1960s-1990s/2000s.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Jackson/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

The Pop mainstream has always had some rather tragic artists plugging away but we had those icons like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince. I am going to write a piece about 1994 in a day or two and it is a year that amazes me. Not only did we get legendary albums from the likes of Jeff Buckley and Oasis but songs from around that time stay with me. Grunge was still (just about) around and there was great Dance music; female artists like Madonna and Tori Amos were leading the way and new genres were coming to prominence. I can rattle off a list of brilliant albums and songs from that year and I can name countless years where songs (from that year) have remained with me. How long has it been since we saw a Dance classic or a Pop anthem that will last through the decades?! Maybe it is too early to make a declaration but I think we are less interested in making anthems and genius albums. One can argue whether the album is dying – I do not think so but many people do not listen to them – but there is argument Pop music (whether a specific genre of the mainstream as a whole) is getting worse. Reports suggest Pop music is getting less fun and slower; there has a case of diminishing returns. This report, from 2012,

“Reuters reports that researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010.

The report says that a team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used…

"We found evidence of a progressive homogenization of the musical discourse," Serra told Reuters. "In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years…

 

The research adds that modern pop has a more limited set of sounds, and it offers advice to musicians saying that old tunes re-recorded with increased loudness, simpler chord progressions and different instruments could sound new and fashionable”.

You can say music has got stronger in many ways and there is a lot to love about the modern scene – even if there has been a change regarding Pop and its sustainability. I feel the fact we have opened the doors and created better access for unsigned artists means we are often not that focused and too busy trying to get to grips with everything coming through. How often do we stick with an artist and play the same song/album? Music, for the most part, is evolving but I feel some of the fun and quality has been lost. I have been spinning song great tracks from back in the day and maybe it is the production or the scene at the time but it pops and makes me smile. These tracks will remain with me until I die and I wonder how much music from the past decade will remain in my brain as I approach middle and old age. There is subjectivity at play but I wonder whether nostalgia and our natural inclination to reflect on ‘better days’ clouds our view of modern music.

Nostalgia can be good and makes us remember where we came from but, as this article shows; nostalgia can be unhealthy and does not allow us to appreciate the past:

“Did you know that nostalgia was once thought of as an illness, a terrible malady that caused fever, stomach pain and even death? Sufferers of nostalgia were largely Swiss mercenaries who experienced symptoms after they were posted to the plains of France and Italy in the 18th and 19th centuries. They missed the mountains and the air and the St Bernards, and who wouldn’t have a funny turn at the thought of no more fondue and raclette?

Physicians – for doctors of old are always described as physicians, aren’t they? – put the peculiar condition down to demons before deciding that actually, it was caused by all the clanging of all the cowbells in the Swiss Alps. The cowbells damaged ear drums and brain cells and essentially sent people bonkers, you see”.

I do the same with T.V. shows and decades like the 1990s. We all tend to talk more about where we came from and how good things used to be as opposed focusing on what is good these day. Maybe music was better decades back but that is not to say the modern climate lacks inventiveness and potential. Maybe there are not the same sort of Pop classics and brilliant albums we grew up around but there are a lot of advantages and positive changes. The fact we have access to a lot of great new music means we are more educated and broader consumers than pre-Internet.  

PHOTO CREDIT: @jontyson/Unsplash 

Do we all tend to get mired in nostalgia and want things to return to the past? Are we all becoming a bit tired and stressed with the modern world and want to reset the clock? 

“…And as a country we are gripped by a collective anxiety that the world was a much better place in the past, even if in the past it was touch and go as to whether or not you’d have electricity for a whole day and in the past women could look forward to a life of cooking and cleaning and hoping that the rubbish would actually be taken away. A YouGov poll earlier this year found that 71 per cent of Britons think the world is on the slide. You’ll know the usual complaints, because you’ve probably used them yourself at least once in the past month: our young people are no longer safe because of the rise of social media; the internet and smart phones have made us impolite and insular; it is only a matter of time before we are finished off by robots or climate change or designer babies or immigrants”.

Many people, myself included, think music was stronger years ago but I wonder about those songs that shout at you and obsess your thoughts. Is an overly-nostalgic viewpoint and subjective haze clouding our appreciation of modern music and making us too closed-off?!

I think there is some truth but I wonder whether we will see those songs we’ll recall and sing decades from now. There have been books published that ask where the Pop and Rock stars have gone. Perhaps T.V., film and other aspects of popular culture made some decades shine and means we have transformed a lot now. I have not given up on modern music or feel it is weak in any way. The industry has changed and it is harder for artists to cement a legacy and create something world-beating. Although many artists keep decades likes the 1980s fresh in their music; it lacks the same spark and authenticity as hearing it first-hand. Again; is that nostalgia blocking our receptors or is music weaker now?! I do wonder where the Pop anthem has gone and whether any album released in the last decade will, decades from now, rival the best twenty or thirty. I love modern music but ask myself why I spend most of my free time revising music from way back. I do not feel it is pure nostalgia and wanting to be somewhere happier and safer. For sure; the music I listen to holds fond memories and I can recall where I was when these tracks were unleashed.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @nekotai/Unsplash

The Pop genre has lost some of its fun and melody; ultra-modern production and platforms have hindered a sense of organic and personal expression. I do think time itself and the march have technology have made music good in some ways – borders are open and there is more choice – but means, alas, we will never see music that hits us in the same way as the sort we were raised on. It is interesting weighting up that argument of fact vs. nostalgia and seeing whether there is an absolute truth. It would be stupid to say modern music is invalid and lacks soul because that is not true. I think a lot of its stems from the mainstream and what is promoted and how that is done. Even if you look at years like 1994, 1982 or 1967. These years are all vastly different and wildly eclectic. There were duff tracks festooning the charts but you had that variation to keep the mind active. I recall the great Dance music of the 1990s would be in the same chart and nook as Pop gold and Grunge.

There is more homogenisation at the top and the fact we do not really view the charts as a good indicator of quality shows has music has come on. Maybe changes will never come or we have gone too far to rekindle some of that fun and variety we saw years ago. I agree that music is a lot more challenging, open and broad than ever. We have opened the industry to unsigned acts and many things have improved. I agree nostalgia does cloud how we see things and can be quite intrusive. I think, mind, the reason why I am going to dedicate (yet ANOTHER) piece to 1994 and other classic musical years is because, sadly, modern music has lost a lot of its joy. In relation to the question I pose at the top of this piece; will we, alas, ever see a true Pop classic or album that can rub shoulders against the greats?! Having weighed everything up, and looking at the potency of modern music, I feel, in many ways, the very best and most fun days of music…

 

ARE way back in the past!

FEATURE: Lost in Translation: Is the Contemporary Music Scene Truly Accepting of Trans Artists?

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Lost in Translation

IMAGE CREDIT: Sunshine Art

Is the Contemporary Music Scene Truly Accepting of Trans Artists?

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ONE of the reasons why I am interested in the rights of trans artists…

is because there is discussion online regarding greater equality - there are many other reasons why I want to explore this subject and look in more depth (musicians are often overlooked when it comes to talk about trans people). The hashtag #ComeOutForTransEquality has been trending and getting people talking. If you are not aware of what has been happening and why such discussion has been sparked; here is some background from DIVA:

“In just two days, 108 organisations signed up to a full page advertisement in today’s Metro newspaper, promoting the hashtag #ComeOutForTransEquality – and now that hashtag has gone viral, trending on Twitter across the UK.

"I’m extremely proud that DIVA, together with Stonewall, has taken the lead on this,” Linda Riley, publisher of DIVA magazine said earlier this afternoon.

Since launching the campaign this morning, thousands of people – including well known public figures and celebrities – have taken to social media to share photographs of the ad page, comments, and messages of support – drowning out the small minority of people still attacking the trans community.

The campaign comes just days before a government consultation on reforms to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 close (read more about that here)”.

The deadline to respond to the Government’s GRA consultation has been extended to midday on Monday. There are many reasons to add your voice and have your say. Stonewall have added some information and you would be advised to visit their website to find out more:

“The UK Government is consulting on vital new rights for trans (including non-binary) and intersex people. This could be a huge step forward for trans equality. It is crucial that the Government sees trans people and allies coming out in support…

Failure to secure these reforms would not just hold back trans people's rights, it would represent a major setback in our collective efforts to secure LGBT rights and equality.

That's why we need you to come out in support, get your friends, family and networks involved, and show that people across Britain support trans people’s right to be accepted and live free from hate”.

Before I go on, and if you need definitions and more clarification regarding transgederism, transsexualism and providing some background - so my words and the debates going on hold weight - here is some clarification:

“1. Transgenderism is an umbrella term for the state or condition of identifying or expressing a gender identity that does not match a person's physical/genetic sex. Transgender is independent of sexual orientation, and those who self-identify as transgender may consider themselves to be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual. Approximately 700,000 individuals in the U.S. identify as transgender.

2. Transgenderism differs from intersex, a variation in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that do not allow an individual to be distinctly identified as male or female. Intersex is a physical condition while transgender is a psychological condition. The vast majority of people with intersex conditions identify as male or female rather than transgender or transsexual. (The term “hermaphrodite” is now considered outdated, inaccurate, and offensive as a reference to people who are intersex.)…

IMAGE CREDIT: Stonewall/Getty Images

3. The terms transgender, transsexual, and transvestite are not synonymous. Transsexual is a narrower term used to refer to people who identify as the opposite of their birth gender designation, regardless of whether they have undergone or intend to undergo hormone replacement therapy and/or sex reassignment surgery. A transvestite is a person who cross-dresses, or dresses in clothes of the opposite sex, though they may not identify with, or want to be the opposite gender. All transsexuals are transgender, but transvestites do not necessarily fall into either of the other categories.

If you feel like trans people - transsexual and transgender - in this country, and around the world, have the same rights as everyone else – and are treated fairly – then you need to do some research. I have been reading this article that gives some revelation, statistics and eye-opening realities:

“If you picked up a copy of Metro on Tuesday, you may have seen an advert featuring over 100 organisations voicing their support for transgender rights. After Fair Play For Women placed an advertisement in the newspaper last week which for many felt like an attack on the transgender community, charities and publications across the UK have decided to take a stand ahead of an important consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act.
If you picked up a copy of Metro on Tuesday, you may have seen an advert featuring over 100 organisations voicing their support for transgender rights. After Fair Play For Women placed an advertisement in the newspaper last week which for many felt like an attack on the transgender community, charities and publications across the UK have decided to take a stand ahead of an important consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act….

Woefully out of date When the Gender Recognition Act became law in 2004, it gave trans people the right to have their gender identity legally recognised. But that Act, as transgender people and campaigners have pointed out, is woefully out of date. In order to legally change their birth certificate, trans people have to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria and endure a series of intrusive assessments over a two-year period where a panel of legal and medical experts determines their gender. They can only do this at the age of eighteen, and it costs £140 to do so. If we voice our support for a reformation of the Act through the Government’s consultation, which is being carried out until 19 October, transgender people will no longer have to undergo a time-consuming process that can take years in order to prove their gender…

IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images

This could also help non-binary and intersex people be treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve. Yet in spite of these common-sense reformations, this consultation has evoked a toxic and harmful debate. The trans community are frequently attacked online, while their identities are questioned in the press, whether that’s pieces suggesting that there has been a trans “explosion”, or that trans teenagers are taking part in “an experiment”. Attacks on trans people can have a devastating impact. Roughly 45 per cent of trans teens in the UK attempt suicide, and hate crimes against the community have risen by a third in the past year alone”.

There is a lot more awareness when it comes to the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. community and what many people have to ensure. There are Pride flags proudly adorned and yearly Pride festivals raise awareness and create unity. I know a few artists from the community and, whilst things are improving and conversation is happening; they are not afforded the same rights and privileges as other musicians. Sexuality and sexual identity should not dictate how people are treated – the same way race and gender should never be an issue. That sounds rather naïve but there are fantastic trans artists out there who are not as visible as one would hope. It is not their fault at all.

Look at the mainstream and industry as a whole and how many L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. members does one hear on the radio and see adorning the cover of magazines?! There are great articles out there that highlight trans artists carving out their own niche and showing their colours. I will bring in a great study that asks whether trans artists have visibility and rights and, as I end this piece with a selection of songs from trans artists,  there is no real difference in sound. One gets this rather false impression that trans and L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artists will always sing about their sexuality or they’ll be camp; it is all going to be rather atonal, unusual and inaccessible. If you have the mindset (that trans artists) will be second-rate cabaret performers who cannot rank alongside other musicians then you would be wrong. From ANOHNI to Ezra Furman (who, to be fair, identifies as gender-fluid) through to Mina Caputo and Laura Jane Grace – the songs being performed as are ordinary, striking and popular as any others out there. Perhaps there are trans artists talking about their struggle and fight but most of the trans artists I have heard are singing about the same sort of thing as their non-trans peers. This raises a couple of points. One wonders whether there are trans artists in the underground who are not being let through and are expected to blend in with others.

 IN THIS PHOTO: ANOHNI/PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times

Maybe trans artists who we all know are reserved about projecting a true message because they feel it will be detrimental and damage their careers. I also wonder whether the scene is not accommodating of trans (and L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artists) performers who want to document their sexuality, changes and souls. I would like to see more trans artists promoted and highlighted – not in a pandering way but to celebrate what they do and ensure there is greater awareness and acceptance.  There are articles and think-pieces out in the press, such as this from The Independent, that highlights realities and how now, after so long, we are starting to make changes and offer equality for trans people:

“People suffer when their gender is not recognised by law, or when the government sets boundaries that define their gender. When something is in law it is “normalised”. It’s a reassurance that equal rights will be given and prejudice is the abnormality.

That’s why same sex marriage and every other fight for equality was crucial. The law must see us and recognise us as the people we are. Concerns can still be raised – equality doesn’t mean silence, but our laws should protect people who for too long have been forced to remain invisible. Let people be who they are. Today”.

I understand there are artists out there who identify as trans and are happy in their skin but there are a lot who are changing their style and holding back because they want to fit into the music industry – and not risk being judged our outcast. It is rare we see openly gay artists being acclaimed and revered and, although there are many L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artists in music as a whole; there are relatively few in the mainstream and, if there are more, I wonder whether, again, they are hiding their true desires – talking about sex and their struggles without disguising it – and allowed to freely express. I wonder whether we still have a long way to go with regards L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artists and whether we are aware of the fact there are trans artists out there who are being overlooked. In an industry where women still are being ignored and having to struggle for equality; is this discrimination and sexism a reason why trans artists are less visible and assimilated as one would like?! This essay, from Sarah Bartolome, published earlier this month, gives fascinating insight into the music industry and trans artists:

“Of the nearly 900 artists nominated for Grammy awards since 2013, only 9.3 percent were women. Only two percent of music producers were women. Since the award’s launch in 1974, only six women have been nominated for a Grammy Award Producer of the Year. No woman has ever won the award…

IN THIS PHOTO: Laura Jane Grace/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Yet while the underrepresentation of women in the music industry is startling, the conversation regarding gender disparity in mainstream popular music completely overlooks one particular group of missing musicians: those who identify as transgender or non-binary.

It is true the individuals in the transgender community have increased visibility in many public arenas. In politics, Danica Roem made history in November, becoming the first openly transgender individual elected to the U.S. State Legislature.

In sports, transgender athletes such as Harvard University swimmer Schuyler Bailar, U.S. duathlete Chris Mosier, American cyclist Jillian Bearden, and MMA fighter Fallon Fox have public profiles.

In Hollywood, Jaime Clayton (Netflix’s Sens8) and Candace Cayne (ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money) have joined Emmy Nominee Laverne Cox (Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black) as successful transgender actors who portrayed recurring characters on popular television shows”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @mrs80z/Unsplash 

It is rare to see an L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artist win an award or being represented the same way as anyone else in the mainstream and, for trans artists, there is that similar lack of visibility. Maybe it is unfair to say they are deliberately and systematically marginalised but I feel there is a bit of an ignorance and lack of understanding. Might we ever see trans musicians being acknowledged fairly and given the freedom to integrate into the scene naturally and without barriers?

“…And yet, we have seen little mainstream success for transgender popular musicians. To date, no openly transgender musician has ever debuted on the Billboard Charts or won a Grammy Award as a popular music artist.

Some may attribute a lack of visible trans musicians to a dearth of performers competing in the industry. In reality, there is a large community of trans musicians actively creating and performing music, highlighted by Billboard and PBS in recent features on trans and non-binary musicians.

Another explanation for the absence from mainstream recognition may be that it is difficult for trans and non-binary musicians to find a place in the male-dominated industry. Research has shown that males have more negative attitudes towards transgender individuals, demonstrate more anti-transgender prejudice, and are more concerned with transgender women in female bathrooms than their female counterparts”.

There is, despite the comparative lack of trans artists in music, hope there is improvement and discussion. Although trans musicians do not suffer the same bullying and violence as trans people in other areas of society; I feel many are unafraid to discuss what they want in their lyrics and discuss their lives in a very unabashed and unedited fashion. Whether transsexual or transvestites; these are artists who have a critical voice and have a lot of value. Their voice and stories can act as guidance and inspiration to those in other parts of the world; people who are being ignored and assaulted; those who are afraid to come forward and feel like they will be judged. Some artists, like Laura Jane Grace, have sparked discussion and have not faced an immense amount of backlash:

“Punk rock band Against Me!’s lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender in Rolling Stone in 2012 and continues to be a vocal trans advocate, openly discussing her difficult journey.

Fans did not abandon the band following Grace’s public transition: In 2014, the band found its way back to the Billboard charts with the critically acclaimed album Transgender Dysphoria Blues. Their 2016 album Shape Shift with Me also peaked at number 6 on the Billboard charts

D. Smith, who earned a Grammy Award credit for producing the track “Shoot Me Down” on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III, Rap Album of the Year (2009), came out as transgender in 2016. She did a short stint on Season 5 of VH1’s series, Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta, using the opportunity to educate the public about the trans community. She released her first solo single, “I’m That Bitch,” in 2016”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Press 

I feel the music industry, as it is, is not as open and borderless as it could be. I know there are trans artists out there but the lack of voice at the top of the industry is not surprising. Consider how hard it is for women in music and how many L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artists feel like they are not afforded the same oxygen and rights as others. Visibility, great discussion and social media campaigns like #ComeOutForTransEquality are assisting in raising awareness and helping change come about. I hope the Government does more to protect trans people and they are allowed to go through life with the same rights as everyone else. The violence, hatred and discrimination many (trans people) face is alarming and I feel music has a role to play. There are trans actors who are active and vocal but we have fairly few musicians who are being given the platform on which to speak and have their say. The essay I have been quoting does raise a good point regarding recent changes and how equality might be in sight:

 “The recent rise in visibility of transitioning musicians may pave the way for openly transgender and non-binary musicians to enter mainstream popular music. Further evidence shows that trans voices are emerging from the margins and stepping into the spotlight….

 IN THIS IMAGE: Shea Diamond/IMAGE CREDIT: Billboard

North Carolina’s Moogfest announced its 2018 lineup which will feature exclusively female, trans, and non-binary musicians. One Voice Mixed Chorus in St. Paul will host the Transgender Voices Festival in April, a gathering designed to “offer a space for transgender and gender nonconforming (GNC) singers across musical genres and cultures to explore our voices and identities, grow as artists, and learn techniques for voice care”.

I hope changes come in fast and here, in the U.K., the Government will offer greater rights and protection for trans people. We should not feel like we have to normalise and integrate trans people as they are part of our society and there is nothing different about them. By this; I mean they are like you and me and it is ridiculous and insulting they should suffer any abuse. In music, I am aware of some trans artists emerging and having their say but there is a way to go. I would like to see more discussion and interviews; greater awareness and highlight of these artists. Not so they are made special and isolated but show how important their voices are and allow them to write and perform as they feel natural. There is a way to go, sure, but I think change can happen and we can, in years to come, see an industry that is open and accommodating of trans and L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. artists. We need, in general, to see greater equality in the music industry and we all know what needs to be fixed. I feel many trans artists are being held back and fighting hard because women are being ignored; because things are too rigid or maybe it is something else. These changes will not happen right away but the activation, discussion and unity we have seen surrounding #ComeOutForTransEquality leads me to believe rights for trans people/musicians will come…

PHOTO CREDIT: Stonewall/Getty Images 

BEFORE too long.

FEATURE: Sisters in Arms: An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XIII)

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: IMAN 

An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XIII)

__________

THIS weekend…

IN THIS PHOTO: Rookes

is another settled one and the sun has already made an appearance! There is a bit of an autumnal chill in the air and we are never far from a reminder that the season is changing. I am hopeful it will stay warm and okay for a while but you never know how things will go and how quickly the weather can change. In any case; I have looked around the treasure chest of new music and collated some songs that summon the contrasts and colours of autumn. If you need that mix of calm and soft and the more heightened and hot then this is the right playlist for you. Have a listen to all the assorted gems that are female-led and seriously accomplished. It shows, as I keep saying, women in music are creating something tremendous and long-lasting. This is a playlist that not only throws together autumnal shades but highlights some of the very best female artists…

IN THIS PHOTO: Bahari 

IN the music world.

ALL PHOTOS (unless stated otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

____________

Janette King (ft. Jordan Esau) – I Need Love

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Gabriel Hyden

Leyya – Wannabe

IMAN – L.O.V.E

Mae Muller – Pull Up

PHOTO CREDIT: Dawncast

Izzie Walsh – Kitchen Table

Bahari – Chasers

PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Mcconnachie

KAHLLA – Come with Me

Cher Lloyd – None of My Business

Maggie Szabo (ft. No Class) – Wide Awake

PHOTO CREDIT: @kpcaptures

Bessie Turner – Nino

Etta Bond – Love Me Up

Sasha Sloan – Chasing Parties

Liv Austen – Nothing Less, Nothing More 

PHOTO CREDIT: Shervin Lainez

Delta Rae – Hands Dirty           

PHOTO CREDIT: The New York Times

Kelly Lee Owens – Bird

PHOTO CREDIT: Chazz Adnitt

Nubya Garcia – Red Sun

Summer Walker – Prayed Up

Tina Boonstra – Find You

PHOTO CREDIT: @anthonydeeying

Ariel Beesley - Mine

Julie Bergan – U Got Me

Nat Conway – So Loud

Hanne Mjøen – Sounds Good to Me

Empress Of – Timberlands

Lara Smiles – Zombie

Bitch Falcon – Prime Number

Rookes – The Heel of My Hand

Poppy Ajudha – White Water

FEATURE: The October Playlist: Vol. 3: I Treasure My Body Fat, Sir!

FEATURE:

 

The October Playlist

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sampha/PHOTO CREDIT: Complex

Vol. 3: I Treasure My Body Fat, Sir!

 __________

THIS time around…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Neneh Cherry/PHOTO CREDIT: Kim Hiorthoy

I have compiled a great assortment of new tracks that unites the best of the mainstream with those underground, lesser-heard artists. It is another varied and interesting week for music that sees heavyweights like Thom Yorke, Neneh Cherry and Sampha line up against those artists you might not be familiar with. Given the fact autumn is upon us and things are a bit changeable; sit inside, get the music cranking and let the sounds wash over you. It is a great week for discoveries and gems; a banquet of music that sees some rather tasty treats come to view! Have a good listen and I am sure, once you make your way through the playlist, you’ll agree that it is a really strong and compelling week for new music.

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

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Sampha – Treasure

How to Dress Well – Body Fat

Friendly Fires – Heaven Let Me In

Editors – Cold

MØ – Blur 

Lennon Stella – Breakaway

Rae Morris – Dances with Character

GIRLI – Young

Julia Holter – Words I Heard

Thom Yorke – Hands Off the Atlantic

Billie Eilish – when the party’s over

Isaac Gracie – Show Me Love

The 1975 – It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You)

Anna Pancaldi – Peace

Cher Lloyd – None of My Business

Mumford & Sons - Guiding Light

PHOTO CREDIT: Lottie Turner

IDER – Mirror

PHOTO CREDIT: Corinne Cumming for DORK

Nothing But Thieves – Gods

Rachel Platten – You Belong

Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life

Elle King – Shame

Greta Van Fleet – Age of Man

PHOTO CREDIT: Dean Chalkley

Richard Ashcroft – That’s How Strong

Neneh Cherry – Natural Skin Deep

Daniel Caesar – Who Hurt You? 

Tove Styrke - Vibe

Au/Ra – Ultraviolet

Carlie Hanson – Toxins

PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Alexander Harris

Novo Amor – Sleepless

PHOTO CREDIT: Darren Skene

Emmi – Scared Stupid

Jessie Reyez – Saint Stupid

Brandi Carlile (ft. Sam Smith) – Party of One

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Driver Photography

Bessie Turner – Nino

Lil Peep – Cry Alone

Ferris & Sylvester – Burning River

FEATURE: Sisters in Arms: An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XII)

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: Ivy Sole/PHOTO CREDIT: @saeedaferguson

An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XII)

__________

THE is weather is all mad…

IN THIS PHOTO: Hands Off Gretel 

and we can get warm and sunny days (like today) and those rather cloudy and awful ones - that feel like autumn. In the latest edition of this playlist; I have collated songs, I feel, portray the complexity and variation of the weather. There are some cooler and more windswept numbers and some fizzing and hot tracks that get you uplifted and moving. I am excited seeing all the female/female-led music coming through and how much range there is! Have a look through this tasty rundown that will get you into the mood and elevate the spirit – no matter what the weather is like where you are! It is another fantastic collection of female-fronted songs that emanate from some of the finest…

IN THIS PHOTO: Thunderpussy/PHOTO CREDIT: Jake Clifford  

NEW artists around.

ALL PHOTOS (unless stated otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

____________

Hands Off Gretel – S.A.S.S

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew McIntyre

Tmboy – Seed

Maya Kally – Another Time 

PHOTO CREDIT: @erina_uemura

Pinky Pinky – Hot Tears

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrea Montano

Halo Maud – Baptism

Ivy Sole – Parables

Madge – How to Play

Dope Saint Jude – Grrrl Like

Gabriella Cohen – Neil Young Goes Crazy

Yazmin Lacey – Body Needs Healing

Cat Burns – Sober

Rae Morris – Rose Garden (Compton White Remix)

PHOTO CREDIT: William Pope

Tamzene – Count Your Days 

Billie Eilish – when the party’s over

Nuela Charles – Forecast

PHOTO CREDIT: Shabnam Ferdowsi | Photography

Maddie Ross – Physical

Party Fears – Dog Star

PHOTO CREDIT: Elliott Franklin

Hydra Lerna – Reckless

Calva Louise – I Heard a Cry

PHOTO CREDIT: Asupremeshot

Peaness – Ugly Veg

PHOTO CREDIT: Thomas Brooker

Lazybones - Heart Beat Like a Drum

White Flowers – Glimmer 

Dorothy – White Butterfly

Adwaith – Newid

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Grace Hunder

BATTS – Gun

PHOTO CREDIT: Eddie Rehfeldt

Thunderpussy - The Cloud

PHOTO CREDIT: Ian Laidlaw

Jess Locke – Nothing at All

Vienna Youth – Mellow Medicine

FEATURE: The Minor Fall, the Major Lift: How an Increase in Women Taking to the Guitar Is Good News and a Strong Message to Festival Organisers

FEATURE:

 

 

The Minor Fall, the Major Lift

PHOTO CREDIT: @haleypowers/Unsplash

How an Increase in Women Taking to the Guitar Is Good News and a Strong Message to Festival Organisers

__________

THERE is debate as to whether the guitar is declining…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @tenguyen/Unsplash

when it comes to popularity and appeal. Certainty, when it comes to the electric guitar; there have been some contradictions that make me wonder whether people are picking up the instrument. This article, from Digital Music News (May 2018), reported some worrying statistics regarding sales figures of the electric guitar:

“Electric guitar sales have slipped 22.7% since 2008, based partly on decreased demand from younger buyers.  Surprisingly, acoustic guitar sales are a totally different story.

Last year, the Washington Post reported that electric guitar sales had plummeted 33% in the past ten years, from 1.5 million units annually to 1 million currently.  Now, there’s more data showing a precipitous decline.

According to data shared by Music Trades, which tracks annual instrument sales in North America, electric guitar sales slipped 22.7% over the past decade.  The report counted sales of 1.452 million guitar sales in 2008, a figure that had slipped to 1.123 million units in 2017.

Ironically, the report was shared by a representative of Guitar Center, who sent the report to show a sales increase over the past year.  But that increase appears temporary, with the broader trend since 2008 showing a clear decline”.

Another article, from Rolling Stone (May 2018), looked at the continued desire for the guitar and how the market is quite strong:

“Guitar sales in many markets are on the rise, and the industry is in one of its more optimistic times. A report from research firm IBISWorld, which tracks guitar manufacturing in the U.S., shows consecutive growth in the last five years and a projected upswing through at least 2022. Even if today’s music fans are more likely to worship pop stars and rappers than their parents’ guitar heroes, there’s little to indicate that the guitar’s reign is over – and there might actually be more to show the opposite…

PHOTO CREDIT: @labandestyle/Unsplash 

Just because hip-hop and pop are ascendant in the streaming age doesn’t mean there aren’t thousands of guitar bands recording and gracing concert stages every year, from newcomers like Empath to modern mainstays like the National. It does mean, however, that guitar makers have to find new customers. As the charts and stages change guard, companies are also stepping outside of a demographic upon which they relied for decades – white, male buyers – to ask themselves: Who were they missing all this time? 

When Fabi Reyna first started She Shreds, a magazine for female guitarists, five years ago, few in the industry paid attention. But now – with those old guitar heroes exiting the zeitgeist and Taylor Swift and her ilk drawing massive crowds of female fans and imitators – instrument-makers are taking notice of a huge audience they’d ignored. Guitar-wielding women, from Lucy Dacus to Soccer Mommy to 19-year-old Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail, have made some of this year’s most remarkable albums. Perhaps the enormous potential had been there all along”.

It is true there are fewer guitar/music shops of the high-street but there are plenty of online sites selling guitars - and you cannot really substitute electronics and apps for a real instrument! The reason I am bringing this subject up is a report that states women are responsible for 50% of guitar sales!

 PHOTO CREDIT: @foulsterr/Unsplash

Not only are we still buying guitars and bands/artists are picking them up and continuing a noble tradition; women – who formed the minority of consumers until fairly recently – now make up half of the market. Before I present my findings/impressions; here us how The Guardian reported the news:

“From singers to drummers, roadies to rock critics, music is an industry still overwhelmingly dominated by men – but perhaps not forever. A new study of those taking up the guitar has found that half of new learners are women and girls, suggesting that the future of rock, metal and indie might just be 50% female.

The survey by the guitar manufacturer Fender found that in the US and UK, a phenomenon it had originally assumed was a short-lived blip inspired by the popularity of Taylor Swift was in fact enduring and worldwide.

Similar results from a previous, smaller study in 2016 had initially been ascribed to the “Swift factor”, Fender CEO Andy Mooney told Rolling Stone magazine.

“In fact, it’s not. Taylor has moved on, I think playing less guitar on stage than she has in the past. But young women are still driving 50% of new guitar sales. So the phenomenon seems like it’s got legs, and it’s happening worldwide.”

Fender’s UK team had been surprised that half its sales were to girls and women, he said, “but it’s identical to what’s happening in the US”.

Following the previous US study, Fender changed its tactics to target millennial women, launching a new range of guitars in 2016 and enlisting the female-fronted indie bands Warpaint and Bully in its marketing campaigns…

PHOTO CREDIT: @brinnafair/Unsplash

Almost three-quarters (72%) of those picking up the guitar did so because they wanted to gain a life skill or better themselves, according to Fender’s survey of 500 new and aspirational guitarists, with 42% saying they viewed the guitar as part of their identity”.

One of the problems with the guitar market is patience and people dispensing with them after a year. Many pick them up with ambition and intention but, soon enough, they get distracted and take up other pursuits. There has always been this impression women lust after musicians and are not that interested in playing. That perception is flawed and, in fact, the reason for this resurgence and parity is women/girls wanting to follow in the footsteps of their idols and adding their voice to music. Maybe the electric guitar is less healthy, in terms of sales, than the acoustic but the fact there are now as many women as men picking up guitars is a great thing! Reports suggest that our consumers are more private than those in the U.S. Maybe there are more overt guitar players there and, perhaps, the impression one gets from the U.K. is of the acoustic guitar-wielding musician who wants to noodle and experiment on their own. That old perception of men picking up guitars to start a band is no longer the standard.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Pearl Jam in 1991/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

I think history and stereotypes have blurred the market. We hark back to decades like 1990s when a raft of blokes were keen to ape the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and that sort. They would head to the guitar shop with their girlfriends and they would buy a guitar – it would usually be electric and cranked right up! The fact the Rock/Alternative band market has shifted and shrunk since then means other genres are taking over. Artists like Taylor Swift were responsible for a wave of young women picking up the guitar but, even though she is less influential now, there are new artists keeping that flame alight! There are people I have heard from who still feel, if they are shopping for guitars with their boyfriends/husbands; the sales assistant will ask the man what they want – assuming it is he who is buying and his other half is there to hold his wallet! Things have, thankfully, moved on and the fact music is wider and more electric than ever means things are altering. There are more independent and unsigned artists coming through - and most of the very best, in my view, are women. Solo artists like Laura Marling and St. Vincent are gathering huge acclaim and, as such, women/girls are seeing these role models they can relate to and who, in turn, are shouting for women and showing how good they are! There have always been iconic female guitar players but I think more and more are coming to the mainstream.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Goat Girl/PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Minto for Wonderland

I am a big fan of bands like Goat Girl and HAIM and others such as Wolf Alice - where there are female leads and these gnarly, powerful figures. To my mind, Anna Calvi is one of the best guitarists in the world right now. I have seen videos of her playing her favourite riffs and she can take on the likes of Jimi Hendrix with ease and passion. Her albums are filled with great licks and riffs and, whilst she is softly-spoken and fairly shy; her music is speaking volumes and inspiring a new generation of female players who are finding much to love – even if they might take a few years to match Calvi and her chops. Similarly; St. Vincent is a great and varied player who matches her guitar skills with fantastic and colourful songs. Whereas blokey bands of the past inspired men to pick guitars up and thrash; a rise in strong female musicians using their guitar as a social and political women is having a profound and immediate effect. It is not only the big and bold female artists who are responsible for an uptake. Folk and Pop are still influential but perhaps artists like Taylor Swift do not hold as much sway as they did a couple of years back. More and more all-female/female-led bands mean electric guitars are still burning bright whilst many great Folk/solo female artists are compelling a love of the acoustic guitar!

 IN THIS PHOTO: St. Vincent/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

The article from The Guardian has a theory as to why more women are picking up guitars these days:

“To the music critic Caroline Sullivan, the increase in women taking up guitar might be explained by millennial women wanting to play an assertive instrument “whose whole basis is: look at me”.

“It doesn’t surprise me that a lot of young girls are taking up the guitar, because playing guitar seems much cooler and more dominant than doing the traditional female thing of standing behind a keyboard looking pretty”.

I saw this balance and resurgence coming off of the back of negative talk around guitars. Reports of manufacturers seeing declining demand and music stores closing their doors; many assumed the guitar was being replaced by electronic avenues and other instruments. The fact a lot of new artists are using synths, keyboards and handheld technology to make their sounds does not mean the music world has changed so much the guitar has no places. Maybe mansplaining and that sexism surrounding the guitar has caused a bit of a rebellion and fu*k-you attitude. Los Angeles Magazine, earlier this year, explained how women are saving the electric guitar:

“For Fender—and for other guitar companies, as well—young players like Creevy and Faye represent the future of the instrument. Like many other industries in the #MeToo era, guitar makers are retooling their images. The effort hasn’t necessarily been fueled by accusations of sexual harassment or misogyny, though the business has no shortage of either—just ask any female musician who’s endured the mansplaining of a guitar showroom clerk. Instead manufacturers are taking cues from the fresh economic reality, revealed by Fender market research, that half the purchasers of new guitars are now women”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Anna Calvi/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

It reported how, in spite of mainstream radio playing fewer guitar-based songs/artists; many are taking guidance from underground music and festivals. Maybe that absence and lack of a guitar mainstream means new musicians are trying to revive it and add their own imprint. In any case; men are not the biggest market and, it seems, we will have to stop worshipping the ageing shredder and start embracing the younger female icon. Returning to the previous article and it seems like misconceptions and male-defined impressions of what a guitarist should be has created this misconception regarding the electric guitar and its ‘decline’:

“So why all the pessimism about the electric guitar? “To me that narrative—‘Is the electric guitar going away?’—is really, ‘Is my definition of what’s awesome about the electric guitar going away?’” says Anna Bulbrook, founder of the women-led L.A. music festival and community Girlschool.

“According to Bulbrook, much of the romance surrounding the electric guitar for decades was centered on the image of the “shredder,” a highly technical, flashy player who was nearly always a man. There are a few notable exceptions—Lita Ford, Nancy Wilson—but people are more likely to namedrop Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, or Jimmy Page. But such a “male definition of what it means to look and act like a guitarist” was always more limiting than the possibilities of the instrument itself—and it ignored much of the guitar’s history in American popular music, where players like country star Maybelle Carter and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe pioneered its use as a lead instrument.

“I understand canonizing some of the greatest shredders of all time,” says Bulbrook, who also fronts her own band, the Bulls, and plays violin in the Airborne Toxic Event. “But I would argue most of the guitarists people look up to now aren’t 65-year-old aging rock gods. Music has shifted a lot”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @lechonkirb/Unsplash 

I don’t think we can look at modern music and think about it the same way we did years ago. In terms of what a guitar player is and what ‘guitar music’ is about; it is not a binary market. There are so many genres and sub-genres that are seeing more women have a say and the market, as such, take note. Women have always been at the forefront of the guitar epoch. The media’s fascinating with male bands and that ‘epic shredder’ has caused a lot of problems but now, with the market as varied and open as ever, perceptions are starting to change. My greatest hope is that this equalisation and new finding leads to more festivals booking women as headliners. A lot of festivals are providing a big platform for female artists on lesser stages – dedicated to new talent and undiscovered artists – but what of the headline stages?! Take a look at the Reading and Leeds line-ups and, for the past few years, it has been dominated by men. This year’s event saw a lot more women come into the pack – and genres other than Rock – but it was the men who were on the main stages. Look at the last decade of Glastonbury headliners and how many of them are women?! You would be hard-pressed to find a year when there have been more women headlining than men and the headliners of 2017 – Ed Sheeran Foo Fighters and Radiohead – show how the big festivals are still obsessed by Rock bands, mainstream artists and obvious names. Reading and Leeds had Kings of Leon playing – how many years since they were relevant?! – and some of the more washed-up and obvious artists.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Foo Fighters/PHOTO CREDIT: Ed Miles/NME

If I were running a big festival like Glastonbury; I would look at the news regarding an equal gender split in regards guitar buying and look at the catalysts. Who are the modern artists driving this revival?! I have mentioned Anna Calvi and St. Vincent and, for my money, both would make epic Glastonbury headliners – the latter stands out as a particular must-book! Bigger Pop and Alternative artists like Florence and the Machine and Christine and the Queens, whilst not known for their guitar-based songs, have edginess and attitude that women want to replicate through the guitars. We mustn’t assume women are only listening to women. The rise of bands like IDLES have many female fans who are influenced by their work and want to follow suit. I would book St. Vincent for Glastonbury and feel she would go well alongside Beyoncé. Again; Queen Bey is not known for her shredding but her songs are filled with energy, strut and empowerment. Whilst the likes of Madonna have been speculated and mentioned regarding Glastonbury headliners it seems, sadly, the clichés still apply. I mentioned how have to overlook the male Rock gods and embrace female artists but two names who seem Glastonbury favourites, Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney, are part of that scene! Sir Elton John and Fleetwood Mac have been mentioned as possible and only one of these names has any female members – Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie would make a welcome change and a showing from Fleetwood Mac would be welcome! Arctic Monkeys, IDLES and The Strokes have been named and I feel, sadly, it will be a male majority for headliners!

 PHOTO CREDIT: @kristsll/Unsplash

Whilst I am not suggesting an all-female headline line-up – that would be good, through – I fear it will be all-male and a repetition of nearly every previous year. Big artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Kylie Minogue are rumoured as possibilities but look at the bookies’ odds and it is mostly male. Although Fleetwood Mac and Madonna are high in the running; it is your usual blokes who are filling most of the higher places – everyone from Arctic Monkeys and Billy Joel to Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick Lamar, in fact, is an clear favourite for most bookies and I wonder whether he has already got the call. I would love to see Madonna, Beyoncé; St. Vincent and Fleetwood Mac considered but I have that nagging feeling Glastonbury will crap-out again. I digress a bit but this good news regarding an equal split of male and female guitar buyers should give indication to festivals that more women, and women who play guitars, need to be on the headline stages and keeping this momentum going! I am glad there is this acceleration of female guitar buyers and I think we will see more and more girls/women boosting those figures! Gone, let’s hope, are the days when people assume women are best left away from a guitar and it is a male market. Given these new findings; I hope all this positivity and parity means it will be reflected in festival line-ups! There are some improvements coming in but, in terms of headliners, festivals are woefully negligent about proffering women! Let’s change this sooner rather than later and accept the fact there is this new generation of female musicians who deserve a big stage! Whilst I hear the empathic guitar string ring out in celebration and recognition; my wish is this sound reverberates and echoes in the ears…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @skywarden/Unsplash

OF those looking for great festival headliners.

FEATURE: That Vincent Price Cackle at the End REALLY Sells It! A Ghoulish Hallowe’en Playlist

FEATURE:

 

 

That Vincent Price Cackle at the End REALLY Sells It!

PHOTO CREDIT: @neonbrand/Unsplash 

A Ghoulish Hallowe’en Playlist

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IT is only a couple of weeks until Hallowe’en…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @freestocks/Unsplash

and you can find plenty of appropriate decoration and baubles to mark the upcoming celebration. I have not properly embraced Hallowe’en since I was a child but appreciate the spookiness and people dressing up; a chance to get a bit dark and ghostly for a night! 31st October is when many of us turn off the lights and pretend we’re not home – so children do not come trick-or-treating! – but, for many, it is a great opportunity to let their childish side out and have a bit of fun. Because of this; I have been thinking about how Hallowe’en and its imagery – from ghosts and werewolves to spirits and the undead – have made their way into music through the years. I am going to embrace Hallowe’en a bit more this year by drinking a few spirits and then staggering a bit like a zombie (joking!)…but I am one of those people who enjoys others getting a real kick from it. We are already being force-fed Christmas ideas and merchandise so it is nice we can put that on hold and get behind a night of ghosts, ghouls and assorted frights! I have looked around for Hallowe’en-flavoured songs that provoke images of the night and will, I hope, get you in the mood. Take a listen to the playlist and I think there are some songs in there that will prepare you for…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @dallehj/Unsplash

A great Hallowe’en.

FEATURE: A Cure for the PiL: Why a Lack of Good Images, Poor Band Names and Lacking Visibility Can Shorten a Music Career

FEATURE:

 

 

A Cure for the PiL

PHOTO CREDIT: @anniespratt/Unsplash 

Why a Lack of Good Images, Poor Band Names and Lacking Visibility Can Shorten a Music Career

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THIS is something I have touched on before…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @wbayreuther/Unsplash

but I am particular enraged and baffled so many artists continue to make the same mistakes. I must admit that I am not perfect when it comes to my blog. There could be a few snaps of myself and I need to get the social media buttons/links sorted; there could be a few tweaks made here and there but, as I am here to represent other musicians and feel I promote myself pretty well, I am not going to be beat myself up. The ‘PiL’ in the headline stands for ‘Public Image Limited’ - the John Lydon-fronted band and, in an ironic way, it tackles two things I want to talk about. We are at a time where people are photographing everything that moves and they can make their photos look all shiny and colourful, it always baffles me why musicians are among that select group who seem to struggle with providing great photos. It sounds like a personal gripe but it is general and sage advice that all journalists will echo. It can be exciting hearing a great song from an artist and you want to put in a review or interview. You get ready to contact them and check out their social media channels. One loses that passion as soon as you see another grainy, crappy and tiny images. More often than not, you get a slew of phone-taken photos that are piss-poor in clarity or you have a couple of professional shots and nothing more.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @hivadotme/Unsplash

More and more, I am finding artists do not have a selection of high-res photos and, as such, I am turning them away! You might think that is a harsh policy but, as I say, we have the capacity to take professional-quality photos with affordable technology. It only takes a little while to set up your own shoot and get some great pictures online. Failing that, music photographers are not that pricey and you can find plenty of willing and hungry people who would jump at the chance for work and would not charge you a fortune! A single session, which is all it would take, varies in price but it is not a ruinous cost! That investment pays for itself because you look more professional on the page and there is something eye-catching to lure fans, journalists and potential venues/backers in. I see way too many artists with either very few photos of any kind of so many bad ones that are, if you’re lucky, interspersed by a few decent ones. I am not suggesting either artist out there needs to run to the best local photographer and get their wallets out! A fairly regular – once every six months or so – a new set of snaps would be affordable and you can intersperse that with photos of your own. That gives journalists like me a chance to pick some great shots and make pieces look professional and attractive.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rawpixel/Unsplash

The excuses I get usually fall into three categories: People either say they can’t afford it; the P.R. company that are looking after them limit what they can provide or they feel photos are not that important. It might seem costly getting photos done but, as I say, you can shop around find something affordable. Making music and touring costs money so artists need to think of it as part of their business plan and, after you get a nice set done, you do not need to worry for a while. It is like an M.O.T. or a trip to the dentist – making this sound attractive! – but it will make a big difference and, in a visual age, you cannot afford to be lacklustre. I see artists have Instagram accounts and post endless photos there so I do not buy the excuse they cannot afford to get photos taken – the evidence speaks for itself! I know there are P.R. companies that, annoyingly, limit photos depending on campaigns. They want a particular ‘look’ for that single or whatever is promoted so they can shackle people like me. I have lost count of the times I have seen an artist with a load of top photos but the company wants to limit me down to four or five because they are part of this cycle.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @sarandywestfall_photo/Unsplash

Even if the rest of the photos are a few months old, they want these exclusive shots and get annoyed when you try and add to that. I can understand an artist would want a particular theme for an album or single but it seems foolhardy to limit yourself in terms of photos. A certain preciousness and limitation can be a real issue and I wonder whether musicians have an idea how irritating that sort of behaviour can be. I digress but I do worry about that third point: artists feeling images are not important. Music is as much about visuals as it is anything else. You can be a super-genius innovator or the next-big-thing-of-the-world but, if you have no images or shoddy examples then that looks really bad! The first thing you see in an interview or a review is a photo. That comes before the music and your eyes are engaged and stimulated before your ears! We, as it is said, have short attention spans so, if you have grainy images or none at all, are people going to look further and stick around?! I wouldn’t. The reason I am so insistent regarding high-res images is because I want to capture the mind and hook people in. Too many times, I have been a pacifist and published pieces with terrible images or low-resolution ones. I look back and wince and wonder why I did not reject that artist!

 PHOTO CREDIT: @nicolasjleclercq/Unsplash

This article, published four years ago, shows there is ignorance among the music community:

“Our findings showed that out of 2,000 artists, only 4% thought promoters took the quality of pictures and videos into account when selecting artists as opportunity winners.

The reality is, almost every promoter that we talk to mentions how important photographs and album covers are in their selections. A great photograph is what immediately separates you from anyone else at first glance. You’ve worked hard to make sure that your music is as good as it can be, so why not invest some time in making sure that first visual hook is just as good?”

Victor Alfieri, Founder, Owner and Editor-in-Chief, wordkrapht.com

“A high quality photo or album cover shows that the artist is taking their craft seriously and that this isn’t some weekend hobby. While I understand that funds are always tight, there are ways to produce high quality stuff that help the artist get noticed.”

Vaughn Lowery, President, 360 Magazine

“Captivating artwork is everything. Because we live in a visual world, artists should have photos that expresses the message points of their band. However, there is a clear distinction between quality and quantity”.

To be honest with you; if you do a quick Google search and you will find countless articles that underline the point: you need to get good photos and image is everything!

This article I discovered talks to photographers and how important images are:

“Nashville-based photographer Kyle Dean Reinford is a specialist in music portraiture, documentary and live photos, who spent years learning his trade in New York. He feels image plays an integral role—especially on the business side.

Yeah, the music is obviously the main product, but in the age of the internet, image means a lot. If I see a terrible photo of a band, I'm less inclined to listen—even more so if they have a bad name. It's hard for me to get past those things on a personal music-loving level and I expect it's the same for others. We don't just hear music on the radio the way we used to.

I'd also say that having good photography is key for getting signed. Labels don't develop bands the way they used to. They want to see a band that looks cool and marketable and has everything worked out”.

The music itself is, of course, the main thing and if you feel image – as in sexiness and fashion – is what sells you best then you need to ask yourself whether you are in the right industry! I am not talking about coolness, selling your body and commercialism. Great photos, as has been outlined, sell the music as much as the artists themselves so there is no reason to think you can have a successful career without some good-quality shots – ignore that advice at you peril.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @shs521/Unsplash

The last two point I want to relate to names and social media. Again, like photos, you need to sell yourself and be visible and, if people struggle to find you online then you are shooting yourself in the foot! I know it has having a great band name and standing aside but you would not believe the number of times I have come across Google-proof bands that you spend ages trying to locate! I have come across solo artists called ‘Sophie’ or ‘Gemma’ and try typing that into social media sites and Google and how many options you have! If you called your band, let’s say, ‘Wealth’, then how am I meant to narrow that down?! In the way people will look elsewhere after seeing some poor photos; they will do the same if they cannot locate you or there are other bands with the same name. Similarly; having weird characters and letters in your name is irritating and unnecessary. If I saw a band called ‘summariZe1’ or ‘TurNINgReed’ or something silly then I would  lose my patience. I have taken artists with complex or hard-to-find names and I always regret it. There are articles out there that give you advice regarding names and getting it right. This illuminating piece reflects some common advice that is worth taking to heart:

“Before you go crazy, there are a few things we would like you to keep in mind. A good (and legal) band name must be:

1. Unused – No one likes a copy cat
2. Short – 1-3 words is standard and works with the psychology of memory
3. Timeless – You don’t want to end up hating your out-of-fashion name in three years
4. Google friendly – Make sure when people search your name, they find you and not a bunch of pictures of Snooping Dogs or porn
5. Consider avoiding ‘The [something]’ – Starting with “The” has been done and is officially dusted (for the time being)

Animal names

The Internet loves animals.

Google ‘bands with animal names’ and you can get about 13,700,000 results. Check out the comments on Brad Frost’s list of bands with animal-themed names, people are enthusiastic. You surely can’t go wrong with this category unless you strongly insist in using names of the world’s ugliest animals. They could be cute to you but might not be for everyone else. And no Blobfish please.

Looking back from the 60s, the list of animal-inspired band names is endless. Here we have the ’The (Animal Name)’, mostly classic rock bands from the old days such as The Monkees, Animals and The Beatles; On the contemporary side we have bands like Arctic Monkeys, Cat Power, Grizzly Bear, Modest Mouse, The Mountain Goats and Birds of Tokyo, which are descriptive or a combination of an animal with something with a ring to it...

IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images  

In saying this, we’d highly recommend you go for a descriptive animal name.

Not only that the ‘The (Something)’ is out, it is also more recognisable and creative than a plain animal name. Think storytelling. Alien Ant Farm is much catchier and funnier than plain old Ant Farm. And Snoop Dogg / Lion / Werewolf / Unicorn / whatever’s next is much better than ordinary Snoop. That’s just creepy.

Objects, Nature, Places & Events

If you’re still stuck, get some inspiration from the things around you.

Where are you? Literally. Where were the New York Dolls or the Alabama Shakes? Look around the house. Take the famous example of AC/DC who chose their name from the back of a sewing machine. Open your fridge. Think Vanilla Ice, Lemonheads, Peaches, Red Hot Chili Peppers or Salt n’ Pepa”.

This article adds to the mix:

“2. Want to use your actual name? Make it unique and more descriptive

If you're compelled to use your personal name, just be prepared to make it more hip, memorable, unique, and descriptive if needed. Case in point: David Bowie (born David "Davy" Jones) adopted "Bowie" – after his favorite hunting knife – to sound more edgy and to create more distinction from Davy Jones of the Monkees.

Alternatively, if your goal is to make it clear that you're the leader of your band, don't be afraid to say precisely that in your name! The Dave Matthews Band is a name that implies that there is one leader, Dave Matthews, but we can also expect – with some flexibility – that the same group of musicians will be working on every recording and performance…

PHOTO CREDIT: @gaspanik/Unsplash

3. Consider how it'll fit on your merch…

Your name should be short enough (or look cool enough when turned into an acronym) to fit on merchandise, including T-shirts, hats, and stickers. Trent Reznor of the band Nine Inch Nails denies any deep meaning to the name – he claims to have just wanted a name that abbreviated easily!

4. Be sure it's easy to read, pronounce, and spell

Remember what a name is intended to do – make you memorable and recognizable. A name with an overly strange spelling that no one can read may be defeating the purpose. Could you imagine if your parents gave you a name no one could pronounce correctly? Each day of school would be a nightmare as each teacher constantly messes up your name!

Korn spelled with a "K" is fine, for instance, but just be careful not to make your own name's spelling too weird. Though the band Lynyrd Skynyrd has been hugely successful for decades, I literally couldn't find them on the web when researching this article because I couldn't spell their name correctly. Even Google had no idea what I was trying to do. (I'm laughing, but I'm serious.) For a brand new band in this day and age, you might as well not exist if your name can't be easily searched online”.

Given the number of artists who respond to my emailed interview questions and I spend more time correcting the thing than they took to write it…we are less connected to the written word and spending a lot of time text-speaking.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @nesabymakers/Unsplash

We want a band that is easy to recall and we can tap into a search engine easily. I am not saying you need to dumb-down but you don’t want to have the caps lock on and off, on and off; typing in a number and then put in an apostrophe! Similarly, if you have a very common name you will take so long to find the band you want that you get annoyed and move on. Also; boring and obvious names can put people off just as much. Take advice from the articles above and bolster it with the search results you can find. It is a bit late for bands out there saddled with crap names but when it comes to naming your next single, E.P. or album, you can avoid similar pitfalls. Again; why do artists feel it is okay to name their latest piece something so common and over-used?! I can understand songs have a theme but I see so many songs that I think I have seen before – look through Spotify and you find a dozen other artists who have named their song the same! This ties together image and naming. Whilst cover art and photos are there to catch the eye and sell the product; if you are lazy regarding titles or give a song/E.P. a stupid name that can have a very detrimental effect! Bands/artists have so much navigate and consider when they are established – making mistakes right from the off means you might not have a long career at all!

PHOTO CREDIT: @andrewtneel/Unsplash

If you have your name and images all sorted and, essentially, ensure people are enticed enough to listen to/promote your music then you’ll want to be visible online! I am not 100% sure whether an official website is vital but it certainly helps! I am not big on Instagram but I feel, if you want to spread your music and get it to the biggest names in music then you NEED to be on Twitter! I have mentioned this before but cannot underline how baffling it is when musicians are not on there! This article provides a lot of reasons why Twitter is essential – I have picked a few:

“2) It’s where things happen first

Not all things. But, increasingly, news happens first on Twitter.

This point may not be so relevant to musicians in terms of publishing content via the medium, but keeping abreast of what is happening in the music world on Twitter and taking an active part in those discussions is one of the ways in which you will gain followers and by extension increase your fanbase. If you only use Twitter once a day or once a week to send updates, instead of using it as a means to engage and communicate with others, you will not be getting the best from the service...

IMAGE CREDIT: Twitter/Getty Images 

6) It’s a fantastic form of marketing

You’ve written your piece or blog. Now you can let them all know it’s there, so that they come to your site. You alert your community of followers.

The primary reason for a musician to use Twitter is to communicate with your fans and promote your music. As I’ve mentioned, if all you do on Twitter is spam your followers with BUY BUY BUY messages, you won’t have them for long. But if you use Twitter well, and tweet about non-commercial content for the most part then fans will respond to messages about buying your music and merchandise. And don’t forget that your followers will be excited about your next concert or music release so tweeting about these things will build up enthusiasm and anticipation.

8 ) It’s more diverse

Traditional media allowed a few voices in. Twitter allows anyone.

In the similar fashion to Facebook, Twitter allows you to capture audiences which previously would have been considered niche. In the vast oceans of the world wide web nice groups can clump together into significant audiences (and market) for your music”.

Another feature, from DIY Musician, makes some interesting points and provides useful advice:

“Facebook might be amenable to a few updates per day, but the more posts you write, the less likely your followers are to see them.

When you want to say something with words, when you want to say a lot of things with words, there’s Twitter!

A string of tweets can show you building a larger story over a short time. A tweet every 15 minutes can reveal the random misadventures of your life. The one-off tweet can share a revelation…

PHOTO CREDIT: @rawpixel/Unsplash 

Whether you want to let your fans in on your stream-of-conscious mind or you prefer to schedule 50 tweets ahead of time in HootSuite, Twitter doesn’t hold you back.

Being a member of a larger music community is important, but when you want to share info about a friend’s new music, or thank a blogger who covered your latest release (on the same day your video goes live on YouTube), or just ask your fans what they thought of that cool article about your favorite artist,… you might be reluctant to do so on Facebook if it hurts the reach of other important posts you need to make that day.

Who comes to the rescue? Yep, once again, Twitter.

Twitter has zero barriers to being a good community member. You can tweet, retweet, reply, and like things whenever you want. When there’s no cost to being a supporter of others’ work, generosity follows. Sure, Twitter is the digital home to plenty of trolls, but it can be a really supportive place as well”.

You can get so much attention being on Twitter and it means, with a single tweet, you can get your music to radio stations, labels and whoever you want! Maybe you feel your music can grow and market itself based on radio and Facebook but the reason so many artists get their songs played on big radio stations is because of Twitter! There is no logical reason to avoid the site and it is so incredibly simple to promote and accrue the right fans; get a big audience and remain visible. If you think you are too ‘cool’ for Twitter then you are wrong. Not only will people miss your music but you are limiting yourself being off of Twitter.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @reeneyjenkins/Unsplash

The last piece I will bring in introduces a new dynamics and thoughts:

“I think you lose a lot if you outsource your social communication to third parties,” says Mike More, CEO of Headliner.fm, a social marketing platform for musicians. “It only takes a few minutes a day. There’s a very big upside for artists that invest their time in getting it right.”

“One of the main advantages Twitter has for artists is that it’s more open than Facebook or any other social platform,” says More. “Artists can follow any band they’re into and connect with them easily. This is a big plus.”

This lends itself to the possibility of connecting with like-minded artists and if one possesses the right blend of luck and relevance, getting followed or retweeted by a band with a massive following.

But it also makes that artist-to-fan communication much easier than it ever was before, and different artists utilize it in different ways. Some are impersonal and almost broadcast-esque, while others choose to get a little more intimate”.

I would not exist and be able to do what I do were it not for Twitter! Facebook is okay for personal contacts but limited for music and promotion. I can add musicians and contact them directly; I can get my pieces shared more easily and widely and it is an essential marketing tool!

 PHOTO CREDIT: @mparente/Unsplash

I cannot emphasise those who ignore it and do wonder why! These concerns of mine might seem niche and personal but, honestly, journalists and every corner of music feels the same. The best and most long-lasting artists take pride in images and realise their worth; they have a great name that is not off-putting and they are visible on Twitter. There is a lot more to consider when it comes to forging a successful career in music but avoiding pitfalls regarding name, photos and Twitter visibility is paramount. You need to ensure people can find your band/music and you have a visual edge – not just musical – and, when they do like that they see, they can point others your way. It is all about that fan-to-musician relationship and an intimacy that goes with it. One reason I am tuning away a lot of requests is because of things like lacking photos or poor quality; those not on Twitter or something like that. There is no need to make these errors and be lazy. If you are an artist – and culpable when it comes to my concerns – then think about it from the fan’s/journalist’s viewpoint. We want to bond with you and share your music so it is essential you are visible and easily locatable. Image-wise; we want to see what you look like and what you are about – photos are as much about your personality and unique edge as they are anything else. These tips and guidelines may seem rather minor and slight but trust me, if you follow them and take them to heart, it can all make…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @jeshoots/Unsplash

A huge difference!