Open Letter to those who think 'Real rock bands' are dying out
Dear
Reader,
I have no intention of making this a regular thing, but I felt this issue is
one I really need to address. I decided to write an open letter of sorts, if
you like, having recently got all wound up by two of the most persistent
bigoted snobs in music history and none other than the much glorified Noel
Gallagher and Gene Simmons.
Now, I know all too well that a lot of people would hate my guts for even
putting those two in the same sentence, but given the specifics, they are both
guilty of the same crime.
Firstly, Gene Simmons himself by this point in time has probably accepted his
own peak of human arsehollery status. Being someone who suggests that people
suffering from depression are either just faking it or should probably kill
themselves has bound to have discovered for himself by now.
But i'm not going to address how much of a shitebag Gene Simmons is, and
instead direct this letter towards how much of a shitebag he is.
What I mean is, his comments specifically and explicitly stating "Rock is
finally dead".
Blaming the millenials and the progression of technology for the destruction of
rock music, insisting that reality TV has sent the future of music down a dark
path.
"where's the next Bob Dylan? Where's the next Beatles?
Where are the songwriters?" Simmons asks in an interview in 2014
“What is the next Dark Side of the Moon? Now that the record
industry barely exists, they wouldn't have a chance to make something like
that.”
Such a statement, I feel, and speaking as a musician and a follower of new
music and artists, depreciates the efforts of others by comparing them to the
iconic artists and albums of old.
Now, this is a widely unpopular opinion, but there is a very strong chance a
band like Haim could ultimately go on to outlast the Beatles, if you are
shocked and appalled at the thought, I’m afraid a lot of that is due to the
fact that we as humans tend to unfairly glorify the past, since we view it
through rose tinted glasses.
Iconic as the Beatles were, a lot of their albums can be incredibly half drawn
and a bit sloppy, whereas given how vast the competition is these days, artists
don’t get the chance or even dare to release an album that is “all filler”. The
sheer level of stress and pressure that acts are put under knowing that their
label can quickly drop them and hire another trend setter the next minute from
a mere youtube search is more than enough to keep people on their toes.
Claiming the record industry barely exists is an insult to anyone who is
presently pulling an all-nighter finalising their home studio recordings of
their own original material, and depreciates the efforts of new musicians just
because their methods are different from those of 1983.
Or look like a barking mad old dinosaur.
Personally, I don’t agree with going by chart music as a judgement, since as a
whole, less people are buying singles and instead listening to songs on other
media such as Spotify and youtube. On the other hand; Oasis, The Verve, Manics,
Suede and Blur probably have less memorable top ten hits than I have fingers.
Lest we forget the 90s were mostly ruled by Dance pop groups such as Boyzone,
Westlife, East 17, Spice girls, S club 7, Sugababes etc. etc. as
well as more electronic dance sounds as sampling became a widely used
technique, bringing acts such as Daft Punk, Eifel 64, Vengaboys etc.
I think people got sick of Jarvis Cocker and ‘Wonderwall’.
This links back to what I said about Simmons, it’s effectively knocking a new
artist because they are doing things differently from what you did. As an
artist I find it difficult not to constantly compare my chapter one to the
chapter five of others, but here we have Gallagher explicitly doing the
opposite and comparing his almost closed book to the first pages of Bastille’s
story.
I want to take the time and explain properly why I find it most annoying.
Bastille formed in around May/June 2010 to record songs written by Dan Smith
and had signed to Virgin/EMI by December the same year. Achieving such a level
of success in little over 9 months is more than commendable, something not many
have achieved certainly nothing Gallagher should dare snipe. Even if I’m not
their biggest fan, I can still give credit when it’s due.
Maybe it’s about time Gallagher, Simmons and others learned to respect that.
Until next time,
Shine on you crazy diamonds!!
I have no intention of making this a regular thing, but I felt this issue is one I really need to address. I decided to write an open letter of sorts, if you like, having recently got all wound up by two of the most persistent bigoted snobs in music history and none other than the much glorified Noel Gallagher and Gene Simmons.
Now, I know all too well that a lot of people would hate my guts for even putting those two in the same sentence, but given the specifics, they are both guilty of the same crime.
Firstly, Gene Simmons himself by this point in time has probably accepted his own peak of human arsehollery status. Being someone who suggests that people suffering from depression are either just faking it or should probably kill themselves has bound to have discovered for himself by now.
But i'm not going to address how much of a shitebag Gene Simmons is, and instead direct this letter towards how much of a shitebag he is.
What I mean is, his comments specifically and explicitly stating "Rock is finally dead".
Blaming the millenials and the progression of technology for the destruction of rock music, insisting that reality TV has sent the future of music down a dark path.
"where's the next Bob Dylan? Where's the next Beatles? Where are the songwriters?" Simmons asks in an interview in 2014 “What is the next Dark Side of the Moon? Now that the record industry barely exists, they wouldn't have a chance to make something like that.”
Such a statement, I feel, and speaking as a musician and a follower of new music and artists, depreciates the efforts of others by comparing them to the iconic artists and albums of old.
Now, this is a widely unpopular opinion, but there is a very strong chance a band like Haim could ultimately go on to outlast the Beatles, if you are shocked and appalled at the thought, I’m afraid a lot of that is due to the fact that we as humans tend to unfairly glorify the past, since we view it through rose tinted glasses.
Iconic as the Beatles were, a lot of their albums can be incredibly half drawn and a bit sloppy, whereas given how vast the competition is these days, artists don’t get the chance or even dare to release an album that is “all filler”. The sheer level of stress and pressure that acts are put under knowing that their label can quickly drop them and hire another trend setter the next minute from a mere youtube search is more than enough to keep people on their toes.
Claiming the record industry barely exists is an insult to anyone who is presently pulling an all-nighter finalising their home studio recordings of their own original material, and depreciates the efforts of new musicians just because their methods are different from those of 1983.
Or look like a barking mad old dinosaur.
Personally, I don’t agree with going by chart music as a judgement, since as a whole, less people are buying singles and instead listening to songs on other media such as Spotify and youtube. On the other hand; Oasis, The Verve, Manics, Suede and Blur probably have less memorable top ten hits than I have fingers. Lest we forget the 90s were mostly ruled by Dance pop groups such as Boyzone, Westlife, East 17, Spice girls, S club 7, Sugababes etc. etc. as well as more electronic dance sounds as sampling became a widely used technique, bringing acts such as Daft Punk, Eifel 64, Vengaboys etc.
I think people got sick of Jarvis Cocker and ‘Wonderwall’.
This links back to what I said about Simmons, it’s effectively knocking a new artist because they are doing things differently from what you did. As an artist I find it difficult not to constantly compare my chapter one to the chapter five of others, but here we have Gallagher explicitly doing the opposite and comparing his almost closed book to the first pages of Bastille’s story.
I want to take the time and explain properly why I find it most annoying.
Bastille formed in around May/June 2010 to record songs written by Dan Smith and had signed to Virgin/EMI by December the same year. Achieving such a level of success in little over 9 months is more than commendable, something not many have achieved certainly nothing Gallagher should dare snipe. Even if I’m not their biggest fan, I can still give credit when it’s due.
Maybe it’s about time Gallagher, Simmons and others learned to respect that.
Shine on you crazy diamonds!!
