Going Over the Same Old Ground ....

I was having a chuckle to myself the other day about years ago when Mart put a Cliff Richard song on the jukebox in The Stanley five times on the bounce for a laugh. It was proper funny and got right on everyone’s tits. And it got me thinking about today’s music and news channels: 24 hour news channels & 24 hour entertainment channels can only mean one thing these days = overplay. And it’s starting to grind on my balls! A day doesn’t go by without hearing about Jade Goody’s funeral, Madonna’s latest attempt to kidnap some young black kid from Africa or, even worse, hearing one of Kings of Leon’s latest songs …. Again! You really can’t escape it and it’s becoming pretty tedious and really pushing the boundaries of what was once considered good taste and newsworthy Don’t get me wrong here by the way, Kings of Leon aren’t really my cup of tea, but they are a very good band and becoming hugely successful and cementing themselves on the world stage. Sadly their songs are being overplayed and this, in my case, is leading to resentment as once a day, not twenty or thirty, for the ridiculously titled Sex on Fire (or ‘Sax on Fire if you listen carefully) is quite enough for my ears to take thanks! Now, I know it’s not really the band’s fault as the blame lies firmly at the doors of the hundreds of radio stations & music channels banging out their tunes far to many times each day. I remember when Robbie Williams was at the height of his ‘powers’ (haha) in the late nineties and early 00’s when you couldn’t go into a pub, record shop or someone’s house without the possibility of having your ears subjected to Let Me Entertain You or Angels. It was the same with The Verve during pretty much the same time, this time it was a more ‘acceptable’ tune in the shape of Bitter Sweet Symphony that was badly banged out left, right & centre to such an extreme that you dreaded listening to it! Now, I know I always say this and many of you avid readers (all 3 of you) will be rolling your eyes at this point, but years ago all we had as regards music entertainment was Top of the Pops on Thursday night and the top 40 countdown on Sunday nights with Doctor Fox (or was it Pete Waterman?) Nowadays we have amongst hundreds of others: MTV, MTV2, MTV Base, VH1, Q, Kerrang & NME to name just a few. That is way too many for my liking. I’ve actually flicked (the remote control) from MTV2 to NME on many occasions to see the same song on both channels at the same time! It’s like a musical groundhog day! Other pitfalls of this new age of 24 hour entertainment and overplay is the new breed of roving celebrity ‘reporter’. Oh! How I love these people. They mainly come out of the woodwork during the British festival season when they go roving around camp sites to interview some wacky person who has decided to spend the weekend flame throwing or walking around on stilts! And the sight of Jo Whiley sat on a bail of hey with no shoes on pretending to be the band’s bezzy mate is just cringe-worthy!! Some news programmes now also have a little Entertainment News Section with some dickhead with thick rimmed-glasses on and a Mark Kermode haircut reporting on the slightest thing! Some pop stars can’t even fart these days without it being the head news story!! At the end of the day though, who really gives a fuck if Amy Winehouse smacks a photographer? Chances are they probably deserved it anyway so good on her! In a way I’m extremely glad there is an audience for music as many other forms of entertainment for instance the theatre or ballet are not exactly my cup of tea (I don’t really suit the tights to be honest) But please, if you’re the head of a radio station or music channel and you’re reading this Blog, stop overplaying songs as it’s turning people against the good music you are broadcasting. Instead, why don’t you start playing some more underground bands that people haven’t heard of before, but for god’s sake, if they get a bit of popularity and a certain degree of success don’t overplay them please.

Mol