(Don't) Get ye Hits Out

Just been reading an article about famous bands who are no longer willing to play their most famous hits live in concert, and I have to admit: I totally agree with them

The story in question surrounds a recent performance by MGMT (or GMTV as my missus refers to them as). At one of their recent gigs to promote their new album, the band play the whole of their new album in its entirety much to the annoyance of the crowd who were (allegedly) shouting “kids, kids, kids,” (that’s one of their famous tracks in case you didn’t know) at the end of the show. So, as GMTV come back on to do an encore, what do they do? … That’s right … they play another song off their new album. The result at ‘full time’: endless booing

Now, to be honest here, I do actually like MGMT, but after last week shenanigans, my admiration of them has been taken to a new level as (and here’s my point): Music should be about changing and going forward not about going over the same old boring ground

Take Radiohead for example: they never stood still. I’m not saying their current music is out of this world, but you could say that they got the most out of their guitars (to stunning affect it has to be said) and they just said “fuck it, let’s try something different”.

Now not everyone will agree with me here when it comes to Radiohead’s sudden change of direction after the massively popular Ok Computer and The Bends, but if you think about it, they have been playing music now over a period of two decades because they have kept their brains alive by constantly changing the set. That, for me, is a healthy sign

So, let’s now look at it from a different perspective and look at Nineties Pill-Popping Fun Heads EMF with their (only) hit ‘Unbelievable’. Can anyone else imagine going to see them and not being pleased without them playing this song? I, for one, if of course I was a member of EMF, would find it utterly fucking unbearable to play this song every bleeding night just because their ‘fans’ want to hear it or there will be blood

I feel it would also be a great weight lifted from the shoulders from the likes of The B52’s not playing Love Shack or Dr and the Medics not playing Spirit in the Sky just for one night as well

Now, before you all start banging on about what the fans (who have a paid a lot of money) want, you must also consider the impact playing the same old song over and over again week after week, year after year will have on the band itself. It’s gonna lead to a serious lack of productivity and imagination and that will lead to one thing: shit music!

You wouldn’t want that now would ye?

However, sticking to your guns, I’d take that any day

Mol