Has anyone ever noticed something about today’s music = There no confrontation! There’s no controversy! And, most important of all = there’s no swearing! Hahaha, nah didn’t mean the bit about swearing!
But I do believe that maybe the fact that society is so controlled and ‘safe’ these days is down to the fact that music is so nice, cuddly and, well, safe!
During the seventies and eighties there were bands around like The Sex Pistols, The Clash and (don’t laugh here) Frankie Goes to Hollywood!
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, for me, perfectly summed up the times in two of the best songs of the eighties.
Two Tribes, although the video was based on a mock-scrap between Ronald Reagan and Mickael Gorbachov, was no doubt quietly attributed to the Miners strike that (supposedly) threatened to bring the country to a halt. The lyrics sum it up brilliantly “ship it out-out! Working for the black gas”
Another great line from Two Tribes is the bit just before the end when Holly Johnson says (in what I can only assume to be a moment of impromptu controversy) “Are we living in a land where sex and horror are the new Gods”. This is yet another example of how FGTH gained the rightly reputation on how to shock the audience! You can almost imagine Mary Whitehouse and the rest of the Tory cabinet ministers choking on their Pimms can’t you?
As for Relax, this was obviously a controversial take on how to avoid (or indeed contract) the AIDS virus! Cutting edge stuff with not a single “I love you” or “I wanna be with you forever and ever and” in sight! “Relax! Don’t do it! When you wanna suck to it”. You could say they could have been offering advice for people to have oral sex instead of the more dangerous gay sex that was mainly associated with homosexuality at the time (a public advice message and a superb pop song all mixed into one I supposed you could say)
Now, I’m not gonna bang on about FGTH all day here, but I do firmly believe that popular culture these days has, sadly, become obsessed with fashion, celebrity, money and most of all: image! The days of Sid Vicious and other reputable rapscallions sneering into a camera and swearing on telly are sadly thrown into the rubbish bin of music history! And the chances of a top ten song about war or AIDS are pretty much zero! In other words = popular culture would simply find it far too offensive and not ‘sexy’ enough that does not define a product that could sell!
In short – no one has the balls to ‘stand up to the man’ anymore in case they come across as being nasty and horrible in the eyes of the all powerful press! A certain matter of incurring the wrath of the music executives who run the labels they work for is also a defining attribute in keeping their nice cuddly pop stars in check and on the never ending path to financial glory! (Which is what they all seek, no doubt)
So, is it any wonder that the public have kept a ‘lid on things’ during this current government’s current slash and burn policy towards the public sector? The comparisons with the 80’s and 70’s are almost mirror-like! Take the rise of capitalism and bankers under the tenure of Thatcher and, as I’ve mentioned, her brutal approach towards the miners! You could say Cameron and his cronies are doing the same thing today if you think about it.
Thankfully, for them, they have the likes of Take That, Will Young, JLS (Just Lousy Singers) and Snore Patrol to deal with compared to the likes of The Sex Pistols and The Clash that Thatcher was up against. Maybe that’s why people (and the miners) attacked the powers that be compared to our pathetic approach these days. They had the belief and attitude of these radical bands standing with them in their hour of need! No chance of that today!
So, do we need a ‘saviour’ of The Left in the style of a modern day Billy Bragg or Joe Strummer? I think we do as the truth is this about modern pop culture – it’s fucking boring as hell!!! And the small matter of true role models to inspire and support the disaffected youth of today is just as important!
Rocks and stones we’re thrown then, but now if someone gets angry, they’ll write a rather irate letter to the Daily Mail and brag about it in Twitter!
And on a final note, I would also be very interesting to know what people in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia have been listening to lately?
Somehow I don’t think Its JLS
Mol
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