The Drugs Do Work, But We Just Don’t Know It

It’s not often your beloved author gets a bee in his bonnet, but there’s an old saying in music “the best songs were written by people on drugs”.

In many cases, this statement is true (except for the odd few during the mid-nineties and mid-eighties, of course)

I’ve just been reading an article about criticism dished out to some Spastic X Factor singer who sang a cover of ‘Under the Bridge’ by Red Hot Chilli Peppers’. The criticism came as a result of the lyric contents of the song (It’s about Heroin use/abuse in a run down area of Los Angeles in case you were wondering) being sung on a family show. Truly shocking behaviour I’m sure you’ll agree (and I’m not talking about the singing). Then again, there are all types of abuse in society that are classed as unacceptable, but that’s another matter!

So, exactly who do these people come ‘under fire’ from? And, more importantly why?

The article I read was basically about singers and bands covering songs that are rather obscurely about drug use unbeknown to the covering artists. Take ‘There She Goes’ by The La’s for instance. You’d think it was a love song, but, I won’t bore you with the full story here, but its not! Take a few minutes to read into what it’s really about if you want

Another point to this whole Daily Mail inspired ‘outrage’ stems from a quote from Anthony Keidis from the RHCP when he was asked about All Saints doing a cover of ‘Under the Bridge’. His reply was “these people don’t know what their singing about”. And the truth is, he’s right

Once again, X Factor ‘contestants’ (and probably most of the ‘judges’) like their puppets to do covers of certain songs because “they sound nice” or “they appeal to the pop song buying public” (who they rely on to boost their bank balances).

It’s only when arseholes like the people who write for the Daily Moan and other Tory-based broadsheets get hold of the story that the penny finally drops with these ignorant idiots who would never go within a million miles of Heroin! And that is the real cut of my jib!

A lot of people who comment and complain on drug misuse and abuse within song lyrics are usually the type of boffins who have never been anywhere near (or ever will be) the stuff. Their standard of living will never even come close to situations the musicians who wrote the lyrics in question have lived in.

In a nut shell, there a hell of a difference with what these two types of people do with silver spoons! One is used to take drugs, and I’m sure you can guess where the other was brought up?

Finally I’d just like to talk about the whole publicity debacle surrounding this rather laughable story. There’s absolutely no doubt in the world that anyone involved in the rather seedy and murky world of pop music crave the attention from the press. Their relationship has been hand in glove since records (no pun) began. So I’d suggest the people who use the media as a tool to enhance their career to pay it a little respect as it does have the tendency to turn violently around and bite you on the arse!

Then again, there’s also another famous saying in music “any publicity is good publicity”

The way things are with X Factor at the moment, they need all the publicity they can get!

Mol

Pearl Jam - A Rare Breed

Every now and then a band comes along that are truly inspiring and make a real difference

The other night I was watching the superb film about the twentieth anniversary of Pearl Jam forming and watching the whole film made me realise what an amazing band of people they were

Now, I know the film I watched was obviously about a band who were at their peak fifteen to twenty years ago, but I realised this is/was a band of principles and standards who slowly got on with their music while bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden took most of the plaudits and accolades from the so called Grunge scene formed around Seattle. I felt I had to do some sort of ‘tribute’ to them

I remember reading a review years ago about Pearl Jam when the reviewer reported that Eddie Vedder (the band’s singer) sounded like a man who was about to throw himself off a cliff! I thought this was a brilliant description so went to the nearest record shop and bout “10” (not the film with Dudley Moore and Bo Derek)

Listening to the album for the first time absolutely blew my head off! I remember listening to the pure aggression of Vedder’s voice and stunning prominence of the duel lead guitars. But realising that the album (of course a debut for an up and coming band at the time) was not over-produced! Sometimes that can mean the best sound a band of the means can produce (think Led Zep 1 and Never Mind the Bollocks for a two examples)

Of course it wasn’t just the songs that made Pearl Jam an instantly stunning band, you got the feeling they were truly on the side of the kids who went to see them and bought their records. This is prominent in their action against Ticketmaster.

At the time (and for most of today’s gig going public) people had to buy tickets for gigs from organisations like Ticketmaster. This, of course includes a barrage of un-necessary and un-wanted booking fees that generally resulted in people having to pay $30 in the USA to see bands play live. Pearl Jam decided to select venues to play in that didn’t rely on them and their management and Ticketmaster getting into bed together.

All of this I greatly applaud! Can you imagine any of the spastics from X Factor such as Alexander Burke or them four Super Queggs in Take Splatt refusing to play a concert these days due to extortionate ticket pricing? Er, I don’t think so. Chances are they’d be in serious breach of their contract (and sponsorship) and be banished to play in Butlins (then again, that’s where most of them end up anyway)

My final point comes courtesy of a mate who has genuinely superb taste in music (apart from some stuff he claims he used during his DJ years) who is also a fan of Pearl Jam. His words really do describe them to a tee – “one of the most criminally under-rated bands of all time”. Having lived in the shadow of the afore mentioned Nirvana and Soundgarden it was a bang on the money description that I have quite a few opinions on

I think I’ve done a previous Blog about bands in the mainstream who actually deserve to be there and bands who aren’t who do (if that makes sense).

Now, most bands think plaudits and accolades aren’t for them. Some of them actually shun them and refuse to attend and others such as Chumbawumba and Jarvis Cocker decide to vent their spleens in different ways that we won’t go into here.

Now i’m not talking about all the pomp and ceremony that usually go with award ceremonies as personally, in the highly unlikely scenario of being in a successful band, and i were nominated for some sort of award, I would also shun them as they are simply a load of bollocks. Pearl jam felt the same here!

But what really does disappoint me is the artistic credit some bands don’t receive compared to the tripe that is banded about these days and labelled as ‘influential’

There have been many many bands over the course of music history who have not received such accolade and praise where it is undoubtedly due, Pearl Jam are one of them bands

Their influence will have a much longer affect

Mol

Its Got To Be Perfect

Has anyone else noticed the world of music, like most things in life these days, has become too nice? Too perfect? Too well presented?

The other day I was listening to The Faces ‘A Nods as Good as a Wink (to a Blind Horse) and the album, as well as being an utterly stunning album of its time, I noticed it is also cluttered with ‘mistakes’ (or ‘extras’ as I like to call them)

If it’s not Rod Stewart’s “come on” being hollered in the background followed by the occasion cough (Rod’s addiction to ciggies at the time were probably responsible for them), or Ron Wood’s sometimes flimsy ‘coats’ (that’s what we used to say when someone messed up – usually Mart or Ben) on the guitar that makes it that more enjoyable to the ear

The Stones and The Beatles were also known for adding ‘extras’ to their albums. The Beatles used to have loads of them, The White Album being one particular album and if you listen to Exile on Main Street it has loads of ‘extras’. Also, if you get a chance, listen to Dead Flowers off Sticky Fingers and listen out for a phone ringing just at in the middle of the third chorus.

Now, if you compare this to the nice, shiny, gleaming, perfect world of today’s ‘musicians’ coming straight from the conveyer belt of Simon Cowell’s house, the difference is amazing with not a single mistake in sight!

This is mainly down to the restraints on musicians these days guaranteeing a nice lovely mistake free album that makes a commercial success and guarantees advertisement and investment from massive corporations like Pepsi, Sony, McDonalds and Sayers. A far cry from the dark days of corporate-free Sixties and Seventies when musicians released albums followed up by a tour when image wasn’t everything and the likes of hard living, drinking and taking drugs were pretty much the norm!

And that’s what everything is all about in music these days – image!

If you don’t have nice shining teeth that don’t look like a Witch Doctor’s Necklace or you have a face that takes eighteen hours in make up to cover even the slightest little zitt – the chances are you will not being making it in today’s music industry. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the transformation that Susan Boyle undertook after she won Britain’s (Not) Got Talent!

One other thing missing these days is I get the feeling that when you listen to the likes of The Faces, The Stones and The Beatles, etc, etc, they were genuinely enjoying themselves instead of having to work in some sort of factory conditions (like X Factor) constantly churning out new ways to re-invent old songs and (rarely) writing original shit! The culture of “they’re song was raggedy and messy, ours is sooooooooomuch nicer” – gimme a break!!

So, as I think the world of music has gone completely mad and obsessed with quantity, greed and, of course, image, I thought I’d finish with a line from Pink Floyd’s ‘Have a Cigar’ (a tongue-in-cheek cynical look at the Music Business) ….

You gotta get an another album out, you owe it to the people, we’re so happy we can hardly count!

Perfect for today’s music lovers i think!

Mol