|
|
Review of the Current Status of the Music Industry
The most common memories from this era for many of our elderly folk today were the vibes received from their live shows. The glow of the lights, the hype, the music, and the fact that the bands actually had musicians, defined what British Rock and Pop was all about. Whatever happened to the good old discos with the always welcomed slow set?
Two genres that remained mostly underground throughout the 80s burst
into the mainstream around the middle of the decade. Britpop was a
fusion of all the alternative rock styling of the previous two decades,
with a special focus on neo-psychedelic and it began to dominate the
charts, while house techno music and its various subgenres, and the
entire club culture, became increasingly mainstream. Electronic music
began fusing with rock, hip hop and other genres, producing fusions
like trip hop. Break Dance was definitely the creator of hip hop which
developed over the years to bring acts such as Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and
many other modern stars.
The term Mod (derived from modern) arose when British suburban
twenty-somethings caught wind of the American Motown Scene of the ’50s,
and from there Italian fashion and scooters became a mod staple.
Popularised in movies such as Quadrophenia, the Mods are an essential
part of music history, yet there is no genre of the same name. At your
local record store there’s a punk section, a rock and pop, and even new
age section, but mod is afforded no such luxury. There are no mod
bands. There never were.
Either too lazy to invent a new sound, or smart enough to take the best
music of several genres, Mods created their own scene by listening to
everybody from Otis Redding to The Who.
The main question one has to ask here is what direction is the British
Scene going? There is just one way to answer this - UP! UP! UP! The
rest of the world needs to take a good strong hold on what the British
Musical Population is doing in order to have some chance at keeping up.
Despite the falling of Gareth Gates, bless him, the flopping of Robbie
in the USA, and the unthinkable splitting of Busted, the British Pop
and Rock scene just continues to reach sky level with excellent bands
such as school-boy rockers MCFLY, and the fabulous Coldplay. Not
forgetting the continuous greatness of old-school performances from
artists such as Eric Clapton and Sir Elton. Is it no wonder the most
sales made in our record stores today are of British musicians?
Queen, the only band who could use a Royal name, wear a crown and get
away with it, must be recognised as the world’s greatest, until the
expected passing of Freddie Mercury back in 1991. It is believed,
however, that the remaining members of this dynamic 4-piece are coming
back with a new front man. Will he deliver the goods like steady
Freddie did? It remains to be seen. However, it will take a lot to take
off where Freddie settled.
Queen was not the only band that pushed things to the extreme. The Sex
Pistols, Britain’s creators of Punk, held no boundaries with their
sickening yet entertaining attitudes and actions. Their pebble-dashing
performances at the Royal Albert Hall during the late 70’s and early
80’s are still spoke of today and Johnnie Rotten still has that look as
though he is ready to start all over again. However, if they were to
re-emerge from the freezer, it is doubtful they would even reach the
top 100.
So, where exactly is the British Rock Scene gone? It seems that too
many are now attempting the same thing. They all want to be the next
Beatles or The Clash. But there can only be one Dire Straits. Front
man, and one of Britain’s finest guitarists, as old as he gets, refuses
to let go of the days that were. In 1996 Mark Knopfler took on his own
stage and defined what blues rock really stood for. With a brand new
set list, excluding the original line-up, took on a whole new style -
Blues Rock. Although he has not been on the international scene since,
the great rock guitarist still creates that fascinating electric sound
on his own soil.
In Britain, there is a new trend in copying 1970s rock bands in the
form of wild clothing and long guitar solos, e.g. The Darkness. Though
The Darkness has proved to be very popular, it remains to be seen if
this trend will become mainstream, with other bands emulating them.
As far as festivals go, the Brits can show the rest of the world a
thing or two. The American’s brought us Woodstock, while the British
gave us Glastonbury. Held each year in a field in Somerset, the
festival has embedded a huge stamp on the world music industry and is
renowned as one of the greatest music and arts events of the year.
To bring this controversial statement to a needed conclusion, it has to
be said that, even though Britain still rules the world stage, the
tastes are everything but British. The Eminem wannabe’s and Brooklyn
take-offs are totally outrageous with a cockney twang. It does not work
and never will. Do what British musicians do best. Remember where it
started with Madness and the old greats and take it back. Get out the
Baggie Trousers and the Doc Martin boots, hit the local disco hall and
throw on some 45’s. Show the music lovers of today what real disco
romance was made of.
|
|
