Changes in music taste: Why is my music better than yours?

This is not my comment. It just got me thinking!

We have all had that debate in our families - you sit there and complain that your fellow relative is playing drivel and that they should listen to decent music like you. In my family, we're ok when it comes to music taste but my brother does tend to slip towards chart music which to the rest of the family is mindless nonsense. Why is this? Why does something seem like mind numbing crap that lacks substance to me yet be amongst the top played tracks on my brother's iPod?

This thought came into my mind why I saw a post on Reddit that asked the same thing and if you ask me what my opinion of what music today is it's that: music in general today lacks substance because it has become easier and easier for bands to get their sound heard and recorded. It is now easy to get a hit without much talent at all, only money. Jenna Rose and Rebecca Black are examples of this - with greed want-to-be music producers telling young girls that they have talent and auto-tuning their toneless voices to hell and posting it on YouTube the music scene is being watered down to a meaningless pulp.

The Change in Music Taste

In the 60s, the Beatles took over the world. Rock and roll was here and chart music was born. Back then, people were happy to listen to twee love songs that stuck in their heads and that they could tap their foot to. The music was modest and spoke of the ideal. People were just starting to throw away the barre chords and actually write something new and exciting which sparked off the whole issue that I am discussing today.

Eurovision 1974, ABBA blow away Europe and the rest of the world with "Waterloo". Although they didn't win the contest, it was the start of something big! Again throughout the 70s the themes to most of the music were love and heartbreak but for the first time there was music you and your Mum could listen to and not feel like your whole family thought you were the spawn of the devil. The 70s was the the musical era for everyone which is why it is a popular period of debate in these kind of discussions.

30 years ago, the Smiths got together in Manchester and took the country by storm. They would become my  and many others idea of "the perfect band". What was it that made the Smiths so successful? It is easy to say that the Smiths were one of the 80s most successful bands because for the first time ever they told the truth, in terms of politics and love. Morrissey summed up teenagers angst beautifully which is why he is a hero to so many people. When during the 70s music could be listened to by all, in the 80s it separated again - you locked yourself in your room listening to the words of Curtis, Weller and Morrissey whilst your parents still gripped onto the ABBA records. But of course, there was WHAM! and Duran Duran who lit up discos around the country and that your Gran danced to at Christmas - we shouldn't forget pop music in this decade, it was some of the best!

The 90s was another decade where parents and children stayed separate with the birth of grunge and Oasis. Nirvana brought heavy rock to the scene without constantly going on about the being the Anti-Christ, Kurt Cobain, like Morrissey, wrote about the hardships of being an awkward teenager which reached out to the entire generation. Oasis, Blur, Pulp etc carried on the rebellious edge to teenage music promoting getting pissed and laid and whatever but still made the decade one of the best in terms of bands to come out of it. But the 90s was very cheesy as well... Steps, Take That, Boyzone, PETE WATERMAN! If you could vaguely singing a tune and their were five or six of you, Pete wanted you and some may argue that put a downer on the decade - not me... I WENT TO GO SEE TAKE THAT AND I'M NOT ASHAMED!

This brings us to know.... the decade where teenagers with taste in music have gone backwards. There have been good bands but none of them have revolutionised anything or made teenagers feel any different. Take me for example: yes, I love Palma Violets and Biffy and Dry the River but if I had to choose a band that really speak to me then I'd have to go with the Smiths. I have others who would choose Nirvana or the Beatles or Oasis. The bottom line is music today sucks and that is why this debate has come about because unless today's pop music is all you have been exposed to, everyone knows there has been better. Today is a whole load of bands trying too hard to be different and edgy and they really aren't - they are just a bit pathetic and if they are good, they are saying what someone said 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago!

Parents argue with their children about music taste because they regret not exposing their children to something better in the first place! I thank my lucky stars my Dad put his Oasis CDs in the car when we went on holiday whether I liked it or not because at least now I have enough knowledge to make my own decisions about what I listen to instead of MTV telling me.

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Dry the River Gig Review

Set list:
1. Shield Your Eyes
2. New Ceremony
3. History Book
4. Demons
5. Weights & Measures
6. No Rest
7. Bible Belt
8. Lion's Den
9. Shaker Hymns (Encore)

If you have read anything on this blog before, you will know that I'm quite a big Dry the River fan. Dry the River, if you don't know already, are a folk-rock band from London who formed in 2009 and released their debut album, "Shallow Bed" earlier this year. The venue was the biggest venue they'd ever done and was at O2 Empire Shepherds Bush, London and is a venue close to my heart as it was were I witnessed my first concert (Paloma Faith if anyone is interested). 

Onto the gig then. As the band aren't that well known, they are still quite down to earth and I got the sense that they were actually excited about the gig (it being their biggest). Unlike some bands who between every song tell you how it reminds them of their childhood cat who fell off the roof and died and how the song goes out to them, Dry the River give you about a sentence every few songs to say something that will genuinely interest the audience. Dry the River get on with the gig, they don't waste time chatting. For me, you can tell if a small band are going to be any good or not by the amount of time they take between their songs. If the band lecture you about their songs, they don't have time to play as much bad music but if they get on with it, I get the impression they want to get as much in as possible for the listeners sake.

My favourite part of the gig was definitely "Weights & Measures" which was done so well. I may be being very biased here because the song means a lot to me personally and is my favourite song on the album but the performance had such power in it, it moved people even at the very back of the concert hall. What amazed me most about Dry the River's performance, was that Peter the lead singer can actually sing falsetto so well for such a long period of time. Although you can hear that Peter does sing like that on the album, I had a feeling that his voice was too good to be true, but I tell you now, it is NOT! Live, as a band, they are even more beautiful and simple than they are on the the album and seeing them making that the sound they make on the record with just an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a bass, a drum kit and a violin (plus the occasional french horn and trumpet pairing) with your own eyes is just amazing! They're funny as well, Peter was telling the story about how he got the french horn player to teach him the little bit in the intro of "No Rest" just so he could put on the album sleeve that he played french horn and they were talking about how they were making their beer own beer and that they would be sampling it in the bar next door.

If there was a negative, it would be that the gig was a bit short. Just as you were getting into the gig, it ended.  The quality of music was brilliant but 1. They didn't play all the songs on the album - which you can expect but 2. They didn't play anything new. I gave them the benefit of the doubt because it's their first album so they probably don't have that many songs to play and it was they're biggest gig so they probably didn't want to push the boat out.

I would definitely see Dry the River again, I think the gig was a good taster as the overall message at the end was "I want more!". They are amazing live and if you haven't listened to them yet, they are a gem amongst the crap we're faced with in the music world today and are one of the bands of the year for me. LISTEN!

*Sorry this is late, I've been very busy...

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October Top 10 Tracks - Palma Violets Gig Review Coming Soon (Update)

"Weights & Measures" - Dry the River
Artwork 

I realized that I haven't posted in a while because it's taking me ages to write the Palma Violets review so I thought I'd amuse you with a top 10 in the meantime instead. It's moving into winter and we need some good pick me up songs to keep us going and do here is my little list:

10. "We Are Not Good People" - Bloc Party
9. "Last Of The Summer Wine" - Palma Violets
8. "Lightning Bolt" - Jake Bugg
7.  "All In Vain! - The Vaccines
6. "Stingin' Belle" - Biffy Clyro
5. "Best Of Friends" - Palma Violets
4. "Simple As This" - Jake Bugg
3. "Riot Song" - Pure Love
2. "Haul Away" - Mark Knopfler
1. "Weights & Measures" - Dry the River

To listen to "Weights & Measures" go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5g-DeG0MJc

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Dry the River - "Shallow Bed" Review

I thought I'd start my reviews with one of my favourite albums of the year "Shallow Bed" by Dry the River.

Dry the River - Shallow Bed

Dry the River are a folk/rock band from London who combine beautiful music with beautiful stories. Peter Liddle, the lead singer, has one of the most melodic voices of the industry and just captures you in your own thoughts for the whole album.

I will be honest, I'm only a Dry the River fan because of Fearne Cotton and Radio 1. My mum heard them one day whilst in the car and raced home to tell me about them, I listened to their only single at the time "No Rest" and I was hooked!

The album starts off with "Animal Skins" which if you ask me, is a bit of a marmite song to put at the start of the album (you'll either love it there or hate it there). For me, the first track is GENIUS, it makes the album seem like it is really working right from the start. The first track just puts you right in there at the heart of the action and leaves a lasting impression on the listener because you can't help but think, it is a very brave move for a debut album.

Through out the album, the band has a massive sense of togetherness. One of the things I love most about this band/album, is they really aren't scared to push the boundaries of folk and rock. Whether it is adding in a distorted guitar with a fiddle or all breaking into song in the final chorus, the are constantly looking for ways to make their sound a lot bigger.

Story telling is a massive part of folk and a huge part of this album. The songs are like poetry and every word that is said in this album is meant.

Religion is threaded through out the album which I think really adds to the poetic element of the whole record. The vocals in the album have a feel of church choirs about them, the delicate tone is in perfect harmony with the power of the record's messages.

The instruments used, range from amazing percussion to intricate strumming of the guitar. The fiddle is always there with horns and creates a beautiful foundation for each song. The use of guitars is really clever, personally, I would have never put an electric guitar with a fiddle but on this album, it really works! It's always nice to hear more percussion than your crash symbols and heavy snare. Although mostly the percussion is a basic drum kit, you get those moments when they use the glockenspiel to give a nice extra something to the percussion section.

This band are absolutely Mumford and Sons for the real music lover. They are just heavenly, it is 100% that album to put on whilst on a long road trip to keep you entertained. This album is like a book being read to you through a melody and considering it is a debut album, I'm so excited to hear what they've got next for us. This is an album to treasure and keep safe forever and ever!

9/10

Recommended tracks: "Bible Belt" "No Rest" and "Weights and Measures"

Listen to if you like: Mumford and Sons, Waterboys, Folk in general!!

Here is a link to their latest track "New Ceremony" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCJ22QQTWtM&list=PL12D61D88D56291F0&index=1&feature=plcp

To buy the album go to - http://www.itunes.com/drytheriver

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