You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2009.
I’m thoroughly bored of day-to-day life in Liverpool. It’s all about re-hashing what’s happened before – a grind, a trudge over familiar territory. Chewing the cud and not getting very far.
The daily newspapers and regional news broadcasts are full of the same stories, day in – day out:
The Daily Post – always resorts to an article on Flickr for slow news days.
The Echo – gun & knife crime, ram raids, yobs and horrific accidents are the order of the day.
North West Tonight – a child has always come to some harm and there is always some pithy feel good story to finish. The fake banter between the presenters is near comical as well.
I feel like I’ve heard it all before.
The business, civic and political communities are tired as well. Pithy stock phrases can be found at every turn:
Liverpool City Region, European funding, regeneration, growth initiatives, economic development, diversity, Capital of Culture, Year of the Environment, current economic climate, credit crunch, recession, fighting the downturn, bucking the trend.
There are quangos and politicians around every corner too:
North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA), The Mersey Partnership, (TMP), Liverpool Vision, Government Office North West, Lib Dems, Labour, Conservatives, Greens… it goes on.
This city needs to stop talking, lobbying, cogitating and passing the buck. It needs to do something. Yes, a great deal has been done as a result of Capital of Culture 2008 – though that seems more and more a succesful blip on Liverpool’s usual inefficiency.
2008 put an international spotlight on the city and, with a desire to avoid embarresment, Liverpool actually pulled it together for once.
I’m not saying Liverpool isn’t a great city. It is – and there is certainly a lot of good here. I love the city’s better points and I sorely want Liverpool to achieve. To fulfil its genuine potential.
However, what I see going on day, by dull monotonous, repetitive day, does not inspire great confidence.
It’s that day again. Time to exchange cards, gifts; love, hugs and kisses. It’s enough to make you sick. Isn’t it? Though it is a necessary distraction for many all the same.
So whether you’re into it or not, I thought I’d compile a quick selection of musical treats: songs for lovers, and songs for those out of love.
For those in love:
- Suzanne – Leonard Cohen (beautiful in every respect).
- All You Need is Love – Beatles (I had to include one… this is perhaps the most iconic. There are an absolute truck load of hits by the fab four that could’ve been on this list though).
- J’Taime Moi Non Plus – Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg (a cheesy piece of nonsense. terribly soppy, disgusting and gut wrenching. Certainly not a song to play in the bedroom – unless you anticipate laughter).
- Maybe the People Would be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale – Love (not really about the emotion, though Arthur Lee named the band after what he saw as the most powerful thing that everyone could relate to).
- Winters Love – Animal Collective
- All Shook Up – Elvis Presley
- Ladies and Gentlemen we are Floating in Space – Spiritualized
And for those out of love:
- Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division (OK, so this is a painfully obvious choice to include on this list. I’m sure a million people have cited it before. However, the truth remains, this is a brilliant song about a marriage falling to pieces).
- Come On – Chuck Berry (fantastic song whatever the situation and a great tale of a girl leaving our Chuck. Covered by the Rolling Stones for their debut single in 1963).
- She Loves You – Beatles (for the optimist: “you think you lost your love, well I saw her yesterday, it’s you she’s thinking of, and she told me what to say. She loves you, and you know that can’t be bad. Yes she loves you, and you know you should be glad”).
- The Wind Cries Mary – Jimi Hendrix (written after Hendrix had an argument with then girlfriend Kathy Etchingham. Mary was Kathy’s middle name).
- Love Sick – Bob Dylan
- Ever Fallen in Love – Buzzcocks
- 96 Tears – Question Mark & The Mysterians
Come up with some of your own! Peas and Love,
Titch x
Who decides which bands, artists, self-absorbed celebrities and talentless performing monkeys are awarded Grammys?
I don’t like Tool, though I agree with what singer Maynard James Keenan says of the awards:
I think the Grammys are nothing more than some gigantic promotional machine for the music industry. They cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don’t honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It’s the music business celebrating itself. That’s basically what it’s all about.
This year saw yet another bout of self congratulatory communal back scratching, with a whole bunch of industry cash cows recieving the bulk of the accolades.
Estelle, Adele, Duffy and Lil-Wayne all big commercial names – all arguably lacking any award winning creativity – yet all picking up a clutch of shiny Grammys each.
However, the biggest piss take is Coldplay; who have yet again subjected the world to yet more insipid, luke warm, middle of the road non-music this year.
What really gets me is the way they push themselves as artists; as creative, musical revolutionaries – portraying an image of integrity.
Their latest album, Viva La Vida, is far from award winning, yet it achieved ‘rock album’ of the year status from the Grammys. The title track from Viva La Vida also won awards, as did the group’s live performances.
What is this all about?! The album is tosh: the utter dregs of musical taste and the blandest offering yet from a band whose name has for a long time been closely synonymous with the descriptions: ‘dull’, ‘boring’, ‘repetitive’, ‘emotionless’, ‘crap’ and ‘of the lowest base artistic character’.
What’s more – Coldplay seem to have taken onboard some design doublethink where meaningless symbolism actually means something. Quite what, who knows.
The band has recently been sporting a collection of badly re-hashed Sgt. Pepper style tunics – something they did apologise for at the Grammys – which look utterly ridiculous.
They have been doing this for the whole of Viva La Vida, almost in some concerted effort to communicate something – exactly what, is not clear – other than that they’re trying to find something interesting and new to do (something which they can’t do with their horrendously uninspired music) in order to sell records.
When the Beatle’s wore tunics for Sgt. Peppers, it actually meant something. It was a sign of rebellion: to debase the symbolism and pomp of institution – the most powerful incarnation and protector of institution there is: the military.
With Coldplay, this doesn’t appear to be the case. Partly as the Beatles and others, such as Jimi Hendrix, have already made this type of statement. Instead, it is perhaps an appeal to the limp wristed socialism of Coldplay’s fans, though it is more likely a result of the band having a bit of money to spare in their marketing budget for Viva La Vida, and ended up hiring some trendy young artist to ‘conceptualise’ this new look for them.
I could go on but I wont. Safe to say: the music most loved by the music industry (the world of commerce) means nothing (to the world of art); the Grammys (a vain attempt at ‘artistic recognition’) also mean nothing; Coldplay, who cleaned up at the Grammys, mean nothing too.
Having read what George Monbiot wrote in the Guardian today, I have to congratulate him. He has perfectly outlined the spineless nature of modern British mainstream political culture, through the glowing example of Hazel Blears’ deference to the Labour party.
What Monbiot outlines as a ‘political monoculture’ in the UK today is, as he correctly ascertains, a result of a Labour party which shuts out the public from the political debate. People are interested in politics though are simply denied the privilege thanks to premeditated government decision making.
Politics is important to people. People are growing tired of populist politicians who stand for nothing but their own re-election.
From this bloggers perspective, I see the nation standing at the crossroads. People will begin to attempt to become more involved in politics, particularly as political decisions come to have more of an impact on peoples lives – in part thanks to the recession, they simply need a voice in Westminster to express this new desire.
The United States came up with Barack Obama. Who will lead the return to congruous political positions in the UK?
For George Monbiot’s article, click here…
A poignant reminder from the past I read this morning…
CONSUMER CREDIT & the new E. A. Mattison Budget Finance Plan Inc. is just a loan to someone to finance, manufacture, distribute & sell a product, such as home freezers – But this is going in debt in order to pay it off with savings. You borrow money, buy or invest, & then save to pay off your debt: leaves U.S. with record savings & record debts at same time. Consumer credit is one arm of machine reaching out to help other, but under conditions of debt.
In other words, Debt (Neal’s big hassle) is the form, financially, the Machine creates to enslave the individual to It – for instance, Sinatra owes taxes, back taxes, & is “forbidden” to go to Europe, also Dick Haymes – The collusion of Debt, the “Tax,” & “Insurance” are tying people closer & closer to the great Wheel Rack -
Don’t accept “Loan” or “Arm” of Machine – it is a deceptive enslavement – simple souls mistrust offers of loan for no idle reason -
The traffic problem is merely that cars by the millions enslave us to new city systems requiring hours of driving to & from needs, on “congested” arteries, naturally – where once you’d-a walked -
These are all conditions pointing to the imminent cancerous death of America, the Final Cog in the Western Civ. Machine – the supreme end-result of early Gothic Phallic forms is the skyscraper & the oil drill & powered compressor & pistons of great engines – the Machine copulates, men aren’t allowed to any more -
The flesh gets numb, but the soul doesn’t.
Written by Jack Kerouac,
Book of Sketches – 1952-57
