rare pair o'strides

WEDNESDAY AM AND ITS FREEEEZING!

Or its not depending on your perspective of freezing and of course, where you live.

Is it freezing on the slopes in France? If you are buck naked, yes, if you are fully kitted out in the typical ski/snow boarding garb, then probably not.

Where the hell am I going with this? I’m not sure, just rambling you fool I hear you cry!

It’s about opinions or as my 5yr old says ‘onions’.

Noel Gallagher is never one to be backward in coming forward and he is now gobbing off about Ed Sheeran, how the state of the music industry is so middle class that the likes of a ginger bloke and his guitar can sell out Wembley Stadium 3 nights in a row.

He has a point, not that ginger blokes with a guitar shouldn’t be selling out Wembley, but it’s middle class kids/adults funding the demand. Ed is safe, like the White Ladders bloke, Phil Collins, Mickey Bubbles. Good performers, talented performers, but where is the punk? Where is the fuck you balls out have some of that you fuckers I’ll play what I want join the revolution or piss off brigade?

Over the last 20-30 years the shock rock has been slowly killed off, the Brits was once an institution for fuck ups, terrible presenters, great performances, piss takers pissed up. Now? It’s that idiot Corden leading a tele prompting ‘slick’ and professional presentation. Oh no! Adele stuck her finger up at the suits! The only rock ‘n roll danger in years.

Where has it all gone wrong? Is it so ‘brand’ cool it’s no longer cool? Is it the fault of social media that you can be here and gone in seconds? No. It’s not. Social Media provides a great platform for everyone to have an opinion (ahem like moi) but it should be used to enhance a band/film generate a swell of demand and unity.

The problem is years ago if you heard about a band, you could only hear them on the radio or go into a record store and search them out. Read about them in the papers and then maybe get off your arse and actually check them out! This created a loyal army of fans plus inspired future rockers like Noel Gallagher/Ian Brown/Dave Grohl/David Bowie and so on.

Everything is on tap, you can digest and throw away information as easily as breathing. You missed a tv show – you tube it. You want to hear the latest music thing – go on spotify/itunes have a free listen before you buy.

The record industry is missing a trick, go old school, build a mystique about an artist that doesn’t give a fuck, facilitate their growing army of fans by making them have to earn it. Don’t release on social media unless its massively cryptic about small venue gigs, release stories about them in the red tops only, get them to buy into the no social media act. Get them on tv at some point get them to swear, get them banned – GO OLD SCHOOL ROCK!

I bet you that the bigger following and demand for the band the industry/commercial suits will be falling over themselves to get involved but they will be way down the queue behind the army of fans who will fee like they own the band and will decide their fate who they want to listen to and when.

Release everything on vinyl only, force the fans to have to hunt the music down – make it matter, music matters.

What are your onions?

RPOS x

So,

In a time where every where you turn there is another rock/pop classic stripped down to soft piano or acoustic strum whilst an angelic street urchinesque voice floats, almost without effort in a nice ‘isn’t it cool to reimagine these old tunes and make them modern day’ – I think to myself, where the fuck is the next energy coming from?

There are only so many chords, notes, melodies but as with anything it’s how we use them to get our message across. Be it a call to arms, telling of a story, shout of frustration, teenage kicks, struggle with life, sticking it to the man – you need to have an energy a passion a drive. Whether you rap, dance, rock, shoe gaze, twerk at least give it something, something anyone with an ounce of guts can get it, latch onto it and without knowing it join a mass swelling army of fans across all barriers.

Where am I going with this?

Two reasons. Two bands. Two torch bearers with the potential to blow the middle of the road industry away and start a new wave of bands/musicians to challenge everything and do things their way. The Rock ‘n Roll way.

I give you The Dirty Youth and Marmozets……..

Two bands full of life full of energy full of talent plus big balls sound. Both have charismatic singers who rage their range of vocals over a tight back drop of kicking rhythm and driving melodies.

Both bands are the same but quite different, I urge you to follow these links – get into them, support them help grab back the music from the corporate mishmash of boredom. Support them in showing the budding rockers/rappers/twerkers/dancers that be your own thing, do your own thing.

The Dirty Youth

Marmozets

Rise up.

RPOS x

AFTERNOON PEOPLE

It is most definitely not festival season as yet, but already companies are gearing up for the relentless onslaught of the festival craziness of the spring/summer months.

Back in the day we had Monsters of Rock, Glastonbury, Reading, Cambridge Folk, but now there is a festival for just about anything apparently.

We are now in the era of lets put a festival on, slam a load of performers together – get a pop act and a load of jugglers, sponsor stands, make sure the chips are a tenner a punnet, plus make it uber family friendly.

With a little research and a few conversations with the more experienced festival muso it is astounding how many festivals through the 60s 70s 80s were free – it was more about the gathering of like minded people from all walks of life, challenging the mainstream not so much about the glorification of x-factor contestants and wannabes.

Yes we can’t just keep giving things away man, but nor can we be taking libertees man. The ticket prices, the plastic pseudo rockers/punks/raggas, the vip soft chair and massage gang, the 10 min set and no naughty words police have nearly reached a point where fans and bands alike are starting to feel disconnected.

However, with the digital age and all the massive pros with it, the bands struggle to make real contact with their fans – no gate folds, 12″ remix, free poster, limited edition picture disc!! Where you had a tangible physical connection with lyric sheets, crazy art work, the crackle of the first track you could almost imagine the band off their bonces making the music, the art work and the amazing lyrics!

Playing live is the only way most bands and their fans can connect, they also can actually make some money, to continue their musical lives and continue to contribute to ours.

Vinyl is making a come back, the thrill of flicking through the A’s B’s etc looking for the Japanese import, or even discovering a new band/sound just by loving the mental art work on on the sleeve. This is something now not only being re-discovered by collectors of old but also being discovered by the cd generation.

The pride in rebuilding or extending your vinyl collection, seeing bands new and old live is one of the best things about music. It is always changing, evolving, re-energising, gaining new fans of all generations.

So why not strip the festival back, forget the corporate crap, make it about the music, the bands making money, the fans getting value for money and them all connecting again.

Vinyl is a slow burner and may not possibly ever reach the heights of previous decades but the festivals are where it is at for bands and fans, so lets hope the readings/leeds/latitiudes/downloads/glastonburys think on and at least remember who the festivals are for bands and fans.

Rock on and Live Forever

RPOS xFESTIV

Greetings!

To this new everyday pile of old guff written by many contributors of the why don’t you go and do something less boring instead generation. The era of three tv channels, no remotes, a wind up Evil Knievel and where a Snickers was a Marathon!

This isn’t going to be some endless harping on about the 70s 80s 90s etc, just a comment on modern life, pop culture, news and nowt about religion (unless you are a Jedi of course).

So topics will range from  Music, Sport, TV, Movies, Art. There will be some chaos of course, some wind ups, proper punk attitude and of course all suggestions are more than welcome and will be discarded as quickly as they are received!

Competitions will be run with actual prizes – no need for SAE………

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Live Forever…….

RPO x