Why Mystery Matters In Music

The web has changed the way that music is created, promoted, shared, purchased and consumed. In fact, there's virtually no aspect of the creative or commercial music process that has not been transformed in the last 15 years.
When I was a young rocker buying my beautiful vinyl at The Spinning Disc in Sunderland in the wet UK, the lure of some Roger Dean or Hipgnosis artwork, a mention in "Sounds" magazine and the recommendation of a drugged out sales guy was more than enough for me to dip into my "milk round money".

We had three weekly music papers - The NME, Melody Maker and Sounds - to keep us up to date with what was happening. News was reported as a serious aspect rather than as the contrived marketing ploys of today. Live reviews went into detail about the atmosphere, the crowd, the lights and the songs. And the bulk of the content was interviews - not so much about the lives of the musicians, but about the songs' meanings, inspirations and homages. Songs were taken seriously, and we wanted to know why, how, where and when they were written and what was going through the head of the artist at the time (in addition to the Red Leb).
The point is that there was a huge sense of mystery surrounding artists and their craft. Whether it was Jimmy Page's fascination with Alistair Crowley, Rush's Ayn Rand inspirations or Peter Gabriel's Albion meets abstract lyrics, the fog of mystery was created naturally and genuinely, and it made us sit intently in front of the speakers to try to unravel the work of our heroes.

Today, we are at the exact opposite point. Everything a musician, label or manager can think of exposing is exposed in an effort to have that all-important "dialogue" with the fan. It's a relationship goldrush that every act is now expected to be part of. There have always been obsessive fans who want it all, and always will be. But in this age of music industry freefall, we are adding fuel to the fire, as even the diehards have to question the frequency and value of the communication from their idols. Let's face it, I wanted to know about Jimmy's interest in black magic, but didn't want to know whether he'd had sprouts for lunch. Not only because it meant little (even though I love sprouts), but because it actively destroyed the myth of him being a mysterious being from a higher plain.

Too much inane "dialogue" only makes the fan tire of the artist at a quicker rate. And so we see artist's commercial lifetime come to an end much faster than in the pre-web days. Often after just one "lead track" (we can't say "single" these days). And they don't realize that they are doing it to themselves. Sure, Twittering from the tour bus is cool, but it's also of no value if it's total drivel and destroys the allure of the act.
Social media has effectively taken the place of the NME and Sounds, but there needs to be a quality level attached just as there was back in the day. This has to come from the artists. Let's help them to rebuild the level of integrity, artistry and mystery around music's future heroes. Only through doing this can legends be created whose level of intrigue and talent will enable their music to be sold for decades, rather than days.

The Who at The Superbowl - The Verdict

I wasn't quite sure about The 'orrible 'Oo playing the half time show. It wasn't the commercial "sell out" aspect - Pete's been at that longer than most. It was whether they could out-perform some of the quality performances of the past few years, especially Petty, Macca and The Boss.

I was also a bit concerned about the possibility that The Who's set may be purely geared to promote the CSI franchise, which we saw heavily featured during the commercial breaks in the first half of the game. Of course, I wouldn't really have minded too much if all we got were the three CSI title tunes - Who Are You, Baba O Riley and Wont Get Fooled Again, but I really was hoping for something more. So when the amazing lightshow began to the strum of Pinball Wizard's classic intro, I started to relax. Pinball Wizard, Baba O Riley, Who Are You, See Me Feel Me and Won't Get Fooled Again made up a very nice 12 minute slice of 'oO, See Me Feel Me being the surprise for me.

Here's one reason that I thought they handled the half time show well versus some of the past performers - the medley. To my mind, rock medleys don't often work. For a hiphop act, it's an easy concept but it isn't something that feels natural for most rock bands. If it's a covers band (like The Stoats or Patchwork Orange for instance), that's fine, but a classic band performing medleys of their own songs just doesn't feel right. Right?

But The Who are different. They have always been able to handle the medley format brilliantly. The Superbowl show reminded me of their performance of "A Quick One" on the Rolling Stones' 1968 Rock and Roll Circus - 5 or 6 short songs sandwiched together into one mini opera. That's why it worked - unlike Petty or the Boss, The Who virtually originated the rock medley concept and have recorded and played medleys many times over their careers. Even their last studio album, "Wire and Glass", contains a mini-opera concept that they pared down and played live on the 2006 tour.

So in short, I believe that The Who triumphed through their ability to manage the situation, rather than allowing the size of the event manage them (as I think happened to Aerosmith in 2001). It is a fact that Roger had a couple of less than stellar moments here and there, and Pete seemed to have a little amp trouble. But these kind of gremlins make The Who what it is, and separated the band's performance from the overly-choreographed Stones show of 2006 and the contrived 2001 Aerosmith "and friends" appearance. The Who is still a real band and they don't always hit every note or chord perfectly. And this isn't a bad thing. They are not wrapped in cotton wool by their management or by a label head or A&R guy. They are the real deal, and I hope, a huge inspiration to young bands all over the Globe. After 46 years, they still play, look and perform with an attitude, and as they proved yesterday, they are still capable of winning over the crowd, whether in a West London church hall, or at Miami's Sun Life Stadium.

And then there were those cymbals! I'm off to spray paint mine now!.....

Long Live Rock
Long Live The Who

We Need a Punk-like Music Movement Now!

I'm sitting here listening to a great song I haven't heard in years, that will be very familiar to my fellow Brits, but isn't that well known in the U.S. - The Tom Robinson Band's "Sing If You're Glad To Be Gay". At the time it was associated with the punk movement, which, far from the anarchic image it has in the US, had a very significant moral and social impact through it's minstrels. This is one of those songs that was groundbreaking, and a rallying call for equality in Thatcher's fascist Britain of the the late 70's. If you don't know it, check it out. It's a perfect song - melody, killer/catchy/incisive lyrics, and a real message at it's heart, which, whether you were gay or not, made you want to line up behind Tom and drive change. In short, it was the music that led us to the message.

I was lucky enough to be 14 in 1978. It was a very tough time for Britain with mass unemployment, polarized political parties, and a very frustrated youth which, prompted by boredom and poverty, reacted through the musical revolution we called punk.
And not only punk. Too often, it's forgotten that other genres of music emerged and contributed to change by giving a voice, or an outlet, to Britain's youth.
 West London and the Midlands spawned a new variety of reggae, combining Jamaican music with anti-racist lyrics and inspiring UK-centric libertarian views. Just check out Steel Pulse's Handsworth Revolution.
And then there was the change in what we now call classic rock. The media have often portrayed rock as dying in a velociraptor-like way at the feet of punk. It's just not true. Sure the guys who were seen as overblown (like the mighty Zep) and those who were associated with over-indulgence (like the prog bands I grew up on- Yes, ELP, Crimson), faced a crisis. But (temporarily) they gave way to the new Brit heavy metal of Judas Priest and Motorhead, who ushered in a more aggressive, harder phase for the genre, which to me, was totally in line with the punk movement.

Everywhere you looked, kids used music to shake off their frustrations and in many cases, to make a needed point, whether it be about sex, race, the Government or the system in general. And it was good.

Those bands and fans didn't have the web, social media, blogs and communities. In fact they hardly had anything. No cell-phones, no SMS, no home computers. There were three weekly music papers in the UK which reported everything, one gay magazine (which was viewed as being obscene), and virtually no media channels for messages of racial equality. Plus, the mainstream media either trivialized these bands, or literally banned their output (the BBC actually banned all radio and TV plays of the Pistols' God Save The Queen, which of course  immediately sent it to number one in the charts). And further media ignorance just added fuel to the fires, which by that time were literally burning in the streets of Bristol, Birmingham and London. "London's Burning" cried the Clash, and indeed parts of it were, sparked largely by the messages contained in the music.

Check out the video below. The Anti-Nazi League was formed in 1977 and was active through the early 80's. It was a response to the growth of Nazis and white supremecy which had formed as an aggressive fascist protest against groups of immigrants coming into the UK in the 60's and 70's (mostly from British Commonwealth countries). The ANL was supported by many bands including The Clash, The Ruts, Gang Of Four, The Members, TRB and Pete Townshend.



So my point here is, that with all of the tools sitting before today's youth, like the web, divergent media, the ability to express oneself and gather support at the drop of a click, where is music's place in change? The youth movement was a huge part of Obama's election victory, and The Boss (love him, but hardly a young guy) and a few other souls gave their all. But where is it now? Where are the bands singing about the need to support change whether it be education, healthcare, the wars or the environment? Where are the kids who should be lining up to drive change, just like those who were inspired by Tom Robinson or Steel Pulse? Where is the protest and who is the voice? Where is the musical inspiration?

And how can we, who've been through it, help them to use today's music as their sword of change?