This opinion
article was first published on CLUAS in December 2005
CLUAS Opinion
Have The Arctic Monkeys gone and peaked too early?
Una Mullaly, in her debut Op Ed, brings her trademark, tank-busting prose
to the question, "Does bizarre chart success equal the end of an epoch that
previously maintained its, well, let's face it, cool??
The majority of the music fed to the masses, sucks. It's watered down
sufficiently to appeal to as many people as possible, in order to offend as few
as possible, in order to shift as many units as possible, which is why most
entries into the charts are offensive. Dance is "cheesy" (or worse still, "commercial", duh). Pop is dominated by boy bands, novelty songs, runners up in
reality TV shows and 2-dimensional "stars". Rock is bland and unadventurous. Hip
Hop is boring and derivative. It is generally assumed that stupid people buy
this music, or people with no taste, or people who don't care enough to have
taste. That's fine, until the chart vortex - which smart musos delight in
ignoring - sucks one of our own imploding stars into its murky cosmos.
"All's
fine, until the chart vortex sucks one of our own imploding stars into its
murky cosmos."
Two bands can perhaps be targeted for the recent indie leak into the mainstream.
Franz Ferdinand, for their recognition of the legitimate musicality of indie and
The Libertines, for their recognition of legitimate indie celebrity. Both set
out with very different goals. Franz Ferdinand were determined to become a
global phenomenon, with catchy tunes, an attractiveness that transcended
sexuality and a killer image. The Libertines were determined to break down the
barrier between artist and fan with catchy tunes, an attractiveness that
transcended sexuality and a killer image. Both crashed into the mainstream,
announcing this new movement to the mainstream. Remember Brit Pop? Well, it's
kind of like that, except with suits and crack.
In the latest instance, it is
Artic Monkeys - a young indie group from Leeds who had released one slightly annoying, but catchy single
("Fake Tales Of San Francisco") before following it up with a rather rusty sounding
"I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor". The references were all there; it sounds like a bad
Strokes B-side (that's good, right? Because effort is bad, right?), the lyrics checked robots, 1984, dance floor, and the live video was all very Spike Lee, or Jonze, or whatever you're having yourself.
"With the indie press rating, marketing and
slating bands in a more zealous manner, the Monkeys will have to keep up the
act..."
Next, there came an Internet campaign that
Louis Walsh should take notes
on; street teams, aggressive advertising, bombing message boards with Arctic
propaganda. Lo and behold, the plot succeeded, and Arctic Monkeys achieved
everything an indie band shouldn't want to: they got to number one.
Previously, this success might not have mattered. There are hundreds of indie
bands who chart high, and then go on to being, well, indie bands. And they're
welcomed back into the rock basements by the same old fans that were there
before Top of The Pops sent an invite. But now, with the indie press rating,
marketing and slating bands in a more zealous manner than even Smash Hits, the
Monkeys will have to keep up the act because they embraced the machine. They
took the NME front covers, they egged on their street team - kids who firmly
believe they own a part of the band - to do their dirty work, they sold a bunch
of singles, and like a boy band manager shovelling records into the boot of the
car to get the lads to chart, Artic Monkeys got the punters out and came out on
top. The problem being, they only have two songs to speak of, and now, the poor
buggers will find it almost impossible to keep up that drive. Perhaps it will be
the classic firework career, previously trademarked by The Bravery. Remember
them? They supported U2 you know?
Una Mullally
Check out
the discussion this article provoked on the
CLUAS discussion board.
Previous CLUAS Opinion pieces...
|
Buskers: Scourge or Saviours of our cities?
|
Dateline: January 2006 |
|
 I
hate buskers. Hate them, hate them, hate them. Can't stand them. Won't
put up with them. Acoustic-guitar shouter on Grafton Street blocking
me going into Bewleys? Get out of my way! Doddery old accordion fella
on the Paris metro? Go off and do something productive like starting
a riot! Half-naked cowboy guy in New York? Pull up your pants, you eejit!
Read the full article...
|
|
Have Arctic Monkeys gone and peaked too
early?
|
Dateline: December 2005 |
|
 The
majority of the music fed to the masses, sucks. It's watered down sufficiently
to appeal to as many people as possible, in order to offend as few as
possible, in order to shift as many units as possible, which is why
most entries into the charts are offensive. Dance is "cheesy" (or worse
still, "commercial", duh). Pop is dominated by boy bands, novelty songs,
runners up in reality TV shows and 2-dimensional 'stars?...
Read the full article...
|
|
What Pop Music Can Teach Us About The
Spirit Of Christmas...
|
Dateline: December 2005 |
|
 I
was driving home the other night to the missus, listening to Rufus Wainwright's
'Spotlight on Christmas', and it struck me that this simple song, originally
recorded for a MOJO Magazine Christmas themed CD, had more to say about
the core truths of Jesus Christ and Christmas than anything I've heard
from the Roman Catholic Church in quite some time.
Read the full
article...
|
|
Top Ten Acts on the Irish Indie Music
Scene of 2005
|
Dateline: December 2005 |
|
 Alas,
another year has rolled by. It was a long period, when many a Euro had
been tossed towards the outstretched claws of music promoters and record
store employees. But, this is the time of the year that one should thank
them for stocking the music one wants, and for putting on the shows
that one desires to attend. It's also time highlight some of the unsigned
acts that have rapidly matured over the past twelve months. Of the many
who contested for one's attention, there were the following ten that
- for me at least - managed to stand out...
Read the full article...
|
|
Homosexuality in pop music and the taboos
that still surround it...
|
Dateline: September 2005 |
|
 Mark
Feehily from Westlife recently revealed - via tabloid, naturally - that
he was gay. Being neither gay nor a Westlife fan, I had no feelings
of solidarity, shock or anything about it. Initially I gave it as little
interest as I do to Brian McFadden's nauseating attempts to cling to
celebrity status by moaning about it as publicly as possible.
Read the full article...
|
|
Ring tones and the music industry
|
Dateline: June 2005 |
|
 It
has run the full gamut of description: from the ultimate marketing coup
to the end of music as we know it, a ring tone has crossed over to top
the singles chart. This has prompted a collective scratching of heads,
much comment on the thirty million spent promoting it and general sympathy
for Coldplay, who lost out in the race for the top spot. But before
we all run out to buy Coldplay's next single to right this abhorrence,
should we really be surprised that the music industry is more comfortable
doing business without an artist?
Read the full article...
|
|
The Top Ten Bloke Songs
|
Dateline: May 2005 |
|
 Here
they are. The ten songs every unreconstructed male should have close
to hand, preferably on a mix CD stashed in your sock drawer, to be played
only prior to emergencies (baby showers, distant relatives? funerals
and dinner with her friends).
Read the full article...
|
|
The importance of the audience in a music
scene...
|
Dateline: March 2005 |
|
 Some
say that rock music, at least rock music with the balls to look you
in the eye and force a sigh, is dead and gone. They claim that it died
on a couch with Sid Vicious, in a lonely hotel room with Janis, growing
cold in a bath with Jim Morrison or twitching on a puke-stained bed
with Bonzo Bonham.
Read the full article...
|
|
Michael Jackson: demon or demonised?
Or both?
|
Dateline: February 2005 |
|
 So
the sorry case of Michael Jackson surfaces again in our news. At the
time of writing he stands accused of an appalling crime, one that our
society rightly regards as indefensible and sickening. Jackson is, of
course, innocent until proven guilty. However, short of inventing a
cure for cancer, AIDS and the common cold in one pill, nothing that
he could do will ever redeem his reputation now, even if he is found
innocent. Read the full
article...
|
|
The Scene in Whelan's
|
Dateline: January 2005 |
|
 Once
upon a time, Whelan's of Wexford Street Dublin was considered to be
the coolest place to be. At its peak of popularity it was the heartbeat
of the Irish music scene. Mainstream and independent artists from various
genres have packed the venue over the years and played some memorable
shows. In the case of many music fanatics who regularly attend gigs
in Ireland, Whelan's was once hailed as their musical Mecca. Lately
though, the buzz around the place is slowly eroding away. Why is this?
What is going wrong? Read
the full article...
|
|
The Irish Heavy Metal scene
|
Dateline: December 2004 |
|
 As
a nation of minstrels and planxties our respect and nostalgic soft-spot
for a one-man singer-songwriter has kept generations of mellow artistes alive. Singer/songwriter
syndrome has imbedded itself in the Irish music scene, with Damien Rice
and Mundy becoming our musical spokesmen. However it seems the day of
the man with a guitar singing of love and happiness is coming to an
end, threatened to be uprooted by a darker movement which has wrapped
its claws around the Irish underground. Make way for metal!
Read the full article...
|
|
The Roland Massacre
|
Dateline: November 2004 |
|
 The
usual process for writing one of these Op-Ed pieces is that anyone writing
one of these sends a basic idea to Jules our Op-Ed-Editor so to speak.
If Jules gives the idea the nod, we then spend about two weeks hammering
it out into something vaguely coherent. This Op-Ed was originally supposed
to be a well researched and thought out piece on how copyright and recording
technology have changed modern music. Well nuts to that.
Read the full article...
|
|
Musicians and their role in Politics
|
Dateline: October 2004 |
|
 I
write from California. I spent my 20s in Los Angeles during the Reagan
Era, and it was hell. That administration was supporting death and torture
squads in El Salvador and Nicaragua, The environment was under attack.
Far Right nuts were being nominated to the Federal & Supreme Courts.
The national debt was being doubled and tripled (sounds like deja-vu
all over again, huh?). I remember feeling that it was the first time
in our history that the following generation would not have it better
than their parents. Read
the full article...
|
|
Irish Music - a truly influential force?
|
Dateline: October 2004 |
|
Roddy Doyle said recently in an interview in The Guardian
that Ireland doesn't produce great musicians. Considering that he is
currently promoting a novel centred on Louis Armstrong and American
jazz, it's possible that he may have been quoted out of a very broad
context. Nonetheless, he has a valid point.
Read the full article...
|
