This Weeks Movers and Shakers

This article hails the first in a new series documenting the ebb and flow of cuts in and out of my organic top 40. To make it to the organic top 40 is the highest accolade to be bestowed upon any of the 5460 songs who live in my record collection. Once you are there though it doesn’t mean you will stay their indefinitely; as tastes develop and new music is constantly released and re-released you always run the risk of finding yourself unceremoniously returned to the rabble and replaced by a more deserving tune. Last week saw the first major shake up amongst the big boys and of course there were some winners and losers.

Relegated

I am relieved to say that my closet affair with the Sugar Babes has come to end, as the well over due dismissal of “Push the Button” Finally materialised. There is little I can say in defence of this song or my decision to have it in my top 40 for so long other than the chorus is catchy and possesses a real hook; but ultimately I think I was just thinking back to video which I could watch 100 times and probably for most of those I’d, in hindsight, be happy to have the music off for.

The next song to get the chop was the Arctic Monkeys song “When the sun goes down”; it would be unfair to say I had fallen out of love with this song but there is such a thing as serious over play and when a song is released as a number one single, has an eye catching video and then goes on the fastest selling album of all time it is possible to get sick of it. I had always felt the intro to be a little quirky and not entirely to my taste but the crescendo of punk rock guitar with it’s choppy off beats more than made up for it.

Another notable resident who found himself packing his things was 2+2=5 from the indomitable Radiohead. Now I have made my opinions about Radiohead known in other articles in no concise terms but the depression was simply getting the better of me and the order of last weeks cabinet reshuffle was a bit more light heartedness. I wouldn’t be surprised if I catch it trying to wheedle its way back in shortly. In fact 2+2=5 wasn’t the only Radiohead causality last week; also “life in a glass house” was cut and for exactly the same reasons as above. I think in short I love the grandeur of this piece and the mellow nature of the dulcet horns combined with Yorke conjure grainy photo quality images of a smoky Parisian jazz club in the 1920s.

The last notable loser was John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.” this song is such a wonderful 7 minute ball of energy whose driving rhythm doesn’t falter once and the recurrence of such a memorable refrain throughout makes for such a holistic sounding piece. The reason he made his exit was because I simply haven’t been in the mood to give music of this calibre the attention it deserves and with 2006 signalling an explosion in UK alternative which is just crying out to be eaten up John had to sacrifice the floor to some younger talent.

Promoted

The first one to get the nod was a straight replacement for the fallen Arctic Monkeys song; “From Ritz to the Rubble”, the song tells just such a compelling story which is nigh impossible not to empathise with; it’s an honest and human monologue that I think establishes a real connection. Again the tempo is a real selling point as it drives relentlessly across its 3.13 course; this tempo is really establishing itself as an expected factor in all of their songs.

Another entry is “Big Night Out” by FLC which can be found on the record “100% Columbian” which despite being a critically acclaimed follow up to come find yourself never had the big tunes of its older brother. Big Night Out has a wonderful anthemic quality about it when at the mid way point it switches into half tempo lighter waving, beer swilling, show stopper. I saw FLC a few years ago and as many will know they regularly perform with just three members, despite this, as the set ended they milked the grand finale of this song for all it was worth; heart stopping stuff.

One of my favourite tunes at the moment and one that makes me sing out loud in public places is “Cant stand me now” by the Libs and is the opening track on their self titled first album. They are a band I was only introduced to recently but it is easy to understand why they achieved such iconic status. The highlight of this song has to be one of the best lyrics ever written which reads “Boy kicked out at the world and the world kicked back a lot fuckin harder”. For me this line smacks with bitter comic irony and is delivered with such feeling; I like to imagine it as an autobiographical line by Doherty.

The last comment worthy addition is “Oranges and Lemons Again” by Suggs and the Jools Holland Orchestra. I have always loved a bit of bouncing ska and coupled with Suggs somewhat laughable cockney accent what could better to lift the winter blues! It is a twee little story about London in more innocent times and the hook of turning out oranges and lemons is a gorgeous analogy for a sunny day in the capital.

Ageism in the Record Industry

My recent article entitled “Fall out, Sell out and Move out” which berated “Fall Out Boy” was not met with open arms from all camps; one such critic felt that bearing in mind the band were only 17 when the album “Take This To Your Grave” was released somehow absolved them from criticism and that my comments were “a little harsh”.

I make no apology for the fact that they felt the sharp edge of my keyboard in this instance for a number of reasons. Frankly just like any other band, and needless to say combined with any other label, their sole purpose of pressing discs is to snatch away the listener’s hard earned dollar from another band; so if they wish to offer themselves up alongside every other contemporary band who have the same profit focus then it only seems fair that they are compared on the same base.

If they want to play at being a band but are intimidated by the competition then frankly they have to suck it up because there aren’t any other options; I for one haven’t seen the “17 and under” category on the shelf at HMV or on I-tunes and I should very well expect them to be cheaper than other albums if the band worry they can’t sell. I am quite certain that no customer is going to buy an album out of sympathy for this group of teenagers who have tried soo hard and have really made a great effort; because making an effort simply doesn’t cut it. The only customers they can guarantee are their mums and I hope even they would think twice.

All this leads me on to pose the question: How old must you be to be considered a “real” band or artist? For example was Bob Dylan too young when he recorded some of his best music and almost single handedly revolutionised folk music? Or perhaps did the Arctic Monkey’s have to show fake ID before they were allowed to have the UK’s fastest selling album of all time? I know for a fact that the answer to both these examples is no. So how does it look from the other end of the age spectrum? Surely artists must develop and mature indefinitely? But unfortunately the evidence is to the contrary once again because frankly even big names such as Van Morisson, The Boss and Dylan have surpassed their creative peak and should be quite happy to live off the royalties that their back catalogues’ generate.

I guess the simple conclusion is two fold: firstly, unlike some people, music isn’t ageist which is a hypothesis best proven by none other than Mozart at 16. Secondly music critique can only ever address the art at hand; I can never give a band the benefit of the doubt just because they are 17 or give the Boss a favourable review for “Devils and Dust” because I know he can do better; ultimately on this site the music is up for review and not those behind it.