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The News Desk |
| < < All the latest news from Manchester Music on 12 October 2008
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| INDIETRACKS 2008 ! |
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Manchester Music interviews Stuart Mackay who is the organiser of the popular Indietracks Festival which takes place on the weekend of 26/27 July 2008 at Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire
MM : HOW MANY YEARS HAS INDIETRACKS BEEN IN EXISTENCE AND ARE THERE ANY BANDS ON THIS YEAR EVENT THAT YOU ARE ESPECIALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO CATCHING LIVE? IF SO WHY?
This is indietracks second year. I'm not able to get to as many gigs as I used to so there's quite a big list of bands I'm looking forward to seeing, but three in particular stand out: The Kabeedies as there's a lot of buzz about them; Pocketbooks who are one of my favourites and I haven't yet seen their new line-up; and The Deirdres who are amazingly good fun and have never failed to impress anyone I've dragged along to see them.
MM : DO YOU EXPECT TO ATTRACT MUSIC LOVERS FROM ALL OVER BRITAIN AND FROM ABROAD?
There are not a lot of other 'big' indiepop events worldwide so it's become an important event to a lot of people, and we do indeed have people attending from all over the UK and also from Europe & the USA, possibly from elsewhere.
MM : I HAVE NOTICED FROM LOOKING AT THE BILL FOR THIS YEARS FESTIVAL THAT YOU ARE FEATURING MANY BANDS THAT WERE CHAMPIONED BY THE LATE JOHN PEEL ON RADIO ONE. IS THIS A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO KEEP THE 'PEEL FLAG FLYING' OR JUST COINCIDENCE OR PERSONAL TASTE?
It's not really a conscious effort as I was never one for listening to the radio, I think I only ever heard about three Peel shows I'm ashamed to say- it's more because indiepop as a genre would fit into the stuff that he played.
MM : ARE THERE ANY BANDS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE AT FUTURE EVENTS? IF SO, WHICH BANDS IN PARTICULAR?
I'd like to be able to afford to bring over some more American bands, it's sometimes fells like there's two independent indiepop scenes that rarely mix, in fact there's also a great little scene in Indonesia of all places which deserves a wider audience. The festival will always be mainly about the small names from the vibrant indiepop scene playing the small clubs & bars that deserve bigger exposure.
MM : YOU HAVE SOME CLASSIC INDIE BANDS PLAYING THIS YEAR SUCH AS THE WEDDING PRESENT, COMET GAIN AND BALLBOY WHOM HAVE ALL BEEN AROUND FOR MANY YEARS. HOW DO YOU THINK TODAY'S UP AND COMING INDIE BANDS FAIR COMPARED TO THE CLASSIC BANDS FROM THE 80S AND 90'S? DO YOU THINK THE N.M.E HAS BECOME TOO IMAGE CONSCIOUS THESE DAYS?
I'm constantly amazed at the continual flow of new bands that keep indiepop alive exciting. It makes picking bands for the festival very difficult! I don't read N.M.E. (or any other mag) so I don't worry too much about what they say.
MM : DO YOU GET A LOT OF MAINSTREAM MUSIC PRESS BACKING OR DO YOU WANT TO KEEP THE FESTIVALS INDEPENDENT FEEL ALIVE BY AVOIDING POPULAR PRESS?
I'm sure the press team have tried to get exposure whether it's mainstream exposure or not. We're not deliberately being independent in that respect. We want a bigger audience for the bands, if more people enjoy indiepop then brilliant, the style of music will still be the same great indiepop it is.
MM : THIS YEARS GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL AND DOWNLOAD FESTIVALS BOTH MIXED UP THE GENRES OF MUSIC MORE THAN USUAL. DOWNLOAD IS OBVIOUSLY IN THE PAST PRIMARILY BEEN A METAL FESTIVAL AND GLASTONBURY INDIE/GUITAR BANDS. DO YOU THINK THIS IS A TREND THAT WILL CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE? WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER LETTING A MORE MAINSTREAM ACT INFILTRATE INDIETRACKS? I THINK I CAN ALREADY GUESS THE ANSWER.
Indietracks will always remain an indiepop festival. What will happen here is that now that the venue (the steam railway) has the experience in hosting this, it'll possibly diversify into other music events. If any other promoters want to use it, it's available, steam trains and all.
MM : DO YOU FEATURE ANY UNSIGNED ACTS AT INDIETRACKS?
There's quite a few!
MM : ARE THERE ANY UP AND COMING BANDS FEATURED AT THIS YEARS INDIETRACKS THAT YOU ARE REALLY IMPRESSED BY. IF SO CAN YOU GIVE US THE LINKS SO OUR READERS CAN HAVE A LISTEN?
Oh, there's so many - try Town Bike www.myspace.com/townbike, The Just Joans www.myspace.com/thejustjoans and Mexican Kids At Home www.myspace.com/mexicankidsathome these three should give you an idea of the range of sounds you can expect to hear at the festival! We've put 45 of them on a double CD festival compilation you can get now for just £6 inc p&p from http://indietracks.livejournal.com
TICKETS / LINKS
Cheapest booking fee (£2 per booking) is by calling the railway on 01773 747 674 (7 days 9am - 5pm), or online at http://www.wegottickets.com/f/250 or www.ticketweb.co.uk. Weekend tickets are £45, day tickets £25.
Unlimited steam train rides included - the bands are playing in a loco shed, in a railwayman's church, a little outdoor stage, and some on the trains. Camping has to be booked separately at the neighbouring campsite.
Full details at www.indietracks.co.uk. There's also an excellent blog at http://indietracks.livejournal.com/ featuring interviews, competitions & quizzes.
Check out: Indietracks!!
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| ITC07 - A NEW CHAPTER ? |
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The starting point for this entry begins with Cath’s post from last year, typed up in the aftermath of another bloody, glorious FictionNonFiction. In The City is back this year but of course there is a slightly different complexion to the whole affair.
ITC is eminently well organised and justifiably renowned but of course it’s co-founder will be missing. There’s been talks of statues and plaques and other form of recognition which I’m sure have been of massive importance to his family, partner and friends. But surely the whole ITC legacy is one that we all share, year on year and which has done much to ensure that Manchester created its own spotlight, regardless of whether the NME or any other London-centric organ was saying it was a shit city.
We never believed that, neither did its loyal residents and population and more importantly neither did Tony Wilson. In The City is THE event in the Manchester and UK music calendar, possessing enough muscle to get the best names in the world and small enough to be accessible and digestible whilst still providing an impressive corporate platform.
But it’s at a grass roots level that it’s pulled the master stroke. Manchester, like it’s industrial past is a hotbed of obsessive fans, musicians, photographers, designers, promoters and writers, who create an ideal embraced by its indigenous and transient populations. Every one buys into it and computers, CD burners and photocopiers slave through the night to bring together the cottage industry independents into one big scalable voice of industrial passion.
From the mills of Salford and Ancoats, the revolutionaries march. Tabloid indie nights rub shoulders with gritty, dynamic pioneering basement events. You know who they are- and the thing is, this isn’t all new. Alternative indie was reborn in Manchester in the year 2000 and whilst no-one cared to noticed outside of the M postcodes, the world has actually just caught up with us....
Check out: In The City Official
Take a look at: MM In The City MicroSite
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| Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged Too - A Critique of the Critic |
Music reviewers see words when someone plays music but often unable to simply articulate opinions, they are forced to write them down in an appetizing form. Like any medium, reviewing is surrounded by pitfalls. For example, repeatedly using hackneyed phrases like 'pitfalls' and, well, 'hackneyed'. When hacking your way into writing it is necessary to build up a portfolio of published works, and for many people (including myself) reviewing is an excellent way to start. There is no shortage of bands to channel onto the page and experiment with in style and tone.
Ironically, this glut of subject matter can have the opposite effect on the scribbling masses. Instead of approaching each review differently, they create their own band-wagon. How many times have you seen a familiar formula mixing on the page you're reading? The reviewer waits for the band. The warm up are shit but show promise. The main act charge in with a new track, but - unless something incredible and wholly original pops up - they all ultimately succumb to the critic's poison pen. The reason for this is often because many writers lack the imagination required to make a typical evening of underground music come alive. A reviewer can easily slip in to default mode, savaging the act in front of him/her.
Worse still is the reviewer who lets loose his home-made arsenal of bastardised verbs and collective nouns, leaving the reader with a stack of words that make less sense than an acid flashback. Amongst ambiguous language we come across phrases such as 'boot-stomping beats' and 'thundering riffs'. My personal favourite is the tendency of even the best reviewer towards food/genre-related metaphors, for example; '[the Band] mix up a jazz funk soup with reggae croutons'. The practice of any craft involves churning out mangled works. The hardest part is forcing them out of your private world in to the realm of the public, into the face of the music listener. So don't take it too badly when you read a bad review, because you have the final word. In the end, everyone's a critic.
Steven Lalley
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| Opportunism Knocks |
ANYONE that has read Dante's 'Inferno' will know of a place that exists on the edges of hell called 'The Vestibule'. Here the opportunists are housed. Neither good nor bad in their lives they were a fair-weather bunch, mainly engrossed in their own concerns. Thus the afterlife punishes them as they endlessly chase a banner that constantly changes shape and direction.
Ok. So we all want recognition and comfortable lives. It's just seems that some of us with fewer scruples are prepared to compromise principals to achieve that. Fashion moves faster than a cheetah on crystal meth and watching people chase it so purposefully is pretty depressing. When this is done under the guise of 'art', like music, it seems doubly pathetic. This year's current fad for 80s-influenced post-punk has seen countless number of acts remodel their sounds. One particular act realising that aping last year's flavour was no longer as likely to score them 'success', decided to tack on some trendy new wave beats. It seems too that this mentality has spread to certain local promoters too who appear more concerned with having a hand in who the London A & R brigade thinks will be 'the next big thing' rather than the actual quality of who the acts they showcase.
Of course this paints a rather negative picture. There are plenty of quality artists, labels and indeed promoters that will champion quality no matter what the sonic climate or risk is. For an artist to succeed, 'being there at the right' is certainly a contributory factor but there are other elements like hard work, sticking to your guns and creating something you can truly call your own. If honesty and independent thought isn't at the forefront of your music it will appear painfully transparent. Of course you can ignore my advice, bin your ethics and jump on the new bandwagon. But be careful. It may have already moved on.
Dave Himelfield
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| Square Pegs, Round Holes. |
The saying "a watched kettle never boils" is obviously bollocks because I watch mine bubble away all the time. But, the saying "square pegs don't fit in round holes" is definitely a universal truth and the fact that you can file down a square peg or smash it in with a hammer doesn't make it a perfect fit. Between these old adages, you may be able to find a neat metaphor for the chicken coup that is the music industry and the headless chickens that squawk around within it looking for the next big thing. The endless conveyor belt of "next big things", branded with all the hallmarks of an underdeveloped sixth form band forced into a rock god's clothing, is nothing short of boring and frankly tragic. Manchester itself has found itself guilty of flogging the nation a wardrobe full of Emperor's New Clothes in the past two or three years, simply because the city can't wait to show the world how clued up it still is, and yet most of the recent Mancunian buzz bands have been forced to find their feet in the glare of public scrutiny as their ascent stuttered to a crawl. Why did we not just let them be until they were good enough? The same reason that the media are so quick to brand an emerging scene, because collectives, labels, A&R, journalists and entire cities have to be seen to get there first, because second place is just not good enough. The slightest hint of talent is cashable and ultimately disposable. It can shift mp3s and CDs in sufficient quantities to keep your job in a rotting A&R office for another six months at least. We are sold inflatable heroes that, as soon as a new act needs breaking, can be easily deflated and stored away, and maybe never seen again. The demand for the next big thing means our new idols are short term and the industry is forcing square pegs into your pretty round holes, and they fully expect you to be grateful. As a wise man once said, "Don't believe the hype".
Rob Allen
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| BAND AID 20 - It's Christmas record time, and there's every need to be afraid... |
Hm. "It's cliched to be cynical at Christmas" as the wise sage Nigel from Half Man Half Biscuit once said. Thing is, it's also kind of hard to avoid, especially when faced with the prospect of yet more primadonnas caterwauling in the name of charity or at least having a Look, I'm A Caring Person Me stamp in their files. And I'd rather not be made to feel ancient by being continuously reminded of 1984 by people who were barely out of the womb then...
Chris Martin I'll let off as his exceptional work publicising the Make Trade Fair campaign coupled with his band's massive general populist appeal has probably led to the concept of fair trade being introduced into households that wouldn't let a New Internationalist half way through the letterbox without screaming about lentil-eating commies. Tesco's online shopping site even has a section dedicated to fair trade foods nowadays - a far cry from the days when you had to find a large Oxfam to get a battered packet of CafeDirect. Nice one Chris, and I'll even forgive you Gwynnie and "Yellow" come the revolution for that.
Things have changed so much since 1984. At the time, people older and more clued up than me (I was only 12 after all) often whispered about how the group name was appropriate as it was like sticking a Band-aid on a cancer. Yet I went out and bought it, and everybody did. You've got one somewhere, haven't you? Or your parents have. At school the day after it was released, anyone whose household hadn't got at least one was spurned as some kind of tightwad. And there is no doubt countless lives were saved in Africa that year as a direct result of the record. But it wasn't long before my political education - spearheaded by the music I was listening to, from Easterhouse lyrics to U2's discussion of human rights issues in interviews - led me to ask questions. Like... why are there rarely neo-genocidal famines in politically stable countries? What exactly is this Third World Debt and where did it come from? And how does the entire total of cash given willingly by ordinary people during Band Aid and Live Aid compare numerically with, say, the American "defence" budget? Remember this was the height of the Cold War, and the Band Aid generation were also the generation who knew what the four minute warning was and genuinely believed it could come any minute. The more I found out, the more disgusted I was that it had taken a fading pop star and his randomly gathered bunch of well meaning but inexperienced helpers months of hard slog to do what the superpower governments of the day could have done with a flick of their big fat fingers, had they actually given enough of a shit.
So what does the record actually sound like then? Who cares? It's a cover of a 20 year old hit by contemporary mainstream artists - so, much like the rest of the Top 20 then. Keane, Snow Patrol and Dizzee Rascal have clearly been drafted in on the credibility tip, which is probably less relevant than the organisers think. It's a cheese-fest of a tune knocked together in fifteen minutes by the purveyors of I Don't Like Mondays and Vienna for fuck's sake, it would struggle for credibility if they got Wolfman, D Double E, 65daysofstatic, Nine Black Alps and Tom Vek to do it. Has there ever actually been a good charity record? Well come to think of it The Fall's "A Day In The Life" on NME's 80s Sergeant Pepper covers album in aid of Childline should be in any discerning record collection, but beyond that I'm struggling. From a music fan's point of view, many of the worst things ever recorded were done in a good cause. You don't buy a Band Aid record to listen to any more than you buy a breast cancer ribbon to wear or the six-year-olds' home-made biscuits at the local hospice open day to eat.
Another problem though, as with any Telethon or Big Charity Event, is that statistics show they have a negative effect on other charitable giving. People only have so much. High street tin-rattlers and sellers of raffle tickets to workmates will feel the pinch. This wasn't quite so noticeable with the original Band Aid because Michael Buerk's report, and the acres of news coverage which followed it - god, those pictures - were so shocking, so unlike anything we had seen, even in the Blue Peter Appeals of our childhood. Old ladies were digging savings out from mattresses, children emptying piggy banks, companies cancelling Christmas dinner and handing over the equivalent cost - there was a lot of extra money poured into charity that year.
Yet these days, what shocks? "And it's true we are immune, when fact is fiction and TV reality" sang Bono in 1983 - ironic really, because it wasn't really the case then. Yet now? Planes crashing into towers, the wide-eyed boy on the Gaza Strip shot dead in his cowering father's arms, Iraqi roads strewn with severed limbs, hospital wards of Aids orphans in Uganda, the harrowed faces of emaciated raped villagers in the former Yugoslavia's refugee camps. We've got crisis on tap 24/7, beamed in off the satellites. Who actually watches News At Ten these days? The only thing you'll find everyone at work watched at the same time last night will be some celebrities-in-a-jungle show. Michael Buerk could survey the dawn desolation of a country today and most of us wouldn't even see it.
Band Aid was of its time. It will not have that all-encompassing omnipresence this year. It will probably go to number one because let's face it it only takes about three and a half copies to do that these days. At least they've let some black people join in this time. It will save lives, which can't be a bad thing in anyone's book. It may revive the flagging careers of some people we thought we had seen the last of such as Travis, which probably is a bad thing.
But... it's cliched to be cynical at Christmas. Buy a copy or don't, whatever, but just make sure you dish some dosh in a deserving direction or two. Consider that the alternative Christmas Number One could have been yet another terrifying effort from Sir Cliff - or Girls Aloud doing the Pretenders' I'll Stand By You, which in the cover-to-original quality-ratio stakes is a different kettle of fish entirely. Buy it and amuse yourself testing out all those bad things they used to say you could do to a CD and it would still play.
But first and foremost, lobby for the cancellation of the Third World "Debt" - and maybe we'll never have to listen to the chart stars of the day doing end-of-term singalong ever again.
Cath Aubergine
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| TALKING ABOUT MY GENERATION AND NOT PETE TOWNSEND'S |
The early 00’s will be seen in history as a period of profound retrospection. More than ever before in the mainstream are we seeing a huge proportion of acts regurgitating ideas from times long gone.
Now nobody is asking people to block out their favourite influences but it seems that the whole package has been copied wholesale. The entire sound, image and ethos has been barely shuffled and repackaged in a nice new box. One only needs 20 seconds exposure to Franz Ferdinand to be transported back some 20 years. Similarly one brief blast of The Libertines later and the image of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones won’t go away. No one here is debating that some of these artists are anything less than adept at what they do. Many of them are unquestionably entertaining. But this isn’t 1979 and when such a rehash of ideas – someone else’s old ideas – is touted as ‘life-changing’ or ‘vital’ it’s time to ask a few questions.
It seems that the mainstream music press has lost the way. One paper (and one of my writer friends has seen this) appears to be run by apathetic thirty-somethings who are increasingly out of touch with what is going on around them. Not for one minute am I suggesting that there is no longer music of value anymore. It’s either that the industry and media is unaware of it or just simply isn’t interested. Sales of the NME have plummeted and their attempts to resurrect it them have become increasingly desperate and what better way to rescue them than with a tested formula. Did Franz Ferdinand really change your life as they once suggested? Only if you’d never heard music before.
The NME are delighted with The Libertines for three reasons. 1) They’re from London, of course. 2) They fit in nicely with the whole Strokes/White Stripes garage rehash. 3) They have a singer that’s continually on the verge of a rock n roll burnout reminiscent of Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious etc – the emphasis on which the media focuses on.
In the past when artists were given the kind of treatment that The Libertines have received it was because they offered something new, something different, a new way of thinking and something relevant to the times. How anyone can compare Doherty and Barat to Cobain, Curtis, Stipe or even their own idols is ridiculous.
Such music may have made these apathetic 30-40 year-olds tick when they were our age but this is now and so they and the look-back music they champion misses the point. In that era such music meant something else, something much more important. Rock n roll was a rebellion against the rigid constraints of society. Similarly punk rock was a reaction to all that was false, tired and rotten about society; the words of punk Godfather Iggy Pop for fuck’s sake. Punk rock was about not being afraid to do your own thing. It was not simply about three chords and a repugnant sense of dress. Listen to what John Lydon says in the first line of his first song after leaving The Sex Pistols. “You never listened to a word that I said. You only knew for the clothes I wear.” The whole ‘rock n roll’ philosophy is a philosophy of past generations and it is largely irrelevant to modern life. It in itself, is a clichéd and unproductive lifestyle available to very few.
Our indie discos are increasingly filled with tunes that our parents would have danced to and if feels odd. Not because the music is bad but because it says nothing about the world we live in today. Overall with little input from our generation and it feels alienating and above all second hand.
Our generation seems more apathetic than any before it and having inherited a shite world full of Thatcherite egotism and shattered dreams who can blame us? But the fact that we’re prepared to lie down and say that all the best music and art has already been created shows a depressing lack of imagination, more specifically it shows a lack of faith in humanity. Pure retrospection is a comfortable, lazy option that prefers to bury its head in the sand rather than confront modern issues or strive for something to truly call its own.
Countless acts like Radiohead, Modest Mouse and Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies have proved the Luddites wrong. We’re capable of more and we deserve better.
Dave Himelfield
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| THE KIDS KNOW WHERE IT'S AT? WHAT EXACTLY IS IN THE CITY? |
Old Man Weller once sang “the kids know where it's at” in his Incendiary anthem “In The City”, and quite conveniently the music convention of the same name proves this long tested theory to be correct. Posing the question “What is In The City?” doesn’t have a simple answer, the free party that is laid on for the marauding A&R collective will mean something quite different to them, than a band traveling for hours from Hull in a battered Transit for their shot at fame. With an expense account to be squandered at the hotel bar, the weekend can become an absolute riot, with your band’s career in the balance it can be the nerve jangling focal point of your entire year.
What In The City is, is whatever you make of it and the bands and audiences who go out and do it every night regardless of who might be in the audience will hold their memories dearest. Truly, the power to make In The City successful lies with the kids who know where it’s at, shunning the careerism and hype that the weekend inevitably brings and having an absolute ball watching the industry big heads chase their tails.
Respect must be due, if not to the industry, then to the In The City organisers for the continued privilege of having the nation’s finest (and not so fine) bands making their way to Manchester so that we can enjoy a years worth of new music in one weekend. We can nit-pick about the credentials of ITC Unsigned as a worthy showcase for new talent (that’s the OFFICIAL line-up), but what revolves around the weekend in random fringe events is a remarkable prospect for any music fan. Amongst the live music nights knuckling down at this year’s ITC will be Akoustik Anarkhy, Blowout and Electric Circus which should be enough quality music to fill the month, but with Northern Ambition, High Voltage and Club Fandango also preparing special events nobody can avoid the optimistic wave of talented new acts.
The last twelve months has seen Manchester become something of a hunting ground for both record labels and the press in the search for tomorrow’s heroes, whether they found any worthy of your attention or not is debatable.
But, we have come alive to the fact that our streets are still crowded with musicians, labels and promoters working towards an end to the sterile conveyor belt of one hit wonders and polished pop tarts that our “professional” visitors this weekend will gleefully endorse. They aren’t in it for the right reasons, and thankfully they will return to Hoxton largely unfulfilled having missed the point again. But for those in attendance who will be willing to find out where it’s at, will inevitably take value in sharing this experience with individuals and bands that are doing it because they must.
Rob Allen
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| A and Arse |
Running your own little record label is like sticking two massive fucking fingers up at the capital. Fuck you. We can do things just as well if not better. The sad irony is that the people from The Smoke come up here anyway, wrench whatever profitable propositions they can from our creative hands and then proceed to screw and rape whatever they can from it over their media giant boardroom tables.
As news of relatively unknown local acts commanding £600k contracts seeps out (but just how much of that will they immediately see ?), gaggles of A&R juniors begin to saturate our streets once more. Promoted from brewing up and suddenly given an expense budget, they fit in “ground work” with shopping, getting pissed and - I have actually seen this - slap up 4 star hotel meals.
But with Manchester now teeming with would be promoters and self styled music buffs, it’s never been so easy. Demos are already pre-A&R’d by those in the know in the citys venues and bars. Readily handed over for the cred’ of “hanging out with the industry” the suckers who think they may be movers and shakers are doing the labels job for them. And I mean “Doing their job for them…”. Removing the need to investigate, uncover and understand what’s happening, their demo bag is full on day one and the rest of a weekend visits is spent hanging with hangers on.
If someone’s sent on a regular recon’ mission to Manchester, don’t believe them when they say “I Signed up.. [Insert Obscure Band Name]”. The only thing they most probably got to sign was the tea and coffee delivery note. Think harder if they also think “Dogs Die In Hot Cars” are a great band.
Manchester bred some great labels during the dance boom, many of which are still around. Twisted Nerve, whilst returning to its indie roots, nurtured the acts that bridged the cold war years from post Madchester to the overcoming of the Oasis mania hangover. The other loger term indie seem to have generated their own resurgence, but there’s often the feeling that its just an A&R front for a major. The one remaining major label to maintain a label / publishing presence in Manchester doesn’t seem to do its research and lives in some sort of London style stupor that alienates itself from the grass roots scene.
I fucking hate these people that come up here trying to swing some sort of credibility, when all they want to do is cream off the fruits of creativity for themselves. Storm records have come on to the scene with private money and a passion and a willingness to make the effort with proper budgets and a professional attitude – a change so refreshing that it causes soiled trousers in Camden. But look at the real, classic / cult labels that are beginning to cut commercially. Northern Ambition, Dead Digital and Stolen Wine are creating their own cults with properly manufactured releases and talented rostas.
Subscribe to them and do it quickly – because that idiot surrounded by cronies is currently the only door into the wider world of the music business. Until proper border controls are in place, the only really viable option is to DO IT YOURSELF. . .
A.Strangeways
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| Rubbish Removal |
As debates rage about the gentrification of Inner City Manchester and it’s suburbs, the cultural heart of the region is, as you read this, being priced out and regarded as a nuisance.
But before you vote for your Councillor in the next set of elections, have a think about the fact that corporate and commercial developments may actually be robbing you of your music.
Since the early 90’s , most of Manchester, and indeed it’s suburbs, were regarded as Shit tips. The crowning glories of Tory under-investment and deliberate neglect. But commercial outfits, bigger, stronger and more powerful since the reign of Herr Thatcher and Eva Major were happy to step in.
A great plan. Deprive an area of any investment and regeneration for nearly 20 years and then let Property Developer Co Ltd step in – Peanuts for the capital acquisition, plenty of regional development money and maybe all sorts of public concessions. Don’t be under any illusions. Some developers are PAID to take over and develop buildings.
But the moneyed youth (the new Yuppie for the 21c) invading the city, want to live in a cool neighbourhood. They need some "cool" to rub off on them (not too much mind) . Ideal then, that these low rent and now blooming pastures have been populated by creative venues and buildings. Many helped drive the ’86-’89 revolution and the growth of art, creative manufacturing and most importantly music. They have even single handedly created the identify of a Cultural “Northern Quarter”.
But it’s all set to end. Derelict lofts and rooms are being turned into housing. Not a bad thing. But these are predominantly transient investors, single and able to buy into the £250,000 dream. Ancoats with many of it’s families existing on £90 a week is 400 yards round the corner. Social exclusion is something that surely springs to mind.
Whilst the loyal tenants of the City Council around the Oldham Street area have toughed out the violence, sex trade and crime rates for over a decade, music punters and promoters have also braved the most challenging prospect of making the district a place worth visiting.
When four members of a Residents Association represent over £1m in property and incomes that probably equate to a combined value of £200k p.a., then suddenly the agenda changes.
…It’s too noisy. People are drunk outside a club / pub / bar. There’s too much traffic. Values previously reserved for tree lined detached houses in Wilmslow are thrust into the doorways and bus stops of a busy city centre.
Just be aware. Manchester is great because of the people, who mainly unassisted, created new landscapes in cheap derelict areas. Unfunded, unsupported by their civic peers, they are todays council marketing material. Yet the next generation of creatives are running the risk of being obliterated in the name of progress. Or a new apartment block.
But, the best may yet be to come. As venues inevitably close and prices rise and activities are restricted, then maybe things should move out of town again. Remember Hulme, Miles Platting, Gorton in the 70’s. Full of legendary past venues.
So lo-rent, hard but honest areas – you made Manchester what it is today. But what do we do when none are left ?
more on this summer04
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| REVIEWS FROM THE DUSTBIN IN THE SKY |
We at MM are almost always grateful for any review that we receive. The perspiration and toil expended is a rarely matched feat of altruism driven (usually) by the love of music and the unsung heroes that make it. For this reason we’d gladly run anything that somebody has taken the time to write out providing it doesn’t contravene libel and obscenity laws. However, for reasons that explain themselves below we have been unable to print a small number. In retrospect, MM now pays overdue tribute to the reviews that didn’t quite make it. Please note that all names have been substituted to avoid embarrassment.
“It’s a busy night at The Rook. Frowning Christmas Tree is about to play on the stage. The band walks onto the stage. John the singer stands in the centre. Bob the guitarist stands on the right and Bill the bass player stands on the left. Alex the drummer sits at the back on the stage but is nearer to Bob than Bill or John. The band plays the first song. John sings and Bob and Bill play their instruments. It is very good. The audience like the song and clap for a long time. The band plays another song. It is a real foot-tapper and it gets the attention of the audience. Bob starts it by playing some chords on his guitar. Then John comes in. Then Bill and Alex come in. The song is good and the audience clap again.
…(This carries on on the same tact for several paragraphs)…
…The band finally finish playing and everyone claps and also cheers for a long time. The band gets off the stage and celebrates with a pint for each member of the band. The band should be proud of every note plucked/strummed/hit/singed. Then they go home.”
…from the book report style to the overly concise
“Cautious Lollypop aren’t really my kind of thing. Some may like them but I didn’t”
…to the irrelevant…
“Arriving at the venue I went to the bar to purchase a pint. I bought a pint of Stella. A very reasonable £2.00. I enjoyed it though it was a bit flat.”
…or the downright useless…
“Unfortunately I was being sick in toilet so I missed Calum Stoke’s set. I was later told that it was a set that should not have been missed.”
…and the plain unintelligible…
“There they were good here and there they were not.”
…or obscure…
“Regardless like a Cornish pasty you have to eat it even if you have no fingers.”
…self-orientated…
“I wanted him to play (this song), (this song) and (this song), but he played (this song), (this song) and (this song). Disappointing.”
…and x-rated…
“Sour Cream are raw sex! Like getting slammed with 12 inches of throbbing…”
If any of these were yours we salute you!
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If you’ve heard the latest material by McFly, there’s probably no doubt in your mind that this is yet just another facsimile of Busted. That’s Busted who are a band and who write all of their own material….. ? Is this a band, most probably put together by a team of people old enough to be their parents ? Stranger still that live, they use a backing band…
More frightening still is that McFly could even partly claim to be Mancunian. Their singer gave up his junior clerks post at Bury College to go and join the band and enjoy the best pre-pubescent gift ever – A number One record ! Harking from the harsh streets of a Middle Class Bolton suburb, there will be some real anthems for the kids –like “When Can I Have An I-Pod Mummy ?” and “My Girlfriend Dumped Me To Go To University” or potential classics such as “It’s Great Having Two Parents”.
Endemic of a music industry that are happy to buy in the most popular product, stack it high and flog it - until there’s nothing left - It’s jam today, bullshit tomorrow. But look at the greatest acts ever of recent years. Radiohead, U2, REM, Stereophonics (only kidding…) – all alt.indie acts that formed in basements and grew in might and influence on the back of their talents, credibility and performance – factors which overshadow any advertising budget or media plugging campaign.
As the search for new acts continues, labels are dipping their toe into the waters of live, original bands once more. But the success rate and commitment looks bleak. Young bands plucked from obscurity are given just a couple of years to prove their worth before being dumped. All set within an ever crowded “newly signed” sector full of frustratingly average and mediocre bands.
When did you last buy a record that set the hairs on the back of you neck on end – that you couldn’t get out of your head and couldn’t wait to buy – because you loved it ? Odds are, it was some obscure underground band. You could always try Ryan Adams latest, pretentious version of “Wonderwall”. A transformation that’s almost as staggering as Adams’ mutation from plaid shirted lumberjack lookalike to Jack White clone.
They’re all after your $$$’s – don’t let them have your hard earned cash. Instead, check out that little unknown band that might just guarantee you pleasure. Listen to Peel, check the web…..go to that gig for £3 where only 30 people turn up..
Music isn’t dead yet. Despite it’s own best efforts….
Check out: Ryan BEFORE
Take a look at: Ryan AFTER
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SLOW CRAZY CARJACK THIS SATURDAY IN OLDHAM (11/10) ...
JD-LIVE! CREATES NW MUSIC COMMUNITY...
ITC08: SAME TEENS - HUMUNGOUS FREE ALL AGES EVENT AT ZAVVI - SAT...
ITC08 : IN THE SWITCHY - SWITCHFLICKER ET AL...
ITC08: IN THE CITY LISTINGS - NIGHT & DAY...
ITC08 : ELECTRIC SISTERS...
DELUXE FRICTION...
ITC08: IN THE CITY LISTINGS: DRY BAR / REVOLUTION / MINT LOUNGE / ALTER EGO...
EAT THESE BEATS...
ITC08 : 30 YEARS IN THE LIFE OF REILLY...
STARSAILOR'S WALSH HITS AFTERSHOW ...
ITC08 : COCKER KEYNOTE...
ITC08 : ISLINGTON MILL WARM UPS AND ITC DATES...
BOXING BEAT...
WGF OVERDRIVE: THREE NIGHTS OF AUTUMN NOISE...
SONIC...
ITC08 : WRISTBANDS / iTUNES ALBUM / VOLUNTEER SCHEME...
ITC08 : IN THE CITY - SHOWCASES FROM THE STREETS ...
MICK TURNER & BONE-BOX AT THE BRITONS THIS FRI (19/9)...
CHARLATANS SINGLE & TOUR - OCTOBER CAMPAIGN...
PARTY PARTY...
THE NEW WAVE OF NOW WAVE...
FREE HARD ROCK THIS TUES (17/9) ...
GROUNDS FOR CELEBRATION - ELBOW SCOOP MERCURY...
WINELIGHTS TUESDAY RETREAT...
THE LIGHT POURS OUT AGAIN *** UPDATED! TICKETS ON SALE NOW! ***...
NEW ISLINGTON URBAN FOLK THIS SAT !...
WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT......
RUBY LOUNGE SEPTEMBER LISTINGS...
FREE LIVE MUSIC ON SUNDAY...
TAKE IT TO THE BRIDGE...
EVERYTHING'S F**KED UP...
NEVER MIND THE FESTIVALS, HERE'S THE AFTERSHOW...
NIGHT & DAY LISTINGS UPDATE...
GOD, SEX AND WAR...
SONIC PAINTERS...
DIRTY SOULS...
SUMMERTIME SPECIAL ...
SOUNDS LIKE MANCHESTER show 2 - this weds (13/8) ...
70th ELECTRIC CIRCUS IN OLDHAM THIS SATURDAY! ...
NEXT WINELIGHT IN BURY...
MEOW! CATS ALBUM !...
BIFF'S WINTER TOUR DATES...
ITC 08 : IN THE CITY PARTY AND DEMO DEADLINE !!...
HINSON LIVE DATE...
THE BIG O ARE BACK...
DECORATORS BACK IN TOWN...
MADMA FOR THE B-BOY...
GHOSH BACK FOR MORE...
PULP FRICTION...
BIG GIG LITTLE GIG...
INDIETRACKS FESTIVAL...
BEST OF WOTGODFORGOT ** recommended **...
FICTIONAL CRIMEWAVE...
SUMMER NIGHTS AND DAYS...
SUMMER IN THE PARK - NOW WITH FULL INFO AND TIMINGS...
THURSDAY NIGHT IS EXPERIMENTAL NIGHT...
BAD UNCLE HITS SAKI THIS SATURDAY (12/7)...
WORKSHOPS & WILLIAM AT FoM THIS SAT (12/7) ...
NO FAKE PLASTIC TREES...
BOOM BABY BOOM !...
NEW SINGLE & TOUR FOR THE WHEEL...
WE ROCK HARD!...
MANCHESTER BANDS' CHARITY NIGHT OUT...
SCORE SOME LATE NIGHT MUSIC...
TRANSPENNINE FRIDAY...
TIDES CRASH INTO OFFICIAL INDIE TOP 30 CHART ...
MANCHESTER JAZZ FESTIVAL 2008: WAY BEYOND JAZZ ...
WINELIGHT SPEARHEADS ACOUSTIC SCENE IN BURY - CONCESSIONS FOR MM READERS ...
TRANSGRESSIVE TOUR - GIG / CHANNEL M FILM INVITE + COMP !!!!...
HIGH VOLTAGE LOOKING TO INJECT SOME NEW BLOOD...
CURTIS TOMBSTONED...
BLOWOUT SUMMER BONANZA...
SUMMER DEAMS...
GOING FOR A RUBY...
TIDE TURNS...
STORM THE CASTLE...
SUMMER NIGHTS...
TIMBRE !!!...
ITC08 : IN THE CITY DEMO INFO & LATEST KEYNOTE SPEAKER INFO ...
MANCHESTER JAZZ FESTIVAL 2008...
NOT ON YOUR NELLY - EASTERN EUROPEAN CLUB FEST ?...
TEN INCHES OF AIR CAV...
THE MEN FROM BAD UNCLE...
GLASSWERK WORKS...
BLOWOUT SERIES KICKS BACK IN ...
SIBERIAN NIGHTS...
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THE CHAMELEONS...
The Stone Roses...
Easterhouse...
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