Hip Hop Is Dead? The Rest Of Music Is Following It In The Grave

I remember the first time I went to a club in my hometown of Luton (stop sniggering!). It was in a club called Liquid and I loved it, good tunes, getting drunk, dancing the night away. This was what being 18 was all about. Continued to go once a week or so, going into other clubs befre Liquid; places like Chicago Rock Cafe and Exchange. But after a while, the music started getting a bit monotonous and repetitive, met with groans and “Didn’t they play those songs last week/yesterday?”. By the time it was time to leave for university and a new city (Nottingham), Liquid had, in my eyes, degenerated into a club full of students who would dance to pretty much anything, intoxicated or otherwise. Whether I had outgrown the place, or it was generally just crap and no one else saw it, I couldn’t be bothered with the place anymore.

So off to Nottingham I headed and within a week of arriving, I found Oceana. What a place! I avoided the main room, or Liquid room as I liked to think of it as, and headed straight for my musical Makkah: the R&B room. Such sweet sounds, tunes I had never heard played in a club before, and yet they weren’t obsure tracks, they were bog standard club tunes. Nevertheless, it had become my new haunt, a place I could dance the night away for weeks to come. My friends in Luton were jealous and so they should be; Oceana and Nottingham in general was far superior. Going back to Luton and going out meant Liquid, purely because it was the best club out of a bad bunch. After a few months of returning to Luton, I decided never to go back to Liquid (and after going again, reaffirmed my stance).

But then something horrible happened. Oceana started getting boring as well, and other things began to bug me. For example, have you ever been on the dance floor dancing with a random guy standing there not moving, in your way? Or perhaps he’s moving about like he’s fighting the invisible man and u caught an elbow in your shoulder? Well that is what I started encountering. Problem was, Tuesday was the only available “student night” I had to go out, other than Saturday, which wasn’t very viable as most of the people I knew went home at the weekend.

So, it appears I have drifted off the point of the post a bit. Allow me to go back to “Liquidgate”. The reason for its crapness? Repetitive music. The same DJ playing the same songs, in more or less the same order to the same crowd of people and I felt like one of the only people (my friends saw it too, but not to the extent I did) who thought this was wrong. Some might think, “yeah, well people go there to have a good time, and if they do, what harm is done?”. Well, that is true, but as I said before, they’d dance and have a good time to ANYTHING. I mean, who would honestly dance enthusiastically to Baywatch and actually enjoy it without geniunely feeling embarassed in anyway (unless you’re drunk like I was)? Watching people cheering and trying to dance to the Fresh Prince theme tune would normally be the cue for me to leave the dance floor, waiting for a good song to come back on.

And it seems the music industry is following suit. Every advert telling us about “the greatest rock album since Nevermind” (which wouldn’t be nearly as overrated if Kobain hadn’t killed himself the way he did, but that’s for another post), or “5 stars, best album of 2009 and the decade!!!” when really, it wouldn’t have sold half a million copies 10 years ago, nevermind going multi-platinum. You know when music is losing it’s edge when pop music is suddenly no longer bareable anyway. Before, cheesy tunes were catchy and you’d hum along to them without noticing and when you did, you’d immediately stop, reminding yourself you dont like this song. Or pop songs that were actually good and defined an era (Michael Jackson anyone). Nowadays, you get stuff so bad, the CD they come on wouldn’t even produce good glue if you melted it down. Never mind illegal downloads harming the music industry, it’s the poor music produced that’s affecting sales, and the music companies know what they’re doing. They’re probably laughing to each other, while sitting in their luxurious leather La-Z-Boys at how stupid their consumers are: “They’d buy anything if Paris Hilton said it was cool!”, they’d say.

But it’s not just pop that is following this trend, it’s seeping into the one genre that was against this very fad: indie music. Something of an oxymoron it seems, indie rock, for me (and probably only me) is incredibly dull, and I don’t mean proper indie rock, as in the stuff you never hear on TV or on Radio 1 or any major commercial radio stations, I mean the now commerical rock tunes we are incessantly pestered with. No, the lyrics aren’t amazing, they’re just talking about they’re normal, boring lives. Please, cut your hair and actually sing instead of shouting into the mike. Thanks. The disease continues, however, into the very genre that seemed to define the 90s with artists such as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige and Boyz II Men to name but a few, alongside the likes of Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Notorious B.I.G, Wu-Tang Clan and Nas. R&B and Hip Hop. The classic phrase, Hip Hop is dead, was correctly publicised by rapper Nas:

Everybody sound the same, commercialize the game
Reminiscin’ when it wasn’t all business
It forgot where it started
So we all gather here for the dearly departed

As good a beat A Milli has, hip hop artists like Lil’ Wayne are perpetuating hip hop’s sorry demise from the days of De La Soul and Public Enemy. Where have all the soul samples gone? What’s wrong with using James Brown, instead of “pussy, money, weed”? And speaking of the Godfather of Soul, where the hell has soul and funk music gone? It seems that genre has all but died commerically.

While the third side to the soulful black music triangle, R&B, is experiencing a joyous time in the charts, it has nothing on this decade’s predecessors. For example, let’s look at Shontelle’s T-Shirt. Okay, so you’re wearing your boyfriend’s T-shirt. And he’s away a lot, so it makes you feel close to him. That’s fine. Not really worth spending hours in a recording studio mixing the song though, is it? I mean, it’s something you may tell your girlfriends, but not what I’d call musicworthy. But apparently it was, and it seems 4.5 million views of its video on YouTube pays testament to the song’s lyrical genius. Now, no disrespect to Shontelle, I’m sure she’s very talented, but the song isn’t good. I was talking to my friend about it and I was saying how I coulsn’t imagine anyone going to their local music shop and actually physically looking for the single and putting their hand in their purse/pocket to take out money to pay for it, and leave thinking they’d made a good purchase. For once, the music critics agreed with me on the whole album, some calling it “forgettable”.

For those who have gotten this far without thinking “this guy is chatting shit” or anything to that effect, you’re entitled to your opinion, as am I, but the fact remains, and it is a fact: older music is better than music from today, and that doesn’t mean music in the 00s will be better than music in 10s, it means music from 90s and before is and probably always will be better than music that’ll be made from now. That is, until consumer’s take note of what older music sounded like and realise the stuff you hear today just isn’t that good. I’m not saying, that all music from 2000-2009 is rubbish; we’ve had some very good songs and albums from this decade and new genres like funky house and grime, but the operative word there was “some”.

And I’ll leave you on this final sombre note. My favourite music shop in Nottingham (and the whole world), Selectadisc is closing down at the end of the month, due to low sales and high rent costs. It was one of those indie music shops where you knew you’d find a hidden gem. The owner and former employee, Phil Barton, who only bought the shop a couple of years ago when it was facing extinction, believes “there is no one under the age of 25 buying music anymore”. While there’s some truth to that statement and there are many debates towards that viewpoint, I can see where he’s coming from. But if he was stating pure fact, could you blame them, with the utter dross churned out every month? Then again, I’m sure he didn’t stock such rubbish while in charge, nor did the previous owner.

11,000 posts and counting

The blog has passed 11,000 posts! Thanks to everyone that has read the blog, and the few that have commented. It would be nice if there were more comments, so I could know who actually reads L&U, so please feel free to drop a message, or better still, register to the blog and add your own posts. Live and Unplugged can become even bigger with help from the fans of music that read it. To register, just click on the Register link in the right hand column.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Inductee #8 – Janet Jackson

 

(Taken from Wikipedia)

Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in Gary, Indiana and raised in Encino, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her family beginning at the age of seven, and later started her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976. She went on to star in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Diff’rent Strokes.

At age sixteen in 1982, Jackson signed a recording contract with A&M, releasing her self-titled debut album the same year. She faced criticism for her limited vocal range, and for being yet another member of the Jackson family to become a recording artist. Beginning with her third studio album Control (1986), Jackson began a long-term collaboration with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Her music with Jam and Lewis incorporated contemporary R&B with elements of rap music, sample loop, triple swing and industrial beats, which led to crossover appeal in popular music. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her albums, music videos and choreography, Jackson was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.

In 1991, she signed the first of two record-breaking, multi-million dollar recording contracts with Virgin Records, which established her as one of the highest paid artists in the recording industry. Her debut album under the Virgin label, janet. (1993), saw Jackson develop a public image as a sex symbol as she began to explore sexuality in her music. That same year she appeared in her first starring film role in Poetic Justice; since then she has continued to act in feature films. By the end of the decade Jackson was named the second most successful recording artist of the 1990s. All for You (2001), became her fifth consecutive studio album to debut at number one the Billboard 200 album charts. In 2007, she changed labels, signing with the Island Def Jam Music Group and released her tenth studio album Discipline the following year.

Jackson is ranked by Billboard magazine as one of the top ten best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music, having sold over 100 million albums worldwide. The Recording Industry Association of America lists her as the eleventh best-selling female artist in the United States with 26 million certified albums. Jackson’s longevity in the recording industry has rivaled that of several entertainers and her musical style and choreography have influenced a number of contemporary pop and R&B artists.

Being an enormous fan of her brother, it would be foolish of me not to appreciate or acknowledge his sister’s work, but I was unaware of just how big she was, and still is, in the music industry, even being bigger than her brother in the 90s. Her career is ever more remarkable, considering her start not being the best; her second album Dream Street peaking at number one hundred and forty-seven on the Billboard 200 in 1984. From there, she went from strength to strength, amassing Number 1s left, right and centre and evolving musically, spiritually and emotionally. It’s a shame her new album hasn’t performed as well as she and her fans would have hoped, but that doesn’t take anything away from the near god-like grip she has had on pop, soul and R&B over the past 20 years. Janet, your place is firmly cemented in the Live and Unplugged Hall of Fame.

Back after hiatus

Hi to everyone that reads my blog. I’ve been “busy” revising for exams, scraping them and subsequently getting into my uni of choice (Nottingham Trent, to study Computer Science), but I’m free until at least 4th October (when I move in). I’m shocked that I’ve passed the 10,000 mark; didn’t expect that at all.

A few updates: firstly, I don’t think I’ll be finishing that top 100 songs list, as I have over 3000 songs on my iPod, and every week I find a new amazing song I’ve never heard before. Instead, I shall be doing an Artist/Song of the Week and Artist/Song of the Month feature and by December, there’ll be an Artist/Song of the Year. But be aware, this won’t necessarily be for new songs, as I personally think older music is significantly better than the crap that’s churned out these days. Quite an ironic opinion, considering I’m only 18 years of age and I am pop music’s target demographic. Also, before I forget, there will be plenty more Hall of Famers in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned.

Well, that’s all I came to say. Please subscribe if you enjoy the blog and tell your friends!

My Top 100 Songs

I stumbled upon a site called 43 Things, where you can write a list of 43 things you wnt to accomplish in your life before you die. Naturally, I signed up and wrote my list, with two musically based goals included:

• Compile a top 100 songs list
• Make my own album

Now, the latter will take quite a bit of experience, time, etc., so I’ll be leaving that until a later date, but the top 100 songs list is something that can be achieved pretty soon, so I’ll be posting the list here, in staggered parts over the next few weeks. I have a rough idea of who I think will make it into the list, and I know the number 1 and 2 slots already, as they are by far my favourite songs ever. Please note, these are my top 100, not the top 100, so don’t be surprised by the lack of the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Radiohead in my list.

A new Seal DVD?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(musician)

According to Wikipedia, Seal will be releasing a new live performance on DVD, Live in Hattiesburg. I’m not sure how much truth there is behind this, but I’d love to know if it will come out. If anybody knows, please let me know.

Album Review: Seal (1994)

One of my favourite albums, and one of the best of the 1990s, by far. It still remains the only album I can listen through without skipping on a regular basis. Each song has a high “listenability” rating for me. From the very start, Bring It On does exactly what it says on the tin. A hallucinating mix of electric guitar riffing give the track an almost “tripping” feel, with the lyrics, “Give me something for the dream that I am in,” adding to this effect. This then leads into Prayer For The Dying, a track that Seal said during his concert One Night To Remember concert, wasn’t a sad song, as the title may have alluded to, but a “celebration of life, rather than mourning of death”. I tend to agree with him, as the lyrics may seem quite depressing, but the music accompanying it is fairly cheerful and upbeat, which creates a paradoxical setting. Like in Bring It On, there is a mix of not only electric guitar, but also the classic acoustic guitar, an instrument synonymous with Seal himself.

The album then drifts into a lulling track, Dreaming in Metaphors, about people living their lives in “something they couldn’t understand”. A superb album filler, with beautifully abstract lyrics that seem to paint a picture of what is being said. Don’t Cry, one of the hits of the album, is something of a “power ballad”, and I often find myself singing the lyrics in full voice. Easily one of the best songs on the record, and from their, the tone is kept consistent, with Fast Changes, about a loved one having left. I especially love the Indian instrumentals in the background, which, on paper, seem unorthodox and out of place, but work exceptionally well. However, the next song is Seal’s most recognizable track, with millions around the world knowing the lyrics and singing along whenever the title is mentioned: Kiss From A Rose. Some of the most abstract lyrics you can find in a song and sung so eloquently, it almost sounds like a lullaby. When first released, it didn’t perform very well in the charts, but film director, Joel Schumacher, having heard the track, wished to have it as the soundtrack to his new film, Batman Forever, and thus it was re-released and became a huge hit. If it wasn’t for Prayer For The Dying, Kiss From A Rose would be my favourite of the album, without a doubt.

The subsequent four songs are nothing more than album fillers, and while they are of a hig quality, they don’t need a scrutinous critique. I will give a mention to the reprise at the end, a tranquil piece of music, based on the opening track of the album, Bring It On. Whenever I listen to it, it always makes me think of sunshine and paradise, and gives me a sense of happiness and optimism, something that can be heard throughout the whole record. If you’ve never listened to Seal before, or thought he wasn’t that good, I compel you to listen to this. If you like your acoustic music, this is the album for you.

Inductee #7 – Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson (born June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning American Pop , Hard Rock , Funk, Rock, R&B musician. He performs simply as Prince, but has also been known by various other names, among them an unpronounceable symbol () “The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince)” and “The Prince Of Pop” (actually “disputing” this title among the critic with Justin Timberlake.

His career has spanned several styles: from his early material, rooted in R&B, soul and funk, he has consistently expanded his musical palette throughout his career, absorbing many other genres including New Wave, pop, rock, jazz, and hip hop. The distinctive characteristics of the early-to-mid 1980s work that brought him to super-stardom–including sparse and industrial-sounding drum machine arrangements, and the use of synthesizer riffs to serve the role traditionally occupied by horn riffs in earlier R&B, funk and soul music–was called the “Minneapolis sound” and has proved very influential.

Prince is a prolific artist, having released several hundred songs both under his own name and with other artists. Well known as a perfectionist, Prince is highly protective of his music. He produces, composes, arranges and performs nearly all of the songs on his albums. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

I couldn’t have Michael Jackson in the Hall of Fame without adding his arch rival, Prince, as well. While both are legends in their own right, Prince has the advantage of having a more rounded sound, genre-wise, with his music being able to be categorised in a myriad of styles. One thing I feel is sometimes neglected about Prince, is his amazing guitaring, almost Hendrixesque. He’s rarely seen without his famous Love Symbol guitar, whether it be in yellow or purple. A truly immense talent in the music world for the past 30 years and never short of controversy, Prince deserves to hold a place in any music Hall of Fame, and has certainly warranted his place in this one.

Inductee #6 – Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), known artistically as Madonna, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer, and actress. Regarded as “one of the greatest pop acts of all time”, she has been dubbed the “Queen of Pop” by the media. In her youth, Madonna aspired to become a ballet dancer and studied dance under the tutelage of choreographer Alvin Ailey. Following her debut in the entertainment industry as a member of Patrick Hernandez’s dance team, Madonna formed a pop duo with Dan Gilroy known as the Breakfast Club. While initially performing as the band’s drummer, Madonna also served as lead singer until her departure from the group. She joined a second music group—Emmy—with drummer Stephen Bray, though both performers eventually left the group to focus on the launch of Madonna’s solo career as a recording artist.

Beginning with the release of her self-titled debut album in 1983, Madonna rose to stardom producing three consecutive number one studio albums on the Billboard 200; Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and Like a Prayer (1989). Though the entertainer faced colder critical reception and more modest sales on subsequent albums Erotica (1992) and Bedtime Stories (1994), she garnered critical acclaim with the release of her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998), which opened at number two. Madonna continued to remain in the forefront of pop music with four more consecutive number one studio albums; Music (2000) American Life (2003) Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy (2008).

Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the “Best Selling Female Rock Artist of the Twentieth Century” and the second top-selling female artist in the United States (behind Barbra Streisand) with 63 million certified albums. According to Guinness World Records she is the “World’s most-successful female musician” and the top earning female singer in the world with an estimated net worth of over $400 million, having sold over 200 million albums worldwide. Billboard reported that her 2006 Confessions Tour holds the record for the highest grossing concert tour by a female artist. On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Madonna made her acting debut with the low-budget feature film A Certain Sacrifice (1979) and went on to star in the 1985 box office hit Desperately Seeking Susan, her first starring role. She then starred in the relatively unsuccessful Shanghai Surprise (1986), Body of Evidence (1993), The Next Best Thing (2000) and Swept Away (2002) — in addition to numerous supporting roles and cameo appearances. She also starred in the box office hits Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992) and Evita (1996) — based on the musical of the same name, which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

The classic and one of the most famous “reinventers” of music, Madonna has done for the female side of the music industry, what Michael Jackson has done for the male side. She has been at the forefront of pop culture and her controversial outlooks on her life and works will never be forgotten. Never one to shy away from a battle, Madonna made her millions, not from heritage, or a lucky break, but through sheer determination and hard work, not to mention a beautiful singing voice. Her versatilty is something to be desired, having graced the genres of pop, dance, rock, country, electronica, techno, R&B and hip-hop, and without looking out of place. Some see her as an arrogant alpha-female pop star who produces mediocre pop music, but people who know her best and know of her acclaimed status know her as one of the greatest artists the world has ever known.

Cream 15 Years. Buy Now!

A quick post to say I’ve been listening to this for the past week, and it’s immense. I serisouly suggest you go out and get this, as it’s brilliant. All the classics from the past 15 years in one album. My personal favourite is Intro by Fred Falke and Alex Braxe. It is becoming my anthem for this summer.

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/5380303/Cream-15-Years/Product.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cream-15-Years-Various-Artists/dp/B0014I4KMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1210370227&sr=8-1