We Need A Musical Revolution
Duncan Barkes thinks that at dark times, the British create great music and we need it.
5 Dec 2011, 19:10
The guitar has gone
Youth unemployment currently stands at more than a million. Last week we saw the biggest strike in a generation. Earlier this year the streets were teeming with rioters. But where is the gutsy musical soundtrack to the social unrest and discontent? Sadly, it seems that the best we can hope for is the semi-skimmed pop pap provided by One Direction or Lady Gaga, the musical equivalent of Mogadon.
Traditionally at times of restlessness we have had a musical revolution; a reflection of the changing public mood.
Youths in the second half of the 1960s rebelled against the conservative norm of the day and embraced a more liberal approach to life. We saw the birth of the hippy movement; a sexual revolution and a generation who were prepared to take the streets to protest against war and nuclear weapons. Pink Floyd, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and, of course, The Beatles with their Sgt Pepper album, were the musical accompaniment of this social change.
In the late 1970s, as the Winter of Discontent took effect, another musical revolution took place. The young people of Britain were angry and wanted to send a clear message to the establishment. The birth of Punk music in the UK saw bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Stranglers and The Clash not only providing a soundtrack to the disharmony, but also acting as social commentators.
Acid House provided young adults of the 1980s with a platform for rebellion. Drugs and illegal parties were held in fields and disused buildings around the UK as a way of expressing themselves. The Sun newspaper almost had a coronary, scarcely having time to recover before Britpop bands like Blur, Oasis and Pulp came along, creating the soundtrack for the 1990s.
The turn of the twenty-first century was when the rot set in and, frankly, Simon Cowell has a lot to answer for. As do the marketing departments of record labels around the world who saw how quickly the public can be fooled when you offer a good looking bloke or group of sassy girls and some catchy little ditties. Sure, these acts have their place, but they now dominate the British musical scene. It's depressing to think that Olly Murs and Cher Lloyd will represent the soundtrack of today.
It took me a while to put my finger on it, but listening to the radio the other day it hit me: British music today lacks guitars. I don't mean a gentle strum; I refer to those magical riffs that ooze attitude and bite. They've gone missing. It’s all pop-tastic trash or slightly lame wannabe R&B.
We need a musical revolution for now; a soundtrack to sum up our challenging times and tough years ahead. As it stands our country is enduring austerity to the sounds of JLS, Rihanna and James Morrison. Sid Vicious must be positively spinning in his grave.
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100 percent correct, we need something rebellious, angry, fresh. Something that relates to angry teenagers. :DD
08/01/2012 13:24