Grand Prix Rejects

Recently started listening to Sleater-Kinney, mainly on the strength of their 2005 album "The Woods". Superb babd.

Long overdue for some synthwave. Here's my contribution for the delay.

Dvorak's 9th Symphony, though. Some classical music is just perfect for tugging at your heartstrings, and that second movement pretty much sums up the whole style.

Tutti Frutti!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieqGJgqiXFk

Hey guys, I just wanted to announce that my music demo is now on YouTube! I've been handing out CD copies since it was released on November 4th, but due to time constraints caused by multiple essays and tests, I have only just now uploaded it onto the internet. So here it is:

https://www.facebook.com/JeremyScottAberdeen/. Just follow the link to the album which is all on YouTube

So please like my Facebook page, give the demo a listen, and all feedback would be super appreciated Thanks in advance for giving it a listen!

P.S. If you want a physical CD copy, give me a PM and I'll mail you a copy.

Ian Fraser Kilminster exits the stage. A news headline frankly none of us expected to see. RIP Lemmy.

East Londoner wrote:Ian Fraser Kilminster exits the stage. A news headline frankly none of us expected to see. RIP Lemmy.

Really sad news, but he lived his life, loved his life and did it all his own way.

East Londoner wrote:Ian Fraser Kilminster exits the stage. A news headline frankly none of us expected to see. RIP Lemmy.

Damn. I'm not completely surprised about this given his way of life and earlier health troubles, but was still mildly shocked when I heard of this on the radio while at work. Never been a real fan of his music nor the "god-cult" some people built around him, but I respect his achievements.

He definitely died with his boots on. I just checked their website and noticed that Motörhead was still supposed to continue their tour in January.

This is my own tribute:



There'll be another one in sound form in two weeks.

Was on my way home from work today, and I heard this beautiful masterpiece on the radio in full.

DOSBoot wrote:Was on my way home from work today, and I heard [url=<a class="linkification-ext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UC4SLsPQic" title="Linkification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UC4SLsPQic">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UC4SLsPQic</a>]this beautiful masterpiece[/url] on the radio in full.

Yes. Yes yes yes this track is a classic! There's also something about Mr Browne's music that sounds incredibly good while driving.

David Bowie has passed away today, just three days after releasing his new album.

Miguel98 wrote:David Bowie has passed away today, just three days after releasing his new album.

And what a shock to the system. The word 'legend' gets bandied about all the time but today we lost an actual one.

CoopsII wrote:

Miguel98 wrote:David Bowie has passed away today, just three days after releasing his new album.

And what a shock to the system. The word 'legend' gets bandied about all the time but today we lost an actual one.

My words exactly...

Simtek wrote:

CoopsII wrote:

Miguel98 wrote:David Bowie has passed away today, just three days after releasing his new album.

And what a shock to the system. The word 'legend' gets bandied about all the time but today we lost an actual one.

My words exactly...

Yep, it's a sad day. Listening to some of the lyrics on Black Star, I think he...knew.

RIP David.

Ataxia wrote: Listening to some of the lyrics on Black Star, I think he...knew.
RIP David.

Yeah, Visconti is quoted as suggesting the same but think on this which has started knocking about online..

If you're ever sad, just remember that the world is 4.453 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie.

I think I'll remember this day for a long time.
Rest in peace.

We are unfortunately at the doorstep of an era which will see an increasing rate of megastars and pop culture icons passing away. Many of them are now in their 60s and 70s, some even in their 80s, and often times their wild lifestyle during their peak hasn't exactly been beneficial to their health later in life. These older stars are the ones who pioneered what is pop culture and music today, by utilising their artistic talent and imagination to constantly experiment with various styles. They made timeless classics which will stand the test of time and go on to inspire new generations of artists. These people are admired by most people throughout the world thanks to their sheer talent, regardless of everyone's personal tastes.

Unfortunately I don't see a new generation of true megastars coming up. Sure, there are many extremely famous artists around (probably more than ever thanks to the growth of mass and social media), but very few are attempting to evolve and experiment. Instead most of them prefer sticking to a certain style that is guaranteed to bring in big bucks. Of course there are indie artists experimenting with new styles and reviving long-forgoteen ones, but most of the time they are left ignored as the mass media concentrates on the big sellers.

So enjoy these pioneers while they are still alive. Buy their music, go to their concerts if they still perform, generate buzz for them in social media to still keep them relevant in the overall picture. Because you never know who dies next.

Nuppiz wrote:Unfortunately I don't see a new generation of true megastars coming up.

I think you're right. We'll still have people selling huge amounts of music but they'll be easily replaceable drones like Justin Bieber. Also consider these words from a musician called Miles Hunt from The Wonder Stuff, and it doesn't matter if you've never heard of him or you have and you think he's crap.

After a days mixing in the studio yesterday with producer Simon Efemey we sat down and watched Jimi Hendrix live at The Isle of Wight on TV and both thoroughly enjoyed it. That gig was in August 1970, we formed The Wonder Stuff in March 1986, a time period just shy of 16 years. But from where we stood in 1986 looking back to 1970 felt like we may as well have been looking back to Victorian times. One of the reasons for it seeming like such huge period of time must have been that so much, musically and in youth culture (two things very dear to both of our hearts), had happened during those 16 years. In no particular order we got; Glam Rock, Punk Rock, Roots Reggae, Kraut Rock, Prog Rock, Disco, Heavy Metal, The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, New Romanticism, Electronica, Goth... Now look back from here, 2016, the same amount of time, 16 years, back to 2000 and what can you come up with that isn't completely derivative of any of those movements, y'know, something new and era defining? Zilch, nada, nothing... It's not the job of old duffers like me and Si' to come up with something new, that's responsibility of 'The Kids' and where are they? What's going on? Or, more to the point, what's not going on? And, for goodness sakes, why?

What can I think of that's been "invented" since 2000? Crunkcore and crabcore, that's what. If you don't know what either of those are, consider yourself very lucky.

What *can* you come up with, though? We're at a point where the main genres have been defined, and everything is naturally going to become a derivative of that. Although, arguably, all of those mentioned in Coops' post are derivative of things from the 1960s. Musicians of today rarely define genres, but they explore them and mix them together to create fresh, new music.

I've never been a fan of pigeon-holing music into a genre. Nearly every influential band that has ever existed did their own thing, and then copycat bands built a genre around them. I don't think many bands would say "We got together and decided to make a post-punk-ska-metal band." It's just idiot journalists that decide they need to fit into a box.

Mr Dinizintheoven, there is still plenty of top bands kicking around, and the internet makes it more accessible than ever. Thanks to Spotify's Discover Weekly feature I've discovered dozens of artists recently, from countries as varied as Armenia, Colombia, and Norway. I'm happy to put them beside my Pink Floyd playlist and consider them, if not equals, at least supporting acts.

Ataxia wrote:What *can* you come up with, though?

Yeah, alot has been covered but, other than the dance music scene perhaps, there doesn't seem to be any boundaries being challenged or expanded. Music appears to be adult driven these days rather than as a reaction to being young, if that makes any sense.

As a songwriter myself, I'm completely aware of that need to sound and appear original to contemporaries around me, as well as presenting something new against what's happened in the greater music scene. It's hard to explain how difficult that is. The last 10 years seem to consist of a divide in the music scene: on one hand you have the development of the club scene as it makes more and more processed artificial music that will get thrown away, and on the other hand you have the hero-worship of bands of 20 to 50 years ago. The attitude towards our seniors isn't rebellious; it's the opposite. By constantly comparing oneself and being compared to what really was a golden era between say 1965 and 1990, serious musicians today have a thousand "classic" albums they are expected to sound different from, and improve upon.

Not to mention the fact that nobody pays for unsigned music anymore. You have to toil and burn on open mic night stages with barely any equipment, and you are still required to play well, sound original, constantly write new songs, and do this forever with the vain hope someone might sign you.

No wonder you either sell out or blow your brains out.

AustralianStig wrote:Mr Dinizintheoven,

Dr Dinizintheoven, actually.

AustralianStig wrote:there is still plenty of top bands kicking around, and the internet makes it more accessible than ever. Thanks to Spotify's Discover Weekly feature I've discovered dozens of artists recently, from countries as varied as Armenia, Colombia, and Norway. I'm happy to put them beside my Pink Floyd playlist and consider them, if not equals, at least supporting acts.

Don't go thinking I haven't done the same: I only brought those two examples up as something that [i]definitely[i] didn't exist in 1999... and in an ideal world, still wouldn't. I'm not going to be one of those old farts who says there was no good new music after an arbitrary point in time (e.g. the Beatles splitting up, the end of the 80s, the day Kurt Cobain blew his brains out) because it isn't true, and if you want to know the year I've pinned down as being the greatest musical year ever, the F1 champion at the end of it was...

...Kimi Räikkönen.

AustralianStig wrote: there is still plenty of top bands kicking around, and the internet makes it more accessible than ever.

Would I be right in thinking the internet helps spread the word but doesn't actually help provide any money for musicians, though? Like it or not, eventually it all comes down to cash and the most creative band in the world can't go on forever if everybody gets their music for free (or for a minimal fee). Also, the big labels don't often take chances and seem, more often than not, to see what's popular and then try to find similar. Hence you get Ed Sheeran and, although I think he's a busker who got lucky, he does do the numbers and so what follows is a series of similar artists like James Bay and George Ezra (more buskers). If you're doing what they do you've a better chance of being noticed than if you were doing something like Franz Ferdinand or The Feeling because that stuffs so twelve years ago.

Sounds like revolution is there but it just can't break the system.

True enough. It definitely takes some savvy to make it big in music on the internet, but there are ways to do it. Some bands are even putting their demo albums on Kickstarter etc. to get funding instead of going down the traditional recording label route.
I'd also argue that while Spotify and other services do only pay a pittance to artists, it's still better than having people download the music for free (which, I used to do simply because no service was convenient and reasonably priced). I also love the fact that the more I play my favourite band from Zulustan that no one else has heard of, I'm directly giving them more money without actually paying.
In case you haven't noticed, I have an unhealthy love for Spotify. I racked up over 1400 hours of listening just last year (or, approximately 1/6 of my time!).

The money in music industry has shifted from paying for records to paying for live shows/festivals.
For small and medium bands, this is often a gain, for bigger artists, this is a financial loss.
Though it depends on the genre, some genres are not suitable for live perfomance, so those lose out. But lot of small artists now get chances they would never have gotten before the internet age.
I still stand by my principe of not paying for music, as i'm convinced the majority of artists i like gain more from free spreading than from exclusive buying. Lot of artists even encourage piracy (and i'm not talking about Alestorm ) Others don't.
The second reason is that i simply have no money, and no artists that are favourite enough. So i prefer to give my money to their concerts. Then again i'm lucky that i live in Belgium, as most bands tour here or at least within only a few hours driving from here.

And most online alternatives aren't exactly convenient.
Then again, it's not like recording stuff on cassettes has killed the music scene before. Things like 'a lack of quality' are defenitely a factor that the record companies don't like to admit.

Another reason why no new icons have stood up in the recent years is very simple: most icons are still alive. There are too many icons to compete with.
Altough Bowies death is a sad thing, it might be a good thing for the music industry that people like him and Lemmy are finally dying.

This wrote:Altough Bowies death is a sad thing, it might be a good thing for the music industry that people like him and Lemmy are finally dying.

Bollocks.

Absolute bollocks.

You think there's some sort of limit to how many icons people can cope with? Bollocks.

EDIT - If that sounds like I'm angry then I'm not. But This is talking bollocks (Damn This and his name, it makes most sentences about him sound comical)

CoopsII wrote:

This wrote:Altough Bowies death is a sad thing, it might be a good thing for the music industry that people like him and Lemmy are finally dying.

Bollocks.

Absolute bollocks.

You think there's some sort of limit to how many icons people can cope with? Bollocks.

EDIT - If that sounds like I'm angry then I'm not. But This is talking bollocks (Damn This and his name, it makes most sentences about him sound comical)

Yup, there is defenitely a thing like oversaturation. Sadly, that is no bollocks. The value of icons gets down when there are more icons. And as long as the old icons still apply to the younger generation, none of the newer generation artists will receive an icon status.
Also the old icons still play shows and release material. Therefore we take their existance for granted. They're not music history, they're still the present. The 2010s will probably be known as a period that had no significant music on its own, but as a major turning point in generations, as it is the first time since the globalisation of music in the fifties that we experience some kind of mass extinction in musicians. Pop music as we knew it has simply reached the end of a cycle, and there will be a new cycle, of which the first signs are already visible. (internet being one of the many catalysts), but it's hard to truly grasp how it will look like.

But i'm not all negative. Obscure and forgotten bands gets more chances to play shows these days more than ever before, as the positive side-effect of the oversaturation of music festivals in Europe. Bands i would otherwise never discover. As many people know i'm very much into the punkrock/poppunk/skatepunk genre, and i love the fact that some festivals are digging up forgotten bands, and sometimes re-launching them. (again being helped with the easier spreading of music digitally) The reason they got forgotten is usually because of how business and trends work, not because they suddenly became shitty. When you're specialised in a genre, you discover that the saying 'everything sounds the same' is just a matter of being able to distinguish subtle differences. That's way off-topic though. But yeah, lot of people are not able to distinguish minor differences. Therefore new music sounds old. If you really need something new: i advice you kawaii-metal.

You have your opinions, i'm only stating plain obvious stuff.

I just wish Peter Gabriel would sign me on his record label. Life would be so much bloody easier.

This wrote:The value of icons gets down when there are more icons.

I think you're thinking more along the lines of commodities like pork.

I don't agree that there is an oversaturation of icons. What exists is an overuse of the word icon when somebody dies. While Bowie was pretty much an universal icon, the same cannot be said of others. With this I don't mean to demean their work, but there is a difference between selling, being famous or having a good life work with fine contributions to the field and being an icon. To be an icon you must be an household name and an inspiration to others, to be some kind of pioneer and to mark more than one generation and pretty much assumed by the world to be very good at that field of work. You also have to transcend that field of work. And true icons, there aren't many of those around.

January isn't even over yet, and we've lost another great icon in music. I hate to bring up the subject again, but Eagles member Glen Frey died yesterday at the age of 67.

February 5 is All I Need... (enjoy the pun)

For the life of me, I'll never understand why Soul To Squeeze didn't make it onto Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

You know what is hype? The new Iggy Pop album, produced by Josh Homme. HYPE TRAIN

Thoughts on the new Massive Attack EP that just came out?