Commercialisation. The death of rock n roll

A raw hard hitting band or solo artist emerges from hear say, illegal downloads and local gigs. “Their amazing”, “the next Roses I’m telling you” These are the noises you hear on their arrival. A debut, a fucking lovely debut and their name spreads further but then something halts a clog in full motion.

Radio One, BBC, some media big wig wants a piece of the pie. “Change that”. “Shine that up and we’ll have you on this channel young man”.

The façade gets scrubbed. The music get’s winded. The dream the fans were promised dies.

How often this tale is told.

You could argue the point with the Arctic Monkeys. What a fucking noise they produced on arrival. ‘What ever people say I am, that’s what I’m not’ is one of the albums of the last decade in my humble opinion. But what of them now?

 

 

Declining tunes yet a bigger profile.

Market the little bastards they ordered and now they reside as a household name with most mums and dads.

The Gaslight Anthem and their latest release ‘Handwritten’ is scarcely bordering this commercialisation threat too.

Rock n roll from the US perhaps wanting a wider audience worldwide? Maybe I’m just a pessimist worrying about nothing. What I am sure of though is that this particular album is by far the worst collection they’ve batched to us.

So many good artists emerge, especially here in Britain, and I hope as so many others that their raw ability is allowed to carry their careers.

One such star is Jake Bugg. A superb artist who’s getting a real name for himself through some massive media coverage.

For fuck’s sake Jake don’t end up collaborating with Ed Sheeran now will you!

 

 

Until next time, just like Mr Bugg, keep it real.

The Book Club – Book Mark Them

Fans of the Arctic Monkeys would have no doubt stumbled across Sheffield counterparts Milburn in recent years, (Milburn covered in an earlier blog). Well since the demise of the latter, what has become of their sound?

Joe Carnall, the lead singer of Milburn, took his melodies to a new band, grabbing former Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson In the process and developing his modestly named four piece ‘Joe Carnall and The Book Club’. That Sheffield steel Milburn and the Arctic’s ooze(d) was back. Carnall eventually dropped his name from the band title and POW The Book Club voyage begins.

If you haven’t downloaded some of the sounds this band produce then do so. ‘What Was Said On The Landing’ to ‘Cautious Cavalier’ all melt into the beautiful tone of Carnall’s voice. The Book Club’s sound produce plenty of power to back it up too.

Fans will relate to the sound of this band, jump with them, surf with them and sweat fucking bucket loads with them. Their modern, stylish and beaty demeanour is one that could propel them to heights Milburn didn’t believe they could reach.

The feedback coming from recent gigs are all positive too and there’s a real buzz around these boys and the future many see them embarking on.

No need for silence, The Book Club are coming.

Milburn, Ahhh The Potential

Dubbed the next Arctic Monkeys, Milburn, a four piece from the Steel City wowed us with their debut album ‘Well, Well, Well’.

I remember seeing a gig of theirs, Joe Carnall fronting them in an intimate setting with a massive curly mop. He had the swagger, he had the backing and boy did they have the music.

Lipstick Lickin’ drummed around the venue. Crowd surfing emerged, beer thrown around. Milburn where here and we were watching a band that were going to be big, really fucking big, maybe as big as Carnall’s hair.

So where did it all go wrong? Why did the Burn, well burn? They seemed on the cusp of greatness, a second album release and a growing fan base.

That superb debut album aside, when you browse their collection and listen to tracks not released, such as Rudiments, their talent is relentless, sorry was.

With no bust up, no differences the boys decided to call it a day. To discover new musical horizons they told us, leaving us bewildered and gutted.

I still play ‘Well, Well, Well’ loudly and proudly wondering what might have been. For now though I’ll get listening to Joe Carnall’s new band The Book Club, who are making headways, supporting Reverend and the Makers.

Maybe, just maybe these will eclipse his previous stooges?

For you Milburn fans check their site (link below) and listen to the tracks that took them to the edge of greatness.

http://www.milburn-music.com/