Thursday 24 May 2012

Confessions of a muso

The word 'muso' has at least two meanings. The first is a derogatory term for a musician who is overly concerned with style rather than content. The second refers to somebody who is obsessed with music. I fall into the latter category.

I have a large collection of music with a particular emphasis on less well-known artists. I have been known to visit second hand record shops and attend record fairs, although neither are much in evidence these days. Not only do I collect the physical manifestations of (vaguely) popular music, but I also collect music facts too. Did you know that the father of Muse front-man Matt Bellamy played rhythm guitar on the Tornados' track 'Telstar'? Furthermore did you know that was the first single by a British band to reach number one in the US charts? If your answers are 'yes' to both these questions, then the chances are that you are a muso too.

So how does one become a muso? What attracts a person to become an explorer of the domain of recorded music, heading well off the beaten track into the wild hinterlands? Shifting musical tastes seem to be a key factor. In my early teens I listened to a lot of classic rock and heavy metal. The latter led me to explore punk and progressive rock (for many, these are uncomfortable bedfellows). By my late teens my tastes had shifted to that nebulous genre known as indie, particularly gothic rock. This shift was reflected in my choice musical journals too. I stopped reading Kerrang and started buying NME and the now defunct Melody Maker.

By my early twenties I had a full-time job, which enabled me to expand my record collection. I bought albums that friends at university had played to me, while delving into new genres such as hip-hop and reggae. There was generally a linkage from one genre to another; one artist to another. Sixties psychedelia led to dub reggae; Prince and the Revolution led to Sly and the Family Stone. I also started reading magazines aimed at the muso, such as Record Collector and Mojo.

Oddly enough, I am not too precious with regard to formats. I own vinyl (obviously), as well as tapes and CDs. Each have their vices and virtues. Remember, every scratch on a vinyl record was put there with love. Perhaps, now that I am older, I am not so much of a commodity fetishist. I still own coloured vinyl, limited editions, even a few white labels, but now my appreciation is back to being about the music rather than the sleeve design. In this I may be part of the mp3 generation, even though I am into my forties.

The digital revolution is great news for the muso. It offers easy access to previously rare music as well as the chance to sample music through sites like YouTube. There are even social networking sites that cater for the borderline obsessive music fan, such as Last.fm. Perhaps these changes in the way that music is distributed and consumed will mean that there will be a little muso in everyone.

Monday 5 March 2012

MM: True Faith by New Order

In the summer of 1976, the Sex Pistols played at Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall in front of forty people. Many of those in the crowd went on to form bands of their own. These included Peter Hook (bass) and Bernard Sumner (guitar & keyboards), formed Joy Division by recruiting vocalist Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris. They released two critically acclaimed albums, Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980), and had a top 20 single in the UK charts: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart.'

This success turned to tragedy in the early hours of 18th May 1980 when Curtis hanged himself. The remaining members of the band decided to continue under a new name, New Order, recruiting Gillian Gilbert while Sumner took over as vocalist. The band initially failed to recapture the critical and sales success of Joy Division, but a change of musical direction to a more dance based sound reaped rewards.

In March 1983, they released 'Blue Monday', which reached number 9 in the UK singles chart and remains the best selling 12" single of all time. They continued to have modest chart success before releasing 'True Faith' in July 1987, which reached number 4, due in no small part to a surreal promotional video. New Order went on to reach the number one spot with the official 1990 single for the England football team's FIFA World Cup campaign.

The band went on hiatus between 1993 and 1998. In 2001, Gilbert left the band due to family commitments (she had married Morris in 1993) being replaced by Phil Cunningham. The band broke up again following Hook's departure in 2007, but they reformed again in 2011 with Gilbert returning and Tom Chapman taking over the bass role.




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Monday 27 February 2012

MM: Autobahn by Kraftwerk

Is it possible to underestimate the influence of Kraftwerk on modern music? The German electronic music pioneers inspired the British synth-pop boom of the early 80s, as well as the early hip-hop that emerged about the same time. All modern dance music and electronica owes a great deal to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, et al.

Having formed in 1970, the band had moved to making wholly electronic music by the middle of the decade. Their 1974 album, Autobahn, was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. They continued to enjoy success, with 'The Model' reaching the top of the UK singles chart in 1982. Since then they have hardly been prolific, releasing only two new albums of new material, but they continue to tour (albeit without founder member, Florian Schneider) including an eight day retrospective of their electronic work at New York's Museum of Modern Art this year.




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Monday 20 February 2012

MM: Wake Up by Arcade Fire

I first heard this song on a BBC television trailer for upcoming drama shows. I managed to find out the details of the tune from an on-line forum (you have to love the Internet for this sort of thing) and got the album (Funeral). Needless to say I was blown away.




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Monday 13 February 2012

MM: Wasteland by The Mission

Following the demise of The Sisters of Mercy in 1985, Wayne Hussey (lead vocals/guitar) and Craig Adams (bass) formed a new band with Mick Brown (drums) and Simon Hinkler (guitar). They started touring under the name The Sisterhood, but their former band-mate Andrew Eldritch objected to their usage of the name and released an album under that moniker. Consequently, Hussey et al changed their name to The Mission (although they were known as The Mission UK in the United States, so as not to be confused with the Philadelphia based R&B group of the same name).

After releasing two singles on the independent label Chapter 22, they signed a deal with Mercury Records. They released their first album, God's Own Medecine, in November 1986. The following year they released their biggest hit single, 'Wasteland', which reached number 11 in the UK singles chart.

The Mission went on to release nine more albums with various line-ups. These include Children, which reached number 2 in the UK album chart, spawning two top 20 singles. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Hussey, Adams, and Hinkler have reunited for a series of concerts.




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