In praise of middle aged rock

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 26 April 2009 06:58:37

The Times is slagging off reunion tours by old fogeys in this article by Kate Muir. The artists she is talking about are those who have decided to cash in on nostalgia and go for the karaoke / pantomime approach. What she misses here is that this type of thing is intentional cheese, nobody is taking it seriously. I remember going to see the Sex Pistols at Crystal Palace in 2002 and they were truly awful but it didn't matter.... it was a party, (something Swells pretty much summed up in this NME review).

There are, though, another set of artists who emerged during the 1980's / early 90's that tend to be ommitted from these articles. These are the bands that are not cashing in on nostalgia because they are still producing serious new material. These are the groups that are headlining music festivals this year and producing credible MTV exclusives. These are the groups who you listen to and still get a buzz from; these are the groups you want to see live in the here and now. These are the groups that make your teenager get out of bed and tell you to put the headphones in because they are trying to sleep when you are watching new videos on the computer in the morning. (Yes, I am sitting here with the headphones in).

Example one :

Green Day. The new single Know Your Enemy is out this week and the album, 21st Century Breakdown, is out in the middle of May. According to this review in The Times it is meant to be a rather good album. Having watched the video of Know Your Enemy I have to say I am hopeful that the review isn't simply media hype.

Example two :

The Prodigy. Their new album is out now. Haven't heard all of it yet, but what I have heard off it is good. See You Tube for Warrior's Dance, the forthcoming track and Invaders Must Die, the title track. Both are quite good. What I really like though is Omen which is the one currently floating about in the charts. To me it sums up what I think is brilliant about the Prodigy ; their ability to mix old skool rave, with punk guitar and indie lyrics.

Both of these bands have, with the music atleast, kept it real. Where the success does show is with in most of the videos with their ever higher production standards and in the ways in which their output is being marketed. There is a touch of the U2 gynological artiness about it all. However, let's be realistic this is the 21st century and we live in the age of music tv. This is the way it works now.