Do Our Favourite Artists Owe Us Anything?: Feature.

When we choose to support the career of any artist, we invest ourselves in what they're doing by providing them with an income and supporting and spreading the messages they're conveying. So when we pay for a ticket for a live concert does the performer actually owe it to us to put on a show? 

When anyone goes to a gig there is always a certain amount of expectation from the artists, we expect them to come out on time, we expect them to play a set we'll enjoy and we expect them to at least look like they're enjoying themselves. All artists only really have their fans to thank for whatever position they find themselves in. People invest a lot of time and money in the music they enjoy and to a certain extent, they do deserve something in return. But surely, any actual fan would care more about the artist's well-being than their own enjoyment, especially considering the only time their enjoyment is at risk of being damaged is when the artist is really struggling. 

The way we consume music is pretty selfish, millions of people (including myself) choose to download music illegally rather than paying for it. I understand that it isn't cheap and that apart from the odd exception, the artists themselves get a very small percentage of the profits made from the music they create, most of it is famously swallowed up by record labels. But you can't really use this argument and claim that the division of the profits is unfair then download music illegally for free.  

The mental health of people who choose a career in the music industry has been a topic of discussion for quite some time, many artists live with plights such as addiction and depression, which can famously lead to breakdowns, rehab admissions and even suicide. So when an artist is suffering through any sort of mental strife, should they be forced to come on stage and perform every night or every other night for months at a time? This topic has been discussed a great deal recently due to Kanye West taking to the stage as part of his Saint Pablo tour and ranting about Beyonce, Trump, Clinton and his own career before dropping the mic and ending the show he turned up late for about an hour early. The fact that he did this shouldn't be too difficult to understand for people who would claim they support his career, just two months ago his wife was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, something which will have undoubtedly put a great deal of strain on their relationship. Throughout the whole of this year (especially) he has been judged and picked apart by fans and critics alike for his famous Twitter rants, some people claiming that they were merely a publicity stunt whilst others believed that they showed that his mental health was in decline, the latter seeming much more likely after recent events. It has been reported that he was taken into hospital for his own wellbeing, and that he was "exhausted". This is entirely believable and understandable as he is not only a music writer, he is also a producer for his own music and many others, as well as being a fashion designer and living within a family that are constantly in the public eye, having their every move documented and scrutinised by the media (but that's another issue). All of this would undoubtedly weigh heavily on any person's shoulders and have a huge impact on their mental state.  

The initial reaction to Kanye's "breakdown" was anger for a lot of people, if they attended the show themselves or had tickets for the remaining dates of the tour they seemed to feel as if they had been ripped off or hard done by in some way. This is entirely unfair. Although, after a couple of days, many people did feel remorseful and messages of support came thick and fast across social media from fans and music publications. 

It's not only Kanye, Father John Misty took to the stage at a festival this summer after touring his latest album "I Love You Honeybear" extensively and had a good old rant about the entertainment industry and walked off stage, he like Kanye, faced a great deal of criticism for this, although his lapse wasn't as severe (but does this mean we should be any less concerned?). Kid Cudi was also admitted into rehab earlier this year, but unlike Kanye, he gained a huge amount of support from fans.  

On his most recent tour, Justin Bieber's performances have been plagued by tantrums and walk offs. The Canadian pop star is seemingly frustrated with the way people, especially his fans, see him. He wants to be acknowledged as a real artist, not just a pretty face who young girls can have pinned up in their bedrooms. Despite this yearning he seems to have, his whole career has been built upon him being this pin up teen idol, so when his fans continue to treat him as such he seems to feel extremely frustrated. He walked off stage at his Manchester show earlier this year and I spoke to a fan who was at the show. "It was pretty unfair" she said "I paid over 100 pounds to take my little sister to see him so for him to just drop the mic and walk off stage was pretty unfair, he didn’t play for any extended amount of time so we missed out on a part of the show that other people in other cities got to see after paying the same price as us". Bieber was trying to talk in between songs and when he realised nobody was listening/could hear what he was saying he said "The screaming in these breaks has got to stop. Please and thank you. I don't think it's necessary when I'm trying to say something and you guys are screaming." And when the crowd failed to follow his instructions he dropped the mic and left the stage. It is understandable that this would be frustrating, but it is also understandable that the people watching the show will more than likely have been young girls who were very excited about the performance. When I asked the same fan if she feels like we need to show more sympathy to artists she said "I think it is important for us to care about artists, but there is a certain point at which their behaviour becomes concerning and before that point, throwing tantrums like he (Bieber) did and effectively wasting our time and money for no real reason is unfair on us so he doesn't really deserve our sympathy". There is definitely a valid point being made there, the star complex that a lot of celebrities have has given them a sense of entitlement and importance and makes them feel as though they deserve to be listened to. 

                 

The best thing we can do as fans is be as understanding as possible in regards to our favourite artists, we shouldn't only begin to care about their well-being once they have passed the point of no return. Amy Winehouse was shunned and her drug addictions and mental health and she was used and exploited by people whose main concern was shifting tabloids. Yet after her untimely death, the same papers that were so keen on getting expose articles printed about her, were relentlessly sympathetic. We should not let it reach that point, we should be concerned about them and try to understand their plight before they are dead and buried. So maybe when stars such as Bieber, Father John Misty and even Kanye are seemingly just ranting about trivial things we should show a little more compassion, take into consideration what is happening in their lives and any other potential underlying issues and try our best to not be annoyed that they apparently haven't put on the show they were expected or "supposed" to. 

Words: Liam Navey. 

The XX Announce UK and European Tour for 2017.

The London-based indie/dream pop band have announced a string of headline shows for early next year, including dates at UK arenas.

The band announced their third album "I See You", which was recorded in studios across Europe and the US, earlier this year. It's the long-awaited follow-up to their 2012 critically acclaimed album "Coexist". They also released a new single titled "On Hold" which you can listen to here.

The dates will see the band perform together for the first time since 2014 and are their biggest shows to date. The three-piece have announced shows including Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena and Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena, as well as a string of successive nights at Brixton o2 Academy in London.

The tour comes off the back of an extremely successful couple years for band member Jamie XX, after releasing his full-length electronic debut solo album last year he's been touring worldwide to much praise from both fans and critics alike.

The XX also have a string of shows announced for the remainder of this year, including shows in Croatia, Poland, and Japan.

Check out all of their tour dates below:

NOVEMBER 2016
28 Zagreb, Croatia – Bocarski Dom
29 Prague, Czech Republic – Forum Karlin
30 Poznan, Poland – Hala Nr 2 MTP

DECEMBER
01 Warsaw, Poland – Nowy Teatr
03 Vilnius, Lithuania – Compensa Arena
06 Tokyo, Japan – Toyosu PIT

FEBRUARY 2017
08 – Sweden, Stockholm Hovet 
10 – Denmark, Copenhagen Forum 
12 – Germany, Hamburg Sporthalle 

13 – Holland, Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall 
14 – France. ParisZénith 
17 – France, Strasbourg Zénith 
18 – Switzerland, Basel St Jakobshalle 
20 – Italy, Milan Mediolanum Forum 
21 – France, Lyon Halle Tony Garnier 
23 – Austria, Vienna Marx Hall 
24 – Germany, Munich Zenith 
25 – Germany, Berlin Arena 
26 – Germany, Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle 
28 – Germany, Düsseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle 

MARCH
01 – Belgium, Brussels Forest National 
04 – UK, Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena 
05 – UK, Manchester, O2 Apollo 
06 – UK, Manchester, O2 Apollo 
08 – UK, London, O2 Academy Brixton 
09 – UK, London, O2 Academy Brixton 
10 – UK, London, O2 Academy Brixton 
17 – UK, Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena

Words: Liam Navey.

Sleaford Mods Storm Camden's Roundhouse: Review.

Nottingham's Sleaford Mods played one of their biggest headline shows to date last week at The Roundhouse and cemented their place as one of the most important and compelling live acts in the country.

Jason Williamson (vocals) and Andrew Fearn (music) initially seemed dwarfed by the sheer size of the venue that an impressive 1,700 people had crammed into. But it didn't take long for my eyes and the eyes of everyone else in the venue to stop admiring the size of the place and focus on the stage, thanks mainly to the immediate and continuous charisma of Williamson. He is now obviously accustomed to playing to large crowds of adoring bald men, blending dark comedy and well-founded rage so perfectly that it would keep even the most skeptical of onlookers interested.

The setlist wasn't quite what the majority of their fans would expect to start with, it was slightly disappointing to not hear all the "hits" (if you can call them that). However, after only a few tracks, the performance became massively enjoyable regardless of the level of familiarity with the tracks. Hearing and seeing the quantity and more importantly, the quality of the new material the duo hopefully have ready to release was also very encouraging. It is understandable that a band that tour as extensively as these two do would get fed up of playing the same setlist day after day. It was clearly refreshing for them to dip their toe into the unknown and it must be said that this itself is pretty ballsy, especially in a venue such as this. That in itself is a big part of their appeal, they're not known for playing it safe and I doubt they ever will be.

The music (old and new) sounded as solid and affirming as it always does coming through the Roundhouse soundsytem, Fearn's plundering bass-lines and harsh mechanical drum machine beats bounced through the room with unfaltering ferocity. Williamson's vocals sounded even more aggressive live that they do on any of the recorded material. Though the lyrics remained the same, he displayed them with such fury that it looked as if he was screaming them in the faces of those they are written in spite of. His movements on stage draw everyone in, there's nothing fake about it, there's no power chord stances or hair flicks whilst wearing a River Island leather jacket. He looks like a man possessed, screaming profanities and spitting all over the mic, while Fearn juxtaposes his performance with a gentle head bob and a bottle of Stella in hand.

Sleaford Mods released a 5 track EP titled "TCR" earlier this year and it gained well-warranted praise, they gave a couple of the tracks from the EP an outing, including the title track, which was very well received. The audience was extremely receptive throughout the whole show, yelling back the choruses they were familiar with and moshing to the ones they weren't. For those in the crowd who were aching to hear something more familiar, the encore was the moment they were appeased. The three song encore was composed of "Jobseeker", "Tied Up In Nottz" and "Tweet Tweet Tweet", all of which encouraged an almost word for word sing along from the crowd (which is no mean feat). As usual, after the show their Twitter page was bombarded with praise and thanks from people who were in attendance, one user compared the gig to a Ramones performance he saw at The Roundhouse.

Just as the set reached a point at which Williamson was pretty much drenched in sweat, he announced: "You haven't come to see us, we've come to see you", (or something to that effect) and despite his regular sarcasm and aggressive irony this appeared to be genuine. They both really seem to care for the fan base they have worked extremely hard to rightfully acquire and maintain, they understand that they're the ones they have to thank for their current place in the industry. The only complaint anyone could fairly take from the gig and that is that it could have been longer, at just about an hour long it seemed like the audience could have happily stood through another hour of performance. But even that is more of a compliment than a complaint, which I think stresses once again just how essential they are to the current UK music scene.

Let's hope they continue to this standard until they're old(er) and grey(er).

Words: Liam Navey.

The Issue With Reissuing: Feature.

Reissues, special editions, deluxe editions, anniversary specials, are they a way for committed fans to show the extent of their appreciation for an artist or are they simply a way for record companies to bleed us dry? Do we dwell too much on past glories without looking forward for something to inspire us?

It is not unfair to say that releasing reissues is much more prominent and popular now than it has ever been, but is it such a bad thing that on the 20th anniversary of an album's release we can listen to a previously unheard demo version of the lead single from said album? There are essential points to be made on both sides of this argument, on the one hand, it apparently maximises our ability to savour beloved music and explore it further. On the other hand, I'm not sure if we really need to hear demo versions of songs we essentially know back to front at a pretty large cost.

Because of the way we consume music today, it's not even necessary for it to be some sort of special occasion for an album to gain reissue status, especially if it is an album that was released when vinyl records were the preferred method of music consumption, the mere fact that the album will sell is enough of a reason. Although on the other side of the argument, the current rise in reissued vinyl sales, mainly due to them becoming more fashionable with the younger generation, permits people to listen to the music of a bygone era in a way that they seem to consider authentically superior (but that's another issue), without paying potentially hundreds, even thousands of pounds for an original pressing on eBay.

In order to form an argument for record companies being occupied by avaricious bastards who are only ever looking to exploit their stars, you only really need to look at what happens when any big music star dies.The urgency with which reissues are put out after a star's death is undeniably efficient, but is it to soothe the pain in the fan's hearts or is it to force out as much unnecessary material as possible while the death is fresh in their minds? To quote Morrissey in the opening of The Smiths' track "Paint a Vulgar Picture": "At the record company meeting, on their hands - a dead star. And oh, the plans they weave. And oh, the sickening greed". I know Morrissey isn't known to be the most positive of people but I think he makes a substantive and relatable point on this track. After Prince's untimely demise in April, the website "The Vinyl Factory" forecasted that his purchasable back catalogue was set to grow, with nine reissues fixed to be released before the end of this year. Nine. I know that there will have been plenty of people who were willing to purchase these reissues and I'm sure those people will have relished them a great deal but why was it necessary for them to be released? In short, it wasn't. But on the other hand is there a more respectable way for record labels to re-release the music of a recently deceased person who holds a spot in the hearts of millions, and why wouldn't they do it if they know it'll pull in sales?

Another big money spinner for record companies (and the artists themselves) are anniversary special releases. An example which immediately comes to mind is the 45th-anniversary deluxe edition of The Velvet Underground and Nico which is available to purchase on a physical format and on to stream on Spotify. This edition of the seminal album comes with five discs and 65 tracks, the original album is a respectable 11 tracks in length. Despite all this, next year some sort of 50th-anniversary edition will almost certainly be released, with a marginal difference to the aforementioned album. It is essential for us to ask ourselves if this incessant reissuing actually brings anything new to us or if it is simply a way for record companies to exploit us for all we are worth.

Reissuing music essentially allows larger labels to profit from nostalgia and the current general consensus that music isn't what it used to be, which is why we must always ask ourselves if we actually believe this, as it permits the labels to make money without having to search for up and coming younger talents. They can continue to release music from acts such as Nirvana and Led Zepplin to name only two, even if it is only the original album with a few added live tracks, and people are seemingly always waiting and willing to buy it. Fans and labels alike can stick to what is familiar so they don't feel like they're wasting their time and money as they can listen to something "new" from artists they know they enjoy or they know are profitable, even if the artist has been dead for decades.

Despite this, people have always seemed to believe that music sounds best when it is breaking new ground, something that we haven't heard before, and in the situation we all find ourselves in today as music fans we have access to more new music than ever before. So while it is essential that we acknowledge and appreciate what has happened in the past it is surely more important to look to this generation of musicians for something to appreciate without assuming they won't be as good as what has come before. Taking a leap of faith is far more commendable than waiting until an artist is dead and buried to listen to their music.

Words: Liam Navey.

Music Writer Reflection: Lester Bangs (Short Essay).

For this project I have chosen to write about Lester Bangs, a writer who I have always admired as I believe him to be one of, if not the most important (rock) music journalist of all time. His cultural impact was phenomenal and I have looked up his work, specifically what he wrote in regards to The Doors, in the past. I really admire the way in which he was so unafraid to state his opinion, and didn't try to be pleasant or kind if he didn't like the music he was reviewing, no matter what the general consensus of the music was. 

Lester Bangs had quite a difficult childhood, he was born in 1948 and  spent his whole childhood in various towns in San Diego County, his father died when he was just 11 years old, and his mother, a devout Jehovah's witness was left to take care of him independently. He had a keen interest in music and other aspects of popular culture from quite a young age, taking an interest in  jazz musicians such as Miles Davies and John Coltrane but also enjoyed comic books and science fiction films. 

One of the main things I admire about Bang's writing is his cynical sense of humour when writing about music that he didn't particularly enjoy, one review which comes to mind is his 1978 review of Styx's album Pieces of Eight, in this review he says: "No one of these parts amounts to much on its own, but when smeared together, each contributes to the kind of fantasy-land effects that groups like this run on. Which at least makes Styx tight. Tight as a tissue.". Another example of his cynical yet humourous writing style is the line which he closes the same Styx article with: "If these are the champions, gimme the cripples.". 

He also enjoyed relating the music he was writing  about to "the bigger picture" or society and American life on the whole, enjoying the music of The Stooges and The Velvet Underground as he believed it reflected what real life was like, and this was extremely important to him, he stated this in answer to a question of why he wrote about the music he did: "Most of them are pretty down records, pretty unhappy, pretty confused. Which only reflects how people in general were feeling, I mean really the sense that you get is society running down." This way in which he spoke about and described things was fairly typical of fans of the genres of music he focused on, he was at the forefront of this widespread way of thinking due to his large and committed fan base. 

His writing style was always as descriptive as it was cynical, often using multiple adjectives to describe a particular part of a song in one sentence. An example of this can be seen in this quote, taken from an article about Bangs in The New Yorker: (He is referring to Mick Jagger) "a spastic flap-lipped tornado writhing from here to a million steaming snatches and beyond in one undifferentiated erogenous mass, a mess and a spectacle all at the same time". 

Bangs really was one of a kind, his writing provides the reader with encouragement to be open minded about new music but also to not be afraid to speak your mind and have your own indipendent interpretation of things, even if it is a negative and unpopular opinion. 

Words: Liam Navey.