Only just recently Lou Reed celebrated his 70th birthday. I found this out whilst wasting time on the laptop waiting for my dinner to cook. As I read these words I was listening to a cover of Imagine, a classic song loved by optimists (this will be our world) as well as pessimists (it would be lovely but twill never happen… alas, we can but imagine) and it got me thinking. What survives of the Rock n Roll ideals? A cultural shift once associated with the Devil is now more tame and corporate than the most corporate of all modern institutions, the multinational.
Award ceremonies are censored, most TV providers are too scared to put out live broadcasts in case, God forbid, Jarvis cocker wannabes wave their arses defiantly at celebrated paedophiles (allegedly- for legal resons, you understand!) or crib-ages drunkenly jump on the tables of shit bands being hailed as musical messiahs. Whilst yanks cry into their three litre Fanta pitchers, wiping away tears of lard with Chili-Dog wrappers at the sight of a middle finger at the Superbowl people throughout the western world acquiesce, nay positively vote for, politicians whose sole purpose is to allow these corporations to stick one mighty finger up at the rest of the world.
Most musicians pussyfoot around such controls, assuming it a necessity to be nice in order to succeed- which for most means dampening any spirit or style in order to become a product. We no longer follow bands but rather buy into brands. Never in music has a single letter been so important. The Sex Pistols once swore on TV now they sell butter.
If John Lennon were alive today he would have witnessed the freedom corporations are now accustomed to ensuring that his imagined world is now far less likely than it was when he wrote the tune… He would have probably thanked Chapman for sparing him such dismal viewing.
On a brighter note, drown your sorrows in music, drink and good times and help us stick up a finger to capitalism… Pug Party is a free night in The Victoria, Dalston.
Next gig: Good Friday the 6th of April 2012.
Listen now to EWE covering Imagine by John Lennon here:
then, once suitably impressed by that and the other excellent acts we have on come to Pug Party to see more.
Love
The Pug x
No comments:
Post a Comment