Music > To start with... (15 Feb 2017)
Music has always been a big thing with me - my taste has a very wide range from the Sex Pistols to Sinatra and all points between.
Essentially, music is where I go as my cure-all.
Enjoying a great live gig is a thing of beauty - you lose yourself in that instant.
In a larger venue or at a main festival stage, nothing can really match that point when the crowd's favourite song is played and an artist and crowd sing as one. It is almost spiritual.
I would imagine that a crowd singing a song completely unprompted by the performer on stage must be a pinnacle for the artist.
Just fabulous
I am very proud to have attended both LiveAid at Wembley in 1985 and Live8 at Hyde Park in 2005.
As with all art, music is subjective. Some things you like, some you don't. Some artists grow on you, but others you cannot make sense of however many times you see or hear them or how often you are told how brilliant they are.
Although I never got into the whole Punk thing back in '77, I do think that the music industry as a whole needed the kick up the bum that the Punk ethos gave it.
Although I never got into the whole Punk thing back in '77, I do think that the music industry as a whole needed the kick up the bum that the Punk ethos gave it.
Although there was a lot of rubbish, some of the good stuff is magnificent - and I would include the Sex Pistols in this. Just one LP - twelve songs, still exciting - still brilliant.
I have never done the whole "Big Hair/Perm Rock/Soft Metal" thing (or Heavy Metal for that matter) either.
I was never into the whole Disco thing either, although Sparks' album "Number One Song In Heaven" is one of my besties.
Way back then?
The Beatles, 10cc, Supertramp, Buddy Holly, the Kinks, the Who, the Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Queen, Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M. have in the past been staples for me and invariably find their way on to the CD or mp3 player when all else fails to entice me.
The Beatles, 10cc, Supertramp, Buddy Holly, the Kinks, the Who, the Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Queen, Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M. have in the past been staples for me and invariably find their way on to the CD or mp3 player when all else fails to entice me.
And now?
These days, I am just as likely to have Kate Nash, Summer Camp, Slow Club, Emmy the Great, Vampire Weekend, the Tuts, Two Door Cinema Club, Rae Morris, Jake Bugg, Lykke Li, Newton Faulkner and the Vaccines.
These days, I am just as likely to have Kate Nash, Summer Camp, Slow Club, Emmy the Great, Vampire Weekend, the Tuts, Two Door Cinema Club, Rae Morris, Jake Bugg, Lykke Li, Newton Faulkner and the Vaccines.
A heart-felt "Thank You"
I owe a debt of gratitude to Chew Lips who almost single handedly opened me up to the joy of hearing newer bands, unsigned bands and giving me the will to give an act a listen even if I have never heard of them
I owe a debt of gratitude to Chew Lips who almost single handedly opened me up to the joy of hearing newer bands, unsigned bands and giving me the will to give an act a listen even if I have never heard of them
But aren't you 60-something?
Yes, but if I am feeling over 25, Billy Bragg, Amy MacDonald, Johnny Cash, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, KT Tunstall, the Killers, Gaslight Anthem, Bellowhead, Jethro Tull, Joy Division, Elvis Costello or the Unthanks will go on (so, really it is pretty arbitary).
Yes, but if I am feeling over 25, Billy Bragg, Amy MacDonald, Johnny Cash, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, KT Tunstall, the Killers, Gaslight Anthem, Bellowhead, Jethro Tull, Joy Division, Elvis Costello or the Unthanks will go on (so, really it is pretty arbitary).
I reckon that there is lots of good stuff out there.
Now that, my friends is an important thing to remember.
Now that, my friends is an important thing to remember.
Words or vibe?
Personally, I find that if the vibe and sound draw me in, the lyrics are secondary (apologies to all lyricists and poets out there).
If I don't like the "feel" of a tune, I won't like it.
I have had Twitter conversations with artists which have forced me to conclude that although I know the words to many songs, I don't understand what many of those songs are actually about.
It seems that a literal lyric or easy linear story line are good for me, but veil a meaning using a cryptic (or not too cryptic) lyric and I will take the wrong path. A sad truth, but I am not going to feel bad about that.
What hooks me in to a tune ?
A lyric or phrase, a guitar lick, a bass line, what the Ratcliffe brain considers a glorious noise -- so pretty much anything really.
Pop or Rock?
I have had arguments with Rock snobs who damn Pop as worthless tripe with no longevity. With passing time (I doubt increasing maturity) I just think that music is music - you either like it or not - hence good if you like it or bad if you don't.
You are doing yourself no favours by ignoring a tune because it is a perfectly formed three minute pop single or, by the same token because it is a 21 minute rock epic.
Open yourself up to both and you may just have twice the fun.
Too mainstream for me...
This statement just annoys me. I will not accept that a tune is more "worthy" or that an artist has more "credibility" because they have been heard by only 6 people . In my eyes, this is rubbish of the highest order.
I have had arguments with Rock snobs who damn Pop as worthless tripe with no longevity. With passing time (I doubt increasing maturity) I just think that music is music - you either like it or not - hence good if you like it or bad if you don't.
You are doing yourself no favours by ignoring a tune because it is a perfectly formed three minute pop single or, by the same token because it is a 21 minute rock epic.
Open yourself up to both and you may just have twice the fun.
Too mainstream for me...
This statement just annoys me. I will not accept that a tune is more "worthy" or that an artist has more "credibility" because they have been heard by only 6 people . In my eyes, this is rubbish of the highest order.
Concerts
My first gigs were in about '78 - I seem to recall seeing ELO from row 6 at the Wembley Empire Pool and Blondie from row 10 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Back then, ticket prices were between £2 and £3 a pop.
My first gigs were in about '78 - I seem to recall seeing ELO from row 6 at the Wembley Empire Pool and Blondie from row 10 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Back then, ticket prices were between £2 and £3 a pop.
I went to concerts regularly until the early '90s, including LiveAid in 1985 (ticket price £25, including £20 donation to the cause).
Sadly, I stopped due to other time pressures following the marriage split up.
- Although I continued to buy music, my concert comeback was Live8 in 2005, when against the odds, I secured a pair of tickets in the free random draw.
This led to more gigs and since then I have been a regular gig-goer and get to them when time and purse allows.
Although company is of course a good thing and wonderfully enjoyable, I do tend to go to concerts and festivals on my lonesome.
The problem is firstly finding someone who would be interested in seeing a specific artist - people in my peer group are, in truth not interested in seeing a band whose output has not been released and re-released on vinyl, 8-track, music cassette, CD, Minidisc and mp3.
Secondly, the joy of camping at a festival is abhorrent to many less hardy souls. The toilet situation is a consideration for some, as often the maths just don't work (10,000 punters into 50 toilets is not a good ratio, if you think that your own toilet seems to be perpetually in use if you have just 10 house guests).
The solitary thing is not really a particular issue, to me at least. You talk to fellow gig or festival goers - and some (most, from my experience) are really quite nice folks. Some are young and it is interesting to get an insight to the latest goings on (as long as you don't try to be "down with the kids"). The older folk all seem to have a story to tell about the old days.
If you are on your own, you can move around and see who you want, when you want and you don't feel responsible for any one else in the crush - I am a bit selfish there, I guess...
Put me in a tent for a few days at a festival and I am your man.
These days, I am happier watching when I am standing. I like being able to move around a bit and that makes it is easier to get some reasonable photos. A numbered seat at a concert is a little restricting, but sometimes a necessary evil.
The consequences of going to a concert now are repetitive strain ache in my ankles, occasionally an aching back or hips and the need to wear earplugs or my ears will buzz for 18 hours (I'm not kidding !), but hey, you have got to do it.
Although company is of course a good thing and wonderfully enjoyable, I do tend to go to concerts and festivals on my lonesome.
The problem is firstly finding someone who would be interested in seeing a specific artist - people in my peer group are, in truth not interested in seeing a band whose output has not been released and re-released on vinyl, 8-track, music cassette, CD, Minidisc and mp3.
Secondly, the joy of camping at a festival is abhorrent to many less hardy souls. The toilet situation is a consideration for some, as often the maths just don't work (10,000 punters into 50 toilets is not a good ratio, if you think that your own toilet seems to be perpetually in use if you have just 10 house guests).
The solitary thing is not really a particular issue, to me at least. You talk to fellow gig or festival goers - and some (most, from my experience) are really quite nice folks. Some are young and it is interesting to get an insight to the latest goings on (as long as you don't try to be "down with the kids"). The older folk all seem to have a story to tell about the old days.
If you are on your own, you can move around and see who you want, when you want and you don't feel responsible for any one else in the crush - I am a bit selfish there, I guess...
Put me in a tent for a few days at a festival and I am your man.
These days, I am happier watching when I am standing. I like being able to move around a bit and that makes it is easier to get some reasonable photos. A numbered seat at a concert is a little restricting, but sometimes a necessary evil.
The consequences of going to a concert now are repetitive strain ache in my ankles, occasionally an aching back or hips and the need to wear earplugs or my ears will buzz for 18 hours (I'm not kidding !), but hey, you have got to do it.
The Joy Of The Festival
I made it to Glastonbury in 2011, 2015 and again in 2017. I really wish that I had gone years ago. I found Worthy Farm to be the most tolerant place on the planet (probably chemically induced) - with kisses, high fives and cuddles in abundance for even the most mundane of civil human behaviour.
<My Glastonbury 2011 pages>
<My Glastonbury 2015 pages>
<My Glastonbury 2017 pages>
I made it to Glastonbury in 2011, 2015 and again in 2017. I really wish that I had gone years ago. I found Worthy Farm to be the most tolerant place on the planet (probably chemically induced) - with kisses, high fives and cuddles in abundance for even the most mundane of civil human behaviour.
<My Glastonbury 2011 pages>
<My Glastonbury 2015 pages>
<My Glastonbury 2017 pages>
Mumford & Sons curated "Gentlemen of The Road Stopovers" , which are a another great idea. I had a brilliant weekend down in Lewes in June 2013 and found many acts which would probably not have come my way. <My GOTR 2013>
In July 2014, I went to The Hop Festival in Kent. It was small but the bill was excellent. <My Hop Farm 2014>
In July 2016, I gave the Latitude Festival at Hexham Park, Suffolk a try.
If the food is good, and it isn't sponsored by a massive corporate, a music festival is a great way to spend some time.
In July 2014, I went to The Hop Festival in Kent. It was small but the bill was excellent. <My Hop Farm 2014>
In July 2016, I gave the Latitude Festival at Hexham Park, Suffolk a try.
If the food is good, and it isn't sponsored by a massive corporate, a music festival is a great way to spend some time.
Pledges
I like the idea of philanthropy. Now, I don't have much spare cash, so can't do much. Over the passed few years, I have supported these projects -
Summer Camp "Welcome To Condale" (2011)
Kate Nash "Girl Talk" (2013)
Sam Duckworth "Amazing Grace" (2013)
Emma Stevens "Waves" (2014)
The Tuts "Update Your Brain" (2016)
KT Tunstall "KIN" (2016)
I have pledged to these projects via Pledge Music. The thing is, you promise to donate (normally about the price of a CD) and for that you will get either a download of the completed album or a CD copy if you prefer. If you want to donate more, you are offered more goodies - Chocolate Brownies, Hand Written Lyric Sheets, Intimate Pledger-only gigs or whatever.
I like the idea of philanthropy. Now, I don't have much spare cash, so can't do much. Over the passed few years, I have supported these projects -
Summer Camp "Welcome To Condale" (2011)
Kate Nash "Girl Talk" (2013)
Sam Duckworth "Amazing Grace" (2013)
Emma Stevens "Waves" (2014)
The Tuts "Update Your Brain" (2016)
KT Tunstall "KIN" (2016)
I have pledged to these projects via Pledge Music. The thing is, you promise to donate (normally about the price of a CD) and for that you will get either a download of the completed album or a CD copy if you prefer. If you want to donate more, you are offered more goodies - Chocolate Brownies, Hand Written Lyric Sheets, Intimate Pledger-only gigs or whatever.
A slowing down ...
Although I enjoyed gigs and a music festival too, I made a decision in 2017 to cut down my gig going (my life outlook and attentions have changed and too much recovery time required) and after the Glastonbury Festival in the same year also decided to knock that on the head <More on That Here>.
Although I enjoyed gigs and a music festival too, I made a decision in 2017 to cut down my gig going (my life outlook and attentions have changed and too much recovery time required) and after the Glastonbury Festival in the same year also decided to knock that on the head <More on That Here>.