Category: Chart Music

Categories
Album album review Art artist Blog Chart Music Entertainment Favourites Let's Talk live music music Music Blogger Pop Music Review Song Spotify thoughts UK Music

I’m Quitting … This is why.

Hey folks. A rather sombre update this Thursday morning. I am quitting. That’s right, the time it takes compared to how much I actually hate music, it works as not totally worth it.

So, I’m selling the lease and copyright credentials for Man v Music – highest offer wins.

Thank you to all those that crept into our site and either learned something, read something or laughed along the way. We are incredulously indebted to you all. What a ride – but I bid you farewell.

** If you guys hadn’t guessed it’s Aprils Fools today – this will wake up this morning haha

Categories
Album album concept Art artist Chart Music Culture Entertainment Favourites KSI music music artist music industry music memories Music Playlist music streaming Pop Music Review Song Spotify UK Music

KSI: Breaking Boundaries

From FIFA to Forbes, KSI has become one of the most successful start-up stories throughout the music industry.

In an unexpected tradition of starting from YouTube, he has tarnished his shaky reputation he received in ’13 and has gone on to music stardom with the likes of Craig David, Rick Ross and Yungblud.

________________

Breaking boundaries since his pinnacle rise – and he’s only just getting started.

________________

Originally as an internet personality strife with making FIFA videos from the comfort of his own bedroom. He has ultimately broken his own comfort into becoming an international icon known for breaking the boundaries of countless genres, industries and expectations of a “YouTuber” – and with the Internet star drawing up two top ten songs in the space of a couple of weeks, I think it’s time we give him his due credit, don’t you think?

Merely starting out with his own DIY EPs with Keep Up in 2016, and entertaining singles like Lamborghini the year prior, KSI (formally known as Olajide “JJ” Olatunji) soon shed the laughing stock off his back, took himself far more seriously and gained instant momentum in the music industry. Not only creating the incandescent flavours of UK grime and polished rap, but also unafraid to exploit the tropes of popular music, KSI has broken ground like none other. In a short span of 5 years or so, it is a success story for the ages. Literally casting the tropes of Drake’s “started from the bottom,” his music has ultimately become more confident, competent and mature in production and artistry.

Don’t Play, Lighter, Really Love, Patience. The list is ever-growing and he becomes more and more hungry for growth and opportunity. You could certainly argue that it is easier to break through the music industry with an already avid fan base from his YouTube entertainment, and it essentially allowed him to do half a job. But that other half is equally as important. JJ still required the drive and ambition to shed those stereotypes, that reputation of him and go on to do greater.

Whatever you think of him, his ambition in music, boxing and business is next-to-none and greatly inspiring to those that have similar humble beginnings to what he had.

His fanbase may have shifted, and his videos may not be what entertain me today, but I’ll always remain a fan of his, even if it is just for his journey.

Categories
Album Art artist Chart Music commercial Culture Entertainment Favourites Foo Fighters Listening Music live music music music album music artist music cover music industry Music problems Opinion Review Song Vinyl

Let’s Talk: Is Rock Dead?

KISS bassist, Gene Simmons has been in the firing line, as he stated that “rock is dead” and informed us to “don’t kid yourself” about it either.

_________________________

“The reason for that is not because there’s a lack of talent, but because young folks, that kid living in his mom’s basement, decided one day that he didn’t want to pay for music. He wanted to download and file share.

“And that’s what killed the chances for the next generation of great bands. The fact that the music was for free. So nowadays new bands don’t have a chance.”

_________________________

We had the mighty rock greats of The Beatles, The Stones, Pink Floyd and Elvis. Then, the heavier metal side, you had the likes of Metallica, Maiden, AC/DC and on and on. With a refusal to place rock legends, Foo Fighters in the same bracket, is rock as dead as believe it to be? After all, who is the next Beatles?

Is Simmons right here? There is such a strong sentiment in the fact that the business model has shifted, which does have a knock-on effect to how we see and view rock music nowadays. The short of it all, we’ve gone soft. With it, goes our rock music.

__________________________

“Don’t kid yourself. As soon as those girls [Foo Fighters] are gonna grow a little bit older, that’s going to go away. It’s like sugar: you taste it, it gives you that little energy boost, and then it’s gone forever and you don’t care.”

__________________________

The desire to play music is slimming as each day passes where music became more expansive, more accessible and free. Above all else, the desire to provide your own spin for music and its rock elements ultimately vanished when we were struck with bedroom artists.

Let me know your thoughts with this one and if you really believe that rock is dead.

Categories
Album album concept album review Art Chart Music Culture drums Entertainment Favourites Listening Music live music music music artist music industry

Thought For The Day: Music in 2021

This is me, somewhat lost. *Insert sombre, poignant music here* I’m lost because I haven’t sat down at a drum kit for over 4 months now, and I haven’t seen live music itself in a venue capacity or otherwise, for over a year.

Here is me pondering over the prospect.

It’s making me more agitated and anxious, the more I think about it, the fact that I haven’t played or seen music for quite some time. I feel like I have a mild case of ADHD, and playing the drums is my escape from it all. The release of endorphins rushed onto a kit smashed half to hell. I know there are more pressing matters in our daily lives right now, but this is a music blog. For you all know, this is all we ever talk about. Nothing else matters if it’s not music.

With the live music industry in muddy water regarding its resurgence in the coming years, and the proximity of socially distanced gigs simply not feasible to break-even, where will we see our entertainment in a years’ time – hell, in a month’s time? It certainly isn’t opening capacity up to a third, like New York and their partnering music venues are doing. Nor is it cramming thousands of people into a field in for Reading and Leeds Festival 2021 in August – a mere month after restrictions are reduced for us.

The music industry is on its knees as is, especially with streaming providing next to nothing for artists and their due payments. With artists relying on tours and shows prior to COVID to earn a decent living wage, will more and more musicians have to revert to a career change? Will it just be the elite musicians who can already afford the loss who remain to keep the momentum going? The situation is disastrous, especially with the lack of certainty in the music camp right now.

The most important topic the music fans are discussing is, if we will ever feel comfortable in a crowd for a gig ever again.

A lot of questions right now, but not a lot of answers.

Categories
Album Art Chart Music Controversy in Music Culture Entertainment Life Listening Music live music Michael Jackson music music artist music industry news Nicki Minaj Notorious BIG Opinion Rebecca Black Spotify

The Importance of Making a Scene: Controversy in Music

Controversy in music has been around for decades.

From songs involved in plagiarism where an artist has nabbed the same bars or so, to music censorship and its subsequent murder – even to the calamities of live performances with the cynical attempts of miming, auto-tuning and generally being an arse to your fans while on stage – controversy in music is a popular topic of conversation.

And of course, with controversy, comes with popularity.

Now, whether that’s popularity that is hard-earned or merely popular because its popular, is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Is it as important as we first thought? Are making a scene for the benefit of ourselves or the musician?

Controversy of Culture: Biggie Smalls and Michael Jackson

Notorious B.I.G’s murder remains one of LA’s biggest unsolved homicides 20 years on. Michael Jackson’s controversy surrounding his paedophilic notion is unsolved on speculation and mere here-say, and remains one of the biggest unsolved controversial topics to a global star to date.

The controversy with Notorious B.I.G (Biggie Smalls) and Michael Jackson, has allowed for them to be within conversations, playlists and talking points for decades. Are they still present in our culture for their endless controversy surrounding a ugly drive-by, murder and paedophilic omissions, or is it simply for the marvel of their music?

I often wonder whether this controversy undoubtedly tarnishes the reputation of other like-minded artists and – overall tarnishes the music. Maybe not, maybe I’m being too cynical, here. But, whatever does happen to the name of Jackson in the coming years, I think it’s safe to say that we would still listen to his music …?

Controversy of Censorship: Nicki Minaj and Cardi B

The controversy of censorship plays a different story. When something arises as being wrong or unlawful, it makes people listen to their music more and more. You could argue that artists actively lavish this prospect and are nothing but controversial. For her lyricism, nudity, and questionable dress-sense, Nicki Minaj has been on the tail-end of controversy for the past ten years. And yet, it’s not stopped her progression, but more so, elevating her to one of the most influential female rappers in the past decade. But, is this for her controversy or is it for her utter creativity and genuine talent when it comes to writing music? I may be a tad bias, but I may go for the former with this one …

The Controversy of Rebecca Black’s Friday

We can’t discuss the controversy of popular music without talking about this one. Deemed as the “worst video ever made”, it’s controversy and instant hatred for the whiny singing, and hideous melody-making, catapulted it to instant notoriety. Still, it didn’t stop her music career from surging, grabbing 150 million views via YouTube and 11 million plays on Spotify (despite not being added to Spotify a year later) . Making multiple profits, Black lavished at the prospect of being one of those hated music singers and joined the queue. With the “if you can’t beat em, join em” mantra in the back of her mind, she has gone on to make remixes of the very same hated song that was first published 9 years ago. No shame, eh? She’s really pulling on the heart-strings of nostalgia in music, that’s for sure.