With a possible delay in the lifting of lockdown from the 21st June due to a spike in cases from a certain variant from the landscapes of India – it could well and truly see the music industry in UK “being left behind.”
Withtransparencyneeded more than ever from the Government, we are looking to Boris Johnson and what he has to say about it at a news briefing scheduled for tomorrow (14 June.)
If the lockdown is confirmed to be delayed for another two months or so, this can see over 5,000 events being cancelled, which again, would cost millions to the music industry.
Wishing for a summer of music we all want, the Government must cooperate and deliver an understandable plan of return as, anything past the expected date of 21st June, is ultimately new ground for us all.
Whilst we’ve been bathing in the glorious sunshine this bank holiday weekend, the magic of live music has returned in some realm of sorts with BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Set across three days from the 28th to the 31st, some of the biggest music artists right now headed to some glorious landscapes in the UK countryside and delved us in some fantastic live music.
Coldplay at Whitby Abbey, Ed Sheeran in the countryside, Jorja Smith at Alexandra Palace, AJ Tracey at a basketball court and Royal Blood at their local Brighton pier – the plethora up for grabs was quite favourable to any fanatic fans of music.
Whilst it’s easy on eyes with fantastic backdrops to the emphatics of music, it’s another horrid reminder of the effects live music has without its audience. Entirely reliable upon one another, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend is another implore for COVID to dismiss from our shores and for us to get back to live-audience shows, gigs and festivals.
Catch the best bits, highlights or the full-length sets below:
In the midst of a pandemic, it starts to become important to obtain test results to gain an idea of when we would be able to return. For Barcelona and its live music, that was on Saturday night. Around 5,000 spent the night at a gig in Barcelona watching Love of Lesbian – after all were negatively tested for COVID. As one of the largest gatherings in Europe recorded, since the pandemic began, it will be able to give us an idea when we would be able to return to mass-gatherings after this pandemic filters out, and we start to get back to normal. No doubt, over the course of the next 14 days, they will make sure and keep tabs of all to who went and record any prevalent illnesses or worse, the return of COVID to their lungs.
As we get more brave with experimentations and understanding of how this illness progresses, hopefully we can get more comfortable with one another within mass gathering, assortments and crowds. Time will tell if we think differently about this, of course.
As they snub favourite artists such as The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar from their acclaimed prizes, sift through the mud of allegations from racism, sexism and a lack in diversity to artist picks – it shows just howunfit they are as judges to music.
With the Grammys receiving such a subjective onslaught each year and as interest rates fall on their overall importance as awards, do the Grammys even matter anymore?
Short answer simply is: no.
Unlike the Oscars, the prestigious academy award for music has seemingly lost its original tact, and is out of touch with the rest of the world. Unlike the Oscars that actually awards films based on glowing prospects, reputations and sheer camera-rolling etiquette, The Grammys is a congruent cess-pit of odd nominations, shameless bigotry and is showing a side to the music industry that is rather ugly.
With so many prestigious and culturally-defining artists in the industry that have been snubbed of such an award (Queen, Bjork, ABBA and Jimi Hendrix to name a few) it is easy to understand why The Grammys has been scrutinised for their lack of desire to produce a decent academy award show to celebrate the best of music – as they choose to instead award their “white friends and counterparts” in the industry – and receive backlash of racism and bigotry because of it – and not the distinctive artists that have made a impact against the status quo of the industry.
Because if they start awarding acts who go against the “system” of upending gender stereotypes (Queen) and make albums that go against their specified genre (The Weeknd) what does that say about the system of the industry itself? Something that cannot be controlled it seems …
But its important to note that something like the Grammys is not so definitely clean-cut like other competitions like the Olympics. When it comes to who sang the most impressive or made a defining moment to the world of music, well then, that becomes a bit more objective. With it, comes the usual backlash and sparks of fury as such an award because it is such an opinionated sport.
But to me, I think this is what makes Grammys not matter most, because at the end of it all, while it is fun to see who will win a Grammy, it ultimately doesn’t affect how we (me included) view an artists’ work. When we listen to a piece of work, do we define how “good” it is if it won a Grammy? No, we think it’s good because it’s simply good music. For me, they are not one and the same.
So with that being said, I think that the sheer novelty of awarding music based on something so objective certainly makes it an easier target than most other award shows. But, let’s be honest, they haven’t helped themselves in the past, have they?
Let me know what you think to this topic of conversation – and more importantly, will you be watching tonight?
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Former suspended CEO stating on how ‘rigged’ the ceremony is …
Grammy’s controversial moments show just how implausible it is as an awards ceremony …
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.
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“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.”
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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.
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“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.”
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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.
