Ultimate Blog Challenge - The 31 things I find most annoying - Number 31 - TV "Talent" Contests!

Hey guys!

So first of all this is my first Ultimate Blogging Challenge post, and it shall be the main concentration of my blog over the next month. Now for this month I decided that I would write about the 31 things that I find most annoying. I have done my best to put in some kind of order but I have found this quite hard as all these 31 things annoy me. Some of them you may like, many you will disagree with, some you may think it is typical of me given the things I like. But I can assure you the number 3 to the number 1 you will find very very hard to disagree with and you too may well think they are mould on our society of today.

So Number 31 is these Televison "Talent" Contests that seem to have come a must have in every weekends scheduling. Now the ones I shall focus on mainly involve the normal "wannabes" but these do include those celebrity shows...however later this month they will appear again in a different category. Now although these shows have been around for years they have become more serious, I mean we used to have Stars In Their Eyes which was a great watch, but now we have the X Factor which is hideously annoying and really a sign of meaningless tv. I have two issues with shows like The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, one is the judges, the others are the contestants and the aftermath of their experience.

So lets start with the judges and the X Factor. Now I'm aware that the X Factor has changed judges over the years but let's go through a few of them and suggest what gives them the right over the common person to judge the mediocrity that enters the show. The first judge that comes to mind when you think of a talent contest is the one and only Simon Cowell. Now it's not hard to see where I am going but I am going to judge Simon's credentials, as he judges other. Now judging is something I have never done, just as singing to a decent standard, or showing any form of talent (other than dressing up as a dog) is something Simon has never done.

Simon Cowell's Got Talent?

This is the man who is the face of Saturday nights on both sides of the Atlantic ocean and honestly it's a shame he has. You can also judge his ability to judge by looking at some of the awful acts he has managed to give us lucky people. These acts have led to a decline of bands that write, create and record music. Especially the genre of rock music. Because rock music is not as smooth as Cowell wants and his hold on the music industry we now see many groups from the X Factor and bands that sound like this is where they have come from and have them forced into our ears wherever we may go. I am a fan of music that is wrote and produced by a band and this is what any of these acts lack, they can sing to a standard that is really below par with those at the top who made it the hard way, they haven't wrote their own songs, spend 10 weeks singing covers and get a contract. Forgive me if it's harsh but whoever they are whether they be One Direction, Shane Ward or Alexandra Burke they have had a very easy way to the top. It's not right. Then theres flops like Joe McEldrey, suddenly he gets on every celebrity show but lacks the ability to maintain a place near the top of the chart after this easy route he never really deserved. The real way to get to the top is to get noticed by playing live or with your unsigned albums or albums with a small label and to move up going round, staying round a fans house, maybe the only fan in that area, or sleeping in your cars playing gigs and getting just enough to live and get by but to get noticed. Bands have done this and succeeded and they've also had longevity, something all acts from the X Factor and other shows lack.

Another judge that has judged the X Factor is Tulisa, more famous for a sex tape than for her horrendous deafening "music". Honestly, I may go and say Simon has never sung, but I wish to God that Tulisa had never sung! And then you place her on TV and say she has the right, the nerve, to judge people who are better than her. Unfortunately for Tulisa, Simon finally found some good judgement and has kicked her out, where the police have picked her up to question her on helping supply people with drugs, something she's clearly guilty of looking at the evidence but something that reality friends say would be incredibly harsh to find her guilty of. Reality friends like Celebrity Big Brother (and apparently X Factor) contestant, as well as friends with the undesirable, unlikeable, many-times-a-wife, bully Katie Price. Now I'm sorry but if reality TV and talent contests bring prats like this to the forefront of our culture and society they should be made illegal. 

How the world feels when this person is a "popular" within society.

In contrast The Voice picked singers as judges, however one was incredibly unknown, despite being in the script, another had had success for barely a year and therefore didn't really warrant being a judge. The other two Will.I.Am and Tom Jones in fairness have kept coming back and selling well. Although I am not a fan of Will.I.Am's solo music, the man has sold his music and his bands music for many years successfully, reinventing himself at times, although some acts he's signed are useless to be honest. Tom Jones has every right to be a judge. The issue with this show is it's quite frankly boring. It lacks drama once they've stopped turning their chairs round nobody watches it. And it's main issue is what happens to the contestants afterwards with the winner of the show not even having her album in the top 100. Mind you the X Factor had Steve Brookstein who now seems to just abuse people who don't like him via his twitter, such a career he won!

So yeah, I could go on forever  but I don't want to bore you. Hopefully my second post will come earlier tomorrow, but for now enjoy. Agree or disagree please leave a comment, and discuss this. alternatively tweet me and use the hashtag #31annoyingthings and I shall get back to you!

James' Today 28/06/2013 - Wiley's Rant

Hey Guys!

And another James' Today. Kinda already done my main blog post of the day so this is gonna be short I would expect.

On a similar theme I shall briefly discuss Wiley's discussion on twitter over Glastonbury. Not to much to say on it really, except for the fact that it is totally disrespectful to the fans. I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that Glastonbury isn't about making a profit, not in the way that a bands gig is anyway. Wiley is going to perform for an hour and I bet he isn't getting the minimum wage for an hours set and lets be blunt he's not exactly talented, he just speaks into a microphone and moves some discs around, as far as I'm concerned he should leave the music scene. (You readers may now have learn't that I'm opinionated). There are talented rappers, Wiley is not one of them, end of. He's also proved himself to be a whinger. That's all he's good for. So if you're at Glastonbury give him a miss. And to Wiley, if you think the English treat you like a slave, find some talent OR find out how hard it is to live in Britain without being a popstar nowadays while that twit George Osbourne makes cut after cut, and if they're not giving you much, do you care to send me your pay cheque for the event, I mean it may be nothing to you, but some of us would appreciate it.

I realise this is short, but I'll finish this with a song by Glastonbury Headliners - The Arctic Monkeys

James' Today 23/06/2013

Hey Guys!

Welcome to the first James' Today. I have a couple of news articles from the last couple of days to show to you and discuss briefly as well as a song that today put me in a pretty good mood, before some drunk guy was too loud in the restaurant that is!

So the first article is from Sky News and refers to the name of the rapper Kayne West's and the err I don't actually know what she does Kim Kardashian's newborn baby North West. Is it a good or bad name? I also think it's good now to bring up whether the name is dumb after Kayne West is quoted as saying "Right now it's a fight against the separation and constant dumbing down of culture, and I'm standing in the middle of it," he said. "So if you know what people say are my lowest moments, those moments where I sat and saw them try to dumb down culture, and I would not allow it to happen on my clock."(source Digital Spy). Is he succeeding by what many would say is a stupid name? Mind you is calling your album "Yeezus" and the first single "I Am A God" good examples of this either? I think not, it seems no more intelligent than any generic pop rubbish that's released nowadays. In my opinion you want music with lyrics that mean something, considering some of his last songs, I don't think that he is succeeding in a battle to stop the dumbing down of society but to continue to dumbing down of society. 

Secondly I would like to share Irn-Bru's new advertising campaign with you. Like coke they are going for names on bottles, but not just any names, traditional Scottish names like this:

Good move or bad move? Personally I think it's quite funny, but then I'd find anyone with the name "Fanny" quite funny...which is probably why this advert is one of my favourites in this country:

Although this spoof sequel may be even better:

Infact looking at the adverts for Irn Bru I could write a whole blog about them and how funny they are, I think I may have to do that for tomorrow. But in this case, is the idea to put these traditional Scottish names on the bottle hot or not? Considering it's a traditional Scottish drink surely it's looking back at it's heritage in a humorous way?

And finally, to end on a song, kinda my song of the day, here is Dakota by the Stereophonics! Enjoy!

Remember to comment, tweet me, or email!

Toodles!

A review of Green Day at the Emirates.

This blog is about two weeks late, but I feel as I still feel it is fresh in my mind and the fact that there are thousands of people who have bought their Reading and Leeds 2013 festival tickets where Green Day are one of the headline acts.

I think firstly it is important to remember the two support acts, these bands were All Time Low, a band that originally was a Blink-182 tribute band and the Kaiser Chiefs, a band from Leeds who in the mid noughties had some huge hits like "I Predict A Riot" and "Oh My God" as well as my friend Josh's favourite "Ruby". The first band of these two to perform were All Time Low who played a mixture of their hits such as "Weightless" and "Lost In The Stereo". In all honesty having seen All Time Low twice at Reading prior to this it was my opinion that they were better during their first Reading, despite this when they were playing their songs, the crowd clearly knew and like their music and therefore went along. Between songs however, where some bands are so good, they were very average, merely shouting swear words randomly and talking about how it would be a success if twenty percent of the crowd were to receive a handjob to go along with their Green Day experience, all this with no instruments playing a riff or anything between the songs. I realise that makes me sound like I'm a pensioner, but really it just seemed pointless. Needless to say their biggest cheer was when they mentioned Green Day.

The Kaiser Chiefs in my opinion were much better. With their collection of hits placed well in their set list, managing to actually take up a large portion they really managed to get the crowd warmed up and ready. There was a point where they played a new, presumably unreleased (the way their last album was digitally released I can't be completely sure) track exclaiming that Green Day has told them to play "some new shit", although I agree with the girl nearby who said "I guaranty you they didn't say that". Funnily enough this was their only unknown song and thank goodness it was as it failed to live up to the standards of any of their other songs. They finished with the song "Oh My God" which managed to last about three time the length as the studio edition of the same song, that said it was an excellent performance as all the crowd got hyped up. The stage presence of the Kaiser Chiefs was also fairly good for a support act in a stadium and they come quite close in my opinion to the level of Biffy Clyro when I saw them support Muse at Wembley stadium. With their performance at The Emirates I can safely say anybody who goes to see them is in for a treat.

Now for the main act, the act I had been waiting for months to see. I can't pretend that with all the none musical happenings of Green Day in the last 12 months that I wasn't a little worried or apprehensive about their gig, I was very much hoping that they would be on the same level as they were when I saw them in 2009 and the secret Reading 2012 set. They were even better. The traditional pink bunny came on before the Blitzwing Bop played and on came the band. Starting with the tune "99 Revolutions" from Tre they performed through a set that saw tracks from back in the early days such as "Sassafras Roots" and "Welcome To Paradise" all the way to singles from the Uno, Dos, Tre trilogy such as "X-Kid", "Stay The Night" and "Stray Heart". For well over two hours they played their hits before ending with a superb encore made up of "American Idiot" "Jesus Of Suburbia" and the slow "Brutal Love" where the crowd got out their lighters (and phone torches), which believe me, in a stadium such as the emirates, that is a real site to behold!

A part which many particularly like about Green Day is their crowd participation and once again this bought some of the highlights from the gig, with a green Union Jack given to Billie Joe near the beginning from the crowd as well as a man in his morphsuit for "Know Your Enemy" giving a letter for Billie Joe to show to the camera's declaring his love for someone and a girl who could play the guitar (my friend was worrying that she could be lying to get on stage and embarrass herself in front of what has been confirmed to be a record attendance for a gig in the stadium). There was even a moment when a little boy came on stage with his "Green Day Rocks" sign and held it aloft, it was a slight shame that the nerves got to him and he didn't smile, but being on stage with one of the greatest rock bands of their generation will surely be an experience he will never forget and more importantly brag about in years to come!

Therefore I would conclude, if you have plans to go to a gig, then really, I would definitely say make it Green Day. They are in a league that only a couple of bands such as the Foo Fighters and Muse are in. So if you get the chance, don't say no!