"That Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Die"

On Wednesday as I'm sure many of you will be aware the annual Brit Awards took place. Apparently celebrating British music the ceremony included a speech from Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner in which he declared that Rock and Roll will never die. I have included the full speech below.

Now I'm not going to write a rant about his speech or the timing of his speech, mainly because I agree with the context of what he has said, however nor am I going to tell you how the Arctic Monkeys are the greatest band at the moment etc because although I like and I listen to the Arctic Monkeys a fair bit, I believe there are many great bands from many different genres of rock and roll that deserve to be mentioned in amongst this whole claim that rock and roll will never die. Regarding the Arctic Monkeys however, I would not say they are the sole protectors of the future of rock music. Not in Britain and not in the world. 

However there are many different styles of rock bands in the world under many different terms (punk, indie, emo, glam, folk and more) and we as people grow up with different styles that our parents introduce us to, that our friends show us, that the internet gives us, that our opinions lyrically agree with. I have friends who will swear down by different rock bands and rock types. Many like myself enjoy a variation of these different styles. However a lot of these bands do get very little publicity in comparison to some of the stuff that is in our charts nowadays. 

Unfortunately for music we live in an era where talent shows produce artists generically formed so that please people when it comes to sight but really in comparison to many other artists, these people lack talent. A lot of them seem to give a perception that they lack respect regarding rock music. Whether that be their lifestyle or the image they are trying to perceive. A lot try to make rock look glamorous and the most desired profession despite the fact that they are not a rock act. Rock is not a totally glamorous profession. A lot of the rock bands we see today have not had the privillaged upbringings that many popstars have today. Popstars like Lilly Allen who grew up knowing showbiz thanks to her dad. Many didn't have a musician school like the Brit school, albeit some of the newer ones have had this. Many have started off on the underground scenes and have had to work their way up from there, some to the disappointment to many of their fans (for instance, the punk scene was not too happy when Green Day signed onto a main stream label).

Now it may seem unfair but rock is actually the purest form of chart music you can really find. Especially when they were the people who chose to pick up the guitar and learn it, wrote the words and got a few friends and made a band. It's refreshing. They also appreciate it more as they have had to rise up from playing gigs as supporting acts in halls, to playing at arenas and stadiums. They influence many people. Often a rock star has issues however and the business of rock is therefore less attractive than it seems. A lot of songs in rock are wrote about ghosts of the band members lives, they have more of a meaning than most genres and often the bands we find ourselves listening to are ones we emotionally, lyrically and musically in one form or another relate to. I find with many this happens in teenage years, as you are growing up, going through those puberty changes and the other gender comes far more important to your life. I evidence this by pointing you in the way of +Ryan Steppel who grew up loving the arctic monkeys with these factors in place, just as I did with Green Day. Sure other bands come along but the first band you connect to in that way is almost certainly a band you will listen to a fair bit from then on. Not as your only band, maybe not as your favourite, but if I'm honest I couldn't imagine having an iPod with no Green Day on it (amongst others now) and I am sure others feel the same. 

Going back to a lot of songs being wrote in the ghosts of the band members, we can be talking death, love and often at some point in a rock bands career drugs. And sometimes these are very, very dark people, yet their darkness creates incredible music. The most notable rock star who did this was Kurt Cobain, such a dark person he ended up killing himself (unless you read and believe the conspiracies), then there's the artists that have had issues that have led to rehab, the band splitting and more. Pete Doherty, Billie Joe, Chris Wolstenholme. I also regard Amy Winehouse in this section as close to the rock genre. It isn't all glam.

These people, their antics and their fashions are now highly mimicked by artists who don't have the right to relate themselves to rock music. That said, they do sell the music. By this I am on about acts I would say are generic. I am talking One Direction and the X Factor generation. This music is not as pure as rock. It also will never be as longstanding as rock. Look at rock bands we still hear of today, who made a career for 50 years, from the Rolling Stones to the surviving members of the Beatles and Queen. One Direction may be huge now but they won't leave much legacy. Then there are artists like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. Until recently, two innocent young adults who got lucky, one with YouTube and one with Disney. Now both are more famous for filling our papers with their wannabe controversy, some of it beyond low (I've said it before, Miley Cyrus, regardless of her music and whether you like it, is now one truly disgusting being if you look at pictures of her live shows the last 6 months. It's wrong. Drink/drug driving in Biebers case is also low). Maybe they are doing this for attention or to be "rock stars", maybe they're doing it because the fame they have managed to get has led to them cracking as people or them wanting to push boundaries that shouldn't be pushed. Many rock stars from the past show some boundaries don't need this push. 

One thing is for certain. In 50 years when bands are reflected on. It's by far the most likely that of all the award winners last week, it'll be the Arctic Monkey's, their music and the boundaries they pushed in indie rock and rock as an overall genre that'll be remembered. The rest most likely will just be other acts. 

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!