Madchester Crap

[Beatwulf]

Sorry but I just had to vent this, does anyone really care about The Stone Roses/Happy Mondays/Inspiral Carpets re-forming, thats actually a retorical question, of course they seem to...but why?

I have lived in Manchester for the past 8 years and I can tell you, in my opinion, the whole city is so stuck in the past its having a massive detrimental affect on new music. If its not the likes of a Mr P.Hook re-hashing the Hacienda days, Factory and the abomination that is his Joy Division tour/dj sets then it is the likes of Mr I.Brown and Co re-forming the roses,the Mondays going at it AGAIN and for gods sake the Inspiral Carpets....AGAIN!?!?!......even Tom Hingley has more sense. Two nights at Heaton Park for the Roses, tickets going on eBay for stupid prices, hype hype hype, blah blah blah, who is going to be supporting I wonder...certainly not some local unsigned artists who are having to compete with this "commercial reign"(pun intended). Yes these are some "classic" bands from 20 years ago, they had their time, I was a fan, I really was, but not now, I mean who wants it to be 1990 again?!

I moved to this city because I thought it was a mecca for talent and great music, maybe it still is, I don't know anymore, I've been lucky enough to work with some great artists here and enjoy some fantastic music but what chance do these people have when constantly competing with the past?

Rant over...sorry!

[rhythmtech]

loads of great new music in manchester. check out 'the chapman family' or 'lowline'

[jeremy.c.]

I saw the Stone Roses open for Julianna Hatfield back in the 90s and all I really remember about them was that dude's guitar was out of tune the entire freakin show... I do miss most of that era's music though, too bad the scene is completely stuck.

[Dean Roddey]

I guess the Stone Roses are a kind of special case in that they were such an influential band that was then cut short due to managerial problems before people could burn out on them maybe? And the historic Spike Island concert that so many people reference as the sort of birth of Brit Pop and whatnot.

So they have a lot of nastalgic cache probably. Bands like Oasis were pretty open about the fact that they wouldn't have existed without The Stone Roses as well, which probably gives them more mystique.

[AbsoluteSpirit]

Originally Posted by Beatwulf

I've been lucky enough to work with some great artists here and enjoy some fantastic music but what chance do these people have when constantly competing with the past?

Rant over...sorry!

Could be worse, they could be in Liverpool competing with another fairly popular group from the past lol

Sadly my own celeb status is still overshadowed by the town where i live being known for where Rick Astley came from and not me - so maybe you're on to something...

[fifthflaw]

They're supposed to be working on new material if it sees the light of day could be interesting. I'm fully expecting Ian brown to be rubbish and do a great disservice to the rest of the band

[rhythmtech]

whatever they do ive got my ticket for the dublin show! i seen them in 95 but without reni so it wasnt the same at all.

[creegstor]

I like the Stone Roses. But I don't think their seminal status in the British Isles has anything to do with their music but with nostalgia - Where were you when you took your first E?! Remember that club on Parliament street?

[Beatwulf]

Originally Posted by creegstor

I like the Stone Roses. But I don't think their seminal status in the British Isles has anything to do with their music but with nostalgia - Where were you when you took your first E?! Remember that club on Parliament street?

Could not agree more!

[Lute]

They're in it for the money. Simple as that. I can't abide any of them, they do my home town a great disservice with their mediocre music. They should fvck right off and stay that way

More horror: There's rumours around the Spice Girls are reforming too.

[d1rtynyc]

I loved the Stone Roses and that whole era pretty hard. They were my favorite band for a long time. I scoured record shops for early singles, b-sides and bootlegs just to get a little more music from them.

I think they could have had a much more lucrative and successful career if it wasn't for the label lawsuit. One might even say they might have had the massive worldwide appeal and perhaps made much more of a mark than Oasis if they were not stifled by all that mess. They could have made a huge impact.

That said. Will I see them live now, no. Back in 93' or 94' I got free tickets to see them when the were supporting the "Second Coming" album. It just lost that charm and mystique for me. 89' - 93' was a very, very long time between records.

On another note... "Who wants it to be the 90's again?"
Me and many, many other people. Musically that was a very creative and exciting decade. My favorite.

Manchester is a city like any other that has had a major music scene that made worldwide waves. Many have had amazing music scenes in the past. Some still do, but not as many unfortunately.

As you said... it's hard "competing with the past" when the nostalgia and memories are so strong.

[Beat Poet]

I got flamed once on a board for saying that I don't get why the Stone Roses are so revered. "You obviously weren't around at the time, they were like a ray of light in all the shit" the guy said and the like. I would have thought the Smiths would have been a ray of light in the 80s, and they didn't split up that long before the Stone Roses went overground? I don't know what it is, I just can't find any genius in there, though there are a couple of good songs for sure.

[Happy Musicfan]

I haven't heard much at all of The Stone Roses / Happy Mondays / Inspiral Carpets. Could anyone recommend some songs showing them at their best ?

[Beatwulf]

Originally Posted by Happy Musicfan

I haven't heard much at all of The Stone Roses / Happy Mondays / Inspiral Carpets. Could anyone recommend some songs showing them at their best ?

Well the first Stone Roses album The Stone Roses was always my favourite-produced by John Leckie,the Martin Hannet produced Bummed album by Happy Mondays is worth a listen, and for the Inspiral Carpets, they were always just a bit of fun to listen to for me, but not much substance there really (my opinion).

This is what I meant with this thread, they were great bands back then, riding the wave of the times, but now they are not, that was then...this is now-where are our new guitar heros? Our new songsmiths? I can't see any, hell, thats why I'm off to the LA for a while, see whats going down there!

[Beat Poet]

Originally Posted by Beatwulf

This is what I meant with this thread, they were great bands back then, riding the wave of the times, but now they are not, that was then...this is now-where are our new guitar heros? Our new songsmiths? I can't see any, hell, thats why I'm off to the LA for a while, see whats going down there!

There's such a dearth of rock bands breaking through in the UK it's painful. You'll always get hard rock/metal coming out of Wales and the West Midlands, and there's a bit of a shoegaze scene up in Scotland, but everywhere else (including London) it still seems to be all indie.

[Jules]

I was there at the famous reading festival gig.

the whole of backstage trouped out to see them and then after one number (Adored) there was a laughing and giggling STAMPEDE to get back to the backstage bars as the singing was so off key. there was a rumour a sound guy sabataged his monitors..



But I like them (and the singer's solo stuff)

[d1rtynyc]

Originally Posted by Happy Musicfan

I haven't heard much at all of The Stone Roses / Happy Mondays / Inspiral Carpets. Could anyone recommend some songs showing them at their best ?

Good start.
Stone Roses - Fools Gold, I Am The Resurection
Happy Mondays - Bob's Yer Uncle, Kinky Afro

Inspiral Carpets.. Ignore them. Their music does not hold up IMO.

[Happy Musicfan]

Originally Posted by d1rtynyc

Inspiral Carpets.. Ignore them. Their music does not hold up IMO.

Funny you should say that, as they were the one I started looking into first.

This song sounded decent to me initially, as it has a sprinkling of that 1980's sound, and seemed to be melodically focused.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_dE4rZimZY

But in hindsight, it is a real contender for the most bland song of all time. Even the distracting motions of the video and the good production quality can't mask the musically dull aspects of what is a purely pedestrian and forgettable song. Yeah, some fans love the 'heavy, socially conscious' lyrics ... woopidoo.

Then again, maybe I'm being too harsh...

[creegstor]

Originally Posted by d1rtynyc

Good start.
Stone Roses - Fools Gold, I Am The Resurection
Happy Mondays - Bob's Yer Uncle, Kinky Afro

Inspiral Carpets.. Ignore them. Their music does not hold up IMO.

Yep. You just made me think about Happy Monday's cover of Step On (which is cool) and the whole "you're twisting' my melon man" line. I don't think most people know where he got that line from but it was something Steve McQueen used to say!!

[vincentvangogo]

Originally Posted by Happy Musicfan

I haven't heard much at all of The Stone Roses / Happy Mondays / Inspiral Carpets. Could anyone recommend some songs showing them at their best ?

It's not exactly Light My Fire, but I didn't mind this one by the Inspiral Carpets.

[vincentvangogo]

Of course the real genius band of that time were the La's.



But then Liverpool (Beatles) always did piss on Manchester (Herman's Hermits, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Hollies.)

[badmark]

For that thread of covers that are better than the original



To cut a long story short, I saw the La's play in Liverpool before they were signed. A mad night.

[vincentvangogo]

Originally Posted by badmark

For that thread of covers that are better than the original



To cut a long story short, I saw the La's play in Liverpool before they were signed. A mad night.

I saw the La's live, but not that early and then again a couple of years ago when they reformed. The mad thing on the second gig (to 800 people or so) was that both of the guitar amps were 5w Fender champs.

[creegstor]

Originally Posted by vincentvangogo

Of course the real genius band of that time were the La's.



But then Liverpool (Beatles) always did piss on Manchester (Herman's Hermits, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Hollies.)

My God I'd completely forgotten about that song. What a great band. Their self-titled album is one of the best records of the 90s and barely a song over 2:30!






Didn't the bass player go on to form some terrible band?

[vincentvangogo]

Originally Posted by creegstor

My God I'd completely forgotten about that song. What a great band. Their self-titled album is one of the best records of the 90s and barely a song over 2:30!




Didn't the bass player go on to form some terrible band?

I agree it's a classic album, not a wasted second (Noel Gallagher could learn so much.) Cast was the band John Power went on to form, which coincidentally was the last word sung on the La's album.

[creegstor]

Originally Posted by vincentvangogo

I agree it's a classic album, not a wasted second (Noel Gallagher could learn so much.) Cast was the band John Power went on to form, which coincidentally was the last word sung on the La's album.

Yes. A model of economy although the I recall the last song was like 10 minutes long or something lol! But Cast. I guess they were kinda like Elbow before there was Elbow! Or something like that.

[vincentvangogo]

Originally Posted by creegstor

Yes. A model of economy although the I recall the last song was like 10 minutes long or something lol! But Cast. I guess they were kinda like Elbow before there was Elbow! Or something like that.

Looking Glass is the long one (I think around eight minutes.) I kind of like that too after all the short ones, like 'now we're going to do the opposite.'

[Happy Musicfan]

Originally Posted by badmark

For that thread of covers that are better than the original

Hey, that's a thread I started while in a rather buzzed state ! I'm gonna revitalize it (punk style) by posting Adam Ant's wacko version of 'Hello I Love You'. That should open the doors to an opinionated response.

[Happy Musicfan]

This thread is introducing many of us to some stuff which happens to be old, dated and boring to some, but nevertheless songs which time happened to forget.

Some say, 'good riddance', while others say, 'so glad to see and hear you again'.

[Happy Musicfan]

Thanks so much for introducing me (and possibly some others out there) to the La's. I never heard of them before, and they demonstrate quite the knack for liberated melodies, harmonies & chord patterns in their brand of naturally serene, alternative folkish-pop-rock. It's raw songwriting prowess without all of the compounded, layered distractions.


Bingo ! A delightful melody on top of an endearing A-Em-G-D chord pattern

The La's - Timeless Melody Deleted Vinyl - YouTube


It's neat the way the guitar in this song stubbornly & sloppily shuffles and later walks along. The minor IV chord (I-iv) is so rare nowadays, it makes Brahms and Rachmaninoff weep.

The La's - Looking Glass (audio only) - YouTube


EDIT : You mean to tell me The La's wrote this tune ? Everyone knows this tune ! I thought it was originally written by some band in the 1960's, like The Byrds.

The La's There she goes - YouTube