And he can see no reason/Cause there are no reasons/
What reason do you need to be shown - "I Don't Like Mondays" by Boomtown Rats
Hi there and thanks for checking back in. Hopefully you should enjoy this week’s outing as well, unless you’re someone that, say, saw the title of last week's piece and immediately dismissed it because it had the same title as another piece on the site despite being two completely different articles with two completely different takes on the same situation. In that case, I don’t know what to tell you.
This week is all about a keynote address given at this year’s South By Southwest. None other than the legendary Bob Geldof gave that address this past week, and he was certainly...shall we say, opinionated.
Before we go any further, I should probably explain why Geldof is considered “legendary” (at least by me) before the controversy hits the comments section. Yes, Geldof, as a member of the Boomtown Rats, had approximately one hit, “I Don’t Like Mondays.” One hit hardly qualifies a music legend. But outside of his recording endeavors (which he still does), the man was responsible for staging the largest concert in the world. Twice. Not a lot of detail will be spent here recounting why Geldof should be recognized for Live Aid and Live 8, because it’s already been done. (Feel free to peruse that at your leisure.) Basically, if you’re able to stage shows that big for a great cause and make the entire planet stand up and take notice not once but twice, that is a feat of legend. Hence, my justification.
Back to the matter at hand, quite a few probably may not have called Geldof “legendary” after his SXSW address. Then again, given the reception of the speech, some have reaffirmed that description. It all depends on if you fall on the side of a desire for real music or a corporate drone who’s fine with playing the violin on a sinking ship. It also depends on whether or not you’re a fan of Glee, or iTunes, or Facebook. Mainly, it may fall on your opinion on popular music in general, especially rock, because Geldof thinks that "America's great cultural gift to the world" is dying:
Article comments
1 - Jon Bard
Sir Bob delivered the goods on this one. Nuclear disasters, three wars, terrorism, rights under attack, cities destroyed while governments sit idly by and all these indie rockers can do is write twee songs about themselves. The next punk movement better come soon and it better come fast. JB, RockandRollTribe.com
2 - Luigi Bastardo
Sounds like Geldof was right on the money to me. But then, how can you argue with the star of PINK FLOYD: THE WALL?
3 - Jon Bard
Heh - post SXSW brainfog: meant to say "The next punk movement better come soon and it better come BIG."
4 - Michael Melchor
Just read the thread on rockandrolltribe.com, Jon. Glad yeh liekd the piece.
Seems to me that if rock has to rail against something right now, it's the culture of instant celebrity and the resultant apathy. Ironically enough, it seems no one cares enough to do that, though.
5 - Christopher Rose
I've always had time for Bob Geldof, despite his largely dire music; he's certainly more interesting as a cultural commentator than a creator.
The problem is that rock can't rail against anything any more. The world has changed too much since those simpler times when Punk was young and actually meant something.
Not sure whether it has been defeated or won, but when I see and hear bands and people aping the sounds, styles and attitudes of 30 years ago it is pretty depressing.
6 - Jon Bard
Glad you stopped by the Tribe and paid a visit Michael!
One thing that can spark a new movement is general disgust with current music. As much as politics, what spawned punk in the 70's was a reaction to big bloated arena rockers. Perhaps young musicians will look at vapid r&b, twee indie "rock" and long-past-its-expiration-date hip hop and use that as the fuel to get jacked up enough to put up their dukes. We can hope...
7 - Paul Cherashore
Jon Pareles dismissed Geldof's speech in the NY Times: "He might have changed his mind had he seen Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the teenage Los Angeles hip-hop collective that tore across this year’s SXSW. Rapping about drugs, rape, murder, getting pulled over by the police...."
I don't know how one band can be "the" response to Geldof's criticism, especially since they're representatives of only one segment of the music market, but at least their name reflects honest feelings. Most of the rest of the stuff from SXSW I've heard has been musically sound but leaves me feeling numb inside. (I think that's one side of the coin everyone has missed--the emphasis on musical professionalism at the expense of meaningful content.)
8 - Dik Waste
Sir Bob was always in it just for the $$$$. His commission for the song writing royalties for "Don't they know it's Christmas, back in 1986 was reported to be in the millions. But Geldof did not donate the windfall back to the staving Africans he was ostensibly working to feed at Christmas Time, he kept the cash to build his infamous "Castle Hilt", a 40 room French Revivalist Stone and timber creation costing a cool 8 million US dollars. Tell that to a thirsty, hot staving African. Geldof hates Ebay because from the battlements of his mock castle, ebay is proletariat.