The CLUAS Archive: 1998 - 2011

Entries for 'Rev Jules'

13

Sound Waves has learned that Channel 6 are seeking sponsorship for their new surf lifestyle show 'Cois Fharraige' which is to be presented by blonde lovely, and trained thespian, Jenny Buckley. Billed as appealing to a target audience of 15-34 year olds, the show promises to feature music and musicians of the moment. But why take our word for it when you can read the sponsorship document yourself.

http://www.channel6.ie/index_files/CoisFarraigesponsor.pdf

 

 


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11

Last Sunday, The Culture section of the Times published a perceptive and timely article by Mick Heaney that catalogued the many high profile failures of late suffered by previously successful Irish musicians and asked whether Paddy Casey’s new album can revive the fortunes of the industry. Personally, I don’t think so but not because Paddy Casey is not a talented musician, rather I think that the idea of a long term career in music, if such a thing ever truly existed, is now a thing of the past and that record companies, rather than being a reason for this decline, are instead a victim of it.

Firstly, the idea of a job for life is patent nonsense in the 21st Century. Today, the average job contract is for 6 months, the average worker spends 1 to 2 years at a single firm and the average person changes their career approximately 3 times in their working life. The idea that musicians could or should enjoy longer careers within their chosen industry then their fans is patent nonsense and is not even borne out in musical history. Nirvana’s recording career as an operating entity lasted a mere 3 years, The Beatles recorded together for 6 before going their separate ways. Paradoxically, as the pace of modern life has quickened the release schedules and output of high profile artists has slowed. In the four year periods that both Paddy Casey and Damien Rice each took to write, record and release their respective second albums, The Beatles released the following albums; ‘Please, please me”, ‘With The Beatles’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, ‘Beatles for Sale’, ‘Help!’, ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Revolver’. By the time we get to the equally fertile and creative muse of Prince in 1987, record company executives are telling him that he can’t release both ‘Sign of the Times’ and ‘The Black Album’ in the same year because the company’s publicity department and the market itself can’t handle two high profile releases by the same artist in the same year.

 Secondly, the music industry clings to the basic and obsolete contractual model of the multiple album deal. This is not the case in other branches of media such as book publishing, movies or television where single production contracts are now the norm. Publishers normally sign a writer for a single book with an option on a second if the first is a success. Most times it is not and so the option lapses. In television, all but the most successful programmes are commissioned one series at a time, the green light for each subsequent series being based on the success of the previous one. In Hollywood, only the most stellar producers are contracted for a slate of pictures, and even they sometimes turn down these contracts as being too restrictive or unwieldy.

 Thirdly, and I feel that this attitude is often wrongly ascribed to the A&R departments of record companies, there has been a significant shift by the listening public away from artists who have their own unique sound, to artists who are slavishly imitating the sound of a very successful act from a previous generation whether that be Queen, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, The Jam, or Bruce Springsteen. You don’t have to look any further than the divergent commercial paths of The High Llamas and The Thrills, both of whom have been very influenced by The Beach Boys, to see the development of this trend. Whereas, the Llamas never had any real commercial success with albums such as ‘Hawaii’ and ‘Cold and Bouncy’, The Thrills’ pastiche of the very same Californian surf pop group led to massive commercial success less than a decade later. You might say that The Thrills had a more commercial take on the sound of The Beach Boys, the very essence of classic commercial pop, than The Llamas did but I think it’s more accurate to say that there was a shift towards pastiche music by the public themselves. The problem with this stratagem from the point of view of long term career planning is that the very familiarity of sound which makes a pastiche act so interesting to the audience at the start also makes them very boring to that same audience within a surprisingly short space of time.

Fourthly, the rise of low-cost home recording equipment, by which an artist can literally produce an album in their bedroom as both Damien Rice and David Gray famously did, has essentially removed the need for record companies to put up large amounts of money to allow artists to book into expensive studios to work on their music. That being the case, is it not more prudent to wait for an act to show up with a completed master recording, in much the same way as a book publisher waits for an author to come to them with a completed manuscript, than to bankrupt yourself as Factory Records did, or Creation Records nearly did, by betting company cash on the vagaries of the artists you release ?

Overall, it seems to that the real core problem facing record companies is not the internet, downloads or a fracturing media market, it is that their long term planning is out of step with their short term business environment. Rather than signing acts to multiple record deals where the label’s recoupment of their investment is forecast over a number of releases, they should sign acts to single album deals, preferably where a completed master recording already exists and where profit and loss is forecast within the life cycle of the release of that same recording. If the album is a success and makes money in the short term, then the label exercises an option for another record, if not, see you around Baby. As Mick Heaney pointed out, the first and second album by The Thrills sold 1.5m copies worldwide but their third release dropped out of the charts after selling just 2,000 copies in Ireland. Any money that was to be made from this act has already been paid over, if that has gone on yet more expensive marketing and artist development rather than into the label’s coffers then it's not the artist’s fault.


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11

The Enemy - we will live and die in these townsReview Snapshot:
The Enemy is an anagram of The Jam.

The Cluas verdict? 3 out of 10

Full Review:
Did you know that The Enemy is an anagram of Paul Weller and The Jam? Nope, neither did I. When I first put on this album I must admit I thought I was going to love it especially when the first lyric I heard was, “Call the police, cos things are getting ugly”. At last a proper rock ‘n roll record, full of bile, anger and big guitars. But then, as I listened and listened again to this debut in my car, something strange started to happen. I began to hum along, but not to the actual songs on the record. Nope, I began to hum along to Jam classics such as ‘That’s Entertainment’, ‘Going Underground’ and ‘Town Called Malice’.

Something funny has happened in modern pop music, where once bands did everything in their power to create a unique sound quite unlike anyone else, now they strive to create a sound so similar to a famous classic group from days gone by as to be virtually indistinguishable. So prevalent has this movement become that it now has its own moniker; neo/retro. Amy Winehouse, Mika, Scissor Sisters, The Darkness, Jet, and Arctic Monkeys are just a few of the bands that sound similar to or exactly like big acts from previous eras. What’s more, they have been well rewarded for their efforts. Platinum discs, sell out tours and music industry gongs have flooded in for this type of ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’ music. It has been a slow process, preceded by the sound alike tribute band craze which spawned groups like Abbaesque who famously sold out the Point Depot, the sampling movement, which even U2 could not extinguish when they sued Negativland and the endless reunion/farewell tours of The Eagles. New music no longer means music that sounds new; it just means music that has the most recent release date. It sounds more like Dad spirit, if you will.

The Enemy are just the latest in a string of groups who are providing music to fans of previous generations of music industry legends that are now unable or unwilling to either tour or play the songs that made them famous. Bizarrely, it is bands such as Modest Mouse that, having signed up their hero Johnny Marr (nee Maher), are making music that is forward sounding and original whilst Arctic Monkeys, who sound so like 80s one hit wonder Jilted John that its no funny, find they have spawned their own, can’t even wait until the original have split, tribute band in Antarctic Monkeys.

As for The Enemy, well The Jam (minus Paul Weller) is presently on a reunion tour, your hard earned cash might be better spent on a ticket to see two thirds of the original of the species live instead.

Jules Jackson

 To buy a new or (very reasonably priced) 2nd hand copy of this album on Amazon just click here.


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10

According to Mike Doyle, from San Diego, a leading light in a Christian surfing organisation, known as Walking on Water: "I think Jesus was a rebel, a radical. That attracts many surfers who tend to be revolutionaries and, sometimes, misfits.". Whatever the reason, the Christian surfing movement is attracting ever larger numbers of converts and Steven Morris of the Guardian has written an enlightening article on the topic.


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02

Everytime Bruce Springsteen heads off with his acoustic guitar, he comes back with an absolute class slice of electric Rock 'n' Roll and on the evidence of the lead single 'Radio Nowhere' from the forthcoming album 'Magic', it looks like it's going to be business as usual. It was never about getting your money's worth with Bruce, it has always been about getting something that money can't buy. Here it comes again.


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01

MUSIC
Friday, 7th September
Fun Lovin’ Criminals, The Blizzards, Roisin Murphy and Majella Murphy.
Doors 6.00pm
 
Saturday, 8th September
Paddy Casey, Ocean Colour Scene, Republic of Loose, The Enemy, 28 Costumes and The Kinetiks.
Doors 4.00pm
 
Sunday, 9th September
Badly Drawn Boy, Kila, Tom Baxter, Buffalo Souljah and Delorentos, Newton Faulkner
Doors 3.00pm
  

SURF

For surf lovers and first time surf spectators, Spanish Point Beach will be the place to catch all the surfing action.  A two-day professional surfing competition will be held on Saturday, 8th September and Sunday, 9th September in association with Sony Ericsson, West Coast Surf Club and Sony Ireland who are providing €10,000 euro worth of prizes including Sony Ericsson handsets, a Sony Bravia 42” LCD TV, Blue Ray player, a home cinema system and a Sony VAIO laptop.

Saturday, 8th September between 9am – 3pm
:
Competitive surf heats will commence for all registered surfers at 9am and will continue up until 2pm.
 
Sunday, 9th September between 9am – 2pm:
Finalists will compete from 9am and go head to head in the final round at 2pm.
 
All advised surf heat timings are subject to change pending weather conditions on each day.
 
Cois Fharraige ticket holders are strongly advised to dress appropriately for rain and shine so don’t forget to come prepared and bring your picnic supplies!
  

THE TRANSPORT
The Surf Shuttle – Ketts Lounge Kilkee - The Armada Hotel Spanish Point and return.
A surf shuttle bus will be in operation for Cois Fharraige ticket holders only to provide transportation from Kilkee to Spanish Point to view the surfing event.  The surf shuttle service will be independently operated by Noel O’Shea coach hire.  Bus Tickets will cost €3 return.
 
The Surf Shuttle Timetable:
 
From Ketts Lounge in Kilkee to Burke’s Armada Hotel in Spanish Point
Departure Time: From 9am every half hour on a continuous loop until 1pm

From Burke’s Armada Hotel, Spanish Point to Ketts Lounge, Kilkee
Departure Time: From 10am every hour on a continuous loop until 4pm

 


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01

One of the small and infrequent joys of this summer was the gorgeous aerial footage of the 2007 Tour De France that aired on TG4. Sweeping shots of brightly dressed cyclists racing through amazingly picturesque, sunlit scenary only confirmed for us that, doping or not, France is still the real star of the Tour De France. This reality was brought home when I watched RTE's aerial footage of the closing minutes of Stage 4 of the Tour of Ireland. As pro cyclists whipped through Salthill on their way to the finish line I couldn't help but notice how this whole section of Galway from Knocknacarra onwards looks like one giant, ugly, concrete, outdoor jacks. You can criticise the French all you like about how they do or do not tackle drugs in sport but you can never accuse them of deliberately ruining their own countryside and heritage unlike the assembled forces here in Ireland who are determined to destroy, among other priceless treasures, the Hill of Tara.


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01

In the 1990s the actor Kevin Kline appeared in a light comedy film entitled 'In & Out' about a small town teacher who is inadvertently outed by a former student during an Oscar night acceptance speech. In the film, the big giveaway about Kline's sexual identity  is his passion for the music of Barbara Streisand; a narrative shorthand for all things fey, flowery, effeminate and, well, gay. So far, so cliched, so what. Except that when it comes to being treated, how shall we say this, not at a level with the prices charged, your average Babs fan is more Spartan warrior than shrinking violet. Rock fans, on the other hand, who are in the main teenage, rebellious and given to wearing black t-shirts saying things like 'Unleash Hell' are more reminiscent of The Gimp in 'Pulp Fiction' than the brave little punks that Jack Black leads to glory in 'School of Rock'. Hey, you can play 'Standing In The Way of Control' all you like but if you roll over on your back everytime you are taken for a ride you have no right to talk about how rock can change the world.


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27
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21

What do The Rolling Stones today and a lion taming act in a circus have in common ? Quite alot actually. Let me explain. When you see the lion taming you have to understand that, great act though it is, the lions and their tamer are pure artifice. The lion is portrayed as the king of the jungle, a fearsome man eating beast. The tamer is portrayed as brave hero, gallantly holding back the lion with nothing more than a whip and a chair, making this terrifying creature submit to his or her will and encouraging the deadly big cat to perform a series of dainty tricks. The problem is; both the lions and their tamers are in on the act. The lion is usually a hand reared pet who in the golden age of the circus often slept in the tamer's caravan. The tamer on the other hand knows that if the lion was really wild and ferocious a whip and a chair would be as much use as a feather duster. So what you have is a show, primarily for children, where real danger and pure emotion have been replaced with amused guffaws and theatrical flourish.

Nowadays, The Rolling Stones are alot like those circus lions, as far removed from the dark mystique of Altamont as our tame lions are from their forebears in the Coliseum; where they happily munched on Christians for the amusement of the Emperor Nero and his blood thirsty Roman subjects. For example, when Keith Richards stumbled on stage solo in the middle of the concert at Slane to mumble winningly, the audience happily remarked to each other, "Ooh, there's Johnny Depp's dad from Pirates of the Carribean 3'. See what I mean?

The band that played Slane last weekend wasn't THE ROLLING STONES, of myth and legend, it was a bunch of canny old men with one eye on the clock and the other on the money. A savvy bunch of pensioners who long ago realised that nostalgia and a well tended brand name can keep you going long after passion and sincerity have disappeared along with your natural hair colour. I admire them in much the same way as I admire those toothless lions and their beloved tamers, I even applaud them and when they have gone the way of the traditional circus I'm sure that the world will be a less colourful place but, do I feel anything inside when I watch them play ? Nope.



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Nuggets from our archive

2001 - Early career profile of Damien Rice, written by Sinead Ward. This insightful profile was written before Damien broke internationally with the release of his debut album 'O'. This profile continues to attract hundreds of visits every month, it being linked to from Damien Rice's Wikipedia page.