Music: It's a love/hate thing...

'Oh you know, just hangin' out with Elton'

I can't decide whether I am a bit of a music snob or not. See I definitely am in the fact that uneducated fungi that fester at festivals (Oo good title) make me want to rip off their fluorescent Ray Ban knock offs to poke them relentlessly in the eyes with and only stop when they can name me another line of Sex on Fire that isn't 'Your sex is on fire, doo, doo, dooo.' But I'm also not, in the essence that, I'm not afraid to have my car windows open at a red light with Wet Wet Wet, Love is All Around on whilst singing the Love Actually, Bill Nighy version.

I love music. Fact. But I love LOTS of music. I don't hide the screen when my iTunes library is open just because it encompasses Britney, Christina, Spice Girls and to some extent... Green Day (Who, by the way, are apparently a band you probably shouldn't put in your 'Music' section on Facebook if you want to keep any friends. This is ridiculous. I will gladly stand up and say that I love American Idiot. Blame that album for the 'grom' infestation as much as you like but Billie and co inspired a heck of a load of kids. I know, I'm one of them.)

See to me, songs are not just songs, I'm pretty oversensitive about them. I will just cry. Sometimes I'll find an epic piece of instrumental music in a song and I’ll just loop that over and over. There's one song that always gets me, by my favourite band and I swear I could actually listen to that 1.13 minutes of music for the rest of my life.

Whenever I am asked what my favourite band is (Idlewild, in case you were wondering), I always add a disclaimer beforehand, as I don't want to come across as the kind of person who will purposely name a band nobody else has heard of, just to come across as superior. Oh dear, people that do that must seriously have no friends. It's as though a gig would only be worth going to if only they and the band showed up. Losers. Screw them and their quiffy haircuts and smelly, vintage shirts.

One thing that does annoy me, and truthfully, I'm SEMI guilty of it, is when people expect you to know every bloody fact about a band in order to validate your like for them. Otherwise, you're just a poser in their eyes. Oh give us a break will you? Jeez, the only band I seem to delve into the personal life of is McFly and that's only because their information comes with yummy photos and silly boyish jokes (Just because I don't know Ian MacKaye's favourite colour does not mean I don't know who he is.)

And I am guilty at both ends of this spectrum. I once owned an Iron Maiden t-shirt, not because I liked the music but because I liked the design on the front and years later I'm still being abused for it. I did this, yet at the same point in my life, I was under the impression that you had to name at least 5 songs by a band in order to wear their t-shirt (Practice what you preach, I know, blah blah blah). Now I think it's 7 songs? No, an album? No, all respective members’ dates of birth? Ah who the heck knows?

Perhaps one thing that makes me less of a snob is that I'm proud to say that I discovered everyone's favourite, 2010 indie princess at the grace of my dad. Yes, Florence and the Machine's album Lungs was played in my dad’s car long before I could even drive my own. This is another album that 'grinds my gears' (Thanks Peter Griffin) too because now it seems a little bit unfashionable to like her. Of course, we do have Sky1 and BBC3 to blame for overusing its songs on their adverts but I can't understand how people can then turn this annoyance into denying that Florence Welsh has any talent. It's just one of those things in life like; The sky is blue, salt and vinegar are a couple, Jake Gyllenhaal is beautiful and Florence Welsh can sing.

I suppose really it’s the ‘fashionable’ element to music that bugs me the most. I do wear skinny jeans, pin badges and Vans but the difference is; I did it when magazines told me I shouldn’t and got ridiculed for it by people that I remember announcing they thought the RHCP were ‘goff’ music. I think that’s where music sort of loses its credibility now because people are too quick to either jump or dump the next big thing (Most of which I think you can‘t tell the difference between). I don’t know if I would prefer it if you had to prove your worth when you associate yourself with a band. Maybe introduce questionnaires on the door at gigs? Keep receipts when you buy an album to show you’re not on the bandwagon? Okay now I’m being a snob… I’ll stop.

Love L x

To those who doubt McFly...

Last weekend I joined the ranks of girls who, back in 2004, ran straight to the peroxide to dye five colours in their hair when the UK had a new band to fall in love with. Yes, for an unexpected SEVENTH time I found myself scaling the steps of the M.E.N Arena to see McFly.

Well, it was amazing. Just as expected really. Every time I see them perform they manage to get better and better and then better some more.

However, boosting the ego of an already ridiculously popular group is not what I’m concerned with. My real gripe is with the unfortunate fact that, even after five albums and 8 million records sold, these boys still don’t get the credit they deserve. 

In the days leading up the gig, any time I was prompted to discuss my McFly related plans, I was met by scoffs, ‘Aren’t you twenty?’s and well; ‘They’re crap’s.

At school, when my obsession with Tom, Danny, Dougie and Harry began, I wouldn’t tell a soul about my shameful love for the band. I can even remember lying about who my favourite musician was and probably naming some obscure band, just so I could grasp at any ounce of already nonexistent credibility I had as a teenager.

It wasn’t until I got to college that I found another human being in my social circle that didn’t turn their nose up at them, allowing me to openly admit when I was going to see them or when I had bought a gay man’s magazine with their faces on. I can imagine it would have been different had not the majority of my friends been boys.

McFly are often mistakenly described as a boyband. Well, this may just be my nineties mindset, but boybands to me have always been about; cheesy dance routines, matching outfits and dodgy haircuts (Nick Carter and his lovely blonde curtains anyone?).

Yet these guys don’t seem to fit the criteria. For starters, instead of pumping out songs about Dirty Pop (Great song by the way) they write all of their own music and play their own instruments, demonstrating genuine talent. There are no linear dance sequences or ‘power grabbing’ either. No, these guys genuinely own the stage; bouncing round, awesome vocals and sometimes a little bit of added nudity (Which we’re all very thankful for by the way).

See, I think it’s the male population that are the biggest critics of this band. Fair enough, they may not cater to their tastes and you would be hard pushed to find a male McFly audience member that wasn’t either madly in love with them or an unfortunate tag along boyfriend, but questioning their talent is just an uneducated and childish response.

Most of the time, I put it down to jealousy with the male-haters. I often wonder; if McFly were to become... unfortunate looking for a day (And what a sad day that would be), would guys see them any differently? The thing is I’ve often played McFly songs in playlists alongside the likes of Kids in Glass Houses and to be honest, there isn’t that much difference. Image, is the main issue here. Truthfully, McFly’s sound is a lot more mature than a lot of other pop rock that gets churned out clothed in Famous Stars and Straps.

One thing I really respect McFly for is their decision to detach themselves from their record deal before their fourth album. They knew they were being pushed in the wrong direction and were being forced to compromise their own musical tastes. You can really see this change in their album, Radioactive, produced under their own label, Super Records. When I first heard Song for the Radio, I could hear the difference. Still McFly but with a bigger emphasis on 'We don't care!' and a Green Day element to the guitars, a band that the boys have said to be a big musical influence. To remove themselves from such a successful deal and at such a young age surely deserves some sort of round of applause at least?

I think a lot of McFly’s appeal comes from their personalities too, after all they’re just four, twenty-something boys on the more successful scale of making music and hanging out. You don’t ever see them falling out of London clubs like the rest of the pop circuit. They seem to understand that they have a pretty sweet deal at the minute and are smart enough to realise that any scandal could ruin their monumental success. For that I credit them.

I’m a massive fan of McFly (If that wasn’t obvious by now) and it’s not all down to their looks, even though, it is a very pleasant bonus. They’re true to themselves, they’re fun and they’re just the most amazing guys when it comes to their fans. Anyone that wants to dislike McFly, well that’s fine. I don’t expect everyone to love them, I just think that it’s pretty darn ignorant to deny their musical talent and the work they put into all they do. I highly doubt there are many young musicians that wouldn’t give their right arm to be in McFly. Besides, if it’s good enough for Courtney Love who argues, ‘Who says McFly are a boy band? That’s insane. Those guys slam,’ then it’s good enough for me.

Love L x

(P.S Ooh and I'm going to see them again tonight!)