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What Does Music Mean To You?

To some people it's something pleasant in the background to hum along to. For others it's a bit of fun to cheer them up, while many see it as a soundtrack to their lives, with certain songs conjuring up memories of  time & place in their past.

For me it's passion, attitude, cool, a manifesto, a belief system, a blueprint, something to connect with, part of what defines me. Maybe I give it too much importance but that's me. I can't imagine what life would be without it. To me it's not only art but THE art. Sometimes it's defined, other times reflected, what I think; what I believe in; who I've voted for; what I wear; how I've had my hair cut.

Every so often artists come along who change &/or reflect the youth culture of the time, so I can't the only one who feels this strongly - can I?  :-)

In the 60's it was The Beatles of course, plus The Rolling Stones, The Who and one or two others. One of the things that seperated The Beatles from the other two in my mind is that they split while at the top and never reformed, while the Stones for example got a bit old & embarrassing. If you doubt that, think about this: When someone mentions The Beatles to you what image do you have in your mind? The Fab Four in their smart suits & Beatle haircuts maybe? The Sgt Pepper look? Or maybe them walking across that zebra crossing? Whatever it is, it'll be them at their youthful peak. Now think about The Stones. I bet you'll think of them as they are now, like extras from Pirates of the Carribbean. See what I mean?

For me, and many of my generation, it was The Jam. Yeah ok, some could make an argument for The Clash or The Sex Pistols, but let's face it if you were there, for most people it was The Jam. The lyrics, the passion, the power, the look, the cool attitude - it was all there! When they split I was devastated, but eventually I saw it as a brave call by Weller, something only someone as cool as him could've contemplated. A letter in the NME summed it up beautifully. It said "They may have been our Beatles but thank God they won't be our Roling Stones" and years later I see that as truer than ever, as explained above.

Weller of course went onto have a virtually uninterrupted 30 year career and still remains cool,while Foxton & Buckler disappeared from view. Until this year. Now they've re-emerged, going on tour under the banner 'From The Jam' with the 'from' in as small a print as possible. It's something that has really annoyed me. Some people don't get that, which is fair enough. But maybe this blog wil help explain what it means to me. Or maybe not. Anyway, in my book it means one thing:

There were 3 people in the Jam, and 2 of them weren't cool!

As for other bands who defined a moment in rock n roll history, for their attitude as much as the music, well there's The Smiths, Stone Roses, Oasis(tho' they're heading down the same route as The Stones if they're not careful!), The Libertines & most recently, Arctic Monkeys. In Alex Turner I see the new Weller. It's all there again: the lyrics, the passion, the power, the attitude. He'll still be around in 30 years and I've got a pretty good hunch the Arctic Monkeys will be immortalised in most peoples memories as that cool young band of the 2000's.

Tags: Oasis Paul Weller The Who The Rolling Stones The Beatles The Jam The Smiths The Stone Roses Arctic Monkeys The Libertines