Tony Wilson on BBC Tonight (thurs)

I caught The Culture Show just then. There's no question Tony's a cool bloke with his loveable twat persona and being mostly responsible for the artistic freedom ethic behind Factory, but I have to say I really didn't rate his "new" project much. Same old rap shit to be honest, and it probably doesn't help I dislike that whole scene as oversaturating and polluting the current musical climate. There's only so many times you can "keep it real" with your bling bling mow-tah y'kna what I is saying? Hooky appeared to talk about Wilson's past and it looked like a recent interview. He explained that when Wilson saw Joy Division and saw Ian (in manic mode) chucking chairs and tables about that was an energy that obviously captivated him, and the rest is history...

One thing I did get vaugely angry about was Wilson proclaiming that this rap group is his third (hat-trick) major band alongside our heroes and the Mondays. I just thought how dare he mention these fuckers as anywhere near the same creative sphere as Joy Division/New Order or to a lesser extent the Happy Mondays. But that's Tony for you, speaks alot of bollocks! Let's all be honest here, great guy though he is, his particular "golden" period as a musical svengali ended the moment Factory Once shut up shop in '92 and there have been some godawful excuses for bands on his other Factory labels (Factory Too - Spacehog or something anyone?) Having said that he'd be interesting to have a chat with. As much as I admire him this new rap act of his will will flounder because there's nothing original in the music. There's no spark and there are thousands of other tedious rap outfits out there all vying for recognition in a scene that has grown to such a level it's stifling other musical genres and overrunning the charts.

I'm desperately waiting for a rap/hip hop/r&b backlash as there was to disco in the late seventies :fingerscrossed:. It simply needs to happen for some sort of fresh new scene to emerge.

Ally.

BIGINOIL wrote: Ally, have you heard any of RAW-T's work, or just basing your opinions on the clips you heard in yesterday's programme?

Yes they are and from what I saw/heard I was not impressed nor spurred on to rush out and get their album. They rely on publicity like in that program to make an impact and it didn't with me. I don't have time to find the album, listen to it in its entirety and present an opinion. You could say my opinion is only half-formed but I've seen similar rap bands (almost indentical tbh) being hyped through the roof then they promptly disappear without a trace. My opinion's also going by Wilson's post-92 track record which is one of attaching himself to bands that never go anywhere. It's a shame but true. As a self-confessed anti-fan of the current and bland Rap/Hip-hop climate my opinion is probably quite biased, but I do think I have a valid point in saying that the scene at least in the UK is overrun by these twats "keepin' it real". My cup of tea or not, it seems to be overwhelming everything else and I don't think this is good for our musical climate. Coming from a white, early 20s predominantly Alt Rock fan this probably looks like an invalid viewpoint but to curb what you may be thinking I am absolutely not anti-black music. I love reggae, soul and parts of Jazz (the non cheesy stuff) People use the race card far too often for people who dislike this stuff (not that I'm saying anyone on this thread is of course)

My two Euros anyway..

Ally.