The song remains the same

When I think of music. I often think about the bands I perform in. I think about the way I play music. I think about the influences of the music I listen to and how it changes the way I play things.

If you ask any of my band mates and such "Is Steve a music snob?" They will say "Yes" and then also continue calling me other names like "Band Whore" and "Band Slut" because I play music with whoever, and I'm not committed to one band or person. I take every opportunity to perform live on stage, and if I could make a living off it I would. But alas, I'm not good looking and I can't sing very well. So I'll never be a rock star.

If you asked my band mates "What is the most common thing that comes out of Steves mouth?" They would say "Band Suck" and "People are f*@ked."

The latter is true, there's no need to bang on about that much further. We (my readers and friends) all know how people are all idiots, myself included.

However, when I say bands suck. I really mean it. From the politics right up to the music. Whether I'm performing with the band or not. It doesn't matter.

One of the strongest arguements I've always held about music is that most of it is rubbish. I think I'm allowed to say so. I listen to every genre, every type of music there is out there. Even just plain old noise. So when something ordinary comes along, I voice my opinion about how crap it really is.

One of the genre's that always falls in my targets is mainstream pop music. It has to be the most uninspring sound to have come to conception since Metallica recorded Load.

Why so? How can some of the coolest songs in the world be so uninspired? This video sums it up well enough for me to shut up about it.




So, next time Beyonce gets up with her mates Jay Z, Lady Gaga and all the rest of the regurgitating monkeys and puppets of todays music scene. Have a think about how many times the same music has been pumped into your ears before.

I have a theory on all this and why mainstream music is so popular.

A while ago I posted an entry about how AC/DC was the McDonald's of music in my twitter account. I may have said something about it here too, but I can't remember. My theory was that nearly all their songs sound the same. Which is why they're so popular. Every song is familiar. It's like snuggling up to a warm blanket you grew up with. It smells the same, it feels the same, it looks the same. So you love it. And AC/DC is just like that. The same, every album, every song. It's all the same.

People lap up pop music because without them even knowing it, they're listening to the same thing. A new song sounds awesome! Why? Because it sounded just like the last awesome song, which was awesome. But now it's old.

Why does it get so old, so quick?

Compare it to timeless classics, the ones no one buys but everyone will listen to if it's playing, and they'll know all the words. Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, it all sounded diffrent, and they were popular too. I can't explain why apart from the only reason being that people are idiots, which takes me back to my first point. Maybe we're all becoming more and more idiots. Eventually everything will be the same.

Look at kids these days and everything is already the same. "I'm bored" they say. How can you be bored? I had fun with a stick and a couple of marbles when I was a kid.

Yep, overstimulation has caused people, not just kids, to ignore the mundane and look as well as expect the fireworks. We all want the big bang at the beginning. And the middle, and the end. And we want to expect it every time. It has to be the same experience every time, or we'll want our money back.

In the end we'll all just conform, end up robot zombies, all the same. But that's okay, because that's what people like, for the song to remain the same.

AC/DC - McDonald's of Music

If anyone actually reads this and they're an AC/DC fan, they will either hate me or find what I'm about to say funny.

My wife and I have a travel rule. It's a golden rule we've come up with through our travels around Australia and overseas. The golden rule is, "When coming off a plane, starving, you need to eat some food. Don't gamble on the local restaurant or Fish n' Chip shop. Go to McDonald's."

Why? Why would I tell people that I want to eat craptastic burgers and fries when I can get a nice, real burger with chips from a good, local, corner take away shop?

The answer is, through travelling so much, my wife and I would arrive in a country and usually felt quite hungry. We'd try the local shops for food only to always ben disappointed. Once we stopped at a place that touted itself as the best rated Fish n' Chips place in Tasmania. The food was greasy, and their oil had not been changed in quite a while. I didn't even finish my meal.... which never happens. We wasted the food by throwing the rest that we didn't eat in the bin. I felt bad because I don't like wasting food.

Once my wife broke the rule. We were at the airport getting on our plane when she mentioned food and it reminded me that my stomach was growling. So I lined up at the Maccas (McDonald's) at the airport terminal. She decided she wanted something else. I warned her. She said "It'll be fine". Her famous last words. Her meal was ordinary. However, my meal was fine. I went to Maccas. She tried the place next door and got herself a Turkish Gozleme.



Why was my Maccas breakfast better than her Golzeme, which I like more than Maccas?

Because McDonald's is familiar. I can travel anywhere in the world and I know when I see the golden arches, I know what I'm getting. Sure the menus change slightly from nation to nation, but generally it's all the same. It's comforting to know that I can go anywhere and get the meal I expect for, really, when you think about it, a pretty cheap price.

After all that, I can tell you why AC/DC is the McDonald's of music. It's because you know what you're getting. They've been playing the same songs over and over again. And I'm not talking about the exact same songs. I'm saying that their latest album sounds pretty much like their first album, or their second one, or their third for that matter. And people lap it up. They love it. They can't wait to hear more AC/DC. When's their next album coming out? I duno, but if you put on their last album, you'll know what the new one is going to sound like. Hahaha.

It's funny but it's true.

And the reason is simple. People buy it because they are buying that Big Mac. You know what it tastes like. You know that if it's any different to what you normally know, taste, hear or smell then it's not the same.

You've changed!

AC/DC use a brilliant formula to sell as many albums as possible. Give the people what they love. Don't change it unless it's broken. They rocked out with simple beats, rhythms, solos and basic notes. There is absolutely nothing special about what they do at all, musically.

But what they do, they do really well. They're solid, they rock and you know the next album will rock too. Because you've placed your order for that McChicken burger, you know that's what you're getting. If you end up with a whopper from Hungry Jacks (Burger King), then you know somethings gone wrong.

They can't change their sound. Especially in such a fickle industry where cutting your hair can break you. And it will. If AC/DC turned up one day and played like Metallica, I think the fans would like it, but I also think their album sales would drop, if any are purchased at all, and it's all because you're no longer lining up at Maccas anymore. You're at KFC now, buying the next Beyonce album. WTF? How did I get here? I wanted Jack Black, and you've given me Lady Gaga.

Tune in next week as I might compare Bono to Oprah, or Mozart to Kurt Cobain.