Solution Devices

After the events of this past week it is safe to say that I am a little riled by the things that have been going on in the world.

Now I'm not usually a 'ranter' but when it comes to the music industry I pose it as a very sensitive issue. I have long been an admirer of all things musical, hence why I am choosing to make a career out of it! I am a fan of buying all music, and items such as films etc. and what I really, really, really hate is ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING!

For some reason it just really frustrates me, it is essentially the same as stealing, which is just wrong on all levels. It is easy to think that everyone who is in a band, on the radio, TV, has been in the charts are stinking rich (I used to think this before I learnt more about the music industry) but the fact is that this is just not true. What a lot of people don't understand is that there is not as much money in the music industry as they think, sure there is a hell of a lot, but not that much! The purpose of selling music is not to gain ridiculous amounts of profit, but to fund other musical endeavours to please the fans. You see without the money gained from record sales bands and record labels and others cannot afford to book tours, duplicate the albums, pay for merch or fund their musical careers, and these are just a few minuscule points amongst the enormous spectrum of things!

Another thing to take into consideration is that artists have no idea how many people actually like them! Fair enough it is ok to have 300,000 likes on Facebook but when no one is buying your music, how do you establish how many people actually like your music!? Take Biffy Clyro for example, they have two Platinum albums, 'Puzzle' (2007) and 'Only Revolutions' (2009). Now, you may think, well two Platinum albums, 600,000 + sales, THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME! It is indeed, but Biffy Clyro didn't reach mainstream success until their fourth studio album, now here's one hard working and persistent band! Now obviously not all bands are doing it for the fame and fortune but because they love music, but to be able to be rewarded for their achievements would be a nice thing. I see it as the fans' way of saying thank you.

I was amazed to find out that Adele has now achieved 14 x Platinum status in the UK with her second studio album '21'. I was so amazed to find this out because in the current musical climate, someone selling in excess of 4.2 million copies is simply incredible, but I will never cease to wonder how many copies it would actually be if people in the UK and also around the world wouldn't have downloaded it. Who knows, it could be within the hundreds of thousands, even a million more? £6.99 to buy an album can't hurt! Even so it is a great achievement which is great as it is a well known fact that she is a true force of nature both musically and as a person, so she really does deserve all of her success.

Now, on to a more sensitive issue (And I thought that this post was going to be about film.. the next one will I promise!). This week, there was a blackout on Wikipedia, due to protests against the SOPA and PIPA. Now I'm not going to comment on this as I haven't researched enough about it to have a solid opinion, but as stated above, my views against stealing are clear. But what I do want to talk about is the hacktivist group, Anonymous. Earlier in the week the group hacked into and shut down or manipulated in
someway the websites of groups such as Universal Music Group, the RIAA, Warner Music Group, the FBI and the White House to name a few. The attack called 'Operation Megaupload' was in response to the American Government shutting down the online sharing site Megaupload without the SOPA and PIPA bills being passed. I was pretty disgusted to hear about all of this because it is all a little crazy. I do feel that the US government have a right to shut down the website because let's face it, they are a government and do have a lot of power. Now I suppose some would see that it is wrong being as the bill has not yet passed which is fair enough but they do still have the power to do it so why wouldn't they use it? So I do feel that they have some grounds. But Anonymous on the other hand are just ridiculous. They are vandals and criminals. I mean really, you are going to get a bad name for yourselves if you do things like shutting down websites just because you didn't like something that happened. Hacking into websites just because one website gets closed down is not only pathetic but so pointless as well. It's just like kids throwing toys out of the pram. It's just getting crazy!

I'm not sure there will ever be a way to stop people from illegally downloading but It does make me happy that a large amount of people do legally purchase music. There are some Solution Devices but I suppose that they are just too controversial. I hope that this post hasn't been too 'ranty'! Please feel free to correct me if any of my research is wrong and to post any of your thoughts and comments. Thanks!

Lavo

Twitter: @CenturianLavo

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Joy. Discovery. Invention.

The wonderful thing about life is that you never know what is right round the corner, which is why I love the thought of the unknown. For example, I certainly never thought that I would ever write a blog and I can almost guarantee that the person who thought of creating the first blog never expected to do so, but they did, and in turn made the world and more open and expressive place. Which is a nice place to start because to me, that is a really great thing.

Joy. Discovery. Invention. Why the title you may ask? Well the answer is a nerdy one. It would be wrong of me to not make the first blog I ever create mention the monsters of rock that are Biffy Clyro. For the Scottish trio are solely responsible for my progression in my musical life. I have a love for their music style which has helped shape the music in which I create today. There is something strangely addictive to music that well to be honest, doesn't make any sense. The strangely titled track 'There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake' from their third studio album (and in my opinion the most creative) 'Infinity Land' is one of the craziest songs I have ever heard, constant key changes and dissonant themes shape the track into what it is. Dissonance, key changes, two of the many reasons of which I admire Biffy Clyro. I am a fond admirer of any band that strays away from the constraints of mainstream popular music. I love a little diversity in music. However I am a lover of all music, even Lady GaGa and that's not even a guilty pleasure, she genuinely is a talented musician which is why I find her music to be excellent!

After hearing 'Lego House' by Ed Sheeran, I felt compelled to go and buy his new album, so off to Tesco I went! £7 well spent. The album is pure genius and I love the fact that it doesn't just stick to one genre, there really is everything in there! Now here is a talented young artist that I'm overjoyed to learn that his debut album has gone double platinum in the UK. 600000 + sales, an absolutely amazing achievement. I am excited for his next release. Good work young sir!

For me I find that it is Discovery. Joy. And then Invention. I will explain this as such.

1. Discovery. December sometime, I went to the Flapper in Birmingham with a friend of mine to see some live math rock genius... no no its not what you think, math rock is a style whereby music is odd, much like Biffy Clyro, dissonance, key changes, insane time signatures, all of the ingredients that make math rock a beautiful thing.

Opening the show were Conquistadors. They were quite enjoyable however I don't really remember anything about their set, maybe its because what was to come blew the memories out of my brain! The band that followed were Shapes, an awesome display of musical talent and ones that I will definitely be checking out soon.

The headliners were a personal favourite of mine, the remains of disbanded math Titans Blakfish, &U&I. I was extremely excited to see this band for the first time as I really really really wanted to go to Blakfish's last show but already had a previous engagement, so I was extatic when I found out that three of the members had decided to carry on. Their performance was incredible, my personal highlight was lead singer Thom when he remarked 'best Christmas present ever' after the crowd sung the words to the awesome tune 'Terror Back'. They impressed me further when they delved deeper into their set and they just erupted with energy. To finish off Thom went onto a friends shoulders and played we wish you a merry Christmas. An awesome spectacle. I was a little disappointed that they had no merch at the show because I really wanted a t-shirt and a copy of their album. I later purchased their debut LP light bearer on itunes. Above the abyss was cut short when downloading though, damn you I tunes! Overall, a great listen.

However two acts before &U&I were The Cape Of Good Hope. In my opinion one of the greatest live bands that I have ever seen, and I've seen A LOT of bands! Budding math rock heroes, that I am sure will breakthrough in the very near future. They put on such an incredible show that I bought both their EPs right there and then. I think there is no greater compliment to a band to say that when you saw them and didn't know who they were that you smiled all of the way though, found their music to be phenomenal and remembered their song titles. Someone I had never met before once told me that they loved my music and were singing along by the end of the set. To be honest it is one of my greatest accomplishments because it is such a great thing to be able to impact someone's life for the better. To cause happiness and enjoyment for another is a monumental great thing and I hope that I have done this band justice in saying that their music has done just that. The Cape Of Good Hope, I eagerly await your next release. Congratulations in creating such wonderful music.

2. Joy. My joy now comes from having discovered this new music and listening to the creations made by the talented individuals mentioned above.

3. Invention. Much like Biffy Clyro, I have found their music, I have found joy from it, and now my invention comes from making similar music.

Full Circle.

On another note, I stumbled across a rather great podcast a few weeks ago. Now this man, and his friends are quickly turning out to be some of the funniest people I have ever heard. I am a big fan of the conversations that took place between Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington so this to me was absolutely pure gold! The Alex Baker show is one of the funniest things I have ever listened to, and what's better is that everyone involved sound like really nice and genuine people. They chat about literally everything in life and that's why its so great, it's a few people having great conversations about things that people can relate to. Alex told a story of a man who pushed infront of him in Burger King completely disregarding the queue system. Sir, I feel your anger! Some guy did it to me in Birmingham once and I was not impressed, however I was too scared to say anything! Ah well, my steak sandwich was worth the wait I suppose! He turned story funny and positive whilst maintaining a degree of seriousness which is why I enjoyed it. Alex and his co-presenter have a rather brilliant and genius thing whereby Alex will say a word such as 'time' and his co-presenter will echo him by moving away from his microphone and saying the word over and over again getting gradually quieter each time. I recall listening once when they were performing the echo effect and a monumentus crash could be heard in the background.... suddenly laughter erupts from the studio. Alex then goes on to say that his co-presenter had fallen into the back wall when he was walking backwards. I then fell about laughing. Needless to say I am now a weekly listener of the Alex Baker Show on Kerrang! Radio. Brilliant and inventive stuff.

With regards to radio here is a show for you to check out. It is run by a rather nice guy called Marc Lungley. It is an unsigned music show called Backstage on 102.5 the Bridge radio Stourbridge. It is an excellent listen each week and Marc is really passionate about the music that he plays which is great as it comes across in his shows. It is always nice to hear a presenter comment on the music that they play. I find that the show has a sense of unity and positivity. Nice one Marc.

Well, I must say that writing my debut blog has been an enjoyable experience! This blog is mainly music orientated. I'm thinking that the next one may have to be about film!

Thanks for reading.

Lavo.
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Twitter: @CenturianLavo