Entertainment For Lively Minds
Alan McGee and Creation Records.. meh
Posted by BernkastelCues on 31 October 2011 - 2:52pm.
Saw a doco on him on BBC4 last week (apologies if already covered). Two thoughts sprang to mind. (At the risk of starting another Gillespiesque controversy)
1. What a twat.
2. What a lucky, lucky twat.
That is all.
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McGee
Should give prayers to Mr N Gallagher every single moment of every single day.
The music
was largely so bloody awful. I thought I loved some of it at the time and now I realize what total shite most of it was.
The only exceptions, it seems to be, were the lovely Felt ( who hardly featured at all in the programmes ).
But otherwise-
My Bloody Valentine- crap
Jesus and Mary Chain- crap
The Loft- crap
I mean...I could go on....
The House of Love.
Forgot them ( just like everyone else did).
Crap.
I completely disagree
but it would appear your views are shared by one Alan McGee who has announced he is bored of music apart from The Beatles.
I feel almost exactly
the same way.
Although I'd probably chuck in a bit of Dylan too.
On a serious-ish note however it struck me that, looking back, so much of Creation's ouevre was sub-MC5/Stooges/Velvets nonsense peddled by people who had loads of records and attitude and so little of the genuine songwriting talent to carry it off. If 'Upside Down' is a 'pop classic' then I'm a Womble. You can dress like the Velvets and play the same guitars but that doesn't mean you're Lou Reed.
But, of course, as always- other views are available on these matters.
There was a serious amount of
leather trousered Velvet Underground/MC5 worship I'll grant you.
But have you listened to My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless'? You may not like the noise they made but it's anything but derivative. Underneath the noise and churning guitars, there are some terrific pop songs. They made a deafening racket but they were excellent tunesmiths.
Super Furry Animals
- not crap.
The first word I'd use to describe McGee....
.....is not 'lucky'.
Born 1960 (oh dear).
Four foot eight.
Looks like the little bald bloke in 'The Benny Hill Show'.
Chips on both shoulders.
Nah, not 'lucky'.
Hey!,What is so bad about 1960?
I was born in 1960. I'm old enough to remember the Beatles when they were together , enjoyed glam, bubblegum and groovy prog. Copped off with girls to the very best of disco and then went through my pretendy nihilist phase with punk before meeting a nice girl and settling down.
I think being born in 1960 is rather ace actually
Finest Kind - 1960 lads
And dead easy to work out how old you were when.......
But it has been said that 1950 was the best year to born to hear good music. As a pre-teen you are aware of the original rock 'n' rollers. You are a new teen at the start of the Beatles/Stones boom. You are shagging and taking drugs in 67/68. As music fragments in the 70's you chose your own road, still being young enough for punk (maybe new wave) by the time it hit the public at large in 1978 (and that's when it did hit). You are still just 35 at Live Aid and you see all your old values and old favourites come back into the limelight.
Born in '52
and tend to agree with what you say.
I'm With Dr Volume
Creation released some fantastic records. I love Felt to bits, and those other bands listed up there all produced great stuff.
I would say JAMC "Upside Down", The Loft "Up The Hill And Down the Slope", House Of Love "Destroy The Heart" and MBV "Loveless" are the very opposite of crap.
Then there's Ride, Slowdive, Sugar, Teenage Fanclub and Kevin Rowland's "My Beauty". Still listen to all of them twenty years on.
Ride
Most of it utterly overrated, with the exception of Ride in my opinion. Now there's a reformation I'd like to see. We just need to wait for Beady Eye to implode and we can begin again,....shouldn't be long.
I liked Ride
Particularly 'Going Blank Again' and 'Birdman', but I can't listen to a lot of it without cringing a bit now.
To me, the first album sounds a bit cheesy and very dated, but with all of their work, the problem I have is with the lyrics and the singing ... just very poor on both counts.
You can't mess with 'Leave them All Behind' though, what a song. I saw Mark Gardener play it with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club a few years ago, that was a great moment.
Oh, give over
My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fanclub, Ride, Primals, Boo Radleys, Oasis, "My Beauty".
Of course there was some boring rubbish on Creation but a lot of it was great and a lot of it probably wouldn't have been made were it not for Alan Magee. He's an enthusiast and a barmy fruitcake - not a bad "skill set" for running a record label. He talks an awful lot of nonsense at times but he's certainly not a "twat".
Four foot eight?
Really?
I watched that Creation programme...
and was amazed to find that I disliked nearly everyone interviewed on it, with a couple of exceptions (the bloke out of Teenage Fanclub, Noel G.). Don't like the records much either.
Creation
Creation? Some good. Some bad. Bit like most labels really.
And McGee? Complete nutter. Complete gobshite. However, in all my dealings with him over the years I found him to be very straight up about things and extremely passionate about music. I didn't always agree with him and he defnitely didn't always have a complete grasp on reality but if he said he'd do something it usually got done... albeit in a rather bizarre fashion. He was polite, affable and always made time for me.
And he's not 4'8.
Is this one of those
slagging stuff off that other people like posts that the grown ups tell us about? Don't worry kids, I'm sure BBC4 will be back to it's usual 70s singer songwriters programming next week.
Nirvana Night apparently
Kurt Cobain and all that. Warning; may also contain REM. I'm somewhat relieved as even I was getting bored with bearded guitarists strumming away. And that was just the women.
Quite Tedloaf
Who wants to listen to Creation artists when we can have Clifford T Ward again?
Clifford T Ward
deserves better treatment than that. At least a little better.
Too right.
He wasn't as hip, granted, but he could write better songs than anyone on Creation.
Creation
Boo Radleys Giant Steps is one of my all time favourite albums. My Bloody Valentine were superb, and there were loads and loads of great singles.
That film though was like some alternate history.
I Think This Sums It Up Nicely
Luck? Meh arse!
McGee showed up his moribund major label record rivals for what they are. He had the nous to persevere with Primal Scream, signed one of the most exciting bands of the time (the Jesus and Mary Chain), and spotted the potential of one of the greatest rock bands - Oasis.
In between he picked up bands who produced some of the most sublime singles of the last 25 years - Up The Hill and Down the Slope: The Loft, Shine On: House of Love, Wake up Boo: Boo Radleys, most of the Super Furry Animals' tunes, as well as a host of intriguing and original acts who would never have been given the audience they deserved.
He may have been cocky and druggy at certain points but I reckon he's on a par with Chris Blackwell from Island and the Stiff chaps for seeking out a stunning array of new talent.
Haven't seen his arse so can't comment
Anyway, thought that word had been outlawed round here.
I have to agree he was a major player of that era if you judge by the number of significant acts that that label accumulated, even if you are not that keen on the music. And drugs excess, delusions, inability to face up to reality - unheard of behaviour in the rock 'n' roll world of course. But surely it's these kind of crazy figures who believe that it can be done regardless of what anyone else might say that change the arts like the music scene. They are almost as important as the acts themselves in moving things on you could say. Movers and shakers.
Then again I think of the romantic idea of rock 'n' roll outlaws that was put forward then was already a bit clichéd and shopworn. It's easier to see now how much was owed to old ideas and images - leather trousers and dark glasses and all that jazz. Still I suppose that generation wanted it's go at the game too. Primal Scream's Loaded was a stand out acheivement that still impresses I think. Quite a few classic records when you take stock - a really high hit rate for one label over a limited time.
Creation Story
I've just watched this. Not a very good film, could have been done much better.
However, some good talking heads, fantastic, shimmering pop and Jim Reid is STILL really tasty.
EDIT: What Olthwaite says, basically (plus Jim Reid. Phwoar, etc).