Entertainment For Lively Minds
Oh Luke, you're so kooky!!
I’m woefully unresearched on this but I’m guessing that the generally ok Popworld on Channel 4 eventually died a death because of it’s heavily sarcastic main presenters who ended up scaring off future bands who might actually want to appear and the resultant drying up of content leading to McFly performing live almost every week.
This clip seems to detail some of the problems with the show and modern Indie (or Indie in general) including the novel in the lead singer’s pocket that was probably put there by a costume designer to make him look intellectual and the attempts by the other band member to “keep it real” being knocked down against protestations of adult content and the design of his hair (to mask a hangover or worse, I assume).
There is defiantly a lack of trust between producers and content that sets an uneasy tone. You could argue that it’s post-modernist humour its most self destructive. Does anybody really know if they’re joking anymore?
The day the 00’s British Indie music scene died? Well no, but this moment still bothers me to this very day. Without a doubt the Indie music scene is a bit wanky and, regardless of its attempts to adhere to a casual bohemian uniform, is about as inclusive as, erm, something that isn’t very inclusive.
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*This* Popworld was bobbins.
Simon Amstell did it so much better.
That is, like, *priceless*...
....y'know?
Thinking about it further
What's going on here is a classic case of the bind that the music business and broadcasting business have collectively got themselves into. Some plugger has been charged with getting the Kooks on the programme. It is the Kooks' job to look as if they don't know why they're there and to pretend that the whole thing has come as a huge surprise to them. This is made worse by the fact that there are two of them and each will make the other even more self-conscious. I'm always trying to avoid ever having to interview more than one member of a band at the same time but they push against this because they're terrified that somebody will get the credit that they are entitled to.
This is made worse by the fact that you've got two interviewers and neither of them has thought about how they would answer the questions if the roles were to be reversed. "How would you describe your music?" is the dumbest question in the world. Even if musicians *could* describe their music - "it's a sort of indie soup designed to appeal to people with haircuts like ours, actually" - the last thing they would do is tell you.
That's why Simon Amstell used to steal the old Smash Hits trick of asking questions that were specific and apparently pointless. "What's the longest you've ever slept?" or "Ever been sick on your shoes?" The thing about questions like this is that people have to answer them. The old closed vs open question doesn't work with people like the Kooks. You can't say "how was your tour?" because they'll either drone on for days or just say "fine". But you can say "what have you got in your tour bus?" because then you might get an answer and it might even be interesting to viewers who don't give a stuff about the Kooks, which is, after all, about 99% of the people viewing.
Don't get me started....
Thinking about it further
There's very much that problem with job interviews.... you know that they don't really care about the questions they are asking and they know that you aren't all too bothered about the answers you are giving. That "they know that I know that they know that I know" situation will always turn in on itself.
Something has to change, but not in our lifetime.
With jon interviews, the truth is...
...they've decided whether you're a contender or not within two minutes of you coming in the room. You haven't got the job but they've either ruled you in or ruled you out. After that they're listening to *how* you answer the questions as much as anything.
Re: the interviews. There are supposed to be five questions that you always get good and interesting answers to. One is "when was the last time you cried?" Anybody remember the rest?
gizza job
It's all meaningless, of course. There will always be people who can "blag" an interview and not show the goods upon reflection. Then again the shy ones will often prove their worth in the field. There are always alternatives, however, but in the end I believe the job interview process should be nationalised..... with regards to the "rock interview", well who knows (definately not me).
"How many piano tuners are there in London?"
Not because the interviewer cares but because he wants to see how your mind works. It's the old 'Fermi estimate' thang.
“Our music is red ... with purple flashes”
The best ever answer to the rotten question “how would you describe your music?” was by
Eddie Phillips of The Creation: “our music is red ... with purple flashes”.
Such a good quote The Times made a daft single with that title, one of the best records of the mostly pretty ropey mod revival. And a proper, genuine “indie” single too; made for peanuts and for fun.
Bob Dylan
When asked what his songs were about, said that some were about 5 minutes and some were even longer....!!
When people press me with "what kind of music do you like?"..
...I say, anything with a twelve-string Rickenbacker on it. I mean, honestly, what do they expect people to say?
Don McLean
Interviewer:"What does 'American Pie' mean?
Don McLean:"I never have to work again".
Hey Ringo!
"How'd you find America?"
"Turned left at Greenland"