Librarian On Fire
Active Member
I believe that so often music and bands owe their existence to a certain time and the environment in which they play. Punk could never really exist nowdays. There's not as much to protest against and we would all probably be too cynical to appreciate the Sex Pistols.
If the Smiths had never existed before and then suddenly in December 2010 along comes the single "This Charming Man" gets released by a album label would the band get the same measure of success that they did back in 1983? The world has changed. No longer would we all be watching The Old Grey Whistle Test. The programme has long gone, plus with satellite TV and now more TV channels available there is little chance we'd all be tuned into the one programme. The press is different. NME is well rubbish and only read by a few. Online too. Would they the NME pick up on this band? Would we have to wait until someone blogs about The Smiths, or even worse wait until someone uploads a gig to YouTube and then we hope like hell that we find it. I think the band would have to wait until they get a little bit of success and then appear at the 3.30pm slot at a festival.
And as for Morrissey? Could he still be the same and would people listen? Maybe there are others who are defending animal rights. More established spokes people. A singer who wears op-shop clothes and skinny jeans? There are a multitude of skinny jean bands out there. The more I think about it I don't think The Smiths could break through in December 2010.
If the Smiths had never existed before and then suddenly in December 2010 along comes the single "This Charming Man" gets released by a album label would the band get the same measure of success that they did back in 1983? The world has changed. No longer would we all be watching The Old Grey Whistle Test. The programme has long gone, plus with satellite TV and now more TV channels available there is little chance we'd all be tuned into the one programme. The press is different. NME is well rubbish and only read by a few. Online too. Would they the NME pick up on this band? Would we have to wait until someone blogs about The Smiths, or even worse wait until someone uploads a gig to YouTube and then we hope like hell that we find it. I think the band would have to wait until they get a little bit of success and then appear at the 3.30pm slot at a festival.
And as for Morrissey? Could he still be the same and would people listen? Maybe there are others who are defending animal rights. More established spokes people. A singer who wears op-shop clothes and skinny jeans? There are a multitude of skinny jean bands out there. The more I think about it I don't think The Smiths could break through in December 2010.