Reading and Leeds don’t rock like they used to!

Reading and Leeds don’t rock like they used to!
It used to be that the Reading festival (and latterly the Leeds festival) was a good hard rocking festival where you would get a great number of bands who would fill the moshpit. Even a quick look at this year’s line-up would indicate that this is not going to be the case in 2009. That’s not to say that there is a lack of great bands on the bill but there is just not the same if you wanted to headbang your little heart out. There is also a feel of familiarity with some of the other big festivals this summer although they have managed to keep one or two exclusives up their sleeve with the headliners.
Radiohead are still a band that thrill and bore many people and the thought of Thom Yorke singing splits a crowd like very few others. There is no doubt that songs like “Paranoid Android”, “Just” and “Creep” are bona fide festival classics but the band has lost their way commercially in their last few records. Artistic expression is one but thing but heading down a prog rock route is not for everyone. Radiohead are the band that Muse would like to be but it is fair to say that Muse are further down the prog-rock like the sons of Queen , Rush and Pink Floyd.
The other headliner Arctic Monkeys have changed their sound with third album ‘Humbug’ and the influence of producer Josh Homme looms large. The Queens of the Stone Age front-man has worked with the band in hardening up their sound and broadened the musical output of the band. The change in the bands sound can also be seen in the clothes with press photos showing band members to be wearing Black Sabbath t-shirts. Alex Turner has a better lyrical turn of phrase than Ozzy Osbourne but whether he will be as famous for as long as the Prince of Darkness remains to be seen.
It can only be hoped that this weekends headliners have better luck than Oasis who were the listed headliners at V festival. The simmering tension between Noel Gallagher and his little brother Liam Gallagher appears to be peaking again and many believe that the singers drop-out to laryngitis was a cover for another explosive bust-up between the brothers. What must really gall the Gallaghers is that old sparring partners Blur have managed to rebound and wowed festival audiences earlier this summer. At this moment in time, there is no doubt that Blur appear to be the better bet for having a long-term future than Oasis, which may have sounded out of place over a year ago. The biggest downside is that any fan who was singing “where were you while we were getting high?” would have been directing their lyrics to the band as opposed to joyfully singing ‘Champagne Supernova’ in front of the stage. It may well be the final chapter in the turbulent history of the boys from Manchester.
There probably wont be a classic Reading moment like the time Kurt Cobain was wheeled onstage for Nirvana’s seminal set but it must be hoped that the fans who attend get some memorable moments to enjoy.

It’s time to find your Muse again

News that Muse are well down the line of making their new album, entitled ‘The Resistance’ and due for release in September is sure to be big news for fans of the Prog rockers. Muse are a band that manage to divide opinion and for those that love Matt Bellamy and the bombastic nature of the band, many more feel he is just a poor mans Thom Yorke with the band stealing some of the praise due for Radiohead. Regardless of what you think of the band, there is no doubt that they wear their musical influences very much on their sleeve so you can expect to be bombarded with some older tracks as canny record companies attempt to cash in on the wave of influence that Muse will bring in the Autumn.
You cant listen to Muse for too long without thinking of the theatrical nature of Queen and the way they appeal to enough people to fill huge arenas and even stadiums. You don’t have to study the music of either band for too long to recognise the influence on Bellamy, as it is quite evident and the commercial fretwork of Brian May is just a big a factor as the grandiose nature of Freddie Mercury on the band. Queen may be a guilty pleasure for some but you just know that Muse would have killed to have unleashed a lyric like “Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango?” With a stage show that will surely blow most of their rivals away, there is a very clear line between the stadium thrilling antics of Mercury and what is offered by up today’s tight three piece led by Matt Bellamy.
Of course, for some, Muse are the current heirs to the Progressive Rock throne and that means they have a sound that draws from the well of so many great bands. Pink Floyd are an obvious act that springs to mind and the way that Muse try to draw a massive stage show from their music is reminiscent of the huge work of Roger Waters, although Dave Gilmour is an understated guitarist in the style that Muse could never manage to convey. Its not as if Muse are a direct rip-off from Pink Floyd because you would not say there was much of the Syd Barret influence on the band either but one front man who Matt Bellamy has probably examined for hints and tips is Peter Gabriel. Yes, We all know that you secretly prefer the songs sung by that shaved ape Phil Collins but Gabriel was at the helm for the most artistic era of Genesis and the genius of ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ is written all over the songs where Muse extend themselves to their upper limits.
Muse aren’t for everyone and your standard Oasis or Happy Mondays fan will be turning their nose up at the music churned out by the band but in an era when some bands don’t try hard enough, this accusation cannot be levelled at Muse. They may continue to split opinions but the history books will probably place the song writing of Matt Bellamy favourably alongside the work of Noel Gallagher, Richard Ashcroft and Richey Manic.