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Post Info TOPIC: Excellent article


Mary of the 4th Form

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Excellent article
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January 12, 2005

What contribution was that again?
The announcement that (Saint) Bob Geldolf is to receive an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at this years Brit Awards has provoked the kind of spluttering disbelief, from music critics, that we've become accustomed to whenever Gerry Adams denies ever being a member of the Provisional IRA (see Feeney's article). The Guardian's rock and pop critic Alexis Petridis has a suggestion - "Give him an award by all means, but let's not pretend his songs have anything to do with it"

Geldolf appears to believe differently, however - he's quoted in the article as saying "It means more than the knighthood, because that was for everyone involved in Band Aid.. The Brit award is for me alone because I, after all, wrote the ****ing songs."


And which songs where they? Petridis lists the [only] well-known ones, Rat Trap.. and er.. well, Rat Trap - "Geldolf ripping up a John Travolta poster on Top of The Pops.. it was as close to punk as most eight-year-old viewers got"


There are, as Alexis Petridis suggests, other more deserving recipients of an Outstanding Contribution to Music award among Geldolf's own peers - the Clash, the Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello, even Dr Feelgood.


"Instead it's going to Geldolf, a nice[?] guy who had a couple of big new wave hits and ripped up a John Travolta poster on Top of The Pops. Give him an award by all means, but let's not pretend his songs have anything to do with it."


That sentiment would appear to be shared by the organisers of the Brit Awards - or at least whoever maintains their website. Click on the 'Play Music' link beside Saint Bob's picture and you'd expect to listen to, you'd think, a sample of that 'contribution'.. you, and indeed Bob, may be disappointed. The only sample of his work, on which to justify the award, is "Do they know it's Christmas".. the 2004 version.



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take the 5th


She's So Modern

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Thats a very interesting read Takethe5th.

"it was as close to punk as most eight-year-old viewers got - but their music has never undergone critical reappraisal because it's not very good. The Boomtown Rats came up with songs that make you stuff your fist in your mouth in horror. Singles such as She's So Modern and Like Clockwork made novelty punks such as Plastic Bertrand and Jilted John sound positively committed. Nor should we linger over their album tracks. (I Never Loved) Eva Braun, (She's Gonna) Do You In, (Watch Out For) The Normal People. Big on brackets, low on quality, (these are frankly) not the stuff from which an outstanding contribution to music is made".

My how I chortled reading the above sentence.

Anyone here care to explain just who The Clash's imaginery friends are at the NME too? They're mentioned in previous threads several times.



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