the courier
22
culture music
Monday 24 February 2020
c2.music@ncl.ac.uk Music Editors Dom Lee, Jagoda Waszkowiak & Joe Smith
Reading & Leeds: the UK’s
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Image: Instagram (@radvxz)
Tom Moorcroft expresses his dissatisfaction at the distinct lack of female a
fter seeing the Reading and Leeds lineup, which got announced a couple of weeks ago, I voiced my excitement in a Courier article. In this article, I talked about how I thought the lineup was perfect in its blending of genres. It had something for everyone. All acts and all people could appreciate the music that was on show. Then I did a double take, after someone voiced their disgust at the lack of female inclusivity in the lineup. Could this be true? A festival which I’ve been to a couple times since 2017, which I always saw as a hub for political open mindedness, engaging in misogyny? Well, Instagram page @ bookmorewomen showed that the proof is truly in the pudding. Posting a reviewed lineup poster, with only the acts which include at least one woman
or non-binary member, showed their scarcity in the August bank holiday festival. On the main stage, one of the more popular locations for fans, only three acts over the weekend fit into this category, all early on in their respective days. Looking at a few stats, the festival in 2018 had 19% of acts in this category, raising slightly to 21% in 2019 and 22% this year. This brought up a big argument, ranging from industry professionals and music connoisseurs, to modern feminists understanding of the current social climate.
It will be interesting to see how festival goers and musicians acknowledge this inequality
Let’s take a look at what some industry individuals had to say. Annie Mac, the BBC Radio 1 DJ, stated her distaste at the lineup. She tweeted: “Feeling so disheartened about this Reading and Leeds line up. At the blatant lack of want to represent women. For all the 16 year old girls going to their first festival at Reading and Leeds 2020. Just know that you DO belong on those stages.” Similar words were voiced by other professionals, such as Maggie Rogers, who jokingly tweeted “omg i love dudes plus dudes with more dudes and side of dudes”. However, one of the more interesting perspectives, and perhaps linking in to how we can evolve the future of festival lineups and music, was the words of The 1975’s Matty Healy. Healy has never been one to silence his opinions on many political injustices, and he even headlined the festival last year. On Twitter, after initially voicing his happiness at seeing Rage Against The Machine headline the festival, he responded to The Guardian’s Deputy Music Editor, Laura Snapes. Laura stated: “Rage would be a dope booking if they
used their leverage to demand equality on the bill”, and Matty respond with “Shit that’s so fucking true”. Further discussions resulted in Healy stating his approval of a new contract for his band, in the hopes to better the future. This contract would see the band only play festivals committed to 50% on the lineup being women and nonbinary performers. He tweeted: “Take this as me signing this contract – I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets. But from now I will and believe this is how male artist can be true allies”. Sadly, during the time I’ve been producing this article, we’ve seen the backlash of a certain musician at the NME Music Awards this year. Slowthai, who’s listed to be performing at this year’s Reading and Leeds, engaged in rather physical and unwanted actions with the award host, Katherine Ryan, stating “[Katherine] wants me to tend to her flower” and constantly referred to her as “baby girl”. This was before someone in the crowd accused him of being a misogynist, to which he jumped into the crowd, having a scrap, and getting kicked out. For someone in such a privileged position, his seemingly bulletproof nature on stage sets a dangerous precedent for men in the industry. Some made links between the rapper and R Kelly. Personally, I hope that the act didn’t reflect his true intentions, and a combination of the stage and alcohol inspired him to make such a horrendous error. He voiced his apologies on Twitter, stating “@nme please forward my award to [Katherine] or she is the hero of the year. what started as a joke between us escalated to a point of shameful actions on my part. i want to unreservedly apologise, there is no excuse and I am sorry. i am not a hero.” However, it’s important to know that a single tweet won’t correct this mistake, and with some twitter users urging him to be taken off the Reading and Leeds lineup, and cancel culture in full swing, only the next few days will show how the consequences of his actions. Looking back to the Leeds lineup, many twitter users voiced clashing opinions. Many appreciated the arguments of Healy, Mac and Rogers, admitting that Festival Republic should evolve from their masculine bias. On the
The 1975 'That rock and roll, ey': is it still electric? Live at the Utilita Arena Elena Corcobado discusses whether guitar music can still appeal to the mainstream crowd
O
n Sunday 16, The 1975 performed at the Utilita Arena with Beabadoobee as an opening act. Around half seven Beabadoobee came to the stage. I did not know the band before the concert, but I was glad I got a chance to see them. The 40-minute set was too short and left me wishing to hear more of the band. Then, The 1975 made a grand entrance (as expected), playing with the lights and the music. They began playing the piano minutes before coming onto stage and then “burned out” the stage lights until there was absolute darkness. After opening with ‘People’ and the words “Rock and Roll is dead; God bless,” the band moved on while Matty Healy smoked and sung at the same time. I was surprised to see many young teens amongst the audience, which is why I felt like he could have spared the cigarettes. Still, most of the audience were in their 20s or even older for what I could see. While dancing to ‘Sincerity Is Scary’, Matty recreated the video clip with a treadmill, which I thought was engaging and original. The back vocals and dances of the Jaiy twins made the instrumental breaks even better. In the end, it encouraged everyone to dance, as well. But if there is anything that should be praised is the use of lights. The 1975 can play with backgrounds and use them very effectively in live shows. In the songs ‘Fallingforyou’ and ‘Somebody Else’, the songs built up together with the special effects on the background. For ‘People’ and ‘Love It If We Made It’ the images in the back are mostly controversial, especially for the latter. Like every time they play ‘Love It If We Made It’, the song was preceded by Greta Thunberg’s speech. Displaying the lyrics in was also a nice touch for understanding the lyrics better. Altogether the concert was well organised, even if at some points the setlist did not make much sense. The energy of the band and dancers on stage balanced the order of the songs. Additionally, ballads were made beautiful, mixing the acoustic guitar and the violins, mainly with the ode to their friendship, while playing old clips of themselves. Alex Gervas
T
he mainstream market in music has always been subject to different trends that have developed throughout the decades. One of the most commercially successful genres in the world is guitar music, especially with rock music’s pinnacle during the 70s. I love guitar music and I think it has had a colossal impact in music history and culture across the decades. But the question is, is it still appealing to the mainstream market, is it still commercial like it used to be? The panorama in music has made a shift in the 21st Century, especially in the last years. Rock stars are not as idolized as they used to be anymore, and the excitement and adoration of guitar virtuosos has left the popular sphere to become a part of more niche music cultures. Guitar music is traditionally associated with white male bands, and nowadays, the new digital technologies have provided a platform for new genres to access more mainstream markets. In this way, the music industry has become more diverse and inclusive, and these traditional white male bands have shifted towards a more niche
still maintained by guitar bands such as Foals, The 1975 and the Arctic Monkeys. Since the audience tendency in listening has shifted towards a playlist and single-oriented culture, guitar music’s popularity has relocated towards a more specific audience. However, the fact that guitar music has left the mainstream it does not mean that it is dying or in decline. There is amazing guitar music being made and, as I have mentioned, there are many bands and artists that keep it alive. Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Foals, The 1975, Catfish and The Bottlemen and many more are making guitar music that appeals to big crowds and wide audiences. Guitar and rock music is still out there as it has always been, but nowadays it is required for the listener to actively search for it. This is due to this music appealing to more niche audiences that are
passionate about specific genres and that are music fans; people who usually make their way out of the mainstream music offer. We can’t forget that, also, there are many ways of making guitar music. Artists like Tame Impala, Rex Orange County and Tom Misch all use guitar in different ways from what traditional rock would produce. Guitar is a very versatile instrument that can produce more rocky, jazzy, bluesy, psychedelic, poppy and many more sounds. Regardless of what is in the Spotify Top UK playlist, we will keep on listening to guitar music because we love it.
The music industry has become more diverse
panorama of either older listeners, passionate fans, or music lovers. Nowadays, listening habits have also changed, shifting towards a single-orientated culture. It is most common for mainstream artists to produce and release music in singles. Guitar and rock music from older generations was created in full-length albums, and it is a trend
Images: Instagram (tommisch), (goatgirlofficial). Flickr Anna Hans
